Sherlock HolmesTotal Film Front Cover Analysis

The Masthead

The masthead is the word ‘TOTAL FILM’ very bold across the page. The use of colour here (the white) really grabs the audiences attention as

it stands out against the blue background and is a colour that is often used for movie magazines. I really love the way they cut out the total on the F and I think its make the cover more artistic and the tile more visually appealing to look at.

The size of the font is large and takes up a large proportion at the top of the magazine.

The font itself is very bold and angular making it more striking for an audience to look at.

The name automatically suggests that magazine is all about film its ‘total film’ and I think the name is very effective for a movie magazine.

Image and Caption This image again focus on the background as well as the character.

The over all feel of the image is very airy and unsettling. The setting is very foggy so you can’t see what the background is exactly you just see abstract outlines of what looks like it could be buildings. This gives a very mysterious element to the image and makes you ask questions about the location of the film.

The costume helps to set the time period of when the film is set with the old clothes being around the 1960’s .

The characters facial expression is serious but he has a very subtle cheeky smile showing both that he is clever and witty with a daring side. The use of the mid-shot allows you to get a first impression of the character but doesn’t give to much away and makes you want to know more about the film.

The caption is in the traditional place for a magazine and the splash gets your attention. The strong bold text also helps and the white and blue makes it stand out a lot more against the dark background or his clothing.

‘All the elements are coming together’ is very vague but suggests that the narrative is coming together like a puzzle, pieces of the mystery will also suggests the genre of the film, a crime time period drama.

‘World Exclusive’ done in a separate box layered over the image is very effective in getting the audiences attention and making the audience want to read it as it makes them feel important as they are getting some before everyone else and only this magazine will have these contents.

‘On set’ makes you feel more involved with the movie and more involved with both the magazine and the article.

Language/Fonts/Colours

The magazines cover lines are done in black and a light blue which comply with colours for the movie magazine genre. The fonts don’t change drastically but are bold and stand out well on the page. Unlike the other covers I've looked at there is a wider variety with the fonts which I think makes the cover more visually appealing to look at.

The cover lines mention other films and actors. This is done to grab the audiences attentions so they can read the front cover and quickly find something they will be interested in so they will ultimately buy the magazine.

The language on this cover is a lot more informal than others with words like ‘Basterds!’ and ‘Sneaky’ as tag lines this engages the more youthful audience but also makes the contents seem more relaxed and inviting.

This was actually the first magazine that I looked at that had a multi-platform link, the web address ‘TOTALFILM.COM’. I feel that this is very important when it comes to making a magazine multi-platform and it also helps to engage a wider audience with more and more things being online.

Language/Fonts/Colours

• The banner uses the phrase ‘right now’ and I think that adds a sense of urgency to the phrase as it makes it seem like you need to find out more right now or you’ll miss it. This helps to get people attention. I like the use of both the blue and white as it makes it more visually appealing and it stands out on the dark blue background well.

• The subsidiary images go with the banner and showcase some of the coolest movies being made.

• The images help to represent a wide variety of interests with in film such as superheroes, fantasy and a form of animation. This helps to widen the type of people who would buy the magazine based on what they see on the cover.