Further Research Into Film Magazine Covers - Oliver

Empire “Spider-Man”

The Spiderman magazine cover relies heavily on previous film experiences of the audience. This is because it does not show much about Spiderman, however it is clear it is about him. The main image is of the actor who plays him and the image has clearly been taken for the magazine cover. The picture is of Spiderman posing as he does in the film to shoot his web. Spiderman is wearing a black suit in the image however is not wearing his mask, revealing his true identity. It is a large image that dominates the cover and would quickly catch the attention of the many fans of this franchise.

The masthead on the cover is in red which is the usual choice for Empire and only changed for special editions or when it really does not work with the overall colour palette. Above the “M” there is the date on which the magazine was released, and the price of the mag. Also on the cover is a barcode, and pull quotes from other stories inside the magazine. This text draws new audiences into reading the magazine.

All the components on the cover are spaced out however all fit into the shape of the cover. This tells us that there has been a lot of time spent deciding where each part of the cover should therefore need a lot of time for editing.

For us:
- simple colour scheme
- dominant image of one person
- teaser text grouped into blocks

Total Film “The Expendables 2”

This magazine cover consists of many different components. The main image is of the main characters in the film. The image was clearly taken as a photo as all 3 men are looking straight at the camera each posed separately, making it clear that this is a publicity shot and not a still.  The title of the film is in the middle of the magazine in the centre and is in gold capital letters. Just above the title is text describing the film saying that it is “Big. Bad. Ballistic.” Magazines often use this kind of alliteration. To the right of that text, is more text advertising articles about other up and coming films that are soon to be released i.e. Iron Man 3.

The background image is just a big flame. This connotes danger and action letting the audience knows what the genre of the film is. You can clearly see that it is fire as there are separate flames and the colours are orange red and black. The hint at an explosion and the military costumes make us think of some kind of battle that we are hoping our heroes will win.

The masthead on the cover is in white and again, the “M” has an image above it of James Bond. This means that they can advertise more than one movie on one magazine cover.  Underneath the title of the film, there is text saying “Plus” in a red box and underneath that are 3 images advertising more films that are soon to be released. This is a crowded cover where there is a clear theme to the articles – the ‘Bad Ass’issue. Here the magazine is appealing to a particular sector of the audience, but it is a big sector so it is not a risky move.

At the bottom of the cover, there is text telling the audience what else is in this issue of the magazine, including interviews and reviews of other films. This cover seems designed to appeal to the action film fan more than just fans of The Expendables because the cover promises a magazine that is packed with content.

For us:
- crowded cover
- themed issue
- background relevant to film

Entertainment Weekly “Secrets Of X Men”

The main image on this cover is of Wolverine and Storm, two of the main characters in the film. This cover relies heavily on previous film experiences of the audience as you would not be able to tell who the characters are unless you knew them. However, this is a very popular film series and the characters are generally well-known. The main image is very dark and consists of a stormy sky in shades of grey, hinting at difficult times for the two heroes.

The masthead is also black and this links in with the main image. However, a large proportion of the masthead is covered by the main image as is the convention. The two characters are staring right at the camera / customer, which is a common convention in publicity shot poses.

The background image is clouds and this refers to the fact that the female character is Storm if you are familiar with the films, an in joke for the fans. It also creates a sense of danger and fear in the film, which any member of the audience could recognise. There is also a lightning strike and the colour palette is quite muted, suggesting this is a grown up superhero film. This also allows for the bright yellow X to really stand out.

In the bottom right of the cover there is a barcode and above it is the price of the magazine and the date it was released on. Also on the cover are many different pull quotes from interviews and teaser text from other articles that are inside the magazine.

For us:
- Again, simple colour palette
- Title as main feature
- No smaller images on this issue