The front cover of Total Film magazine features the title in large, bold font across the top in white against a blue background. The cover image shows Sherlock Holmes standing in a foggy setting in period costume, with a subtle smile that intrigues the viewer about the character and film. The caption below in blue and white calls the film a "World Exclusive" and promises that "All the elements are coming together" to build mystery and intrigue around the narrative. Overall the cover uses striking visual design and teasing text to attract audiences interested in films like Sherlock Holmes.

1. Sherlock Holmes
Total Film Front Cover Analysis

2.  The masthead is the word ‘TOTAL FILM’ very bold across the page.
 The use of colour here (the white) really grabs the audiences attention as it stands out
against the blue background and is a colour that is often used for movie magazines. I really
love the way they cut out the total on the F and I think its make the cover more artistic and
the tile more visually appealing to look at.
 The size of the font is large and takes up a large proportion at the top of the magazine.
 The font itself is very bold and angular making it more striking for an audience to look at.
 The name automatically suggests that magazine is all about film its ‘total film’ and I think
the name is very effective for a movie magazine.

3.  This image again focus on the background as well as the character.The
over all feel of the image is very airy and unsettling.The setting is very
foggy so you can’t see what the background is exactly you just see
abstract outlines of what looks like it could be buildings.This gives a very
mysterious element to the image and makes you ask questions about
the location of the film.
 The costume helps to set the time period of when the film is set with the
old clothes being around the 1960’s .
 The characters facial expression is serious but he has a very subtle
cheeky smile showing both that he is clever and witty with a daring side.
The use of the mid-shot allows you to get a first impression of the
character but doesn’t give to much away and makes you want to know
more about the film.
 The caption is in the traditional place for a magazine and the splash
gets your attention.The strong bold text also helps and the white and
blue makes it stand out a lot more against the dark background or his
clothing.
 ‘All the elements are coming together’ is very vague but suggests that
the narrative is coming together like a puzzle, pieces of the mystery will
also suggests the genre of the film, a crime time period drama.
 ‘World Exclusive’ done in a separate box layered over the image is very
effective in getting the audiences attention and making the audience
want to read it as it makes them feel important as they are getting some
before everyone else and only this magazine will have these contents.
 ‘On set’ makes you feel more involved with the movie and more
involved with both the magazine and the article.

4.  The magazines cover lines are done in black and a light blue which comply with colours for the movie magazine genre.The
fonts don’t change drastically but are bold and stand out well on the page. Unlike the other covers I've looked at there is a
wider variety with the fonts which I think makes the cover more visually appealing to look at.
 The cover lines mention other films and actors.This is done to grab the audiences attentions so they can read the front
cover and quickly find something they will be interested in so they will ultimately buy the magazine.
 The language on this cover is a lot more informal than others with words like ‘Basterds!’ and ‘Sneaky’ as tag lines this
engages the more youthful audience but also makes the contents seem more relaxed and inviting.
 This was actually the first magazine that I looked at that had a multi-platform link, the web address ‘TOTALFILM.COM’. I
feel that this is very important when it comes to making a magazine multi-platform and it also helps to engage a wider
audience with more and more things being online.

5. • The banner uses the phrase ‘right now’ and I think that adds a sense of urgency to the phrase as it makes it
seem like you need to find out more right now or you’ll miss it. This helps to get people attention. I like the
use of both the blue and white as it makes it more visually appealing and it stands out on the dark blue
background well.
• The subsidiary images go with the banner and showcase some of the coolest movies being made.
• The images help to represent a wide variety of interests with in film such as superheroes, fantasy and a form
of animation. This helps to widen the type of people who would buy the magazine based on what they see on
the cover.