Total Film Magazine Analysis
When you first see this poster you are immediately drawn to the centred image of actress ‘Megan Fox’. She is in the centre of the page and is wearing a cheerleading outfit-creating a sexual appeal to her character as she’s wearing revealing clothes. The image of her is contrasted though, by the blood stains on her hand and on her foot print. This creates the idea that although this may be a sexual idea being created the audience is also aware that this character is featuring in an upcoming horror film. The blood is what resembles the genre on this poster. The title of the magazine is ‘Total Film’-which is in red and white colours. The use of red here really catches your eye as it’s featured against a white background. The use of a white background appears very plain but also allows the colours of the titles and wording to stand out clearly and effectively. At the top of the page they’ve written: ‘OUR BIGGEST PREVIEW EVER!’ This would attract a reader to buy this magazine due to the word ‘biggest’-suggesting that in this issue more is featured than usual. Next to this heading are 3 images from current films which are: ‘Tron Legacy, Iron Man 2 and Inception’-The use of these images from different films portrays to the reader that this issue isn’t solely based around the film ‘Jennifer’s Body’ which is what the centred image is portraying.
On the left side underneath the title ‘Total Film’-a gray arrow pointing towards Megan Fox reads: ‘THE FUTURE 100’-The font of the ‘100’ is written in the same font as the numbers written on American Footballers shirts and of their cheerleaders outfits also, this font links to Megan as she’s dressed as a cheerleader-This also suggests that this film is based around the storyline of a ‘High school cheerleader’. The majority of the words on this front cover are written in block capital letters, standing out to the reader and creating a link between the texts. ‘EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS’-Everything being underlined suggests that you need to have this magazine and you need to know what’s inside of it. It also suggests that everything you need to know for the next year is featured in this one issue of a magazine-which is ludicrous but a clever selling point for film fanatics as they may be tricked into buying this to find out all for the next year.
In the left hand corner a quote reads: ‘I don’t want to be the Jar Jar Binks of a movie…’ Suggesting that ‘Jonah Hex’ doesn’t want to be the ‘flop’ of the film, and an unnecessary character to some, for example Jar Jar Binks may have been seen as in the film ‘Star Wars’.
On the right hand side of the page, towards the bottom, ‘PLUS’ is written in red and in large type size-Creating the idea that you get even more than what has already been shown. As underneath you also get more reviews, cinema info and DVD and blu-ray information. This suggests to the reader that you get more than just film reviews and more than just one film being portrayed in detail, portraying that you get lots for what you’re paying, which is £3.99. Above this section, is a part titled: ‘A TON OF EXCLUSIVES!’-The exclamation mark shows enthusiasm for what’s being shown. Written is information on films, which have all been described before their title has been shown, for instance: ‘The Stormy Twilight’-The title of the film is also in a gray colour whereas the description is in black. Underneath all of that reads: ‘and 94 more movers, shakers, movies and makers’ the alliteration used here stands out and is a quirky saying that fits the style of the magazines front cover.
The typical reading pattern of the eye is to read from top left corner to bottom right. I think that this magazine adheres to this convention as you see the words total film, then the image of Megan Fox and then the rest of the wording on the front cover.
Film Star
The top of this front cover contains the tile: ‘filmstar’ where the title isn’t written in block capitals unlike the rest of the cover. Below is a small slogan reading: ‘WHERE THE FILM IS THE STAR’-Playing on the words featured in the title. In the top left corner it reads: ‘180 PAGES’-Suggesting to the reader that this magazine contains many pages on films and reviews. In the centre on the top of the page in a blue text box, the title says: ‘New!’-Portraying to the reader that everything included in this magazine is brand new and exclusive. On the right hand side of the page there is a list of actor’s names such as: Cameron Diaz and Christian Bale-The magazine is almost name dropping to persuade the reader to buy the magazine but this could work as buyers may be encouraged by the use of these popular, well known names.
The dominating image on this cover is of ‘Brad Pitt’-This high paid actor dominating the magazine could persuade some to buy it especially if they are a fan of his. Next to Brads head the title reads: ‘CINEMA PARADISE’-Cinema is written in red block capitals and is also bigger than the word paradise which is written in black. The choice of red here stands out against the yellow background, and the colour also suggests death and danger. Above this heading in a circle reading: ‘No. 1’-Portraying to the reader that this magazine is the best film magazine to buy. Under this heading is a section that says: ‘THE 50 MOST EXCITING FILMS OF THE SUMMER AND BEYOND’-The number 50 has been enlarged and is also written in white instead of black-This makes the number 50 stand out and suggests to the reader that it’s a lot of films. Underneath is a list of some of these films such as: ‘Avatar, Up, Public Enemies’ etc this portrays only a few of the films featured in this issue of the magazine-showing many more to be left unknown. Underneath this it says: ‘AND…QUENTIN TARANTINO’S Inglorious return’ portraying that the centred image of Brad Pitt is based from the film ‘Inglorious Bastards’.
The typical reading pattern of the eye is to read from top left to bottom right and I think that this front cover adheres to this convention as you read the name of the magazine, then you see Brad Pitt and then you read the other information included on this cover.
At the bottom of the cover a banner of films and actors names are written: ‘ANNA FARIS…THE HANGOVER’ etc-All suggesting these are also being included in the magazine but the fact that they are much smaller than anything else on the magazine suggests that they aren’t as important and aren’t featured as much as some of the other films such as: ‘Inglorious Bastards’. Written also in banner form are 3 yellow text boxes’s-Showing the page numbers of reviews of films and of interviews with cast members.
Empire Magazine
At the top of this cover is a heading reading: ‘FREE! NEW MOON POSTERS’-And two pictures of the characters ‘Bella and Edward’ from the film ‘Twilight’ next to it. The use of the word ‘Free’ automatically draws people to the magazine as it’s bold and in large font and people are always more drawn to something if you get anything for free. Underneath this heading is the title of the magazine: ‘Empire’-it’s written in large, block capital writing and is coloured in red. Around the word ‘Empire’ they have added fiery effects which link to the magazines main appeal which is on the film: ‘Clash of the Titans’. Covering part of the letters in the title is a character dressed in a gladiator outfit which links back to the ‘Clash of the titans’ theme of the magazine. The shot of this character is a long-mid shot as his feet have been cut out of the picture and the pose that he’s doing puts emphasis on the sword he’s carrying. ‘Empire’ is so well known that they can easily not show the whole of their title on their magazine as they know that people will recognize what the magazine is. Underneath the title in small white print reads: ‘THE WORLDS BIGGEST MOVIE MAGAZINE’-This persuades one to buy this magazine due to the fact that it contains the best movie information and that you can find everything your looking for here.
In a small text box, coloured in brown a slogan reads: ‘PODS! MONSTERS! HEROES! THE EPIC RETURNS’-This quick, catchy slogan will draw you in and will entice you with what’s being said as ‘THE EPIC RETURNS’-Suggests that you have to watch this if you liked the first one. The title the: ‘CLASH OF THE TITANS’ is written in different font to the rest of the magazine as this is the font from the films name itself. The fiery effects have been used again on this title, linking back to the theme of the front cover. The background of the cover also links to the theme as the character is shown to be standing on a prehistoric setting and his pose suggests that he’s going to fight-suggesting he’s off to the coliseum.
Underneath the title of the film is something completely different. In green coloured writing they have added a section on the ’30 YEARS OF ALIEN’-Which includes new interviews and never before seen pictures. The ‘0’ of the ‘30’ has been swapped for the egg used from the film ‘Alien’-What this magazine appears to be good at is theming out their covers, like they have done for the ‘CLASH OF THE TITANS’ and now ‘ALIEN’. At the bottom of the cover is a banner in a brown coloured text box which has information on: ‘THE GREEN HORNET, NINE, SWAYZE REMEMBERED’-I think that this is to show what else they’ve included in their magazine, suggesting that there is something for everyone.
This magazine cover follows the typical reading pattern of the eye as you see the ‘FREE’ posters included, then you see the title of the magazine and then the character from ‘CLASH OF THE TITANS’.
On the right hand side of the page, there are 2 sections on: ‘EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS’ and ‘105 REVIEWS’. Both these sub-headings have been written in red coloured writing so they stand out against the white writing that’s written underneath. Underneath the sub-headings are what interviews are to be expected and what reviews also. Again, this hints at what else in included in the magazine as they are trying to produce a range in what they offer. I like that on this front cover the font used is consistent except for when naming the title of a film.
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