Analysis of the codes and conventions of magazine cover 1
This cover features the film Hannibal (2001) which is a psychological thriller, the magazine cover has synergy with the poster of the Hannibal film such as the lighting technique (chiaroscuro) and the red text.
The masthead 'Empire' is always located at the center top of the page and is the largest text within the page, this draws the viewers eye towards the name of the magazine therefore making the audience familiar with the name/ instantly know what magazine it is. The white background helps the red text to stand out and is considered synergy within the magazine as the majority of 'Empire' magazines feature a red masthead. This could be because red is a highly visible colour.
The central image is a close up shot of the actor showing the actors emotions, . The image shows clear connotations of horror through lighting; the chiaroscuro on the face gives of an eerie and mysterious vibe. The eye contact between you and the actor on the page instantly draws the audiences attention towards the magazine.
The background is black (synergy between the poster and magazine cover) so this could show that character has power, authority, is mysterious but black is also associated with death and evil.
Found from statistics, the main percentage of the audience of this magazine are males making 76% of the overall audience (2009) http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Brands/Empire. I think the image, text and colours are more suited towards a stereotypical male audience as the bright red represents danger which is what I would associate with a stereotypical male.
The text on the cover features buzz words such as "World Exclusive", to attract the reader and persuade them to buy the magazine. The colour of the text is a code/convention of the horror genre because the red represents warning, danger and blood. The white text stands out against the dull and dark background. The use of different font sizes helps to keep the page interesting to the reader. At the top right corner of the page it says "40 pages of new films and DVDs!" this gives the audience an idea of what to expect inside the magazine, it is also used to entice the reader. Along the sides of the cover features quotes/ anchorage text which overlaps the center image with some of the content of the magazine the reader may be interested in.
The banner is always located at the top of the page, it supplies the audience with some content that's inside the magazine.
Other conventions all magazines must feature include the price, date and bar code which are normally located along the side or bottom of the cover, they are placed there because they must be placed on the cover but isn't what attracts the audience to the magazine so they don't need to stand out.
Analysis of the codes and conventions of magazine cover 2
This magazine cover features Wolverine from the film X-Men Origins:Wolverine (2009), this film isn't a horror but portrays some of the codes/conventions similar to a horror.
This magazine is also Empire so the masthead is located at the center top of the page, is the largest text on the page and is coloured red (synergy), the magazine featuring Hannibal has the masthead over part of the actors face whereas in this cover, the actor is covering the masthead, this could be because the actor is well known so will attract more customers or the magazine is well known so there is no need to show all of the masthead because people already know what magazine it is.
The main image again is placed in the center of the page as it is the main feature on the page that draws the viewers attention towards the magazine. This image is a long shot/ medium shot to show the characters full body language, which is know as a symbolic code. His body language is very forward and masculine. The editor chose this character to display on the cover because they are well known to Empires audience, therefore more magazines will be sold. Looking at the hands of the character, there are claws which could relate to the codes and conventions of the horror genre as sharp objects are used a lot in horror films.
The dark lighting of the background portrays a sinister and apocalyptic feel to it also linking to the characteristics of horror. The background changes from dark to light so that the masthead stands out more as well as the character, not much is going on in the background, the same as the magazine cover featuring Hannibal, so the viewers are instantly attracted towards the image. The background has a tint of blue colour to it, which could possibly represent the personality of the character, powerful, understanding and serious.
The text on the cover, excluding the masthead, is black and white, this could be for many reasons such as to keep the page interesting, keep the attention of the audience on the image/ masthead or to relate to the characters emotions showing they have more than one personality (also linked by the fact he has claws but is dressed as a normal person). The editor of the magazine has made the more important text a bigger font as this is what they want the readers to read such as " Review of the year" which makes the magazine sound important. If the audience were unaware of the character on the front they could guess by the text on the page such as "Wolverine has returned for..." and "X-Men origins on set World exclusive", also acting as a buzz word to entice the reader.
Analysis of the codes and conventions of magazine cover 3
This magazine, Total Film, features the movie 'Inception'. Again this film isn't a horror film but the cover displays some codes/ conventions that would be expected on a horror film magazine cover.
The masthead for Total film is located at the top of the cover and is the largest text on the page, this is to make it stand out. It is placed at the top of the page because of the conventions of a film magazine and the synergy of Total Film. The masthead has synergy with the film presented on the cover (Inception), used from the poster of a birds eye view of buildings.
The masthead blends into the background (alike in the image below) of the magazine so that the actor on the cover is more prominent that the title.
The actor on the front cover is the main actor in the film so therefore the magazine already appeals to many people because they're familiar with this person. The actor is the central image to draw peoples attention to him, this is possibly because the editor felt that having the actor as the main image would be likely to grab more attention. The image features a mid shot of the character, this was chosen to allow the viewer to see the facial expression but also the body language that is important. The chiaroscuro on the face can be seen as a horror convention which is one of the reasons I chose this magazine to analyse. The actor is also in a black suit which could represent authority, formality, elegance or possibly fear.
The background fades from birds eye view to eye level to make the transition from the masthead to the main image more smoother. The background is blue similar to the Empire magazine above, blue is used to represent consciousness, intellect, understanding and depth which has a lot to do about the film 'Inception'.
The text on the cover follows conventions of your average magazine cover, for example, Masthead at the top, which is the largest text on the page. Imperatives/ puffs along the side of the page. The text surrounding the central image is grey, white and red resulting in a mixture of emotions portrayed, for example, love, anger, loss and purity. The film title overlaps the main image so that the viewers know what the film is if they are unfamiliar with the synergy. The words "Mind blowing issue" relate to the film along with "Inside the ultimate head trip". The fact that the text surrounds the image shows the image is more important to the viewers rather than the text.
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