Film Magazine research

Empire magazine is a British film magazine has been published monthly since summer 1989. Regular features within the magazine include: film reviews, film news, film previews, a classic scene section which includes the transcript from notable films, a top ten list, DVD news and releases and interviews. The front cover usually displays an image of an upcoming film, usually with a well known actor or actress advertising it to attract the audience. 

                                                                                       For example this Harry Potter issue has Daniel Radcliffe on the front to advertise the issue as he is the main character in the film as well as a well known actor therefore appealing to a wider target audience. However it does include the images of the other main characters to suggest to the audience that these characters are still important and play a main part. The main image is covering the "I" and "R" in "Empire" but the magazine wouldn't worry about this as the magazine is highly regarded by it's readers and already has a strong following so would be familiar with the magazine name.

"POTTER 7" is in a large, bold font so that it stands out, although the film is actually called "Harry Potter" this didn't need to be included because it is a mainstream film that people have been following for many years. In a smaller font "The deathly hallows part 1" so that the film is introduced formally even though many people would know previously what the film is called.

Above the name of the magazine there is the selling point of the magazine "Our best preview issue ever". This is put there to entice the target audience and make them want to buy this issue. There is also a small taste of what is going to be inside the magazine so that the reader knows if they want to buy the magazine straight away. This is put the purposefully to try and make people want to read on and buy the magazine. Additionally at the bottom of the magazine you have another selling point "10 must see movie exclusives!" this would attract a film savvy audience and make them want to buy this issue.

Occasionally film magazines will do the same issue with more than one cover to introduce all the characters to the audience. For example Empire have done a 3 cover special to advertise Tron:Legacy, this allows a varied audience to buy this issue of the magazine.

 

   

Often, film magazines have a colour scheme which they continually use so consistent buyers are comfortable with what they see and read. Empire's colour scheme is seemingly, black, red and yellow.

Another big British film magazine is Total Film. Again it contains the typical features of a film magazine such as: interviews, reviews, previews, quizzes and top ten lists, however it doesn't have an apparent colour scheme as most magazines do.

     

Here we can clearly see that there is no apparent colour scheme linked with Total Film magazine front covers however the colours seem to represent the genre of the film they are advertising much like an actual film poster. Despite this we can see that the masthead is always in the same place and in the same style of writing to keep continuity for Total Film magazine readers.

When creating our film magazine front cover we need to consider where certain features are commonly place on the front covers, what is information is included and maybe think of a colour scheme. We also need to take into account there is normally only one person on the front each magazine and this person is usually the main character or has been interviewed as a feature for the magazine.