Initial Research Into Magazine Covers - Luke

This magazine cover is from Total Film and has a dominant close up shot of Captain Kirk from the new Star Trek movie. The image dominates this cover and the caption helps make the association of the character to the reader ‘STAR TREK’ ‘#1 KIRK’. This is a classic example of anchorage. The photo is shot in black and white and the colour scheme for this cover is black and white with the occasional use of  red, which is a classic colour scheme and is very simple and effective.

The red is used to stand out against the surrounding white on ‘WORLD EXCLUSIVE!’ The language used is relevant to film and in some cases represent a sense of ‘importance’ to try and persuade passersby to purchase the magazine. ‘WORLD EXCLUSIVE!’ the term ‘exclusive’ gives off the impression this is something important that you need to know and plays to the stereotype that people want to stay on top of the news to try and ‘fit in’. The word ‘BOLDEST’ is used as a reference to a space and Star Trek ‘boldly going where no man has gone before’. The image goes under the masthead and most of the text takes place on the left hand side of the magazine, I believe for kerb appeal as this is the part passersby will see.

Overall, this cover relies on the huge popularity of the franchise and the expectation that the actor will be instantly recognised.

 

This is a magazine cover from Empire with the main feature being The Dark Knight’s ‘Joker’ with the accompanying title ‘meet the joker’ in a green and purple colour scheme. Interestingly, the actual name of the film is not given, although the Batman franchise is mentioned, suggesting the appeal of the character and the actor are considered enough.  This colour scheme runs throughout the cover apart from the bold red masthead of ‘EMPIRE’ and the teaser text presented in white. The main image is dominant in this cover and even overlaps the masthead. Unlike the previous magazine cover the majority of text is presented on the right hand side and features other popular films which are likely to capture the attention of passersby: ‘JERRY SEINFELD’ ‘I AM LEGEND,’ these are well known titles in the media world. Text positioning is really quite fluid on magazine covers. There do not seem to be specific rules about placement. This suggests that the cover shot is considered key and the text is worked around that. One thing I have noticed is that the text placement is not particularly symmetrical or 'neat', which I might have thought it was before I began this research.

This cover also contains language such as ‘WORLD-FIRST LOOK!’ and ‘WORLD EXCLUSIVE’ as a way of trying to persuade customers who aren’t entirely sure whether or not they will purchase said magazine.

This is the cover for the magazine Total Film and features characters from the movie ‘Sucker Punch’. The masthead is stylised to reflect the movie ‘Sucker Punch’ and the main image, as is often the case, overlaps the masthead. There are three main colours used which is quite common in a film magazine; white, orange and black. It establishes itself as a film magazine with small pictures outlining other movies that are contained inside ‘Pirates 4’ ‘Captain America’ and are also used as a way of persuading a buyer. Another way this cover persuades the buyer is through its use of text. Words such as ‘MASSIVE’ ‘ESSENTIAL’ and ‘FIRST LOOK’ are also used as a persuasion tool which will cause this magazine to stand out from the rest. The text is mainly positioned in the middle of the bottom half, reflecting  the fact that the main image is of more characters than is usually the case and is therefore stretched across the page.  There is a sticker placed on the left hand side to help text stand out of the crowded cover.I have looked at a few covers that feature a cast of characters, as we will probably have at least three characters on our cover, and I have noticed that the tendency is for the image to dominate the top half of the cover with the text being positioned on the bottom half.

This is a cover from the film magazine Empire and features the main image of ‘Thor’. The background and masthead are stylised to fit in with the movie as Thor is the God of thunder, so lightning can be seen across the cover. This does not always happen, and suggests this is considered an important film release. There are three predominant colours used; blue, red and white as they stand out best against the darkened background. Words such as ‘UNMASKED’ and ‘WORLD-FIRST’ give the magazine a sense of exclusivity which will entice the customer to purchase the magazine. References to other films ‘DREDD’ ‘THE THING’ tell that the audience is of the film world and teaser text helps further relate to the audience ‘IT’S THE NEW DISTRICT 9!’.