Film magazine covers

EMPIRE & FANGORIA

Strapline with small images of main actors in the film; informs readers what’s inside and is placed at the top so that it can be easily seen when displayed in shops.

Features written on a banner so that the text stands out. The text is bold so it’s easy to read and informs readers what else is included.

The sell line for Empire is “The UK’s no.1 Movie Magazine” it invites the readers to pick up the magazine as it is written under the masthead and easily seen.

Main cover line is placed on the left-side third so it will be seen if it’s displayed horizontally in shops. It informs readers who and what the main article is about.

Cover lines inform readers of other articles included in the issue.

Masthead is at the top so people can see it when displayed in shops; as it is a well known magazine, the main image is able to cover part of the masthead. Empire’s masthead is often red as it is a prominent colour that will stand out in shops; they also have their own specific font.

Barcode is placed at the bottom of the page so it doesn’t interfere with the main image and text.

Strapline informs readers what’s inside and is placed at the top so that it can be easily seen if displayed in shops though Fangoria is only available online for the UK.

Masthead is at the top so people can see it when displayed in shops. Similar to Empire’s masthead, Fangoria’s is often red too, as it is a prominent colour that will stand out in shops and as Fangoria is specifically a horror magazine, the red links with the idea of blood and gore; they also have their own specific font.

Cover lines are placed on the left-side third so they will be seen if displayed horizontally in shops and inform readers what else is included in the issue.

Barcode is placed at the bottom so it doesn’t cover parts of the main image; the price and website are written on it to inform readers.

Cover lines are in a different colour to the background to make the text easy to read but links with the masthead and main image.

The main cover line is placed at the bottom of the page so that the main image dominates the cover – again, the colours link with the image and masthead.

The main image is a medium close up which attracts readers’ attention; it stands out against the black background.

Issue number is placed near the masthead to inform readers it’s the latest issue.

Strapline informs readers what’s inside and is placed at the top so that it can be easily seen when displayed in shops.

Issue number and price written above the masthead; this is characteristic of Empire magazine as the text it easy to see and informs the readers that it’s a new issue.

Button attracts readers’ attention as it is a different colour to the background image and the text is easy to read. It informs readers of a feature in the magazine.

Masthead is at the top so people can see it when displayed in shops; as it is a well known magazine, the main image is able to cover part of the masthead. The masthead links with the main cover line and background image which attracts attentions.

Cover lines inform readers of other articles in this issue; the lighter colour of the text stands out against the dark background.

Main cover line is placed in the centre so it attracts readers attentions; the font and colour stand out against the background image.

Extra cover lines places at the bottom to inform readers what else is included and the light coloured texts stands out against the dark background. Barcode is placed at the

bottom so it doesn’t cover parts of the main image.

The main image is a long shot which makes the actor look powerful – Empire often use long and mid shots and rarely use extreme close ups.

Film posters

SCREAM, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT & SORORITY ROW

The main image is an extreme close up of a woman’s face; she is looking directly at the audience which attracts attention. Also, the fact that the eyes are in colour and the rest of the image has been desaturated emphasises her fear.

The film title is near the bottom of the poster so it doesn’t cover the black space and not the image. The text is visible and clear to read.

The genre of the film is horror but as it would be displayed publicly, the image isn’t explicit; however, the genre is still obvious to the audience.

The tag line is at the top of the poster to lure the audience – the first thing the audience notice are the eyes which leads them to read the tagline above.

The cast and crew are below the title so the audience will see who is in the film and the production information which will attract them more – especially as the actors and production companies are well known. The font is simple and different to other text on the poster.

The USP is placed at the very bottom and attracts attention as the white colour stands out against the black background and the font is different to the other text on the page.

The top half of the image establishes the setting; this isn’t common as most posters focus on the main protagonists and usually show the main setting as the background image.

The main image is an extreme close up of a woman's eyes looking directly at the audience to attract attention.

Instead of a tagline, this poster has a short prologue and gives some background information about the film which intrigues the audience.

The cast and crew are under the film title in white so that the text can be seen against the black background; the font is different to other text on the poster and easy to read.

The film title is near the bottom of the page so, like the Scream poster, it fills up some empty black space.

Production and distribution logos at the bottom appeal to the audience as they show that well known companies have worked on the film.

The tag line is placed above the film title and provides information about the film but without unravelling the plot..

The top half of the image establishes the setting like the Blair Witch poster but the focus is on the main image. However, the flames suggest that the setting will be destroyed and that it is important. The main image is of the

protagonists; they are all female and so the audience assume they are the victims. They are looking towards the camera to attract attention from the audience.

The film title is near the bottom of the poster so it doesn’t cover the main image.

The cast and crew are under the film title in a lighter colour so the text stands out against the black background; again the font is different to other text. The distribution logos are also at the bottom with a website for the film.