Product Research - Magazine Covers

Along with my teaser trailer I also have to produce a magazine front cover as promotional material for the film. Here are two magazines that I have looked at, these magazine are well-known film magazines. The two that I have looked at are called Empire and Shivers.

Empire

Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. It is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain, consistently outselling its nearest market rival Total Film.

• There is a colour scheme used on the front cover of the magazine. In this issue it is green, blue and gray. The colour scheme reflects the theme of the image, which is from a film, The Dark Knight.


• The masthead, Empire, has been covered by the image, this is because the readers are able to recognise the magazine. This makes is a well-known magazine by its targeted audience.


• The image of the Joker, heath Ledger, is the main focus of the magazine, which is a way of promoting the film. The image is also of a shot from the film, which gives a more realistic view to the image.


• There are other films mentioned on the front cover. These could be released at the same time as The Dark Knight, and are at competition with each other. But The Dark knight is the main focus of the magazine, making it seem more popular to the target audience.


• The heading under the name of the film "BATMAN vs. THE JOKER - SUMMER JUST GOT SERIOUS", is a way of engaging the target audience. It gives them something to keep in mind when going to the cinema.


• Being a film magazine, the actor has been shown the way they are shown in the film, giving it a more film like magazine.
  

Sight and Sound

Sight and Sound is an example of a magazine that is not as popular as Empire.



Above are two examples of magazines from Sight and Sound. Both of them have a mysterious atmosphere them, which creates a tensed effect. They also have many differences; the one on the right has more text on it with a background image, whereas the one on the left has the masthead and a heading with the background image.

The masthead is in the same print, with a yellow background and bold black text on it. This technique is very effective as it stand out and catches the audience’s attention.
However the one on the right has a black and white image, which suggests that it is an older issue to the one on the left.

The image in the background is the most important content on a magazine cover; this is because the viewers notice the image first.

• The magazine on the right shows a woman with a knife covered in blood, this suggests that it has something to do with murder, and creates a sense of danger. The image is placed more towards the right of the page, with the text around it on the left. The magazine cover also has a colour scheme of red and white, and black. Having red and black creates a curious and discomfort atmosphere to the magazine.
• The magazine on the left shows a man with his back towards you, standing on the street. The main focus is the man, as there is a white bright light that is shining onto him from the left. This magazine cover is all about the image, and how the viewers interpret it.