I have chosen to analyse a film magazine cover from ‘Total film’s’ edition featuring the film ‘Fast and furious 8’ which was released in 2017. The cover features a number of conventions which are often repeatedly seen on other magazine covers. The features often relate to the film itself aiding promotion of the product.
The masthead is placed at the top of the page slightly behind the main focal photo which shows the character ‘Dominic Toretto’ who is played by ‘Vin Diesel’ in the film. The masthead is cleverly designed as it places one word from the magazine's title within the other, this layout is more interesting and unique compared to a plain masthead seen on some ‘Empire’ magazine covers. This layout is repeatedly used and is easily recognisable by regular readers.
The main focal image has been placed centrally, his body is positioned away from the camera but his head is tilted back to reveal his stern facial expression. The editor may have chosen this medium, close up shot as it unravels both his costume and his facial expression. His costume is all black and he is wearing a tightly fitted vest, highlighting his muscular figure. The reader may confuse ‘Dominic Toretto’ for a villain because of the way he is presented. The background is massively important as it adds to the simple main focal image massively and begins to indicate some sort of narrative. It shows 5 racing cars escaping from cracking ice as something is bursting out. This is a great way of getting the reader to ask certain enigma codes such as ‘What is breaking out of the water’. The fast cars also help to indicate a action genre.
The chosen typography amongst the masthead, skyline, coverlines and any other information switches between 2 prominent colours. One being white and the other being red, this combination has been carefully thought out and may be a symbolic code for a safety warning. So by reading this magazine the reader may feel like they are breaking some sort of rule, influencing them to read on and explore further. All main information is written in capital letters so it stands out on the page, it is large because the film is already a successful franchise, so anyone walking past would instantly know what it's about.. The main coverline is the title of the film which is placed overlapping the main focal image. Secondary coverlines have also been cautiously placed around the outside of the main focal image, most likely due to it being easily accessible. One secondary coverline stood out the most for me, it was placed below the main coverline. It used a language code to entice the reader, it read ‘Cooler cars crazier stunts’. This alliteration has been used to draw the reader’s attention to this particular line as it creates a certain exciting mood. The magazine cover also features a coverline which links cleverly to the puff, by using written codes such as the word ‘preview’, it will make the reader feel like they are reading something exclusive to them personally.
The puff is placed to the left hand side of the main focal image, it is in a circular shape and follows the red pattern. The puff reads ‘65 new movies reviewed’ this written code reveals a interesting and unique offer only a reader would receive.
The target audience may vary from film fanatics to adrenaline junkies who love action films or even regular viewers who have seen the other films within the franchise. It may attract boys mainly due to the cars and strong male protagonist featuring on the front cover.
No comments:
Post a Comment