Film Magazine Conventions - Empire Magazine

1. Conventions of Magazine Covers

2. Purpose of Magazine
Covers
 The main function of front covers
of magazines is to sell the
magazine
 They are deliberately eye-
catching, interesting and brightly
coloured
 They also clearly display the
“house style” of the magazine
 When making a film magazine
front cover, the main CVI needs
to be considered seriously, as it
is going to be the first thing the
viewer things, when the
magazine is displayed in the
shops.

3. Magazine Front
Covers
The Central Visual
Image (CVI).
Important, as it is
most likely the first
thing that the viewer
will be drawn to.
This will be the
content of the
featured article of
the magazine
Masthead, which is usually
at the top of the page. It will
make the magazine easily
recognisable to the audience
The Cover Line is
always bigger than
the rest and
dominates the page
Cover Lines/Tag Lines
are the main text on the
cover – they advertise
articles in the magazine
Most pages will have a
colour palette – a
defined choice of colours
– to create a
recognisable house style
This colour palette in this
magazine is fitting into
the main CVI.
Date and Barcode –
usually now with a web
address to entice the
audiences to the
magazine’s website
Straplines may be used
to highlight stars in the
magazine

4. Layout
 When making a film magazine, it is
important to choose the layout on the
page, so that the audience can see
exactly what is in the magazine
 The masthead and the CVI is usually
seen the in the opening third of the
magazine, as it is proven that this is the
part of the magazine that the audience
sees first.
 The cover line is always put in a larger
font size, as this is the featured content
of the magazine and should relate back
to the main CVI.
 Sometimes, the CVI can be in front of the
Masthead, due to the high profile of the
magazine.