Film Magazine Cover Analysis

 




 Magazines are a crucial part in connecting people with a particular and similar interest. The area of film is no different. Prominently two main magazines for the area of film dominate the magazine sector with these being: "Total Film" and "Empire Magazine."

As the 2 main competitors in this niche target demographic of film fanatics, the two publications must think carefully as to how best go about  attracting the similar target demographic as creatively and originally as possible so as to gain an upper hand over their competitor.

The 2 magazines differ largely in the formatting and presentation of their respective covers although it should be noted that chiefly they are both aiming to attract a similar target demographic. Therefore, it can be expected that both publications to some degree will feature consistent elements to their magazine covers and in contrast vary with one another in other areas as well. I have included my own analysis  of the two magazine covers in this post, hopefully highlighting the differences in each publication to great effect with the differences between the 2 publications and their variations becoming apparent. I have included 2 editions of each publication to further reinforce the publications' varying styles.
http://www.slideshare.net/SuperLuke1996/film-poster-analysis-42518839

A common feature that can be expected of film magazines is that they will have a masthead or a title banner proclaiming the name of the publication to a respective demographic or target audience. This is very important so  members of the respective demographic know which publication they are reading. Conventionally, film magazine publications tend to stick rigorously to the cover art declaring the main story and focus of the particular edition or issue. Furthermore, this can cause the cover of the magazine to alter dramatically from issue to issue, as such some readers see it as a pride to personally collect every issue of a publication, so as to prove their dedication.

Film Magazines are primarily targeted at a young audience- 17 to 24 years of age- due to the disposable income available to young people of this particular age demographic and being priced at between £3- £4 per weekly or monthly issue, it is a disposable income that is greatly required to successfully attain the consistency of a not so inexpensive hobby. As the target demographic of the magazines are of an age where living costs have not greatly impacted their levels of disposable income, the publishers can afford to greatly inflate the price of the publications owing to their specialist niche target demographic. Due to reduced numbers in their demographic the publishers must make up for this by systematically increasing the price of each individual copy, not only to cover printing costs but also to see any kind of financial return from their publishing venture.