magazine analysis

‘Total Film’ magazine covers all genres of film, not just horrors. It is difficult to find a magazine front cover with a horror film as the main feature as it is a select genre of film.

The mast head is bold and white, although the magazine is called ‘Total Film’, the main lettering seen is the word ‘Film’. This takes up the space for the mast head, however we can see the word ‘Total’ in the top corner of the letter F.  Although unconventional, this acts as a nickname of the magazine which is known as ‘Film’. We can see this in other magazines such as the shortened version of ‘Cosmopolitan’ magazine is known as ‘Cosmo’. This can be done by having a solid readership and having the popularity to do so. The way in which it singles out the word ‘film’ also shows the reader what genre magazine they are buying. It is straight to the point and snappy allowing a customer to find this magazine quickly amongst a shelf of other film orientated magazines. The colour attracts the readership’s attention, with the bright white upon a murky light blue background.  This differs itself from other magazine covers as most mast heads are red or they co-inside with the theme of the movie that is on the cover for that issue.

The main image is of the character Sherlock Holmes.  It is not a still from the movie but the colour of the frame, the pose of the actor and the costume he is wearing indicates he is in character and promoting the film. The image takes up most of the frame; the colour that surrounds most of the frame is a light midnight blue which correlates well with the iconography of the Sherlock Holmes’ brand as seen in the trailer and posters. The costume used shows the time era well of which Sherlock homes was in. He is wearing a blue waist coast with a dark grey coat with high waisted pleated trousers. The blues and greys that are used in the costume blend in well with the lighting and the colour surrounding the frame, making it an effective way to promote the film. The pose the character is assuming, demonstrates his authority and cool demeanour. His side smirk shows the readership that he knows something they do not, luring them into reading the article about the film to gain insight into the movie. Also Sherlock Holmes is a character that everyone can recognise, this would therefore create an interest amongst the readership. Now the problem arises here with the aspect that my character is a new and unheard of, therefore, I must make my character more appealing as the antagonist. This may be achieved by making him look as scary as possible, a new but yet intriguing face of horror.

The sell lines attract attention as they are in capital letters and have exclamation marks after them, as though they are shouting towards the readership for their attention. The colours that are used for the sell lines link in with the rest of the frame and they stand out against the background. There is not an enormous amount of sell lines but the ones they have used are full of detail as to what the article is about.

There is no banner above the mast head, but there is a form of sell line; images are used to create a promotion for the sell line. ‘10 coolest movies being made right now’ these would be used as they would be the most talked about movies of that season.  Iron man which ironically Robert Downey Jr also stars in. This may attract the audience in further as they may like him as an actor/person, however this is a risky sell line as others may not like him at all and avoid buying the magazine due to this. I will therefore avoid using two sell lines with the same actor twice; therefore showing I can offer a wider variety of movies in my magazine.

The words ‘World exclusive’ help attract the readerships attention as they would want to read the only magazine with the information about an upcoming movie they want to see and know about. The quote that is pulled from the movie gives a slight insight to the film and may entice the reader to read further on. 

The wording and phrase of the sell lines ‘Cracking the case’ reinforces the style of the film of an action mystery and uses a clever play on words to lure the readers into reading the article. Also some of the readership, being Sherlock Holmes fans will notice that this is a title of another Sherlock Holmes book.