Media coursework: Research: Ideas/Analysis Film Magazine cover research

Film Magazine cover research

Before I began planning my magazine cover I looked at three existing covers from various sources based on the same genre to see what kind of conventions were used in each one to make them attractive to their target audience. I chose 3 posters which I thought would give me new ideas of the different types of images I could use for the production of my poster. When analyising the posters I will look mainly at the images, colour and text/font used to see how there poster has appealed to their target audience. For the three Empire magazine covers I have chose, I picked American Gangster, Lethal Weapon and The Shining. Each magazine cover is different allowing me to take different characteristics from either one and forward them to my planning later on.

The American Gangster cover from Empire magazine is dramatic and effective. The magazine colours are rather basic and dull which contrasts to where the movie location was shot. The mast head of the cover stands out the most with its big, thick font immediatly drawing attention to itself. The mast head almost brings the poster to life as its the brightest colour. This is because the producer of the magazine has decided to highlight the magazine brand, giving it a sence of power.However the colours used for the font are the colours of the American flag linked to the movie American Ganster. The font and text has been layed out purposly to draw veiwers attention. The big thick font stretches right across the middle of the poster, placed on top of the image. The text used is very appealing with as its thin but tall style which is compacted together making it look presentable. The font could be linked to New York where the movie happened to be filmed.

The background shot is made to look further in the distance with the two main characters enlarged and brought forward, overpowering the background image. Its almost three dimensional by having the background followed by the image followed by the text. This means the purpose of this poster is to highlight the main characters. The images taken of the characters have been from a slightly lower angle both looking very professional and focused.

Even other pieces of text appear in bold colourcontrasting writing on the cover which allows it stand out and even overlap the image of the characters making it more appealing to viewers rather than just a normal printed text covering a background image.

Unlike the American Gangster cover, Lethal Weapon has a magazine front cover which is simple but effective. The magazine colours are mainly of red and black. The colours that have been used are also effective in a way that they allow alot of contrast with any other colours that would be brought onto the cover by the main image. Everything comes together really well, the photo fits perfectly inside the border without having to edit the photo to serverly.

The image used for Lethal Weapon is very similar to the image used in American Gangster. The image overpowers the entire poster as its brought forward making it look enlarged. The background and border is dark, however with the image being bright, it allows the picture to stand out.

Apart from the image the use of text was also a major thing for this magazine. The masthead of the cover is in large, bold writing which stands out and immediately draws attention to itself. This is also because the producer of the magazine has decided to use the colour of red to contrast with the black background. It gives the masthead a sence of power. They have also used the same technique for other pieces of text that are on the cover. The text appears in bold contrasting writing on the cover which allows it to stand out and even overlap the image of making it even more appealing to viewers rather then just normal printed text on a normal background.

This cover featuring Johnny Depp is very different from the two previous covers I have researched as its a different design with its conventions differing from the two previous covers I have analyised. The main reason behind this is because the magazine is more focused on reviews and interviews.

The image used for the magazine allows various colours to be used, for example the red and black contrast really well with the picture. This means that the smaller text doesnt have to be big, or bold as the colour red and white makes it stand out. The images and text at the top and on the right of the cover implie that the magazine isnt just about Public Enemies but includes reviews and exclusive information on other movies.

The picture used for the magazine cover has been taken from the movie as Johnny Depp has fired a gun shot. This is shown with the smoke hovering in the air.

The same masthead has been used for all three magazine covers, using the same font and colour, however this magazine cover has a slightly brighter masthead compared to the darker red from the previous two magazines. Throughout the magazine covers which I have analyised, the masthead has contributed in making the the cover look eye catching.

Film Magazine Cover Conclusion

After analyising these covers I have found what conventions make a cover look attractive to its target audience. The three main things that I need to take into consideration when planning my magazine cover is the image, colours and text. An image is usually the most appealing and memorable as a picture reveals/says a lot more than text does. The way an image is taken, says a lot about what it shows and represents. This can make or break a magazine from appealing to its target audience. So it is therefore essential that I plan what types of images I will use taking into account the shot type and colours that will feature in the image.

The overall colour of of my text will also be essential, various colours portray the feeling, mood. This is because colours have catogories for example attractive (bright colours) = happy, upbeat, representive (Red) = danger, blood and also contrasting (black and white). These three techniques help make a magazine look eye-catching and unique from others.

Finally it is vital to make sure that the text is attractive, unique and relevant to my image, colours and most importantly sticks to my chosen film and its genre. To do this I will take into consideration the size, font and colour before thinking about what I will write. It is then important to make sure that what I do write is linked to my main story line in my chosen movie.

All of which I have talked about will be illustrated in my planning to help me create a successful magazine cover that will attract my chosen target audience.

Planning

For my magazine I decided to create a new cover which represented my own film. The following few paragraphs are a copy of my notes and thoughts that make up my plan of action for the production stage. As my magazine will be advertising the film I will need to keep it similar to the poster that I created from Ancillary one. I will use a lot of the conventions from my poster and forward them to my magazine so that both pieces of media are similar.

Ideas

Before I began my planning Michael, Lewis and myself looked at some ideas for what we would like to do for our magazine cover. We drew our ideas down which were just the layout which we would like to use without including all of the technical conventions. We talked about the different shot types and images we could use so that when it came to the final piece, viewers would be able to view the poster/magazine, giving an accurate representation of what our movie is about. Below I have explained my reasons for chosing this image and why. Design number one is the most appealing and fits better with the fonts, colours and layout which I have used.

Image

The image that I am going to use will be similar to the one I used for my poster. I took great care in analyising what an image can portray in the media and I believe that my image for both ancillary one and two represent and promote what the movie is about. The reason I chose this image was for many reasons. The image was simple to create and required little time and effort. Although the image is rather simple it has that feel and effect on the viewers. The image brings a presence. The image gives a brief insight to what the movie is about, without giving anything away. When taking the photo of Becky Thomas I used a room which had good lightening and decided to use black paper as a background, so that when it came to editing I could see the outline of the arm, giving it a more proffesional look. Below is the picture used in both my ancillary one and two, before and after editing:

Before

After

Layout

When analyising all magazine covers I realised that their main design effect is the layout. The layout is extremely important in getting viewers to stay focused and interested in you movie. The layout determines everything about the film and how it is presented. It is up to the producer on the amount of text, colour and font used as well as the images, designs and cover lines to make a magazine cover. After taking those ideas into consideration I planned and searched carefully for the different types of layouts and which ones represented the different conventions better than others. I wanted to include as much as I could onto my cover, without making it look clustered and untidy. However I wanted the image and text to be presented smartly,

giving it that proffessional look. Below is an idea of a layout which I designed:

I made various draft layouts for my final production and this is the one I chose. When looking at my chosen design it is easy to see that the image and the main story will play a big part in it. The image will nearly cover the whole page which will attract the attention of viewers. My masthead will replicate the masthead used in the normal Empire magazine, dominating the cover as seen from my anaylisis of them. I also made space for my main cover storyline and room for any other cover stories that I may include. Finally I made sure that I included space for other essential information such as barcode, date, issue number and tagline. In conclusion this draft will enable me to plan my cover easier knowing that I have an understanding of what I want to achieve.

Text

For magazine covers text is very important as all their conventions apart from the image and colour is all text based. The text is very significant, for example our film is a crime drama with chilling scenes, therefore you want a text which will replicate your movie genre. The text can range from the lesser information such as barcodes, and issue numbers to the more important of mastheads which attracts attention to itself with its colour and font. In comparrison to the poster which I created, the magazine will include much more text and information covering a lot more space. I will still however take into consideration my genre and relate it to my cover so I will experiment on the different colours, size and font that I could use. However my aim is to make the font style for both ancillarys and my film review very similar to oneanother. In regards to the mast head, I will use the original Empire masthead which is in a bright red which is big, bold text. By doing this it makes my cover look more realistic as though it has been reviewed by Empire magazine. Finally the rest of my text will be easy to read with a font and colour allowing it to contrast with the rest of the cover. Below is a image of the Empire masthead which I will be using. Below the mnasthead is a copy of my film and its font.