Magazine information
Empire is a British film magazine that is published by monthly by Bauer Consumer Media, producer 12 copies per annum. The magazine produces articles based on both mainstream and art based films, focusing mainly in the modern productions for the feature articles. They regularly include count down lists involving successful scenes in well known movies, for example 'top 10 chase scenes' as these engage the audience in media related topics, as they are linked to the genre of the magazine. It was first published in 1989. Empire also publishes it's magazine digitally and has a website where exclusive interviews and features are located. The covers of most issues follow the conventions of magazine covers; this will be analysed below.
Main image
The main image of this magazine cover is a mid shot of a male character from a film. The positioning of the character on the cover is centred and layered over the masthead slightly; the light background of the cover makes the male stand out as the darkness of his suit is bold and therefore draws attention to his character - this makes him the focal point of the magazine and the main selling point to attract the target audience. With James Bond being a very well known franchise, his image on the front of the cover will attract the attention of the audience and encourage them to purchase the magazine.
Following the stereotypical convention of the cover using the same theme that is present in the film they are featuring, the central image meets this code by being presented as masculine and strong; a recurring theme of the films that will be instantly recognised by the audience. This is similar to the presence of a gun, as it is conventional of the genre of the film, and alongside Daniel Craig it will be associated with the Bond films.
The character in the focal image is using direct mode of address by looking directly at the camera, which is then shown as looking straight at the audience reading the magazine. By doing this it allows the audience to engage with the front cover of the magazine which in turn will mean they may feel a connection with the character; encouraging them to purchase the product.
The facial expression that Daniel Craig is showing represents sincerity and tension, which is a feature that most Bond films follow; it portrays this to the audience and so informs them about the feature film and what they can expect from the film.
The secondary images used on the cover also relate to the genre of the film; the use of broken glass shows the violence and action that is present in the film, linking with the bullet holes. They are located on the left shoulder and the right elbow of the character. It is obvious that the design of the magazine cover has been done to insure that the face of the character is not covered by the bullet holes. This not only gives the cover more sustenance and makes the image more appealing to the audience, but it also helps the audience to identify the genre of the film, which as said before, helps the film attract a larger audience.
Colour scheme
The colour scheme of a magazine front cover is one of the key features that will help to sell a magazine to the target audience, as different colours have different representations that will appeal to multiple people. The main colour palette for this magazine cover is white, red and black; The black is used in the main image as the colour of Daniel Craig's suit - the suit represents the formality of the character, and draws attention away from the smaller elements of the magazine to the main character, highlighting the importance of his presence on the cover. The background is filled in white, which highlights the prominence of the main image due to the contrast of black and white; this dualism of colour is a stereotypical way of highlighting the positive and negative aspects in the film they are featuring. 'Skyfall' is also written in white and is over-layed on top of the suit, similarly the contrast between black and white will draw the audiences attention to the text and the title of the film. Elements of red are used throughout the front cover, with the biggest being the colour of the masthead 'Empire'. The use of red often has strong connotations of danger and blood, both conventions of the action thriller genre, and therefore reflects the genre to the audience. It can also signify war which may suggest to the audience that there is some sort of conflict within the film that includes violence and danger. This links in with the presence of the bullet holes that look as though they have shattered a glass frame over the cover, and represents the elements of danger that red is signifying. Text such as '50 years of 007' is mounted on a red background with white text, and this emphasises what is being said with reference to the James Bond franchise.
Text features
On the magazine cover, there aren't large amounts of detailed text sections that use complex language features as often images have a larger impact on a passing audience, but there are some elements that connote various meanings that will assist in appealing and selling to the target audience. In the tagline 'nobody does it better', the pronoun 'nobody' suggests that Empire is the best film magazine and there is no other company out there that is as good as them. Doing this will unconsciously convey this opinion to the reader/audience and encourage them to repeat purchase multiple issues of the magazine. Using the word 'new' in context to pictures of the new film they are featuring connotes to the audience that they are exclusive to Empire and they won't find them anywhere else; this is a further way of persuading people to buy the magazine as it suggests you won't find this material anywhere else. In order to appeal to a wider demographic, other film titles such as 'Avengers' and 'Burgundy' to entice more people to read the magazine.
Masthead
The masthead is one of the main features of a magazine cover as it informs the audience on the title of the magazine, creating a brand that is memorable for people to recognise. Empire is written in a san serif font, which is considered a more modern font; reflecting the current and up to date stories that they publish in each issue. Sans serif is also quite a bold font, and the width can vary meaning that it is more likely to attract the audience as it stands out. The masthead is coloured red, which is stereotypical of each magazine issue; however in this instance it relates to the genre of 'Skyfall' as red connotes blood and danger, which are stereotypical features of the action thriller genre. It makes it bold and will stand out against the white background, drawing attention to the title.
Conventions
This magazine follows stereotypical conventions of magazine conventions as it contains elements such as a masthead, tagline, main image, barcode, price, date and other stories included in the magazine. All of the above conventions hep to create the best possible cover that will attract the audience and encourage them to purchase the issue. The Masthead and tagline take up the majority of the top third of the cover, making a bold statement that the audience are likely to read before anything else. With the main image overlapping slightly onto the title it signifies the significance that the character has in the film as it is the focal point of the page. Other featuring stories are included to inform the audience that the magazine includes articles other than those associated with the main image, which reflects that Empire is diverse and publishes a range of articles.
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