This is my first magazine front cover analysis for my A2 media studies coursework on horror films.

1. Magazine Front Cover
Analysis One

2. I am doing this magazine front cover
analysis to explore how they lure in their
target audience and how it is used as a
promotional tool to advertise the film in
the main image so that their readers will
go to see the film. The purpose of
analysing magazine front covers is to
support my construction of my magazine
front cover as I learn what conventions
to include in my own that allow my
audience to identify it successfully.
I have chosen this issue of ‘Empire’
magazine that is advertising the film
‘Mockingjay: Part 1’ to investigate the
ways in which it successfully attracts its
audience.
Introduction

3. Main Image
The main image on the magazine is of the main
protagonist Katniss Everdeen standing in front of a
damaged wasteland. It relates to the main sell-line as it
is “THIS TIME IT’S WAR” which links in well with the
narrative of the film as the audience will instantly
recognise that it is centred around war. The main image
suggests that this film is of the action-adventure genre
which is signalled by her costume and props as she
appears to be wearing armour and is carrying a weapon.
The setting of the main image is synonymous with
action-adventure films which further signals genre.
A symbiotic link is created between the magazine front
cover main image and the poster for the film
‘Mockingjay: Part 1’ as you can clearly see she is
wearing the same costume in the image so the
audience can instantly identify what film it is.
The image in the poster is a medium-long shot
which is used to show off most of the character to
make sure she dominates the frame whereas the
magazine front cover is a long shot and Empire
might have decided to use this camera shot as it
shows off more of the character that the audience
want to see. Her facial expression is quite serious
which reflects that it is a war film so the topic is
important and shouldn’t be taken lightly. It
connects well with her body language as it is stiff
and she comes off like a soldier.

4. The masthead is the name of the
magazine ‘Empire’. It suggests
that the magazine has a large
variety of films being promoted
inside it and also that it is a very
successful brand that has been
able to build an empire of itself.
This fact is shown true as
‘Empire’ is the biggest selling
film magazine in the United
Kingdom.
Masthead
The typography of the masthead is very
significant to the magazine’s success as it is
presented in an uppercase, bold, sans serif font at
the top of the magazine. It is the largest piece of
text on the cover which is mostly likely because
their audience will recognise the masthead from
far away and will know that it is ‘Empire’
magazine. The sans serif font gives the
impression that the magazine is still for
entertainment purposes and is for the audience’s
enjoyment.
The colour of the masthead is red which is made
so that it stands out and attracts the audience
easily. The masthead is always the same on each
magazine so it is very distinctive and is easily
recognisable. The masthead might appeal to the
target readership because it almost seems playful
which they would be attracted to and could show
the types of articles that would be displayed
inside. It is used to maintain brand identity as if
people have been reading ‘Empire’ for a while
they will be able to know quickly that it is
‘Empire’ because of the layout not changing and
always remaining similar.

5. Sell-lines
All of the sell-lines featured on this magazine front cover
have the similar subject of blockbuster films being
promoted, “Batman V God” or famous actors/actresses
promoting their films that are going to be released,
“George Clooney Invents The Future”. The sell-lines
reflect the interests of the target readership as they are
ardent film fans and will want to have the latest updates on
popular films coming out so the sell-lines have to indicate
this by giving them a hint as to what is included in the
magazine articles.
Some techniques are used on the sell-lines in order to lure
in the audience such as the emphasis on the actors’ names
drawing the audience in to then read the quote underneath
that they have said about their film. The font of the sell-
lines are similar to the masthead as they are uppercase,
sans-serif, bold texts which furthers the idea of the
magazine being informal. However, the sell-lines are of a
much smaller size compared to the masthead or the main
sell-line; this is so they don’t take attention away from
them but are also read.
The colours red and white are used on the sell-lines in
order for them to stand out in the frame; those put in red to
especially make them stand out. Direct address is not used
in any of the sell-lines which makes it less personal for the
audience but the mode of address is simply the magazine
describing to their readership what the articles inside are
about.

6. Colour The colours red and white are used for the
sell-lines on this magazine front cover. They
create an effect as the pieces of text in red
are made to stand out so the audience reads it
first, then they are lured in to read the text in
white as well. They could also indicate the
type of films being advertised as for
instance, the text in red “Vampire Comedy”
could relate more to violence more than the
other text in white “Tomorrowland” which
is more suited towards the more innocent,
younger audience.
The colours help to lure in the correct target
audience as they are bright and more
seemingly positive so the readership know it
will be a magazine that celebrates and
promotes big blockbuster films instead of
criticising them. The colours are not
introduced in any unusual ways as the way
they are presented is pretty standard and
conventional for a film magazine.

7. Layout In terms of layout, the text to image ratio falls
more to favour text as the magazine front
cover is mainly text heavy and only shows two
images: the main image and one feature article
photograph at the bottom. The layout of the
front cover is used for effect as the main
readership of the magazine will notice the
layout of the magazine first and will know that
it is ‘Empire’ straight away. Also because it is
laid out well, it will draw in a wider audience
to read the magazine if they had not before.
The magazine front cover’s layout follows
general layout conventions as the masthead is
placed at the top of the frame above the main
image, the name of the film being promoted is
placed in the left hand third because that is
where the audience’s eye will go to first and
the barcode is placed in the bottom left of the
front cover which is also a common feature.