1. Film Magazine Research
Different Film Magazines:
Empire Total Film
The
Hollywood Reporter
Film Ink
American
Cinematographer Box Office
Film
Comment
Entertainment
2. Film Magazine Publications Profile
• “Empire” is a British film magazine which includes the
promotion and review of well-known, established up and
coming films which feature famous actors/actresses to
entice their target audience.
• Its online content focuses on the most recent films and
includes “Reviews” and “News” on them.
• “Empire” film magazine always portray the characters of
the film that they are promoting to be powerful and
dominant with bold body language/poses.
• “The Empire Masterpiece” is regular feature within the
well-known film magazine, the Empire Masterpiece is a
two-page essay on a film selected by Empire.
• The selection of the films seem to be quite random and
follow no specific pattern. They focus on the review of a
variety of film which gives their target audience an
educated insight into specific films before watching them.
“Empire”:
• The film magazine Empire has
a target audience of both male
and female readers. Empire’s
target audience is
predominantly middle class
males, aged between 16-30
years old.
3. “FILMINK”:
• “FILMINK” is an Australian film magazine which reviews
mainstream films, local pictures.
• Common elements within FILMINK film magazine include the
extended "front of the book" section called "Keeping It Reel" with
small features like "New Faces", "Dumb Ideas, "Talking Movies",
"Director's Cut", "Cameo", "Icon", "FILMINK Loves", "Backstory",
"Role Model", "Premiere", "quoteUNQUOTE" and "What's Wrong
With the Australian Film Industry with Reg Diplock, the peoples
critic".
• FILMINK is a consumer-based publication that covers all types of
films, from arthouse releases to the biggest blockbusters. It focuses
primarily on Australian films and covers every local release in detail.
• “FILMINK” is Australia’s leading and most trusted source when it
comes to all things movies and the screen industry. They have a main
focus on the Australian film industry. This would appeal to mainly an
Australian film goer target audience. However, films are a global
interest and so could appeal to a worldwide audience, not just an
Australian demographic.
4. “Total Film”:
• Total Film is a UK-based film magazine which provides
a range of features. This includes spotlight interviews
with actors and directors and the making of off and on-
set pieces for brand new, future releases.
• Each issue always includes the “Total Film Interview”.
This consists of a six-page in-depth interview with an
actor or director, along with a critique of their body of
work/film they are working on/have released.
• Total Film appears to feature sci-fi and psychological
thriller films. This includes films such as “Thor” and
“Inception” which are successful, well-known films.
• Total Film target audience/readers are primarily aged
roughly 17-35 and would also be passionate and
extremely interested in movies and popular culture in
general. Total Film appeals to the film watchers that are
serious about the movie culture. Also just the casual
movie watcher who is also interested in films in general.
5. “Entertainment”:
• “Entertainment” is a publication on movies and the film industry.
• This digital archive is sure to receive rave reviews from those wanting to
know more about behind-the-scenes activities of the music, film, and
entertainment industries. By providing the complete runs of major trade
and consumer magazines, from their inception to 2000, it arms students
and researchers with the primary source material needed to develop a
contextual understanding of the entertainment industry as it evolved over
the 20th century.
• Their mass-market consumer magazines – weekly and monthly issues.
This appeals to a mainstream target audience of both males and female
readers around 16-35 years olds. They would be interested in reading
about the latest's information surrounding the on set and off set activities
within the production of a film. This includes content from interviews to
brand new information on the movie stars commenting on the film they
are currently working on.
• “Entertainment” magazine covers a combination of different sections
within the entire entertainment industry. This includes not only the review
and speculation of films but also television, popular music, radio, theatre,
and performing arts. This attracts a much wider target audience as their
magazines covers several different sectors of the entertainment industry
and so appeals to a wider demographic of people with different interests
within the creative industry. They have a focus on the US and the UK.
6. • Once researching these well-known film magazines I
believe “Empire” would be most likely to feature our fil on
their front cover. This is because, once looking over their
previous front covers they appear to cover a range of film
genre which appear to include psychological thriller such
as “Inception” and “The Dark Knight” which is of the
same film genre as our teaser trailer.
• “Empire” also have a similar target audience to who we
have considered for out teaser trailer.
• Also “Empire” film magazine uses a dominant, bold layout
with low-key lighting on the front cover of their magazines
which relates to the mysterious brand image we want to
portray within the promotion of our psychological thriller
teaser trailer.
• “Empire” display their models on the front cover to be
very powerful and dominant holding a bold and striking
pose. This is something that would apply to our teaser
trailer as the main character is controlling and powerful
which relates to the way in which “Empire” choose to
portray people on the front cover of their magazines.
8. Design and Layout conventions within “Empire” magazine
front covers
Both these magazine covers include:
• Low-key lighting which creates a sense of mystery and eeriness which reinforces
the psychological thriller film genre which is dark and sinister at times.
• A theme of red or green. This themed colour palette of red for the title “Empire”
has stereotypical connotations of danger which is often a feature within
psychological thriller films. The green colour palette used is bright and striking
which attracts the audience and makes them more interested in reading the cover
lines.
• Within the tagline on the “Inception” from cover its says “The Dark Knight
Returns…”. This relates to the front cover below it on which the film featured is
called “The Dark Knight”. This connection of films makes the repetition of
magazine company, “Empire”, noticeable for their target audience.
• Bold font has been used in both front covers which appears dominant and striking
which could relate to the character being shown. We also plan on using similar
font to express the bold, dominating persona our main character embodies.
• Bold, dominant body language from male characters. This displays the main
characters within each film.
• One is sitting and one is standing. This difference of posture and pose creates a
different appearance and persona for a character on the magazine cover.
• “Inception” has indirect mode address and “The Dark Knight” is using an enticing
direct mode of address which tracts the audience’s attention an interest.
• Both these films are Christopher Nolan films which is a feature on the magazine
cover.
9. How does this inform my own planning?
I found this research to be very useful when considering the different technical elements that will
be involved in the production of our film’s magazine cover. For example the layout of the film
magazine cover’s are very important when creating a professional and official looking magazine
cover. For example the placement of different visual features such as the cover lines, the film’s
title and the taglines etc. I learnt that the positioning of these features are very important when
considering the effect it has on the reader and whether it entices and intrigues the reader. The
colour palette and lighting used on the magazine cover is also very important. The success of the
magazine cover is also supported by the house style of the magazine which consists of continuous
font, colour and overall style throughout the magazine. This ensures the magazine will not appear
messy and unprofessional maintaining a neat yet unique and abstract magazine cover that will
intrigue and entice the reader.
The technical elements such as camera work, mise en scene etc. These elements are very
important as they are the content of the image and what the reader see first. The low-key lighting
and bold poses/body language that are often used in “Empire” magazine. This would relate to the
psychological thriller genre as they create a mysterious atmospheric feel to the magazine cover.
