Will Smith is featured prominently on the magazine cover to advertise the film "I Am Legend". His serious expression and the weapon he holds provide clues about his character and the film's genre. Short text highlights include the film's location of New York and its sci-fi horror genre. Mysterious silhouettes and fog in the background create an ominous and uncertain tone for viewers. The color scheme and Will Smith's central focus on the cover signal that he is the protagonist in this thriller/horror film.

1. Will Smith’s characterisation is
serious as it looks like he means
business, also the fact that he’s
holding something which seems
like a weapon
The date and price have
been made to fit in within
the title, however in small
print, this could connote
that the magazine is
already well known so the
audience know how much
it is worth already
The audience can easily tell
that “I Am Legend” is the
film being advertised as it’s
the main headline, also the
main headline is giving us
an insight on the film that
Will Smith is the legend
There is a very short description of the
basics of the movie, as it gives away
the location to the audience “New
York” and also informs the audience
what genre the film is “Sci-fi Horror.
This will automatically give the
information on what the film will be
like and what to expect from it
It’s clear that Will Smith is the main character in I AM LEGEND as he is well known
for being the lead role in his movies
Will Smith is positioned on
the masthead showing his
popularity as an actor and
also to inform the
audience that the
magazine is well known
The colour scheme is
grey and red. Grey could
connote disserted and
red could connote the
fact that the film could
involve blood and love
The backlighting in the image creates
silhouettes behind the main character.
This creates a sense of light vs. dark, with
Will Smith being the light as the audience
can clearly see him (and therefore
meaning him being the good guy in the
film). The use of the silhouette also
creates a sense of mystery and danger as
the audience cannot identify what it is,
but can tell from the outline that it looks
quite threatening
The use of the fog in the image adds
to the mystery and unnerving nature
of the image. The connotations of fog
are generally mystery and the future
being unclear and unknown, and
almost in a sense of no way out. With
these connotations the audience will
be able to perceive that the film will
contain horror or thriller aspects,
therefore they will know what to
expect

2. Rugged appearance highlighted
by lighting, showing that his
character is worse for wear
There is a very obscure shadow present
in the background of the image that
happens to appear as some sort of
silhouette, this silhouette effect has
been created by using backlighting, it is
very hard to decipher what it actually
is, so this creates enigma and tension,
again informing the audience and
giving them an insight of the genre of
the film
It is clear that Will Smith is the main
character of this film. He is placed in the
centre of the cover and takes up three
quarters of the cover space. The audience
can also tell that he is the key to the
story, the hero in other words; through
the use of back lighting, it creates an aura
around him that makes him appear as if
he is glowing. The lighting creates a
definite sense of light vs. dark on this
cover. And as the light forms an aura
around Will Smith, the audience can tell
he is both the main character and the
good character i.e. the hero in this film
The dark jacket he is wearing
could indicate that he is trying to
remain under the radar as dark
clothing can often be associated
with camouflage, hinting to the
audience that he wishes to
remain safe or undetected
Weapons, and in particular guns are
often associated with masculinity. But
in this image the character has his
finger on the trigger as if he needs to be
prepared for something (like an
unexpected attack). This gives the
audience an insight to the themes
within the film and also the genre.
Unexpected attacks are usually found in
thriller/horror films. This coupled with
the characters lowered shoulders (a
sign of weakness) indicates to the
audience that this character is inferior/
scared of something in the film
The use of fog adds to the mystery
and enigma of the cover and again
gives the audience an insight that the
film will be of thriller/horror genre.

3. The layout of this particular cover is very simple, there is only one main image in the top three
quarters of the magazine, the title is positioned in the usually place (top quarter) and there is text
aligned on both the left and right hand side of the magazine with certain pieces of text aligned to
the centre.
The cover of this issue is dominated by dark
colours: black, dark green and grey. This
hints to the viewer that the film will be dark
and mysterious and these are typically
conventions of horror/ thriller films, so the
use of these colours hints to the viewer
what genre of film ‘I am legend’ is. There is
also the use of white behind the main
character to draw attention to him and
distinguish him from the background (this
white aura is created around the character
through the technique of backlighting). As
the white appears to look like mist or fog it
further creates a sense of mystery and
enigma for the viewer. It also further
clarifies that the film being discussed is of
the thriller and/or horror genre.
Avid fans of either of these genres will be
able to tell through the use of colours on
this cover that the film falls into one or
both of those genres and will be drawn to
the magazine.
Much of the typography on this
particular cover is bold and eye catching,
this issue has gone with a colour scheme
of red, black and white for the font
colour. The use of 3 set colours makes
the magazine seem a lot more
professional than if they had used loads
of colours. They have also used
complimentary colours to ensure that all
the text is easy to read, having black text
on a red background is easier to read
than having another colour such as
yellow.
The Unique Selling Point (USP) of
this edition of Empire has to be
the fact that Will Smith is the
cover star. Will Smith has huge
box office appeal and is an
extremely well known Hollywood
actor and would therefore be
easily recognisable to any
audience. Having an A-list star on
the cover is always a guaranteed
way to draw in potential buyers
as many people are obsessed
with celebrity culture
Other images on the cover include screenshots from the other movies featured in this issue of
Empire. Including these images ensures that even if the viewer is not a fan of the movie that is
the main focus that there is still something to draw their attention, as they may be fans of the
other movies advertised.