Film Magazine Front Cover Analysis

The actual name of the film shows to that audience that the magazine is a film magazine. The name of the film is also reflected in the masthead as it’s

written in bold red, this could be used to show a link to the type of film hell boy is and the red help signify to the audience hell, death and torture, there’s a

significant contrast between the background and the masthead to make sure it stands out to the audience. They have used fire as the drop shadow to link in

with the name hell boy. The fire also represent to the audience hell and torture; this could give them more of an insight into the film. The typography of the

masthead stays the same in every issue of the magazine; the font is large and bold so that it stands out to the audience. The image is also in front of the

masthead this shows to the audience how well known and popular the magazine is that they don’t have to show the whole name and people would still

know what magazine they are looking at. The fact that the masthead is caught on fire could give the audience an insight to the film and makes it suitable for

a film magazine as it suits the theme of the frame. The target audience are film fans the masthead appeal to the target audience as it will entice them to

read more about the film, as its eye catching, devilish and mysterious. They have placed the masthead in the same place and font so that the target audience

can signify what magazine it is; this way when it’s on the shelves they will be able to tell the magazine from far away.

The image is of the main character in the film hell boy,

looking directly at the audience with one hand in a fist

and the other over it. The image is giving the audience

an insight into the film. The image suggests to the

audience that the film could be a supernatural; action

film by the fact that the character is half human, half

devil and the fact that the character has a bionic hand

could show that the film has scenes of action in it.

The poster and the

magazine have a symbolic link of red that used in

both and the character that is featured in both

of them too. The image placed in the middle of

the frame is mid-shot of the main character

showing his body and the strength that’s shown

in his muscles. The lighting is mainly on the side

of his face and the middle of his face looks dark

and mysterious. His costume is just his red bare

skin, his body posture is stiff and powerful, the

audience are able to tell this by the positioning

of his hands and the facial expression that

expressed to the audience. The setting and

setting can’t be told by the magazine front cover

as the background is plain black, this shows that

the setting of the film is placed in a dark place.

This could have been done to relate to the name

of the film ‘Hell Boy 2’.

The sell-lines are featured on the left hand side of the

frame as that’s the place where the human eyes go

first as that’s the way people read from. All the sell-

lines that are feature on the front cover of the Empire

magazine have a symbolic link towards other films

that the target audience would enjoy. The films that

are presented in the sell-lines give the idea that the

target audience are mainly males. It gives the

audience a first look into the previews of the film this

might entice the target audience to buy the magazine

and so that they are able to see pictures of parts of

the film before others are able to. The font of the

sell-lines are relatively smaller than the title of the

film and the masthead that son the top of the frame.

The font is the same as the masthead to show a link

between them and to keep the brand identify when

the audience is reading the magazine. The colours of

the sell-lines are written in white to show a contrast

between the black and the red, it could also signify

the genre of the film and the difference between

purity and evil. The strap-line that’s used on the

magazine front cover is directed to the audience ‘you

and whose golden army’ this could signify that no-

one is able to destroy Hell boy. This entice the

audience to watch the film to see if anyone in the film

can destroy hell boy.

The colours of the sell-lines are white this signifies purity.

The fact that hell boy is written in white is ironic because

when you think of hell you think of the colour red and not

the colour white because the colour white represents

innocence. The fact that the text is placed in the middle of

the characters body near his heart could show that deep

down he’s pure and innocent. The strap line that’s used

above the name of the film that reads ‘you and whose

golden army’ is written in gold which links in with the

strap line. The colours that are used in the frame help

reflect the narrative, as the colours are very devilish and

they are very bold and they stand out this could reflect

the action genre or the horror supernatural genre. The

contrast in the black, white and red help lure the audience

into going and watching the film as the colours are very

demanding and intriguing, as they blend well together.

The image is the most dominant feature on the page as it takes the

audience focus more than the text. The text is small and plotted

mainly on the first third of the frame and the bottom of the frame. It’s

written smaller and contrasts well with the main image on the frame.

The name of the film may confuse the audience with what magazine they are reading because the name ‘Hannibal’ may make them think of a gossip

magazine, telling the story about a Hannibal. The size of the masthead is large and bold this way the audience are able to read it clearly. The style of the

font is very static and it looks like its jumping out of the frame. This could because a Hannibal is dangerous and preys on the vulnerable when they aren’t

expecting it. The masthead is placed in front of the main image that could be because the magazine wasn’t as well known when this issue of empire was

made. The mast head is on a plain red colour that stands out to the audience and helps signify the genre of the film to the audience. It also helps the film

promote a sense of fear to the audience and maybe entice them to go and watch the film. The front of the magazine looks like something that would be

presented in a premier of a film. The masthead is bold and red this could give the idea that the target audience is males who are between the ages of 16-

30. The colours of the masthead are dominant and could relate to the personality of the target audience. The mast head is placed in the same place and

the font is identical in every issue of Empire magazine that’s been released so that the target audience are able to tell the magazine every time they see it.

The image is half a male characters face. It’s a close

up of one side of his face and its showing the colour

of his eyes. It could show that the magazine is a film

magazine as it’s trying to promote the main film of

the issue Hannibal. The image could suggest to the

audience that it is a horror film magazine by the

spookiness of the main image. The main sell-line

‘what’s cooking?’ could suggest to the audience that

something is going to get heated up. It’s a question

that is aimed directly to the audience this makes

them start to wonder maybe it’s them that’s going

to be cooked. This could entice the audience to

actually go and see the film. The main image suggest

that the narrative is mysterious and scary to the

audience, it shows that its part of the horror genre

or the slasher horror genre by the red in his eyes.

This could signify death in the narrative; this might

engage the audience to go and watch the film to see

the whole film.

The image that is

present in the Hannibal poster is the same image

that is presented on the magazine front cover, this a

symbolic link between the two. They both give of a

sense of fear to the audience. The image is a close

up of the antagonist in the film, there is profile

lighting on half of the characters face to show that

he has two sides to him and side that the audience

see’s and a darker side that people don’t know

about. The audience aren’t able to tell where the

setting or the background the film is set but they are

able to tell that it’s going to be in a dark and scary

place as the main image of the character blends into

black, to show mystery.

The sell-lines that are featured in the front cover of

this issue of empire magazine all relate to the title of

the film Hannibal, for instance ‘Catering for

cannibals!’ All the sell-lines match the theme of the

film that the magazine is trying to promote. The sell-

lines help reflect the interests of the target audience

by the words that they use to entice them such as

‘Gore blimey’, quizzes such as ‘are you a psycho?’

sell-lines like themes help engage with the target

audience as they talk directly to the audience and in

a less formal way., as the target audience are young

males. On the right hand side of the cover in the

bottom corner they have sell-lines of plus that’s

featured in the magazine, they use well know actors

to lure in the audience. Some of the sell-lines are

direct to the audience and helps them engage more

with the film and with the magazine. The name of

the film is the only sell-line that is in bold this could

be to show the importance and that fact that the

film that the magazine is trying to promote. The

main sell-line is in serif to show its significance

compared to the other sell lines. The rest are written

in san serif to show that it’s not as important as the

other text on the frame. The size of the font

depreciated down the frame the main sell-line is the

largest then they get smaller the less important the

sell-lines get. The styles of the sell-lines that are

bullet pointed are in san serif and come across more

feminine than the title of the film and the masthead.

The colours of the sell-lines match the genre of the

film, the fact that their more black presented on the

page could show that there’s more evil featured in

the film than innocence and purity. The colours red,

black and white is repeatedly used within the front

cover to show that the film that they are promoting

is from the horror genre.

The colours that are used for the sell-

lines are white and red, to show the

contrast between the background that

is being used. They are used to show

the genre that the film magazine is

trying to promote and give the audience

a more chilling mood when reading the

magazine. By the colours used they

might entice the audience more to go

and read the magazine and see what

the film is about. The white that is

featured on the black background could

show the difference between good and

evil. The colours that are used helps

reflect the horror narrative and the

genre of the film as in most horrors the

main colours that are used are white,

red and black and the audience would

be able to tell the link when looking at

this magazine front cover. The colours

stand out well when put together that

they lure the audience in more to find

out more about the film. The fact that

the background on the left hand side of

the frame is black, may lure in the

audience to find out what is lurking in

the darkness of the main image. The

colour red is introduced firstly in the

main characters eyes as they are

looking directly in the audience

direction.

In this magazine front cover there is more text feature

in the frame that over rides the main image. This

could be because the image leaves a lot to the

audience’s imagination and the text on the left hand

side of the page helps entice the audience to find out

more about the film. The fact that there is profile

lighting on his face and the darker side merges into

the black background makes the layout of the text

easy to place and easy for the audience to read the

text that’s placed around the image. The front cover

layout of the text follows the conventions of a horror

magazine but the image is distinctive as it’s not placed

in the middle of the frame, it is placed mostly on the

right hand side. This could be to leave the image in the

audiences head as the bottom right hand side of the

frame is the last place that the audiences eyes sets

eyes on. This way it would stay in their minds.