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 &an issue type e.g. Premiere the comedy issue; Little White Lies Black
y all feature
Sound,
would
be considered
prestigious
magazine
for and
people
whosee
are more
n Issue.
This which
may be
because
they want a
tomore
attract
all types of
audiences
if they
serious
m they
like/an issue they may be interested in on the front, they will be more likely to
about
film.
chase that magazine.
Sight & Sound do not feature this and that may be because

y always feature a director on the front and an interview.

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

Feature cover lines related to the film

to get audiences more interested.

Barcode featured on the mainstream magazine

Empir
e

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

Total Film

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

Little White Lies and Sight &

Sound

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