Front cover overview
- 2. Each of the six front covers are all film magazines from three well-known, respected and successful magazine brands:Total Film, Empire and Fangoria.Althoughthemagazines have different targetaudiences, with Total Film andEmpire aimed at film fanatics and Fangoriabeing specifically targetedat Horror fans, they each successfully promote the film in question. They are each designed with the intention of attractingfilm fans and making them want to buy the magazine and watch the films featured. By comparing these front covers, it is likely that I will find common patternsand sharedfeatures used by allFilm FrontCovers to promote films successfully. Each of these front covers follows the general and layoutconventions of a magazine front cover. There are expected features in the form of a main image that dominates the cover, alongwith multiple sell-linessurroundingtheimage that relate to the articles inside. Fourof the six front covers use feature article photographs;however the quantity varies between these four, with Fangoriahavingthe most. They each feature their signaturemastheadin a central position at the top of the frame. The mastheadsare presented in the magazine’s signaturefont and are the largesttext in the frame. Althoughthey follow a similar layout, TotalFilm and Empire create a much more professional andpolished look and feel thanFangoria, which looksmore ‘amateur’.This could be due to the fact that Fangoriais created just for a more niche audience of horror fans. This means it requires a lessslick and more pronouncedhorror-likepresentation to appeal to the audience andreflect the genre it serves.Whereas, Empire andTotal Film usuallyfeature Big Blockbustertype films that everyone will know aboutand will want to see. This requires that they create a professionaland sophisticated looking front cover thatreflects the professionalism of the targetaudience andtheir serious love of film. On each of these frontcovers, it is a male character/actor thatdominates the frame. This is due to the fact thatmost of the films thatthese three magazines promote focus arounda male main character or protagonist.By featuring the main character on the front cover, the target audience instantly recognises the film thatis being promoted and will want to buy the magazine to read aboutit. Also, each of the front covers portrays the feature model as the character,rather thanthe well-known actor who plays him. This enables the audience to understand straightawaythat the magazine in question is one thatpromotes and celebrates film. In addition to this, it will heighten the magazine’s appeal to the audience as it instantly tellsthem that the featured article will talk specifically aboutthe film, ratherthanthe actor who featuresin it. For example, the Fangoriaissue promoting Halloweenfeatures Michael Myers on the cover. The fact that he is in charactermeans that the audience can at a glance recognise thatthe magazine is promoting Halloween. Whereas, if the main image was of Tyler Mane, who plays Michael, it is unlikely that the reader will know at a glance thatHalloween is the featured article of thatparticular issue. If Tyler Mane were featured it would also reduce the overalleffect
- 3. of the front cover in terms of provoking a sense of terror,drawing audience interest and intrigue and signallingthatFangoria is a horrorfilm mag. The names of the three magazines instantlyreflect the brandidentity of the magazines and what they represent. For example, the title Fangoriasuggeststhatthe magazine is aimed at a very specific target audience who have a love for gore. This is something thatthe TA would instantlyrecognise the first time they see the magazine. Their love for Horror andgore will attractthem to the magazine. Whereas, Total Film suggeststo the TA thatthis magazine features a wide range of the biggest blockbusters.The word ‘Total’ suggeststhatthis magazine has everything they could want and need to know aboutthe hottestblockbustersin one magazine. Finally, the title Empire suggeststhatthis magazine is the best of the best. It instantlyinforms the audience that they cannot get any film magazine of a higher statusand quality thanEmpire magazine. In four of the six front covers, the character is making direct addressto fully engage the audience readingthe magazine. This means thatthe audience will instantly feel a strong connection between themselvesand the character on the front cover, which will, in turn, encouragethem to feel drawn in more effectively and to be intrigued enoughto wish to know the fate of the protagonistsin the film. In the case of Michael Myers andJason Voorhees on the Fangoriafront covers, the use of direct addresswill amplify and increase terror,as the audience will feel thatthese horrormaniacs andstaring menacingly at them. The use of direct addresscould alsohelp to reflect the confidence of both the antagonist,in Fangoria, and the protagonistin Empire and Total Film. It also features a well-known actor thatthe TA wouldwant and expect to see featuring in a film magazine. This would draw in the TA, as they would see their favourite actor from their favourite film on the cover andwant to buy the magazine. The shotsthemselves tend to vary between CloseUps and Long Shots. Each magazine doesn’tappear to have a conventionalshot thatthey use for each issue, it appearsto depend on the issue and the film it is presenting.Some films wouldrequire a longshot thatexposes the whole of the male character’s costume, whereas for others a close up is enoughjust to show the charactersface as he may be the ‘face’ of the franchise. For example, the Empire Front Cover promotingInception uses a medium longshot. This allows the whole costume and props usedfor DiCaprio’s character to be in the frame whilst he stillremains in character. It alsohelps to present the genre of Inception. Whereas, the Fangoria front cover promoting Halloween features a close up shot of Michael Myers. As his mask is so well- known and he is the face of the Halloween franchise, the audience would see this close up shotand instantly know what film Fangoriais promoting. Althougheach front cover has different strongcoloursschemes, each features black and red as prominent colourswithin that colourscheme. This helps to create a mysterious and evil tone to the magazine front covers and also helpsthem to grab attention on the news stand. The combination of red, black andwhite are seen as universallyeffective, while primary colours like these appeal to a core male target audience; all three of these magazines are targetedat largely male audiences. Each issue appearsto changethe
- 4. colourscheme in order to compliment the film they are promoting, with only key features like the mast-headstaying the same. For example, with regardsthe edition of Empire where it features Hell-Boy on the front cover, the front cover is dominated by Black, orange and red. This helps to compliment the image andthe narrative of the film as it features coloursthatwe associate with hell and fire. Also, the signaturemastheadis presented in orange, ratherthanwhite, and looks like its on fire as if paying homage to and celebrating andreflecting the film. This is something very uncommon in the magazine industryas most magazines try to make their front cover look as similar as possible so it is easily recognisable. However, the fact thatEmpire is a well-known and well respected magazine gives it the ability to adapt the front cover in-line with the narrativeof the film that it is promoting, creating the ultimate effect for film fanatics. Plus,Empire knows that their loyal fans will recognise the general typographyused for the masthead andrepeated layout elements on the front cover. Whereas, the Fangoria front covers use mostly red, black and green which furtherreflects the horrorgenre. This will allowhorrorfanatics to instantly recognise the Fangoriafront cover as being partof a horrormagazine. The magazine Fangoria is specifically designed to promote the horrorgenre with the typography andcolour used for the title connotingblood and gore. The feature-article photographsusedon the two Fangoria front covers tend to be more gruesomeand graphic thanthose featured on the front covers of Empire and Total Film that rarely even feature FAPs. The gruesome imagery and ‘amateur’look of Fangoriahelps to promote its brandidentity and reflect the genre it predominantlypromotes. Fangoriaalso features numeroussell-linesrelated to articles inside that issue thatwill appeal to the audience and entice them to buy the magazine. For example, the Friday the 13th issue of Fangoria features the sell-line; ‘Supernaturalboysvs. Slashers!’This would appeal to the target audience as it informs the reader thatthis issue is going to feature all of the best SupernaturalandSlasherantagonistsin a fierce comparison battle to see which antagonistwill come out as the best. In contrast,the Empire and Total Film front covers only feature a couple of sell-lineson each issue. The sell-lines thatdo feature usuallyonly present the title of a film that features in the issue. This informs the reader thatthe majority of that issue will be based on the blockbusterfeatured on the front cover, with other blockbusterfilms making an appearance in the magazine bringingfirst look exclusives with them. This would appeal to the niche film magazine reader who wants to learn more aboutthe films. This appearsto be a clear conventionof film magazines that don’t specifically promote one genre. As Empire and TotalFilm are well-established and successful magazines targetedat film fanatics, they rarely feature horrorfilms on their front cover. This is due to the fact that horrorfilms do not appeal to sucha mainstream targetaudience, who expect big blockbusterstobe promoted by Total Film and Empire like Star Trek and The Hobbit. When a horrorfilm appearson the front cover, it is usually as a special edition. Empire and Total Film tend to promote films from within the Action
- 5. Adventureand Sci-fi genres. This is because these are the films that are aimed at the widest audience, and are usuallythe biggest blockbustersas they require high levels of special effects to create the films. There appearsto be a sortof hierarchy of films and genres in Total Film andEmpire. They tendto focus solely on Action AdventureandSci-fi films, pushingaside genresthat aren’tas ‘Highbrow’ suchas Horrorand Rom-Coms. There are symbiotic links thatoccur repeatedly between magazine front covers, film postersand trailers which help the audience identify which film the promotionalpiece belongsto. For example, the Fangoriaissue promotingFriday the 13th features a long shot of Jason, the psychopathic serial killer, standingwith his legs wide apart with his enormousmachete-like weapon clasped in his right hand.The shot,the mise-en-scene used in this shot, and his body position are exactly the same as the image used for the promotionalposter. By using a similar image, Fangoria will spark a recognition and the reader will instantly see the front cover of Fangoria,or the film poster, and know it is promoting Friday the 13th. In each of the six magazine front covers, the masthead is perfectly placed at the top of the frame, in a bold signaturefont so the audience instantlyknow which magazine it is. The mastheadis alsothe largesttext on the frame to entice the audience to pick up the magazine before being drawn in further to buy the magazine by the main image.. Each magazines masthead is presented in an uppercasesans serif font. This reflects the fact thatthe TA of each magazine is largelymale as the mastheadsappear very masculine. The different styles of film magazines are further reflected by the fonts. For example, Total Film and Empire feature a plain and simple uppercase san serif font thatlooks professional. Whereas, Fangoria’smastheadreflects the amateurand horrorspecific style of the magazine. This is reflected in the way some of the lettersare at a slightangle and the white outline aroundthe letters.Each of the mastheadshelp to reflect the type of audience the magazines are aimed at and reflects the content of the magazine. Having carried outthis overview, it is clear thatEmpire, Total Film and Fangoriaeach have their own brandidentity and signaturelook thatcan be easily recognized by its targetaudience. This is maintained throughthe repetition of stylistic features from issue to issue and is a great way of helpingthe magazine succeed and maintain a loyal fan base. However, they each follow similar layout conventionsthat allowfor the successful promotion of the film of the cover and share key conventions of Film Magazine Front Covers.