Codes and Conventions of film magazines

Masthead – the title is usually placed in the upper third and will fill the entire space. This is so people can easily recognise the title and want to purchase it. This is the case for Premiere, Empire and Total Film which would be considered mainstream. In the case of Little White Lies and Sight &Sound, which would be considered a more prestigious magazine for people who are more serious about film.

They all feature an “issue type” e.g. Premiere – the comedy issue; Little White Lies – BlackSwan Issue. This may be because they want to attract all types of audiences and if they seea film they like/an issue they may be interested in on the front, they will be more likely topurchase that magazine. Sight & Sound do not feature this and that may be because they always feature a director on the front and an interview.

The central image is usually of the main actor in the film they are promoting on the frontso that people know the magazine will be about that particular actor. Sigh & Sound, again,go against this convention and feature only directors because their audience of peoplewho are serious about film are likely to want to know about the directors of the films ratherthan big a-list mainstream actors.

Barcode featured on the mainstream magazines.Feature cover lines related to the filmto get audiences more interested.

Empire

Empire often change their front cover to fit with the theme and colour palette of the film they are promoting. For their Hellboy addition, the masthead has been set onfire to fit with the theme of hell. For Pirates of the Caribbean, the colour palette of the beaches and water. The Sherlock Holmes addition has been changed to fit with the theme of mystery and The Dark Knights changed to fit with The Jokers green andpurple colour palette.

Total Film

Total Film also change their magazine design to fit with the film that they are advertising but unlike Empire, the font colour rarely changes. The Batman Issue was the only copy I could find that had a different colour font and this may be because they are wanting to attract attention from DC Comic fans. The other issues I found have only had a change of background to fit with the colour palette of the film. The issue name is always based aroundthe film or actor on the front cover.

Little White Lies and Sight & Sound

From my research, it is clear to see that the mainstream magazines are the ones that changetheir design based on the film on the front and magazines made for people who are more serious about films are likely to look the same. This may be because they already have a largefan base of people who like to read about film and as they are not mainstream, they do not feel the need to market their magazine towards any other audience. Little White Lies always features an illustration of an actor/actress from the film with the masthead in the top third. Sight & Sound always features a photo of the director of the film and the masthead in the topleft corner.