Film Magazine Analysis #1

In order to make a professional film magazine myself, I need to analyse a variety of film magazines to see what makes them successful and hopefully gain inspiration from them. The first magazine i chose to analyse is 'Empire'.

‘Empire’ is said to be one of the most successful film magazines in the UK.  To be one of the most successful magazines in the UK means that the magazine is outstanding in providing their target audience with fantastic articles on new and old movies and with gripping interviews with the popular actors and directors.

The biggest feature on a magazine that will lure in the target audience is the main image. In this edition of ‘Empire’ the main image is of the protagonist in ‘Hell Boy’ which is anchored by the main sell line ‘Hell Boy 2’. The most immediate aspect the target audience will be able to notice is that the protagonist does not appear to be human, and has a devilish appearance as he has shaven horns and an unusual size fist. This will indicate to the audience that the genre of the movie is sci-fi. Furthermore the protagonist is giving a fierce look into the camera and his fist is cupped by his hand, giving the impression of violence and so also indicating that this sci-fi movie has elements of action and violence and so the audience can conclude that the genre of the movie is sci-fi action. The front cover uses a medium close-up shot so that the audience can clearly see the characters facial expressions but also so that they can see the big muscled body. The male target audience for ‘empire’ respect a well-developed body and also it reminds them of the characters strength and so relates back to the narrative of the movie. When examining the mice-en-scene, we can see that the character ‘Hellboy’ is wearing a bracelet of the cross on his wrist; this is ironic as his look and name all relate back to hell. This could imply to the audience that even though he is portrayed with an evil and devilish look, he may not be what he seems and so would encourage the audience to watch the movie to find some answers. Hard lighting is used on the main image to create a hard, crisp and sharp look which ensures that it will capture the target audience’s eye.

Below is the poster for the movie ‘Hellboy 2’ and it is interesting to see that ‘Empire’ magazine created a symbiotic link between the poster and the front cover to ensure the audience recognises the movie. In both the front cover and the poster, the protagonist’s large fist is emphasised. This may be because it is important to the narrative of the movie and also because it may be how the audience recognise the character. Another way the symbiotic link is created between the poster and the front cover is that violence is portrayed through the protagonist’s body language and expressions.

The largest text in the frame is the masthead. Usually the masthead is in capitals letters, in a sans-serif font and in a bright red colour. Red is a primary colour which will catch the male target audience’s attention. Also the colour red has connotations of power and dominance, just the sort of characteristics the target audience themselves would possess. The masthead keeps the same aesthetics every issue- unless it is a special edition-to obtain brand identity. Following the theme of dominance, the word ‘empire’ conjures up imagery of roman kings who had empires and lots of power. This again reflects the audience’s personality traits. Below are two examples of the typical ‘Empire’ masthead and as you can see on both examples the main image sits on top of the masthead to show that it is of more significance; ‘Empire’ magazine can afford to do this because is well known and extremely successful and this is carried out in every issue to maintain brand identity.

Looking at this issue’s masthead below, it follows the magazine’s tradition and maintains brand identity by keeping the colour red, however it has a distinctive feature that links with the movie being promoted. The masthead looks as if it is on fire because it is trying to reflect the narrative of the movie and anchor the main image of ‘Hellboy’ as fire has connotations of hell, fury and danger. This will appeal to the target audience as it reflects the sub-genre of the movie which is action and sci-fi; these are genres which they would spend their spare time watching and so they will buy the magazine to find out more.

The main sell line ‘you and whose golden army? Hellboy 2 Guillermo Del Toro Goes Epic’ anchors the main image as it refers back to the movie being promoted. The sell line is accompanied by a ‘First look!’ which makes the article seems exclusive and so luring the target audience in to buy the magazine as they won’t be able to read it elsewhere. Another technique used to capture the target audience is the use of the director’s name. The fans of the director will be inclined to buy the magazine along with the usual ‘Empire’ fans; this will broaden the magazines readership. Usually on magazines, the main sell line is placed on the left hand third as this is where the human eye goes first, however film magazines have their own conventions and so the main sell line is placed at the bottom of the page but in the middle so that it can attract the most attention. To maintain a professional finish the font is the same as the masthead.

Another convention for film magazines is that they do not have many sell lines so that audience can focus on the main image. This edition follows this convention and only has 4 sell lines (excluding the main sell line) on the left hand third of the magazine. Similarly to the main sell line, these too are in the same font and typeface. The first sell line ‘Indy IV’ is promising an article which will reveal ‘secrets’ for new and upcoming movies. The audience will love reading this because it will built up their anticipation and knowing secrets will make them feel included and as if they are part of a special club. Being the hard-core film fans that they are, the target audience would have seen all the classic films such as ‘godfather’ and ‘lord of the rings’ and so an article about ‘the hobbit’ will fulfil their basic film needs. The magazine realises that the audience does have other interests and so includes an article featuring the hottest holly-wood actress; ‘Natalie Portman vs. Scarlett Johansson. Well who would you choose?’ The rhetorical question implies a sexual innuendo which the audience would love because after all they are cheeky men! The last article, ‘there will be blood’ will provide the audience with advice and guidance about new movies. This advice would be given by people who are similar to the target audience and who the target audience respect. As the target audience are young males the mode of address is colloquial and direct address is used to make the audience feel comfortable and for example, words like ‘epic’ and ‘pics’ are used because this is the vocabulary they would use when talking to their friends. This makes the overall tone of the magazine relaxed, just like the target audience are.

The colours for this front cover are all primary, bold colours which are used purely to grab the reader’s eye. As discussed earlier the masthead is always red following the brand identity of the magazine and this then matches the colour red in the main image and so successfully achieving the look of hell and promoting the movie. The sell lines are in white to contrast with the dark background because these are the convincing factors for the audience to buy the magazine. The description underneath the sell lines are in a toned down yellow colour so that they are readable on the black background but also so that they don’t take away the attention from the sell lines. Any promotional feature on the magazine such as the ‘first look!’ and the puff do not fit in the colour scheme and this is done on purpose so that they stand out significantly.

This edition of the magazine has a puff placed in the top right hand corner which is the conventional placement for a puff. The puff combines two of the target audience’s main interest, sex and films; ’40 films that will get you sex!’ The number ‘40’ and the word ‘sex’ are in a bold typeface as these are the parts of the promotion that the readers will interested in the most. Being a healthy male, sex is something which the reader enjoys and so this article will appeal to him greatly.

Other features of the magazine are the barcode, date, price and website. The barcode is placed on the bottom left hand corner, out of the reader’s eye line as it is of no significance to them. The website is underneath the masthead in a small sized typeface, this is a conventional position for all magazines. The date and price are also usually placed underneath the masthead alongside the website, however empire invert conventions and places them above the ‘M’ in the masthead. This could be a technique to try and achieve originality and this is repeated every edition to maintain brand identity.

 Overall this magazine front cover follows most of the important codes and conventions and is successful in promoting the movie ‘Hellboy 2’. The magazine also takes into consideration the target audience’s other interest and combines them with their love of film and so satisfying them greatly.

Film Magazine Overview

Film magazines successfully satisfy their target audience needs by not only providing them information on new upcoming films but also past films. However it is not only movies which feature within the magazine, interviews with the biggest actors and directors are also a favourite to read within the magazine. Currently there aren’t many film magazines in the UK but the most popular film magazine is ‘Empire’ and in second place is ‘Total Film.’ The target audience who read film magazines are mostly males who are hard-core film fans. To attract the male target audience, the front covers are usually heavily image based with little text as studies show men are more responsive to visuals.

Each magazine has a different set of conventions depending on their genre type. Film magazines follow the basic conventions of magazines, for example, the masthead dominating the top area of the poster, sell lines framing the main image, a main image, puffs, straplines and mode of address for effect. However there are some conventions which are inverted such as, the shots of the main will vary from a close up, medium shot and long shot and there could be a single model or a group. This will allow the magazine to keep originality and obtain a fresh and different look.  

Looking at the sample of eight film magazine front covers, it can be said that each of the magazines have a masthead which is placed at the top of the front cover. These mastheads are the largest text on the page as it is their trademark. The colour of the masthead depends on the magazine, for example ‘empire’ has a red masthead; this is a male associating primary colour which is eye catching, and ‘total film’ has a white masthead. However the masthead can change style/ colour to fit in with a specific movie theme, this is the shown in the ‘total film’ batman edition. Both magazine mastheads are bold, in upper case and in display font to represent the target audience’s personality as they too are strong, bold and dominant males furthermore the font is simple and readable. As the target audience are mostly males, the movie genres which are promoted are only action, sci-fi, thriller and fantasy. The masthead reflects the theme of theme of the movie. 

Another common feature which is shared is the main sell line; it is the second biggest piece of text which is usually placed on the bottom. This is due to the fact that in the western world people read from left to right and so the left hand third is where the human eyes naturally goes first. However film magazines tend to break this convention and place the main cell line at the bottom centre, this allows it to stand out which is important as the main sell line can be the deciding factor in whether the audience wants to by the magazine and it will anchor the main image.

The main image colours and graphics change depending on the featuring film. For example an action movie would have big graphics and dark, deep and rich colours; this is shown in ‘the total film’ Constantine edition which uses elaborate graphics of fire to indicate to the target audience the genre of the movie. However in the ‘total film’ Valkyrie edition, dark colours contrast with the bright blue and subtle graphics are used to show the audience that even though the film contains action it has a serious undertone. Even though each front cover will break conventions with the main image, the maximum amount of colours used for a front cover is up to three. The colours can also reflect the theme of the film or the characters featured such as the black sell lines in the 'Batman' edition. Three of the images, 'Hellboy', 'Sherlock Holmes', and 'Iron Man' are composed from a medium shot, which allows the audience to see the powerful expressions on their faces. Whilst the rest of the examples are composed of long and extreme long shots. This could perhaps be that they are actions movies and so the long shot allows the audience to see the activity and iconography in the background which then allows the audience to identify the genre. To draw in audiences, these film magazines use big-named stars as their unique selling point. By having someone famous on the front cover, the magazine will draw in their intended target audience and will also draw in the fans of that particular star. 

Another common feature which can be spotted is that all of the examples have a very small amount of sell lines. This could relate back to the fact that men respond more to visuals and so the front covers tend have a large image to text ratio. The sell lines will be promoting other films or interviews with people from the movie world.

It is interesting to see that four of the examples have a puff for promotion. They usually advertise a juicy interview or interesting article and so lure in the audience to buy the magazine. Another promotional technique is a strapline and six of the examples above use this to advertise the other movies which will feature in the magazine or to state how good the issue is.

Finally it is evident from these posters that the date, price and website are often place close to each other and are placed at the top of the page, near the masthead. This information is not majorly important to the readers but it is something that they need to know and so placed by the masthead as it ensures that it will be seen.

The barcodes are always placed at the bottom of the page and usually in a corner. It should not draw attention from the main image and sell lines as it is insignificant for the readers. 

Film Poster Analysis #1

This is the official poster for the movie ‘Silent Hill’ which belongs to the supernatural/psychological sub-genre. I think it is a great poster to analyse as its layout and content follows the traditional codes and conventions of supernatural horrors. It may not be particularly scary but I feel it intrigues the audience to find out more about ‘Silent Hill’.

The main image is unconventional within the supernatural sub-genre because most posters use a medium or a medium-long shot whereas this image shows an extreme long shot. This could be done to present the woman in the image (presumably the protagonist) as completely alone, and so she has no one there to help her; this provokes fear within the audience. The environment around her is completely isolated; all the audience can see is an open ended road. Isolated locations are a typical convention for the horror genre and are quite a popular technique in scaring the target audience. The welcome sign overpowers the image and the phrase upon it seems ironic to the audience as ‘welcome’ is meant to make the audience feel safe and excited but instead it is meant with a sinister undertone further frightening the audience. The font is serif which creates a formal look, this could be because the title is placed on a welcome sign which traditionally are made to look appealing for newcomers; this is ironic as the sign looks far from welcoming. The image is extremely simple and does not give away too much of the narrative, this is an excellent technique to activate the target audience’s curiosity and so conversations will begin amongst the target audience about the movie, further pushing its promotion. The lighting also breaks conventions as usually posters use profile or back lighting to create terror or emphasise the character on the poster however in this poster the light is emanating from behind the sign that welcomes visitors to ‘Silent Hill’. This makes the audience feel uneasy as it is if what lies behind the sign and in ‘Silent Hill’ is unknown, eerie and ghost-like. As an extreme long shot is used and because the character is walking away from the camera, we are unable to see her face and facial expressions, this adds to the ambiguity element of the poster. Her costume seems to be an outdoor coat of a pale, beige colour which almost blends the character into the background, this can represent how she is about to be enveloped into the dangerous world in which she is entering. Also the pallid colour could mirror the lifeless and drained face of someone when they are frightened. An interesting effect used in the poster is the mist that takes up the majority of the frame. Similarly to the lighting, the mist creates a ghost-like and sickly atmosphere for the target audience and makes them wonder is they are seeing the image in its true light. Mist connotes unfamiliarity and ambiguity and so implying that there is something to hide and perhaps that all will become clear once the movie has been viewed.

‘Silent Hill’ is the name of the movie and so the title of the poster. The audience are able to draw several meanings from the title of the poster; the big welcome sign show the audience that ‘Silent Hill’ is the name of a town/ city but also  ‘silent’ could represent that people in that town are keeping quiet or hiding a secret and so this is why they are ‘silent’. This links back to the lighting and mist which also indicate that there is something to be revealed. The words themselves are the largest piece of text on the poster and an unusual typeface has been used as the letters look like they have been distorted; just like life in the movie is distorted and unclear. They appear to be dripping like wet paint, which could symbolise blood dripping or the draining of a human soul. The colour black is used to emphasise these images and represents something quite sinister. Also it contrasts with the light background making it eye-catching for the target audience. The serif font on the sign, being traditional, also suggests that the sign is old and that the town, therefore, has a history. With horrors, this could suggest an ancient curse or paranormal happenings. 'Hill' does not sound particularly scary but it could indicate the idea of the protagonist having to overcome something big that is about to loom over her or the idea of not knowing what it coming (when you mount a hill, you don’t know what sits on the other side). Furthermore the title is positioned near bottom of the page so that it does not steal focus from the main image as the image is going to play the biggest part in luring the target audience into watching the movie.

The tagline ‘ We've been expecting you’ successfully anchors the main image by reinforcing the idea that the character is walking into a new town. This makes the target audience think that the antagonist has something frightening planned once she enters ‘Silent Hill’; sending a chill down the audience’s spine. The tagline also disturbs the audience and satisfies their thrill-seeking needs whist simultaneously stirring their curiosity as it cunningly teases the target audience. It is placed just above the title as it will have affect on the audience that the title itself. Similarly to the lighting, the tagline is in a ghost-like white colour. The poster is successful in using innocent colours and portraying them in a negative way. This is a typical convention for supernatural horrors; it leaves the audience thinking that the antagonist has the power to turn anything into evil.

At the very bottom of the poster, in a small typeface is the production information, it is placed there because it is of no significance to the audience and so therefore should not take away any attention from the main image.; placing the institutional information is another traditional convention for horror posters. Horror movies usually use unknown actors and normally do not expose the names of the actors they do use, on the poster so the actors can remain unknown; this means the protagonist could represent anyone.

White, grey, and beige are the main colours which dominate the poster. They all re-enforce the sub-genre of the film as they look ghost-like, lifeless and drained and also create a dull, dim and death-like mood.

All these techniques combined have made a successful film poster which can lure in the target audience with the main image and also provide just the right information about the narrative. The title, image and tagline successfully anchor each other making the poster clear to understand. 

Film Poster Overview

The reasoning behind a film poster is to promote a film by drawing in the target audience and they do this using specific iconography to help establish which genre and sub-genre the film belongs to. Film posters, in general, have certain codes and conventions that they follow. These include a title, usually the name of the movie, which is the largest text in the frame, a main image which will inform the target audience about something important in the narrative and which will be the most significant piece of the poster and then a tagline to anchor the image. I have chosen these eight posters, within the supernatural sub-genre, to carry out an over-view of their shared features. By doing so it will allow me to identify the repeated patterns and so therefore help me understand the codes and conventions specific for supernatural horror movie posters. By using horrific images and other symbolic reference associated with the horror genre it will appeal to the correct target audience.

One feature which is fairly obvious is that all of these poster have the main female character as the main image. It can be assumed, that these posters are trying to imply that the narrative for the films focus on the female protagonist and her journey through the movie, in which she tries to defeat the evil spirit which is disrupting her equilibrium. The use of a female in a terrifying situation and experience extreme levels of terror is a lot more realistic than seeing a man panicking hysterically. 

Another common feature all these posters share is that the main female character in the image is being possessed/tormented by a demon or spirit. In‘The Last Exorcism’ poster we see a female character who is clearly possessed by an evil spirit as she is levitating and her limbs are bending in a way not possible for a human being; this is typical supernatural iconography  Similarly in ‘The Devil Inside’ poster, the mise-en-scene shows a women with a cross cut in her lip, which suggest to the target audience that she is also under the possession of a spirit. It can also be said that the main female character is made to look disturbed and frightening to satisfy the audience’s horror-seeking needs and to start up their curiosity so that they go to watch the movie. This type of supernatural iconography will help audience identify the genre of the movie.

As mentioned earlier the title is the most important piece of text on the poster and it is interesting that six out of the eight posters have titles which have been distorted in some way. This perhaps could indicate the presence of a supernatural being or mirror the disturbance that the protagonist will encounter. For example ‘The possession’ title looks as if it has been scratched violently, therefore matching the violent main image. A tagline is also important on a film poster and four of the eight shown include this. The tagline is used to promote the narrative of the film but to also provide anchorage for the image. The tagline on ‘The Others’ poster states ‘sooner or later they will find you’ which fits in with image of the protagonist, standing in the dark and looking as if she is hiding from someone/something. 

The colour schemes of the posters also seem to be similar. Black is a colour which connotates, the unknown, death, evil and mystery, these are all the things supernatural movies represent too and so this is why six of the eight posters predominately use the colour black. ‘the grudge’ poster uses a close up image of the antagonist and black is used to contrast with her red eye. The black background emphasise the piercing glare so that the audience get sucked into the poster; it allows them to feel as if the character is staring straight into them. Similarly to the colour black, mist is another method use to symbolise the unknown and danger and this is shown in two of the posters. ‘the exorcism of Emily rose’ shows the protagonist looking some what lost amongst the mist suggesting that in the narrative she ‘loses’ her way because of the possession. Whereas in ‘ silent hill’ the protagonist is walking towards ‘silent hill’ and mist surrounds her to show the audience that ‘silent hill’ is dangerous and the character ahead does now know what lies ahead. Another popular colour is red; red has obvious connotation of blood, danger and evil. In ‘the grudge’ red is used to represent blood in the characters eye. Eye is the window to the soul and so the tainted eye could represent a tainted soul. Similiary to ‘the grudge’ ‘sinister’ also uses red to display blood however in this case, the audiences sees the blood dripping from the touch of a young girl alongside a damaged wall, and the blood goes on to form a disturbing image of something ‘sinister’ and evil. 

All of the eight posters present institutional information that is placed at the bottom of the poster, so it does not distract the audience’s attention from the main image. Along with the institutional information, the posters also have texts such as ‘based on a true story’ and ‘from the makers of paranormal activity and insidious’ to draw in the audience. The idea of the movie being based on a true story will amplify the fear within them as it makes the whole experience more realistic; they will start to feel that the same thing will happen to them. All of these text are often in a basic, simple sans-serif font so that they are easy to read.

All of these poster are successful in frightening their audiences. They do so with simple text and a dominant main image which will open up the audience’s curiosity and so they will go to watch the movie. 

Target Audience

Target Audience Profiling

The audience of my horror movie under the sub genre of supernatural, will consist of both males and females aged between 15 and 35. I have chosen to aim towards both genders, the audience will be predominantly female due to the female protagonist but also the emotional attachment and fear that is entwined into it. It is said that the supernatural horrors will intrigue her more, however, there will be a small section of males who will choose to watch the film as well. Finally a female will be more open-minded about the concept of spiritual objects (implied by previous research) and the idea possession and may even be fascinated by the supernatural.

Questionnaire:

This was the questionnaire I designed in order to find out what my target audience like and what really scares them! I added a mixture of open ended and closed ended questions so that the audience wont feel like the questionnaire is a burden to fill out. The questionnaire was handed out twenty three people ranging from the ages of 15-35 and consisted of both males and females. 

Questionnaire Analysis:

This was the first question that I asked; it’s important to ask the age of the target audience so that I know how to address the audience better when thinking about how to make my trailer appeal to them. The youngest people that i asked were 15 as many horror movies are not age certified for 12 or 12A. After seeing this result I decided to make my horror trailer age certified 15 instead or 18, as many teenagers watch horror movies and it widens the amount of people which my trailer can appeal too.

When I was first thinking about my movie narrative and the target audience, I was unsure to whether the audience will be primarily male or female and so this question was extremely helpful to me in my research. it is now clear that the target audience for my trailer are dominantly female. This could be because females tend to be more open minded on supernatural and spiritual topics.

I feel like this is an important question to ask because it allows me to understand how much free time the target audiences spends watch horror movies. My aimed audience will like other movie genres such as comedies and romance and so this is why the majority only was horror movies 'sometimes'. The fact that my target audience are not necessarily horror 'crazy' tells me that my horror movie should include an emotional element and a more sophisticated narrative to intrigue them. 

I chose to ask this question, because it confirmed the fact that most of the target audience prefer the supernatural genre. If the results came back that more respondents preferred, for example, gore, then I would have had to re-think my narrative ideas This question was followed by a open ended question stating 'briefly state why' I felt like this is important to know because it will allow me to incorporate their answer into my work. Many respondents stated that they like the supernatural genre because it explores the unknown and so therefore scares them more. Another popular response was that the idea of ghosts terrify the audience, one person stated 'ghosts completely terrify me'.

The results from this question will help me to decide which features to put into my horror trailer; by knowing which features they find most effective, I can include them into my trailer so it will successfully frighten them. The most popular answer was the eerie music, which is interesting. I personally find eerie music effective and I now know it is popular amongst my target audience. Fast-paced editing was in close second place with 21%, this could be because as the fast montage of images happens it causes the target audiences adrenaline to pump and it is the part of the trailer which excites them most.

Aside from these 5 questions, I also decided to ask 2 open ended questions because it will allow me to draw out more information from my target audience. Below are the questions and the analysis of the results:

'What is your favourite horror movie? Please state why?'

I chose to ask this question as it would be interesting to see if one movie was favoured the most, or if there is a wide variety; if there was a favoured movie I thought I could use it for inspiration. The results showed that there was a huge variety of movies, however 3 respondents chose 'Silence of the Lambs' saying that the psychological narrative kept them interested and that it was a 'Classic' but also 'The grudge' was also chosen by 3 people who claimed that the use of sound was effective and it had 'disturbing scenes'. As 'The Grudge' is supernatural I will watch the movie again and see if I can gain inspiration from any of the scenes so that my trailer will appeal to my target audience. The other movies which were chosen were mainly in the supernatural sub-genre.

'Which horror film trailer have you seen that was the most effective in making you want to watch the film/frightening you? Briefly state why.'

By knowing which trailers my target audience find effective, I will be able to look onto them for inspiration so that my trailer is just as good. Out of 23 people, 4 people stated that 'paranormal activity' was the most effective in frightening them and pushed them to go see the movie. The second popular movie was 'Women in Black'. Below are the trailers for both 'Paranormal Activity' and 'Women in black'.

As you can see both trailers are extremely different, and when asked why they enjoyed the 'paranormal activity' trailer all of the four people said it because it was made in unique style. This trailer breaks the traditional codes and conventions and that is why it is so popular. This has made me realise that my trailer will also have to be unique and possibly invert some conventions so that it will successfully frighten by target audience. 

The people who chose 'the woman in black' trailer said that the trailer successfully told the narrative of the movie without revealing too much.

I did film the findings of this research however, due to an error on the part of youtube, it was not successful.