MAGAZINE FRONT COVER ANALYSIS: 2

IMAGEThe main image for this magazine cover is displaying the character of a cheerleader, standing in a bold, confident position. This links with the main sell line which says ‘the future 100’ which is referring to some of the most popular and exciting film events happening over the year, so by placing this next to a well known celebrity actor looking bold and confident it emphasises the importance of the article. The film which the actor is representing is called ‘Jennifer’s Body’, a plot based around a popular, attractive high school student who seduces men and then uses her evil powers against them. This is shown through cheerleader costume which is stereotypically associated with popular American teens, along with the fact that it is showing a lot of skin, and she has a mysterious yet inviting facial expression. This image shares a symbiotic link with the film poster for this image as the same female is the only character in the frame, and is wearing a similar playful expression with a lot of skin on show. The camera angle used here is a long shot which emphasises the lack of clothing she has on, and there is also blood used which is dripping from her hands. The expression ‘blood on your hands’ means to be responsible for someone else’s death and to be guilty which links well with the character’s role in the movie. The lighting used here is flood lighting which makes the whole frame appear bright and shadow less.

MASTHEADThe masthead for this magazine is displayed in a large, bold, sans serif font and is the largest piece of text on the magazine cover. The actual name of the magazine is ‘Total Film’, which clearly indicates to the audience the content they will find in the magazine. The masthead uniquely uses a different font colour for each word in the masthead; the first word is in white and the second in red. The white is used to add to the unique design of the first part of the masthead being placed within the second word. The red font is extremely eye catching, and also happens to be the colour of fire and blood, indicating the magazine’s power, strength and also passion for movies. By placing the masthead behind the main image, it demonstrates how the magazine will always put movies first and that showing the most recent and popular releases are their number one priority. The masthead may appeal to the target audience as it clearly indicates in the masthead that the magazine is totally dedicated to movies. The masthead is used to maintain brand identity as it always uses the same font and font size in each issue, the only thing which changes is the text colour.

SELL LINESThe sell lines on ‘Total Film’ are all based around films, including interviews with actors from highly popular movies, latest releases and film reviews. These sell lines clearly reflect the interests of the target readership, as they would most likely to be film fanatics who are highly interested in hearing more information about films they are interested in and also what film critics themselves think of different movies. The sell lines are specifically designed to lure in the audience, and this has been done by using a number of different devices. At the top of the page above the masthead there is text saying that this is the ‘biggest preview ever’, which would generate excitement for the reader as they would feel as though this issue contains the most information out of all previously published and is therefore great value for money. There is also use of colloquial language in the sell line ‘tons of exclusives’, so the magazine has more of a casual, friend-like tone to it. In addition to this, key words are highlighted in different colours to make them more eye-catching.

COLOURThere are a range of different colours used on this magazine which help make it more interesting to look at and also highlight key pieces of information making them more noticeable for the reader. The colours used on the sell lines include red black and grey, and the titles above the different sections are written in blue and white. The colours used on this cover are all based around the cheerleader costume worn by the character in the main image. By creating a theme for the colours the page looks well organised and more professional. The colours used also help lure in potential readers as they are very bold and contrast strongly with the plain white background. It could be said that they are introduced in a slightly unconventional way due to the fact the main colour of the sell lines is grey which appears to fade lightly into the background, which is done to put even more emphasis on the highlighted words.

LAYOUTThe layout for this magazine is highly organised. The sell lines are arranged in different categories with which page number it will be found on, slightly like a contents page, but makes the sell lines a lot easier for the reader to find inside the issue. The text to image ratio is roughly 50:50, meaning that there is an equal amount of images as there is text which is effective in making the page more interesting and aesthetically pleasing to look at. This is continued by the range of different fonts used, breaking the page up more and giving it a slightly edgy look. The layout is used for effect as by using a range of different colours and fonts it makes the page look more creative and individual compared to other covers, though by organizing each sell line into a different category it maintains the well assembled look. The cover follows conventional themes mainly through the placement of the masthead being at the top, centre of the page, the main image being of a well known, main character within the movie, the sell lines being placed around the main image and the barcode being in the bottom right hand corner of the page. These conventions make it easer for the audience to find a piece of information which they are looking for on the cover.