This document analyzes magazine covers and discusses various design elements and techniques used. It notes that magazine covers typically feature celebrity names and film titles in bold fonts to attract audiences. Graphics, fonts, and color schemes are chosen strategically to suit the magazine's brand and target readership. Technical elements like lighting, camera shots, and font styles are also used deliberately to appeal to fans interested in cinematography. The document examines several covers in depth, discussing how elements like cover lines, images, fonts and colors are tailored for the intended film-enthusiast audience.

1. MOVIE
MAGAZINE
ANALYSIS

2. DiCaprioFilm titles for cover lines,
which are predominately
mainstream films. They’re in
a typical bold font to stand
out, but the type is warped
backwards with the
perspective of the
background until it appears
‘behind’ the main cover
image; again drawing
attention to Leonardo
Dicaprio and his starring film
title.
This puff advertises additional
‘unexpected’ content. It stands
out, because it doesn’t follow
the cover line motif and is
coloured red like the masthead
and main cover line.
Reference to Batman films,
and the word ‘dark’ also fits
in with the low-key lighting
image. The white text
juxtaposes with the dark and
black theme of the cover.
Website media
convergence.
Barcode for in-store
purchasing

3. Main cover line is coloured
grey so that it doesn’t clash
with the masthead too much
as branding is important.
However, it is still
conventionally the largest
cover line and it runs along
the bottom third line, which
an audience will be drawn to.
The masthead is a large sans
serif font that fills the entire top
third of the magazine cover,
which is the area that an
audience is expected to read
first, especially when the white
type is juxtaposed against the
black background. This is an
effective method of boldly
presenting your brand image.
The serif font signifies
class, which fits in well
with the context of
James Bond ‘classy and
British’ themes.
High key lighting makes
Daniel Craig stand out
against the contrasting
black background.
Crosshair graphics suit the
iconic themes of James
Bond, because the film is
strongly associated with
guns.
Celebrity or ‘star’ names
attract their existing fan-
bases, because these tell
us that the magazine
contains information
concerning them.
Black, white, blue, and grey
colour motif is consistent
throughout the cover lines
and graphics.
Puff exaggerating the
quality of content, which
signifies intangible value to
a naïve audience.
Bizarre non-contextual pull
quote. This is expected to
intrigue the reader.
‘additional content’ makes
the consumer believe
they’re getting more for
their money.
Publisher brand logo.

4. The serif font masthead looks
much like a stereotypical font
used to write a screenplay.
This type would personally
identify with Sight & Sound’s
main target audience,
because they target film
makers and fanatics of the
film industry, rather than a
basic film-viewing fan base.
The audience for this film
magazine tend to show keen
interest in directors and
producers of films, which is
why the main cover image is
of famous film director
Michael Haneke.
The CU shot signifies that
attention has been paid to
technical detail, such as depth
of field and rule of thirds. This
is effectively tailored to the
target audience who would find
interest in well shot
cinematography and
photography.
The cover line is typically
anchored to the main image,
and the white effectively
juxtaposes against the black
of Haneke’s shirt.
The film name’s size is
insignificant compared to the
director’s, which implies that
Haneke is the main topic of
the magazine’s article
High key ‘natural’ lighting
Unconventional small cover
lines emphasize the
importance of the main
cover line.
Barcode for in-store
purchasing
Release date and issue
number
Publisher’s brand logo
Superimposed yellow
graphics make the
masthead stand out against
the main image and they
also follow the brand’s
house theme.
Tagline strengthens brand
image.