Initial Research Into Film Magazine Covers - Katherine

Total Film – X-Men

 

This cover of Total Film magazine has the picture of four characters from X-Men First Class dominating the page. The four characters they have chosen to appear on the front cover are most likely the played by the most well known actors out of the cast. This makes the cover more appealing to more readers as they will have lots of fans and be more recognizable. The girl on the end in blue will be instantly associated with the X-Men films as they will recognize her from the previous ones released. They all have quite serious faces, which could suggest the film itself is quite serious. The fact they have been shot from a low angle could cause them to seem more powerful and they are looking down through the lens.  The lighting on the characters is quite powerful also which makes the cover look more dramatic and causes you to focus on the character’s faces. The masthead also has this look of strong lighting across it and the colours of it tie in with the man’s suit in the front. The silvery look to the masthead could signify the silver weaponry used in the film such as swords, suggesting the film contains violence or action. The lighting helps contrast against the black background, causing the images to seem more striking and the text to stand out.

The rest of the text is either in white or a light yellow font. The title of the film ‘X-Men, First Class’ is the biggest and boldest out the text so we can initially see what they are advertising as it stands out easily. Above the title it says ‘History in the making’ which is a teaser text used as the film’s tagline to entice people into the wanting to know about the film. They also use the words ‘x-plosive’ and ‘x-clusive’ as teaser text that cleverly plays on the way the title is spelt whilst captivating the audience. Words like ‘mind-blowing’ and ‘epic’ are exaggerated adjectives to again entice the audience.

They use other teaser texts such as ‘special x-tra cover’, ‘girls gone wild’ and ‘boys night in’ to appeal to the audience, with their main target audience being males. They also advertise other film released such as Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and Gang of four at the bottom of the cover. In the top right corner they also have pictures of other films included in the magazine to allow viewers a preview of what is inside.

This research has made me think about the lighting of our photos for the print products. A well lit photo makes a big difference to how the product looks. On the magazine cover in particular, the light source does not need to be in context - here we don't know what is shining in their faces, but it doesn't matter as it works. Without this lighting the photo would be flatter and lack impact.

Empire – Megan Fox

 

The cover of this Empire issue is dominated by a long shot of Megan Fox kneeling down, topless and wearing tight leather trousers. Although this hasn’t got much to do with the film, it still may entice costumers (especially men) into buying the issue as she is so recognizable, particularly for those who are a fan of hers. She is also probably most well known for her appearances in the Transformers films and so readers see the picture of her they will automatically associate it with the films. It suggests she may be the main selling point of the film as they would have used the other main characters in the cover otherwise.  The white background allows the picture of Megan to stand out as she has big, dark brown hair and black trousers on and therefore contrasts against it. It is also interesting to note that film magazines often appear to be aimed at a predominantly male audience and to feature cult films in particular.

The image overlaps the masthead, which is in Empire’s signature red lettering, also contrasting against the white background. They have added the issue number, date and price of the magazine just above the ‘M’, which fills up space without making it look cramped. Underneath the masthead they have the magazine’s tagline ‘the worlds biggest movie magazine’ which implies to readers just how successful the magazine is. Other text includes ‘the hot issue’ which could suggest the magazine includes information on ‘hot’ women. It also has teaser text saying ‘have lunch with Transformer 2’s Megan Fox’, with the actress’s name in big, bold lettering. This shows that the fact she is in the magazine is more of a selling point than them advertising for Transformers. They are using her celebrity status and good looks as the focus for the magazine to sell the film to readers. The fact they call her ‘the most wanted woman in Hollywood’ also suggests this and they say ‘one-on-one’ so viewers feel like it’s a conversation just between them and Megan rather than an interview.

In the bottom left corner they advertise other movies that are included in the magazine such as Wolverine and Star Trek. They use pictures from the films so people can associate them with the films so they can see straight away that they will be included before reading the text. Its in blue and white writing with a black background so that it looks separate from the rest of the magazine cover and stands out against it. They use the words ‘3 sizzling exclusives’ as a teaser to entice the reader. In the top right corner they have ‘Tron rebooted’, also in blue and white writing on a black strip as a teaser text for the readers.

I picked this cover because it features a vulnerable single female alone. From this, I have started to thinkabout having a full length photo of our main character and placing this to one side of the magazine cover. Before this, I would have instinctively been thinking about a central placement. I also like the way the actress is looking over her shoulder as this makes her look taken by surprise.

Empire – Scott Pilgram

 

The main image on this cover is of actor Michael Cera posing as his character Scott Pilgram in the film Scott Pilgram vs. the world. It’s a long shot of him in action, holding a sword on fire, getting ready to swing it. He is looking directly into the camera with a menacing look on his face. The fact he is holding this sword suggests the film involves action. Although his facial expression is quite menacing, we can tell he’s most likely not a bad character due to his appearance. His haircut and clothes make him look like an average teenage boy, which is juxtaposes against the fact he is holding this long sword on fire. The colours of the fiery sword tie in with the bold red background and white, glowing writing of the masthead. The white writing also contrasts against the red background, causing it to stand out. The way the background has the rays coming out from the middle of the page where Cera is standing, highlights the fact it’s a film based on a comic. It also draws your attention to Cera as the lines all point to him.

The tagline ‘the force is strong with this one’ also emphasizes that it’s a superhero movie whilst adding comical effect because of the reference to StarWars, which is so well known now. They also reference the director, Edgar Wright, which could mean he’s quite a well-known or successful director and therefore an extra selling point for the cover. The cover includes teaser text such as ‘the planet’s best access…’, which grabs the audiences attention, making them want to buy the magazine to know more. It’s written in grey and red on a white circle so the lettering stands out but also the whole phrase as well as it’s separate from the background. Other films such as Spider-man and Goodfellas are also referenced at the bottom. The fact these films were picked to preview on the front cover could be due to the fact they are quite recognizable. All the text is either in black, white or grey writing so that it contrasts from the red and therefore stands out more to the audience.

I picked this cover to show how occasionally magazines make their whole colour palette reflect the main film advertised. If we want this to happen for our film, we need to make sure that it has a very distinctive look that can be replicated easily.