Analysis of Sight & Sound

Sight & Sound is an independent British magazine that focuses on independent British and international films. The masthead is the most noticeable font on the front cover due to its large size and that it is in front of a bright yellow banner. Unlike other magazines, the dominant central image, this time of Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is behind the masthead. The dominant cover line is focusing on Johnny Depp's role in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There is a banner near the top of the cover about French cinema and cover lines about it. This shows that the Sight & Sound is also an international magazine. There are then more cover lines at the bottom of the page. The colour scheme is bland and subtle.

Analysis of Total Film

Total Film is a mainstream British magazine with banners which make the cover lines and other images on the top of the front cover stand out. They include Joss Wheldon who is a screen writer and director for films such as The Avengers. The masthead is the largest and most noticeable wording with a dominant central image of Jennifer Lawrence, a recognisable A-list star from The Hunger Games. The dominant cover lines about The Hunger Games are brought out even more with the use of a bright banner. Beneath that there is a banner and cover lines with other images of The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and Prometheus all with a 'play' button on them as it is advertising the Total Film phone app. There are then more cover lines for other content in the magazine. There is also a large banner talking about the top 10 must see blockbuster films. There is a fire colour scheme with the Jackdaw from The hunger games in the background.

Analysis of American Cinematographer

American Cinematographer is aimed at a niche audience that focuses on film making. The three cover lines at the top of the magazine are names of people that work on the films with their degree next to their name. This shows that the magazine focuses on people's academic success. The masthead is slightly hidden by the dominant central image of Leonardo DiCaprio from The Wolf Of Wall Street who is a highly recognisable A-lists star. The dominant cover line is about Rodrigo Prieto, a cinematographer and how he is working with the director Scorsese. The colour scheme is fairly bland and unexciting. 

Introduction to Analysing Different Types of Magazine Front Covers

Now that I have researched many different types of film publications and have analysed the front covers of two of them, I will be analysing the layout, style and content and will be highlighting the differences between them all. As I still do not know what type of publication my magazine will be, researching the conventions of different types of magazines will show which conventions are in all kinds of publications.

Magazine Front Cover Conventions

There are many magazine conventions which are found in all kinds of magazines. However there were some variations to them. Mainstream Hollywood magazines tend to have a recognisable star as the dominant central image whilst a more independent magazine would have a director as the dominant central image. 

• Masthead

• Dominant central image of recognisable star/character

• Web address

• Date, issue number and price

• Barcode

• Cover lines

• Dominant cover line

• Slogan

• Other images
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Conventions of Film Magazines

I will be looking at two film magazine front covers from two different types of publications so that I can both look and find the conventions of magazine front covers and see the layout, design and what a magazine front cover should consist of. Once I have done this I will analyse them in terms of layout, style and content whilst highlighting the difference between different themes of magazine.

What I found was after doing this task was that for SFX, which is a science fiction magazine that focuses on mainstream Hollywood films and is aimed at a younger audience is that not only does it have more conventions of magazine front covers on it but it uses these conventions more. These conventions being a masthead, cover lines, a date, other images, banners, a dominant central image of a recognisable Hollywood star - Hugh Jackman/ Wolverine. This is a visually rich and in your face poster. 

On the other hand Screen International is aimed at an older audience and for those who work in the film industry. This poster contains far fewer conventions than SFX did. This Screen International poster only contains a masthead, date and issue number, a dominant central image of not very well known, new actors and film makers, a dominant cover line and two smaller cover lines.

20 Existing Film Publications

Here are 20 existing film publications including a brief paragraph including the type of magazine, what the magazine contains, some history of the magazine and the audience. I am doing this research so that when I need to make my own magazine, I will know what type of content a variety of magazines include. As I am still unsure as to genre of film I will be creating, I have looked at a large variety of magazine front covers.

1. SFX SFX is a British science fiction magazine which is published every four weeks and it was founded in 1995. The magazine includes science fiction, horror and fantasy within film, television, video games, comics and literature. The SF for SFX stands for science fiction.

2. Uncut Uncut is a monthly magazine which is published monthly and was founded in 1997. The magazine focuses on films and music. It is aimed at an audience of 25-45 year old men. The magazine features interviews with film directors.

3. Empire Empire is published monthly and is a British film magazine which was founded in 1989. The magazine focuses on mainstream Hollywood movies. Empire also hosts the annual Empire Awards and is published in many countries across the world.

4. Little White Lies Little White Lies is a bimonthly, independent British film magazine that is known for its unique style in illustrations. It is split into three parts, the lead review, articles about the cover film and reviews which also include interviews with actors and directors.

5. Starburst Starburst is a monthly British science fiction magazine with additional news being posted on their website. Starburst contains news, interviews with actors and reviews of many media types including film.

6. Film Comment Film Comment is a bimonthly American magazine that reviews and analyses mainstream, art house and avant-garde films from across the world. They also host the annual Film Comments Selects program.

7. Sight and Sound This magazine is a British monthly film magazine that reviews all film releases, both mainstream and art house films. The audience is an older and more interested in the behind the scenes part of films (directors, producers etc.)

8. Filmmaker Filmmaker is an American independent film magazine that is published quarterly. The magazine includes interviews, case studies, financing and distribution information and articles from existing film-maker on their profession.  

9. Film Threat Was an American magazine which focused primarily on indie films with a punk rock attitude. However, they also reviewed DVD's of mainstream films and Hollywood Movies. In 1997 Film Threat was converted to an online website.

10. Neon Neon was a British film magazine published monthly in an attempt to be an alternative to existing UK film magazines. It included the latest film news, previews, interviews and actor profiles with a 'top ten' from a celebrity. 

11. Hotdog This was a British magazine that gave a cynical view of the mainstream film industry. They avoided jumping on blockbuster bandwagons and they often published contrary views. However they moved towards mainstream films later on.

12. Screen International Is a weekly British multimedia film magazine covering the international film business. It is aimed at people who work in the film industry and includes more behind the scenes information and box office statistics. They also daily publications at film festivals and markets around the world.

13. American Cinematographer American Cinematographer is a monthly, American magazine which focuses on the art and craft of cinematography, television productions and short films. They mostly interview cinematographers as well as directors and other film makers. 

14. Total Film This is a British film magazine, published 13 times a year which offers cinema and DVD reviews. There are many interviews with actors and directors which are in depth and the making of set pieces. 

15. Shivers Shivers is a British magazine that focuses on horror film, television and literature that publishes 8 issues a year.

16. Film Review This magazine started as a promotional magazine for ABC. The magazine is packed with news and information and reviews. It was one of the leading film publications for nearly 60 years as it had a wide range of content in until it was forced off the shelf by other more successful film publications.

17. MovieMaker MovieMaker is an American film magazine which is published once month. The magazine focuses on the art and business of making movies and emphasises on independent films. They also include popular "hot to" articles.