Media Studies – Film Magazine Cover Annotations

By Harry Appleyard

Title written in large bold capitals. This is likely to attract male audiences.

Cover variations are often used for different characters. In this case, there is a cover for Batman, and a cover for the Joker. Only one may be of interest to the casual customer, but frequent buyers may choose to buy both.

Close-up with direct address, engaging audiences. The shot is eye level, suggesting the character holds the same level of influence as the audience.

Main headline is shown underneath the title of this particular issue, giving space for the main image and other features..

“Special” indicates the magazine has exclusive content. This is likely to attract new buyers, who may see film magazines as similar to each-other and perhaps lacking in variety of content.

Additional headlines with short descriptions.

“Best” is subject to audience opinion, but this may entice new customers, who may not have previously purchased film magazines.

Colour scheme – Yellow, red, black and white. These colours are often associated with the action genre.

Text and text box presented in different colours to others, helping to draw attention to the exclusive content.

Additional headlines, presented in a similar manner to Empire.

Image placed in front of the title, suggesting the magazine is already recognised by many people. This makes the cover seem three dimensional also.

Text giving a summary of the magazine’s content. Useful if kept behind other magazines.

Dateline, showing issue date, price and website address.

Large, bold letters. Likely to be of interest to masculine audiences. These are likely to stand out from other magazines, if this one is kept behind others.

Special double issue graphic is likely to attract new audiences as well as existing customers, who may or may not be familiar with the magazine’s typical content. Bumper issues are common in the summer months also.

Image placed in front of magazine title, suggesting this is also an already popular magazine.

Main image relating to the magazine’s main headline.

Pink may have been used to attract female audiences also.

Bold capital letters used to draw attention to main headlines.

Various font sizes help audiences to tell headlines apart from descriptions.

Dateline, showing the magazine’s date and price.

Attracting the target audience of “Mary, Mary” through magazines –

• Exclusive articles (Perhaps double page spreads). Film magazines tend to write about each and every upcoming film, regardless of genre. Some film magazines such as Empire often include exclusive content promoting upcoming films. This may include behind-the-scenes images, interviews with actors and crew, stills from the film etc.

• Free posters. These can be advertised on the front cover.• Competitions for free tickets/early screenings. These could also be mentioned on the front

cover, or within the articles promoting the film.• Advertisements for apps promoting the film. Info within magazines cannot be updated once

sold. Apps or links to web pages will help audiences to gain access to further information about a film’s production progress and access to other forms of promotional material, such as new trailers, interviews etc.