2. •Empire is published by Bauer Consumer Media, a well-established multi-national publishing
company.
•Priced at £3.99
•Published on a monthly basis
•Targeted towards film fans in general, and is a well-respected reviewer of films, with many
of its quotes being used on DVD/Blu-Ray release posters.
•Typically contains features, interviews, reviews and previews of movies, both in-cinema and
home releases.
•Usually features the single main character, or the main antagonist of the movie, with the
head usually in a position overlapping the masthead. Masthead is familiar to many due to
huge awareness of its existence. Follows the conventions of a magazine, with a Masthead,
main coverline, key image & a tagline above the masthead.
3. •TotalFILM is published by Future Publishing Inc.
•Priced at £3.99
•Published on a monthly basis
•Targeted towards film fans in general, and is a well-respected reviewer of films, with many
of its quotes being used on DVD/Blu-Ray release posters, similar to Empire.
•Typically contains features, interviews, reviews and previews of movies, both in-cinema and
home releases, as well as special issues, such as the October 2012 ‘Cool Issue’, with a list of
the ‘Top Ten Coolest Films being made Right Now’ included.
•Usually features a single actor, mostly in character from their respective movie. The actor
show is usually the main character, or the main antagonist of the movie, with the head
usually in a position overlapping the masthead. Masthead is familiar to many due to huge
awareness of its existence. Follows the conventions of a magazine, with a Masthead, main
coverline, key image & a tagline above the masthead.
4. •Sight & Sound is published by the British Film Institute, as more of an educational journal
rather than a magazine.
•Priced at £3.95
•Published on a monthly basis
•The audience for sight and sound magazine is mainly educated film fans and readers for
educational purposes, featuring in-depth interviews rather than the usual ‘press-junket’
thing featured in many magazines.
•The magazine is not so much the average monthly celebration of current film; rather it is a
high-brow magazine focusing on film and the history of film, as well as prominent figures
within the film industry.
•The magazine’s image is very different from the likes of TotalFILM or Empire, opting for a
more organised, streamlined look about the front covers, with the masthead separated from
the coverlines and images by a box-like outline, as opposed to Empire’s masthead or SFX’s
masthead, which is usually incorporated into the cover or obscured by the cover.
5. •Uncut is published by IPC Media.
•Priced at £3.99
•Published on a monthly basis
•Hybrid magazine Focuses more on the music aspects of Media, rather than movies so would
probably be more popular with a fan of the musical genres represented here, although some
fans of both the represented genre and film would likely read it.
•Usually contains an approximate 75:25 split of music to film related material, focusing on
classic rock. Films related to readership interests, with movies featured usually aimed at a
more mature audience.
•Usually features a musical artist with the head of said artist usually in a position with
masthead overlapping it. Masthead is familiar to many due to huge awareness of its
existence. Follows the conventions of a magazine, with a Masthead, main coverline, key
image & a tagline above the masthead.
6. •Little White Lies is independently published by The Church of London Creative Agency.
•Priced at £5.00
•Published on a bi-monthly basis
•The design of each issue of Little White Lies is inspired by its feature film, represented on
the cover by an illustration of its lead actor. The cover film also influences interior aspects,
such as editorial icons, chapter headings and custom typefaces. However, the overall
template of the magazine remains the same.
•Highly stylised magazine and high price-point suggest the magazine is targeted at the niche
audience of film fans, an idea also hinted at by the somewhat limited distribution for the
magazine.
•Usually features an extreme close-up of the model’s head, usually stylised in some way, such
as the ‘Wanted Poster’ style used on a stylised image of actor Tom Hardy’s head for the
Lawless issue. The masthead is incorporated into the cover as the first thing you see, to draw
your attention.
7. •SFX is published by Future Publishing Inc.
•Priced at £3.99
•Published on a monthly basis
•Targeted towards fans of Sci-Fi, fantasy and horror media. Not just movies, but books, TV
shows & video games (albeit to a much lesser extent)
•Typically contains features, interviews, reviews and previews of sci-fi, horror, fantasy &
anime movies, both in-cinema and home releases. Occasionally a special issue is released
featuring a specific theme, such as the Superheroes issues, or the Doctor Who issues.
•Usually features a single actor, mostly in character from their respective movie. The actor
show is usually the main character, or the main antagonist of the movie or tv show, with the
head often in a position overlapping the ‘F’ in the masthead. Follows the conventions of a
magazine, with a Masthead, main coverline, key image & a tagline above the masthead.
Usually features a banner somewhere on the page, advertising other features in the
magazine, anchored with images, and often features the logos of the movie/show on the
main coverline.
8. Summary of Research
During the course of my research on film magazines, I have learned a number of interesting
things related to the creation of a film magazine, as well as the way the front covers are
constructed. The main features are listed below.
•Usually features a single actor, in character from their
respective film.
•Masthead is usually prominent or printed in a bold colour to
make it noticeable.
•Packs as many features as possible onto the front page to
entice buyers (in most cases).
•Features a current/popular film or character (in most cases).
•Usually released on a monthly basis, rather than the weekly
format used by several music magazines.
•Style of each front cover usually bleeds into article on cover
feature, with the same styles, colours and fonts being used.
•Follows the traditional conventions of a magazine cover.
•Masthead
•Coverlines
•Taglines
•Coverlines anchor the key images
•Following this research the magazine that my coursework
trailer would be most likely to feature in would probably be
SFX, targeting the niche market rather than the generic
readership of Empire or TotalFILM.
