I have decided to look at the magazine front cover for The Twilight Saga ‘Eclipse’ because even though it is not a psychological/ supernatural horror, this front cover would appeal to a female target audience as this film is mainly aimed at women, as will my film, so using a media text aimed at the same target audience, may help me to understand what it is that they are looking for, or what grabs their attention. This front cover will attract a wider audience as it is a male aimed magazine, yet a tribute is being played to a girl-friendly film. Thus, not only will males pick up their monthly read, it will also catch the attention of a female audience.
Let us begin my looking at the image used on this front cover. It is a close up of one of the main characters in ‘Twilight’, Edward (Robert Pattinson). You can automatically tell that this film is a Gothic, Fantasy by the character positioned on the front. As this magazine is promoting a film that has been made into a sequel, fans of ‘Twilight’ will automatically be able to relate to the cover, and recognise the film straight away due to the main character being placed on the front cover, thus already knowing the genre of the film. If there was a person looking at this magazine, who has never heard of ‘Twilight’ before, they could tell the genre by the colours that have been used: Edwards pale face and strangely yellow coloured eyes suggest some sort of inhumanity, where when watching the film, you would be able to understand that he is in fact, a vampire. This therefore reflects the Gothic, Fantasy genre that ‘Twilight’ is. The same point suggests the narrative of the film, but also, due to the two additional images, on the bottom of the page, of the other two main Characters, Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner), also suggests the feud going between the characters, and the fight for Bella, which is the what the narrative of the film is based around. The main sell line on this front cover reads “TWILIGHT: NEW MOON. Edward, Bella and Jacob Interviewed!” which relates to all three images shown on the front cover and allows the audience to be able to know that the cover story is about this new film, which the magazine is promoting.
When looking at the film poster for the same film and then looking back at this magazine front cover, there are some links between the two. Twilight is a film known for releasing a number of different teaser posters and official posters so looking at all of them, we are able to see a symbiotic link back to the magazine as on all of these posters, Edward is featured. The colours used are similar, for example, the use of dark colours such as black, and dark grey are continually used throughout all the film posters, as are they used on this magazine front cover.
Due to the fact that a close up has been used, we are able to clearly see the expression that is on Edward’s face. He looks serious and powerful, which is two of his main traits as his character; he is a serious and cold person, and is very powerful physically and mentally. He looks like he is determined to do something, as his expression is stern and cold. This could reflect his goal to keep Bella free from harm and a broken heart. His face is pale and his eyes are yellow, reflecting the fact that he is a vampire as in the first film, Bella finds out that he is a vampire by piecing together a number of facts, two of them being this. The background is black, simply allowing the Masthead, image and sell lines to stand out, but also, to represent the idea that vampire’s aren’t allowed into the light.
The masthead, ‘EMPIRE’, is big and bold at the top of the page. This is one of the first places we look when looking at a magazine front cover, so the need for it to be big and bold is completely necessary. It is in a serif font, making it look powerful and this also allows it to appear more clearly to the audience who are looking out for their favourite film magazine. The masthead is also in capital letters, adding to the idea that the masthead must stand out above all other aspects, and also makes it look powerful and strong, reflecting the magazines position in the magazine industry; being the best selling film magazine in the UK. The colour of the masthead is a bright, vibrant red. This could suggest a number of things relating to the film that it is promoting; one being the passion between the two main characters, Edward and Bella, reflecting the fact that they are romantically involved due to the fact that the colour red is normally associated with love. It could also reflect the hate and violence between the two families, and the deaths of some people who have been attacked by the enemies. On the other hand, just simply looking at the colour, red could suggest power and confidence, again reflecting the popularity and success of this particular magazine company. The actual name of the magazine, ‘EMPIRE’, suggests power. It almost seems as if this magazine is claiming power over the films that it is promoting, and that the film industry is their domain, or ‘Empire’. The target audience of this film magazine is; typically male, early 20’s to late 40’s they are confident individuals, strong minded and love to watch a good film. The masthead reflects their passion for film, and the fact they too are successful and confident individuals. The style, size and colour of the masthead hasn’t changed since 1989, which creates brand identity, allowing the target audience of the magazine, to be able to recognise the magazine each month, and making it their signature style.
Moving onto the layout; it is a typically conventional layout for a film magazine front cover. The main image dominates the page, due to the fact that the human eye immediately looks here first when first catching a glimpse of any magazine. The image therefore must be large and clear, so that it can be easily seen from a distance. The masthead is conventionally placed at the top of the page, followed by the sell- lines being placed either side of the image. The main sell- line is spread across the bottom of the page, acting more like a banner. This isn’t a conventional part of a film magazine front cover, but this does allow some originality to shine through, and I also feel that it allows the main sell-line to stand out more than the others. The barcode is conventionally places in the bottom left hand corner, with the date placed just above the masthead. This magazine front cover is image heavy, meaning that there is much more image, than text on the page. This is due to the fact that film magazines, such as this one, are primarily aimed more towards the male gender, who finds magazines with less text more appealing, and easier to digest. Compared to a women’s interest magazine, such as ‘Cosmopolitan’ or ‘Gratzia’, film magazines barely have any text on the front cover which wouldn’t be as appealing to women, as it is to men.
Looking now at the sell-lines on this front cover, they are all relating to newly released films, or films that have already been released to the cinema. One of the sell-lines, placed on the right of the page, is about the different types of alien films that have been released over the past 30 years. The sell-line reads “23 PAGE SPECIAL! 30 YEARS OF ALIEN, NEW INTERVIEWS, RARE PHOTO’S”. It is large, and in a lime green colour, which reflects that fact that the subject matter of this sell line is Aliens, which the colour green is associated with. The fact that it uses the words such as ‘new’ and ‘rare’ makes the target audience intrigued, and wanting to find out more. They also suggest that they are getting the first sneak peak of these ‘rare and new’ photos, like the audience are being let in on a secret. This also allows the audience to be able to relate to the magazine, and view it as a friend. “FREE POSTERS”, placed above the mast head, in capital letters will stand out to the avid film watcher, who collects both films and iconic film posters. This will appeal to anyone looking at the front cover because when seeing the word FREE you automatically feel that you are getting value for money. The sell-lines on the left hand third are blunt and to the point. They basically state the names of some films; “Where the Wild Things Are” and “A Christmas Carol”. This is simple and clear, letting the target audience know that there will be something to do with these films inside, but cleverly not revealing as to what, making the audience want to buy the magazine to read on. As film is a main interest of the audience, this particular sell-line reflects their interests and would lure them in to wanting to buy the magazine. The main sell-line, reaching from one side of the page, to the other reads “FANGtastic Exclusive! Twilight: New Moon. Edward, Bella and Jacob Interviewed!” This sell-line relates to the main film that this promotional tool (magazine front cover) is promoting. The play on words “FANGtastic” is a clever device, reflecting the fact that Edward is of course, a vampire. The audience will be able to get the pun and will find it amusing. Any film fan, whether it be Twilight to Harry Potter would enjoy reading an interview with the main characters, so the fact that it says on the front cover that there are three exclusive interviews inside would appeal to the twilight loving fan that would buy this magazine. This sell-line is coloured yellow, relating back to the colour of Edwards eyes, and also, reflecting the name of the film ‘New Moon’, where yellow is the colour of the moon. Apart from the sell-line about the aliens, and “Twilight New Moon”, all of them are white. This is because of the dark background, and the white is able to clearly stand out. The whole of this front cover is in capital letters, again reflecting the success and confidence of the magazine, the film, and the target audience. Capital letters also stand out more and are therefore clearer to the audience’s eye.
This magazine is promoting the film ‘Jennifer’s Body’, a slasher horror about a newly possessed cheerleader who kills off her male classmates. Total film is the 2nd best selling magazine in the UK, following EMPIRE. I am going to be analysing this particular magazine front cover, looking at how the cover lures in its target audience and how it is being used to promote to help encourage people to go and watch the films that are featured on the front.
Starting with the main image; like any conventional magazine front cover, the image dominates the whole page, due to the fact that this is the first thing the audience see when looking at the cover. It therefore needs to be the biggest, boldest image, that when the audience see it, will draw them in straight in. Against the crisp white background, Megan Fox stands tall, in an electric blue and yellow cheerleading outfit. This automatically catches the target audience’s eye as the majority of film magazine readers tend to be male, and Megan Fox is voted by them as one of the sexiest women alive. The male target audience would instantly be lured in, wanting to take a closer look. As she stands with one foot against the wall, we can see a remaining bloody footprint on the floor, where her foot once was. Her laces are undone which suggests some kind of rebellion, and the idea that if she slips, say with a knife, she might accidently hurt somebody. Similarly, her hands are pressed against the background, like she is scratching it, with blood dripping down. As blood is one of the main sights that you conventionally see in every typical slasher horror, this suggests the narrative of the film, letting the audience know that it is a horror film. Also, the stern, evil look upon her face could also add to the fact that the audience are led to believe that it is a horror.
Both of these posters have a symbiotic link with the magazine front cover which allows the audience to recognise that they are promoting the same film, and to also help give away a bit more of the narrative. First of all, Megan Fox is the main focus of the image, again straight away attracting a male’s attention. In all three pieces of media text, the words ‘Jennifer’s Body’ are coloured red, symbolising blood and murder, typical slasher film. One the film poster where Megan is sitting on a chair, at a desk, her rucksack placed behind her has marks of blood underneath it, where it has been moved. This is the same as in the film magazine poster with her foot and her hand. Also the use of typical school girl props, e.g. the cheerleading uniform, the blackboard and the desk, are all apparent throughout all three of these, linking them together through imagery. On the magazine front cover, Megan’s hand is covered in blood, and then when looking at both film posters, appearing somewhere within, there is hand appearing out of somewhere. In the first film poster, on the left, Megan is sitting upon a school desk, where we can see appearing out of the desk lid, a hand. Again, looking at the second poster, this time on the right, we see a hand popping out of her bag. This reflects the fact that this character is the antagonist, killer. The image is a long shot, showing Megan’s whole body, and allowing us to appreciate the bloody foot print. We are able, even with it being a long shot, able to also see clearly her facial expression, which is important seeing as we need this to figure out the films genre. Her head is covering part of the masthead, suggesting her power she has over these people’s lives.
If we look at the masthead, it is large and bold, and would stand out amongst a range of different magazines. The masthead is always placed at the top of any magazine front cover as it allows the audience to recognise their favourite brand. The fact that this magazine is called total film, automatically tells readers that this is a magazine about films. So a fanatic film fan would be lured in, wanting to find out more about their favourite films, adding to their geek obsession. The name itself suggests to the audience that whatever they want to know and find out about films will be in this magazine due to the use of the word ‘total’. It implies that it has total control over the film industry and you will find the best and more up to date information when reading this magazine. The masthead has the words FILM in capital letters big and bold across the top of the page. On the letter ‘F’ in smaller characters, the word TOTAL. This is a quirky and clever way of incorporating the two words together, so they can both fit on the page, and still be clear and visible. It is crucial for any magazine front cover that the mast head is the largest and most bold piece of text, separating it from the sell-lines and making it clear that this is the name of the magazine. The mast head is red and white, both colours that stand out and make a statement. The colour red suggests confidence and success, reflecting the magazine brand. The word ‘total’ is in white, allowing it to stand out against the word ‘film’ that is in red. I also feel that these two colours represent the English identity of the magazine brand and the target audience as these are two of the main colours seen on the England flag. This would again allow the magazine to appeal to the typically British male who may be reading the magazine. Similar to EMPIRE magazine, TOTAL FILM’s masthead never changes. It stays in the same position, the same font is used, and the same colours, each month. This creates brand identity and enables the audience to be able to recognise it each time they see it on the shelf. It also suggests that the masthead was successfully put together, and that there is no need to change it, as it already appeals to the correct target audience.
Total Film has a conventional magazine layout. It is image heavy, carrying little text, appealing to the male target audience who find image more attractive than words. The masthead is conventionally placed at the top of the page, with the image dominating the rest. It is essential that the image dominates the page as this is the first thing the human eye will see when looking at a film magazine as it is where the eye will look first. By making the masthead and main image dominant of the whole magazine, they stand out among the rest which is important due to the way we look at a media text. We begin by looking in the middle, so whatever is there, and in this case the image, must be large and necessary to the target audience whom it is aimed at. Then our eyes move upwards, which makes it crucial that the mast head is short and sweet and large enough to lure the audience in. The sell-lines are then places either side of the image, with the barcode at the bottom. By following simple codes and conventions such as these, you are guaranteed a professional look, allowing the audience to be aware that this is a magazine.
Moving on to look at the colours in more detail; the only colours that have been used are: red, blue, white and black. These are all simple colours, allowing no attention to be drawn away from the main image. They are also simple masculine colours, appealing to the likes of the male target audience that film magazines are largely aimed at. As I mentioned before, the used of blue, red and white reflect both the magazine brand and the target audience’s British identity. These three colours are those that make up to English flag, therefore appealing to those typical, proud British men who are out there. These primary colours are also able to stand out against the white background, making the magazine clear and easy to read. As this magazine cover is mainly promoting ‘Jennifer’s Body’, wherever this film is being mentioned, the font is red, for example ‘The deadly Megan Fox’ and ‘Jennifer’s Body’. This creates a link with the image as the blood is also red. The audience will therefore be aware that these sell lines are linking to the image they are looking at, allowing them to know what the film is called. The use of the colour red being used throughout the front cover also suggests the narrative of the film, and the genre. Red is a colour mainly associated with blood, guts and gore. It is also seen as the colour of evil and hell. By using this colour, it reflects the fact that this is a horror film and that this character is the killer. The other sell-lines, not relating to the main image are coloured in black. This still makes them able to stand out against the background, but they are not too overpowering for that the main attraction is taken away from the featured film.
The sell-lines on this magazine are placed either side of the main image. The majority of the sell-lines are in capital letters and are black. This allows them to look simple and bold, standing out and also appealing to a simpler target audience of males. On the right hand side of the cover you will see a group of 6 sentences. These are all referring to different films, for example ‘#59 The Final Harry Potters” and “#6 The Deadly Megan Fox”. The fact that the target audience buy film magazines to read about films means that this sell-line would appeal to the audience as they will believe that they are going to be able to read about these different films. The fact that all of the film title/phrases has a ‘#’ and a number beside them suggests that they have been ranked, or voted for, so the audience will also want to read on to see who came where, and why. They will also look and may feel the same way as to where they have been placed in the vote, feeling a connection with the magazine and the other members of the target audience who voted. Another sell-line states “A ton of exclusives!” which shouts out to the audience as the word ‘exclusive’ suggests that they are about to see something that no one has yet seen, making them excited and feel like they are being let in on a secret with the magazine. This contributes to the idea of magazines acting as a friend/ companion to their target audience where they can share jokes, information and pictures. The same sell line then goes onto say “and 94 more movers, shakers, movies & makers!” the mode of address is quirky and fun, making it more of an enjoyable read, and appealing to a happy, confident and fun individual. The fact that it uses numbers suggests to the audience that there is so much more to see, encouraging them to buy the magazine. Another sell line, towards the bottom of the page reads “PLUS, 128 films reviewed!, 31 in cinemas, 62 on DVD, 15 on Blu-Ray, 20 hidden elsewhere!” again the use of numbers addresses the idea that there is so much information in this magazine just waiting to be read! The use of the word PLUS, and the fact that it is larger than the rest, and in a different colour gives off the impression that just when you thought you couldn’t fit anymore information into this magazine, there is more. Where it says ’20 Hidden Elsewhere’, the audience are unsure of what this means and will therefore want to read on, to try and find what they are talking about. This sell-line is about DVD’s and the cinema, two of any film magazine’s main topics, and two of the target audience’s main interests. This sell line would therefore appeal to a DVD collecting reader or a regular attendee of the cinema.
