Magazine analysis 3

I thought this would be an interesting magazine cover to analyse as it is a lot less noisy than my other two magazines. There is a lot less going on within the page, however it has still been made to look detailed, possibly due to the cover image of the subject.

This title is unconventional compared to a wide variety of magazine titles as it is in lower case letters. Normally it is expected for them to be in upper case, (like the previous magazines I have analysed) to stand out more. Due to the bright blue colour, it still however stands out quite a lot on the page. The word ‘weekly’ being placed inside some of the letter on “entertainment” I have found is quite conventional as I have seen this same effect on other magazines, such as “Total Film”. It gives a tasteful and very appealing effect.

I like the effect here of the subheading slightly overlapping the title as it leads the target audience to read both and therefore get a clearer understanding of what this magazine is based on. It shows that it is about movies. The contrast with the blue for the title and then the white for this subheading is very appealing as both colours work extremely well together, they are very bold.

The date of the magazine- conventional. However normally on magazines they have on the front cover the price and web address for the magazine new to the date; therefore this is challenging typical conventions by missing out the price and web address.

Two parts on the magazine that have a red font. This is interesting as I would have expected there to have been more of this colour as it is so bold and really does catch the eye. It is also the only text in an italic font which I find is extremely fancy looking- it creates a good contrast with the rest of the text.

This shows that this magazine isn’t just focusing on the film advertised on the front cover, therefore it will grab more audience attention as they will be interested to hear and find out more about these brand new releases. The number “39” has been made bigger as it is quite a high number, therefore the audiences gaze may be drawn immediately to that and want to know what it is for. The number has been put in the blue colouring which makes it a lot bolder.

Name put on top of the subject on the magazine to introduce him to the audience and show who he is. The audience will find this extremely appealing seeing the name of someone so famous on the front cover as they will immediately assume it is a high profile magazine. His name very much stands out as the colour white is in deep contrast with the background which is a dark grey/black colour.

It also introduces the film the actor is going to be starring in. This has been made very small which demonstrates that it isn’t of as much importance as his name is. It has also been put into brackets. This is unusual however as it has been put into upper case letters which contrasts with the actor’s name which is in lower case writing. This has probably been done so that the audience do still manage to take notice, even though it is very small compared to the name.

The background cover photo for this magazine front cover is very interesting as, although the magazine doesn’t include as much text and images as other magazines, it still manages to appear just as detailed. There is a medium close up shot of the subject, therefore part of his clothing is on display. He is dressed in quite an old fashioned and smart way which links in with the film of ‘Sweeney Todd’ which is being advertised, as that film is also old fashioned. The colouring of the overall background therefore compliments his attire as it is all in a greyish colour which stereotypically has old connotations. His face has been made to look very pale in this photo which is quite effective as it appears ghost-like to the audience. The subjects gaze is very interesting as he is looking straight forward into the eyes of the reader. His look is rather intimidating, extremely serious and possibly quite aggressive therefore the film being advertised gives the audience ideas on what the genre is going to be.

At the base of the page, a list of a series of Hollywood A-listers and the use of the word “Oscar” is a way of attracting a great deal of audience to read the magazine. They will see these famous names and immediately think the magazine is of a high profile. The writing of ‘plus’ and ‘and’ I have found has been used on a number of magazines- it makes the magazine appear as though there is a lot of extra things to see and read inside. It has been put in upper case letters to grab the audiences attention.