Analysis of Front Covers

Looking in to existing products is a necessary part of my creative process to create my own magazine front cover. Following Bentley (1997) theory of 'making of the new by rearranging the new'.

The target audience for Empire magazine is predominantly males, this being the reason why there is a female on the front. With an attractive female on the front it will attract the audience and make them want to buy the magazine. The use of iconography is essential with film magazines because if there is a well known star on the front then people are more likely to buy it. The female on the front of the magazine is looking straight in to the eyes of the audience (males) the image connotes sex, rebellion and excitement which is something men would be attracted to. The image would support Laura Mulvey (1978) 'women are seen as a sex symbol' due to the lack of clothing and the seductive look in her eyes connecting with the male audience.

The title of the magazine is in the top eighth of the magazine which would be the part of the magazine that would be seen on the shelves in the shop. This is a very important feature and almost every magazine does this in order to be able to sell their product and advertise. The red font would connote danger, passion, love these colours are relating to the model on the front of the magazine. The red is also a bright colour which would make it stand out from the other magazines on the shelf. 

The colour palette on the front cover is white, beige and blue these colours are all easy on the eye making the front cove easy on the eye. The colours all link to the model which is the main point of focus on the front cover.

The other lexis on the front cover is in the 'sweet spot' on the left hand third of the page as this is where the eye is drawn to first of all. It's important to get the stars name bigger and bolder than the rest of the text as that is what you want the audience to see the most. When the text is in other colours it is visually more attractive and automatically you look at it, on this front cover the films name is in  blue box to make it stand out from the rest. Making certain things stand out from the rest of the text is important because there is always going to be text that you want to prioritize over the rest. Another thing is that it makes it easier to read if the text is in different colours because the eye is attracted to it.

As I am producing a film magazine front cover I think it is essential to look at existing products to see what they have done to make sure I include the right conventions in my own magazine. I am following what Bentley (1997) said "Making of the new by rearranging the old" throughout my creative process. 

In terms of denotation the front cover is very masculine, the woman on the front of the magazine is holding a gun which is something males would be typically interested in. The colours on the front cover (orange) would connote fire, danger, trouble, again typically emotions males would be interested in. 

The target audience for Total Film is predominantly males between the ages of 15-30, which to link to reason why there is a very famous female on the front to attract the audience. The female on the front is holding a gun which would link to the theory of  'Youth as troublemaker" Dick Hebdige (1988) again this would be something that males would be attracted too. The use of iconography on the front cover is something that is essential to all magazines because this is what attracts the audience to but the magazine.

The masthead is positioned in the top eighth of the magazine front cover so that when the magazine is lined up on the shelves people will see it and then buy it, this is an essential because they need to advertise the brand. The title has a shattered mirror effect this again would connote danger. This effect makes the magazine different from the others and will make it stand out from the rest of them. This shattered glass effect would also link to the film and the themes of it. The model on the front is holding a gun and the masthead looks as if it has been shot which links these two together. The magazine is called 'Total Film' but the total is inside the film on the masthead which emphasizes the importance on the word film because it is a movie magazine and if you saw it from a distance that is what you would see first. 

The colour palette of the front cover is orange,silver and black, three to four colours are used because it makes the cover aesthetically pleasing. Everything inks together with the model wearing black and having a silver gun, the front cover doesn't look overcrowded, if there were lots of different colours then it is likely to look to busy. 

The lexis on the front of the magazine is in white to match the colour palette and in a simple font for the audience to be able to read it clearly. The main headline is 'Salt' which is the name of the film and this is what they are wanting to express as it is going to be the feature article inside. The font is different for that word with it being white and with stripes it makes it look different to the rest and to stand out to the eye. Another feature is that the main headline along with the supporting stories are all on the left hand third of the magazine cover which is known as the 'sweet spot' because that is where the eye is drawn to when you first see the magazine. 

Looking in to existing products is a necessary part of my creative process to create my own magazine front cover. Following Bentley (1997) theory of 'making of the new by rearranging the new'.

Empire is the magazine I have chosen to look at as it is the most popular film magazine and it represents all genres of film, whereas others tend to focus on certain genres. I chose this cover as I think it is a lot different to the first Empire magazine I analysed. Considering the target audience for this magazine is predominantly males, they have put a male model on the front of the magazine. However it still works because men will look up to the actor on the front because he is a super hero and they will want to be like that and the secondary audience of females will be attracted to him. The choice to put a male on the front will lower the male audience but increase the amount of females that will buy the magazine.

In terms of denotation the front of the magazine is very masculine, the superhero on the front is a feature that men will stereo-typically be interested in. The font that has been used is very masculine which relates to the text on the front cover. The silver that is used on the main headline is silver which connotes strength, mystery, masculinity. The red masthead is also very masculine red connotes passion and danger. The connotations of the colours are important well creating a magazine because subconsciously you associate things with certain colours and these associations is what will help the magazine sell to its audience.

The main image on the front of the magazine is a superhero specifically
Super Man it is important to have an icon on the front of the magazine to attract the audience to buy the magazine when its on the shelf. The way the photograph is positioned on the front of the page is in a way that the text is organised around it to give the front cover a 3D feel. The model is looking directly in to the eyes of the reader as if he is looking in to your eyes, this will really connect with the audience especially the female audience.

The colour palette of this front cover is very clever in the way that it is silver, blue, black and red. This is really eye catching and particularly the silver text because it links to the film that is the main feature of the magazine.

The font on the front of the cover is large for the main headline and a medium to large size for the rest of it. I like the way they have used the same font as they would for the titles of the films this is a unique feature but it makes the rest the other text more noticeable.