Research into Film/Empire House Styles

In order for our magazine to look professional and in order for it to be constructed well, we decided to research and look into real media texts and conventions that would aid us in our construction of the magazine front cover. Initially, we started researching Empire magazine covers as it was a well-known source however, we noticed that the other groups also opted to use this source so we changed our decision and instead researched into different existing solutions such as Total Film. We wanted our magazine to look different and unique so we opted for Total Film as it was another well-known source that was not being used by others. Before constructing our own magazine, we noted the house style of their magazines to aid us in our construction process and focused on the layout.

This was the first magazine we looked at for inspiration. We noticed that it had a very basic colour scheme, with only two colours used. Despite the use limited colours, it still was eye-catching due to the direct eye contact the model has with the readers. The image is in black and white which personally I believe is very effective because the red colour of the cover-lines goes well with the main image and the rest of the text on the cover. Also, the fact that the image is placed in the centre has a great impact on readers as it is the main focus and grabs their attention. There are very minimal graphics used and there are also a limited amount of cover-lines used. There are some gaps here and there on the cover however, the space has been used effectively and is rather professional.

This was another magazine we picked out before the construction our work. Again, a common convention I noticed was the use of a very basic and limited colour scheme. This and the previous magazine use only two main colours however, this magazine has more text on it. Also, the space has been used efficiently and the product flows well as the text is the same size and thus, looks cohesive. The masthead has been placed behind the main image, giving it less significance and the name of the movie is quite large, suggesting its importance and clearly informing the audience about which movie the magazine is for.

This was the last magazine that really caught my eye due to the fact that the colour scheme was very eye-catching. Firstly, the colours blue, white and yellow have been used and the use of yellow is effective as it is used for specific words that have significance such as the name of the movie and special features such as the word ‘exclusive’. However, the name of the movie isn’t the largest text on the magazine cover and it advertises the issue more than the movie yet the image is very powerful and intriguing. We initially thought of using a film strip on our magazine too however, we noticed that it didn’t look eye-catching and wasn’t a professional feature.

Overall, after gaining an insight into the house-style of TotalFilm magazines, I was able to identify key conventions that we could use in our own magazine. The features I noticed were that the image should be the most intriguing feature as the readers focus on that first. Also, the use of limited colours and text are common conventions I noticed on real media texts which is quite effective as again, the readers’ attentions goes towards the image.