Textual analysis of existing film magazine covers.

The purpose of film magazines is to promote and inform audiences of upcoming films. The magazines usually review these films to let audiences know if a film is worth going to see or not. Articles on directors, producers and many other aspects of films are also included in film magazines. The magazines are primarily there for entertainment and to inform audiences of new films. I have looked at and analysed several different film magazine front covers to help me create my own.

Entertainment Weekly



Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine and is published by Time, which is a division of Time Warner. The first issue was published in 1990 and circulates an average of 1.7 million copies per week. The magazine is aimed at a more-general audience than other American film magazines, such as The Hollywood Reporter, which is aimed at industry insiders.

The main focal point of the front cover is the image, a medium close up of Johnny Depp as his character Sweeney Todd. This issue of Entertainment Weekly is featuring this film therefore it was important to get an image of the main character on the front so that audiences recognise what film is being featured straight away. Johnny Depp is a successful actor so therefore having him of the front cover makes the magazine seem very successful hence being able to get actors such as Johnny Depp to feature.

The masthead is positioned at the very top of the page and is in large block font in a light blue, which stands out against the grey background. The word “weekly” is incorporated into the word “Entertainment”, this is an icon for the magazine as this is how the masthead has always been presented, however is sometimes in a different coloured font.

The main article of this issue is the “early Oscar contenders”, one of whom is Johnny Depp, hence him being the main image. The headline “Johnny Depp” is in bold white font, which stands out amongst the dark image of Depp and is positioned over the image, in the bottom third of the cover. There are other names of other possible Oscar contenders, these too are in white font, however, it is much smaller. Even though the font is smaller it still stands out because of the colour contrast against the background. “Johnny Depp” is in larger font suggesting that the main focus of the article will be on him and his film Sweeney Todd.

Another conventional feature of the magazine is a plug; this gives the audience an insight into what other articles will be in the magazine. Plugs are conventionally positioned down the side of magazine, with headlines smaller than the main headline. However, the plug on this issue has very large font, the same size as the main headline. “Holiday Movie Preview” is large white font and stands out against the dark background. The number “39” stands out more than the headline because, unlike the rest of the text, the font is light blue. The rest of the headlines are in white apart from this and the masthead. The colour red is also used; it makes the smaller text stand out against the dark background. There are only three main colours used on the front cover, these are blue, white and red. The white and blue represent the cold and harsh character of Sweeney Todd and the red represents blood and danger.


Empire



This front cover is from Empire magazine, which is a British film magazine and was first published in 1989 by Emap. The magazine has a target audience of males and females, ABC, film and cinema fans. The monthly magazine is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain.

Part of the masthead is covered up by the main image; this shows that the magazine is successful as publishers feel confident that audiences will recognise the magazine, despite part of the masthead being hidden. The masthead is in large capital letters, this is so that it stands out as much as possible. The colour red is used to represent danger. This front cover is a lot busier than the previous front cover from Entertainment Weekly that I looked at. There are conventions however that are similar on both covers. Both the mastheads are the largest text on the page and are placed at the top of the magazine.

The main image on this front cover features Heath Ledger staring as The Joker from “The Dark Knight”, his last film. Heath Ledger is a renowned actor; again this shows the magazines success. The image used is a long shot. The image represents Heath’s character to be very intimidating and reflect his character in the film. The costume used is how The Joker appears in the film; he wears bright clothes and has the iconic face paint on. He is sat with his head tilted down and his eyes are looking directly at the camera, his pose and posture add a creepy and eerie characteristic, making audiences feel threatened. Behind him is a metal gate, these could be jail bars representing his dangerous character.

The main headline “Meet The Joker” has a graffiti/comic book style font. This represents the film “The Dark Knight” because Batman was originally a comic strip. All of the front cover has a feel of a comic book, with lots of different colours and fonts. There is a strap line underneath the main headline saying “He’s a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown”, this font looks like someone has carved it with a knife. This creates a sense of danger and edge. Above the masthead is a strapline, “The Dark Knight World Exclusive!” this gives audiences a taste of what is to appear in the magazine and links with the main headline and image. It also makes the magazine sound more distinguished and exclusive because it says “World Exclusive”. In between the strapline is the Batman logo, this has become an icon and will be easily recognised.

Down the right-hand side are some plugs for other features that are appearing in the magazine. These will pursued audiences to buy the magazine and read the articles inside. They do not disrupt the main image or stop it from being the main focal point of the magazine. The font used for these plugs is smaller than the font used for the main headline. The three main colours used are red, green and purple. The purple and green font matches the clothes that The Joker is wearing. The bright colours represent the comic strip and grab the audiences’ attention. The red used on the masthead represents danger and blood. White is also used for smaller font so that it stands up against the dark background but down not stand out as much as the more important text such as the main headline. Other conventions are also included on the front over, such as the magazine’s website, the issue number, date and price. A barcode is also included in the left-hand corner or the cover.


Total Film



Total Film is Britain’s second-best selling film magazine. It is published by Future Publishing and was launched in 1997. The magazine is published every four weeks.

Total Film’s iconic masthead is similar to that of Entertainment Weekly, because one of the words is incorporated into the other. The word “Film” is in large, white, capitalised font so that it stands out and is the largest font on the page making sure it is the most noticeable. The word “Total” is in a smaller font and is incorporated into the word “Film”; it is the same colour as the background so that it looks like it has been cut out. The word film is larger to put more emphasis on it, because the noun represents the genre of the magazine. Just like the Empire magazine front cover, the masthead is partly covered by the main image.

This issue features the new Sherlock Holmes film. The main image is like the one on the front of the Entertainment Weekly cover, it is a medium shot of Robert Downey Jr. as his character Sherlock Holmes. The image is very simple and doesn’t include any bright colours. As the previous front covers I have looked at, a well know actor has been featured. Robert Downey Jr. is an accomplished actor therefore creates a successful image of the magazine and he will be recognised by audiences.

The main headline lies over the top of the image; “Sherlock Holmes” is in large font in blue and white. The colour scheme of the cover represents the genre and character of Sherlock Holmes. Blue and white represents cool and calmness which is one of the characteristics of Sherlock; it also represents mystery which is an element of the film. The straplines above and below the main headline also reflect the theme of mystery, “All the elements are coming together” and “On set! Cracking the case of the world’s greatest detective”. They also give audiences a clue as to what articles on Sherlock Holmes are going to be included in the magazine. Above the main headline is a box containing the words “World Exclusive”, this is used to make the magazine seem more unique and to make the audience more excited and enticed to buy the issue.

Above the masthead there is a skyline that gives indication as to other top stories and articles that are going to featured in the magazine. The words “10 coolest movies” is in bolder text than the rest of the strapline, this is so these words grab the audiences’ attention to entice them to buy it. The word “coolest” also fits in with the colour scheme and genre. Three small pictures are placed along the top in the skyline to show three of the 10 movies mentioned. This is designed to grab audiences’ attention and make them want to find out what the other movies are.

Down the left and right-hand side of the cover there are plugs to give the audience an insight of further articles and features in the magazine. The same font is used that is used throughout the magazine, in the same blue and white colour scheme. The films mentioned in the side headings are all well known and will be recognised by audiences. They are from a variety of genres, therefore attracting a wider audience. Other conventions that appear on the magazine are a barcode, date, issue number, price and website.