CODES AND CONVENTION OF (SHORT) FILM REVIEW PAGES TOTAL VS EMPIRE MAGAZINE REVIEW PAGE

EMPIRE REVIEW (BOTH NEARLY IDENTICAL)

TEXT AND INFORMATION EMPIRE Title – the main title for the main film is in bold and eye catching. The main film has a verdict dedicated to it, which is a quick and effective way of giving out key information

and being straight to the point. The name of the director which is placed right below the big/bold title is used as ‘click bait’ and is put in a

quote to catch the reader’s attention. Key information such as: release date, running time, director name, cast, a brief summary of the plot and

certification is placed before the main article; once again this is straight to the point and an effective way to share key information the audience would want to find out.

The first few words that start off the article are put in bold to attract the reader’s eye and encourage them to read it.

The journalist’s name is placed in bold at the end of the article. The language and the way the main article is written would only attract adults/young adults rather than

teens, which helps show which audience is suited for watching that specific film. Its clear the article has avoided being descriptive; instead its being critical and making comments with a

confident tone and casual way which makes it more interesting for the reader and sustains their attention.

TEXT AND INFORMATION EMPIRE

The other movies have smaller titles, but are still big enough to be seen by the audience. Information about the magazine such as its website, the date, the page number are placed at the bottom of

the page in a thin and small font because even though its important information, its not meant to be the focus of the page and its not what all members of the audience look for.

The secondary films don’t give as much information; the articles are much shorter and not as much key information is given (eg; no plot).

The mini articles for the secondary films are rather Key information- key info like the film duration, the directors, the cast is put in bold. (Fulfils audience’s

cognitive needs – Maslow). Ratings with starts are placed at the bottom of each film review to inform the audience on its success., which

is straightforward information the audience would see straight away. Only the initials of each separate journalist is placed after each mini article as its not the focus of the review

page therefore not key information.

IMAGE EMPIRE MAGAZINE

The biggest image takes up a rather big amount of space on the page to clarify it’s the focus of the article.

The images of the secondary films are smaller but still eye-catching as the images are showcasing key moments/scenes of the film; this would also create hermeneutic and proeretic code as the audience would want to be pro active and find out what happens in those scenes.

The secondary film images are placed altogether in one category (mid page), to show the reader they aren’t the main focus of the page.

SET UP (LAYOUT)

The main article takes up just over half the review page to demonstrate its importance in comparison to the other featured films.

Columns are neatly placed and arranged which encourages the audience to read the articles as its more visually pleasing.

The particular design aspects used to make the layout more harmonious and have continuity make the whole page captivating and appealing to a large audience.

The colours used (dark blue, white) are simple and would be more visually pleasing to an older audience than a younger one; this once again puts the target audience into perspective.

These soft, simple and regular colours don’t classify or target a certain group which is useful as it attracts an audience that might not be the intended target audience.

The way key information and images are made obvious by the design (arrows, fonts, colours) is an effective way to make the reader appreciate the layout and also creates branding and a sense of identity to the magazine.

There is an ideal balance between images and text, which would suit people who are more drawn to the design and pictures of the page but also to the readers who want to be informed on details concerning he movie

TOTAL MAGAZINE (BOTH IDENTICAL)

TEXT & OTHER INFORMATION

Title- in bold and large font to make it the obvious and make it be the first thing the reader is drawn to read. It has a section title dedicated to the film review page of the magazine, which informs the reader on what this page is

for. Just under the main film’s title, there is a quote relating to the film; this is done to give the reader an incite on what

the film consists of (creates hermeneutic Barthes). Star rating and release date is placed under the title as its key info the audience would normally want to find out. The article starts off with a drop capital; this is done to draw in the reader and encourage them to actually read the

content of the article. The tone of the article is witty yet informative whilst showing great knowledge; this would reassure the reader that the

journalist is someone who knows what they're talking about. The journalist also gives his own opinions and judgment on the film, which makes the reader feel like its not so serious

and as if they were almost listening to a friend talk about a film. A verdict is placed in bold at the end of the article; this quick, straight to the point information would be useful for the

audience to agree/disagree with the point of view with someone else. The full name of the journalist is placed at the end of the article. A tagline in a small font (to not be overpowering) is place onto the main image which gives a humorous comment

that’s linked to the image fulfils readers cognitive needs (makes them laugh/relax as its light-hearted/funny)

For the secondary reviews, just below the title there are star rating and the release date. The secondary reviews are kept short, straight to the point yet informative. The journalist’s full name (instead of just initials) is mentioned at the end. Running time and certificate are also mentioned below the article which is rather

unconventional as this info is usually in the same category as the release date and star rating.

Key information like page number, date, subscribing address and magazine name are all placed at the bottom of the page as this info is basic information.

IMAGE The image of the main article takes up a large amount of space in comparison to the

secondary films’ images; this is done to clarify it’s the main focus of the review page. The images of the secondary films are smaller but still eye-catching as the images are

showcasing key moments/scenes of the film; this would also create hermeneutic and proeretic code as the audience would want to be pro active and find out what happens in those scenes.

The secondary film images are placed altogether in one category (mid page), to show the reader they aren’t the main focus of the page.

Most of the images have people in medium close up to capture their facial expression; this is perhaps purposely done to captivate the audience and encourage them to actually read the articles.

SET UP (LAYOUT) Columns are precisely an neatly placed which makes the overall look of the review page

quite appealing to a wide audience. The way certain features of the page are highlighted by colour, font or design makes the

layout look professional and makes the different part of the page flow nicely together. Similarly to most review pages, the balance between images and text is well balanced out;

there is enough text to get the information the audience wants but there are also sufficient amount of pictures to make the reader have a preconceived idea of the all the different films and their style.

The way images and text are placed together in categories clearly points out which information and images go together which facilitates the reader’s navigation around the page.