Research Into Film Magazines

Total Film

• bold title font in block capitals, 'FILM' making it clear to the audience about the subject of the magazine. the text contrasts the image behind it in a single white colour but still integrated into the theme.
• portrait image of a male, the protagonist in the featured movie The Social Network. a collection of other peoples photos make up this characters face, reference to the expanse of people that make up Facebook which is what the storyline involves.
• this is a special edition cover, said to be 'exclusive' to subscribers, which could encourage people to start a subscription.
• date of issue in small text by title, not of high significance so kept discrete.
• slogan 'Get connected' to advertise the featured film with reference to the leader of Facebook in order to sell better
• combines 2 different media texts, both Internet and magazine.
• continuation of the white text against the background so not to overcrowd the cover but straight to the point to allow readers to spot text when on the shelves.
• tag line 'The Modern Guide to..' to show its an up to date magazine and an informative magazine, this continues in each of their issues.

• character featured central, full body view over lapping the 'FILM' text which stands out against the pink background. as she is a female character it is a clear link between her gender and colour choice.
• '3 covers to collect' makes the audience attracted to buying multiple magazines.
• white and lilac colour text against the pink background in order to show up clearly. the bold white text appears to be the most dominant text relevant to the reader.
• tag line continued throughout all 'Total Film' magazines, featured above the title.
• barcode shown in bottom left corner on order not to distract the reader. alongside 'Plus' to advertise joining a subscription which links to the previous cover that was limited to subscribers, with italicised text 'you' to draw and include the reader in its reference.

Empire

• simple and not over complicated front cover with solid plain colours, red yellow white and black (blue on the characters t-shirt).
• plain white background which allows the actor Ewan McGregor to be more pronounced and unlike the Harry Potter feature where they are surrounded by special effects. this reflects upon the British social realist genre of the movie Trainspotting.
• colloquial language 'in yer face!!' which corresponds with the Scottish dialect within the movie.
• text clearly surrounding the image with bold print to accentuate the topic then short statement underneath.
• cutout image of Sharon Stone which overlaps the bottom of the image of Ewan McGregor, to allow other features within the magazine to be noticed, attracted a varied audience.
• barcode is merged into the background making it hardly noticeable in the bottom right/slightly central.
• Empire text in a bold red colour, seen but doesnt intrude on the characters image. no tagline abover the magazine title, but abbreviated information on the contents of the magazine.

We have noticed that the majority of the 'Empire' magazine front covers seem to follow the action genre, with films that include alot of special effects and fantasy characters. The magazine uses very vivid/neon colours to attract readers and highly reflects the action genre with fire, electric and explosions in the theme. 'Empire' seems to be aimed more towards a male audience.

We asked a group of 16-25 year old male and females of their favourite movie genre and only 8% of women chose Action to be their favourite genre.

We also researched into what gender are more likely to buy a film magazine and we discovered that 30% of women would buy a film orientated magazine, with clear signs that women would be more likely to buy a fashion or 'gossip' magazine.

British Film Magazine

• red, yellow and white colour scheme, using block text surrounding the image.
• image of the character in the film 'This Must Be The Place', actor Sean Penn. not a commercial film to the wide audience but more specific to cult movie based upon a retired rock star.
• this British made magazine focuses on more cinematicly renown works that aren't as publicly known.
• title 'Sight & Sound' is shown in the top left corner and shown inside its on yellow rectangle to stand out against the background and image is underneath.
• likely to be on a lower budget than the other film magazines i have researched. though a far greater detail inside, by lack of advertising shown.
• text to the left is kept small with film titels in white and statments underneath in yellow.
• 'Every new film reviewed' reflects upon the intencity of its information inside. shown in a yellow circle.
• barcode is in top right hand corner, inside its own text box with the 'BFI' logo and date of issue, set out monthly.