The main feature on the cover/article in the magazine is on the film ‘Wolverine’. The Image used is a medium shot of the main protagonist wolverine and is most likely to have been taken at a photo shoot rather than a still from the film. The picture appears to jump out at the reader; it’s on the top layer above the masthead and cover lines making it eye catching and powerful, drawing the reader in. The colours seen are vibrant which will also help make the magazine stand out among other competitive magazines on the shelf. Red and blue heavily feature in this cover – these are advertising colours that stand out among others. Wolverine is a well known and iconic ‘Marvel’ character, and by using him as the main feature on the cover, ‘Empire’ will attract a large audience of Wolverine and ‘Marvel’ fans as well as movie buffs.

The masthead is kept the same on all ‘Empire’ magazines - at the top of the page, same size, same font, same colour (bar a few special editions). This helps to create a brand that the audience becomes familiar with and learns to trust and rely on to produce quality magazines. By putting a large cover line of the main article above the masthead, the magazine will still attract an audience even when stacked vertically on a shelf behind other magazines. This is also why the cover lines are rarely seen in the centre of the page and usually on the right hand third; they can still be seen when magazines are stacked horizontally.

The slogo is conventionally written below the masthead and is the same for each edition. By using a slogo the reader can easily identify the genre of magazine.

‘The world’s biggest movie magazine’ – mainstream movie magazine.

Empire’s website is also seen below the masthead, branching out their media consumption and allowing the reader to become interactive with the magazine.

As ‘Empire’ is a mainstream magazine it does not limit itself to just one genre of film. This allows the magazine to cater to the largest audience possible; a little bit of something for everyone. This can be seen on the cover lines; ‘Australia’, ‘The Dark Knight’, The Wrestler’, ‘Gran Torino’, ‘Star Wars’ etc. Many different genres of the biggest new films. As well as using big movie names to attract their audience, ‘Empire’ uses the names of well known actors and actresses; Kate Winslet, Angelina Jolie etc.

The barcode and price are shown on the front cover allowing the reader to see the cost of the magazine easily.

This is the front cover from the film magazine ‘Empire’.

This is another edition of ‘Empire’ magazine. The layout of the magazine is kept the same with the same masthead in the same place, keeping to a house style and developing a trustworthy and established brand. The lead article is placed in large font on the left third making it easily visible when stacked in store among other magazines. This helps to draw in the reader and persuades them to buy ‘Empire’ rather than the other competing movie magazines. The image used is of Megan Fox, a well established model and actor. She is looking into the camera making it appear as if she is looking at the reader. This makes the viewer feel connected with the magazine. By using an Image of an attractive woman on the cover the magazine gets the attention of both men and women; men will find her attractive and want to buy the magazine for this purpose and women will idolise her and want to read about her.

At the bottom left there are ‘3 sizzling exclusive’ with images of three well known movie characters. This lures the reader in, the language used (‘Exclusives’) makes it appear special, as if the reader is getting more for their money.

This is the front cover for the film magazine ‘Total Film’

Total film is a British film magazine developed in 1997. The early editions had a similar masthead to the one seen in todays editions but was changed to keep up with modern magazines. By keeping to one style masthead the viewer can easily recognise the magazine and a trustworthy brand is developed. ‘Total Film’ follows the standard conventions of a masthead by placing it in large font at the top of the page making it easily seen for the viewer. The date, issue number and price are seen in small font at the top of the page as well as the magazines website. The website allows the magazine to become interactive with it’s audience, introducing different forms of media and allowing the readers to have their say. This will make the magazine more exciting for readers and also aid the editors of the magazine to find out what is most popular through feedback on the website.The cover lines include title of new big films as well as titles of the articles inside (‘Sexy Brits’, ‘YouTube Genius’). These titles are as a lure to draw in a reader. By placing them at the right hand side of the cover they will still be seen among competitive magazines on store shelves. ‘Plus’ is written above the cover lines, this gives the reader the impression they are getting more for their money. The lead article cover line (‘Max Payne’) dominates the page. This is because it is the biggest article in the magazine and is more likely to attract a larger audience. It is written in a ‘broken’ font to connote the genre of film – in this case an action film. The photo used on the magazine is of ‘Max Payne’. He has a subjective gaze which makes it appear as if he is looking at the viewer as if they are ‘involved’ in the magazine. He is in a striking stance with a gun in either hand – something that will get the attention of every action fan. The colours seen in the photo are very grey and contrasting in tone, connoting the drama and darkness of the film.By using a picture of a good looking guy both men and women will find the magazine appealing – men will identify with the guy and maybe idolise him and women may feel attracted to him and want to read on about his article.

‘Scream’ is a niche magazine targeting itself at only one audience – in this case horror fans. This limits itself to a smaller audience but also allows the magazine to specialise in one genre without having to worry about attracting a mainstream audience who are likely to want to hear about all the biggest films at the time. You can tell this is a niche/independent magazine as it’s very stylised; everything about it screams ‘HORROR’. The main image is of a werewolf or ‘wolfman’, a classic horror film character that almost everyone is aware of. An image like this will defiantly attract a horror audience. The masthead (‘Scream’) is written in red (a connotation of death and pain) and in a blood dripping horror font. This easily connotes the genre of magazine. As with many magazines – mainstream or niche – at the bottom of the page there is a ‘PLUS’ section of other articles in the magazine. This language (‘Plus’) suggests to the reader that the magazine is good value for money, making them believe they are getting more than their moneys worth.As this magazine is niche, it is able to question and/or attack mainstream media. ‘Scream’ has done this by questioning ‘Piranha 3D, scary or silly?). This questioning of the mainstream is more likely to appeal to the magazines ‘individualist’ audience.