In this post I will be looking at and analysing some existing magazine covers to give me a better of idea of what sort of cover I think would be appropriate for my film. I will also be looking at the typical codes and conventions of magazine covers to see what sort of things i'll need to include.
Magazine cover codes and conventions:
- Masthead- the title of the magazine
it usually will fill the width of the top of the cover, usually between one or two words long.
- Puff - Offers, free give a ways usually at the bottom half of the magazine
- Barcode- bottom right or along the right side
- Buzz words- used to bring in extra interest, words like: exclusive, free and plus
- Coverlines- a line of text on the front cover designed to attract the attention of the readers
- Main cover line- usually large text that anchors the meaning of the image, with a subheading giving slightly more information about the article
- Strip- across the bottom of the magazine containing lists of items which feature in the magazine giving a the reader a wider idea of some of the stories that the magazine will cover
When looking for inspiration I was looking at mainly independent companies, my reasoning for doing so is that
Inspiring magazine covers:
Filmmaker is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent film. The magazine was founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis. The magazine is now published by Independent Feature Project, which acts in the independent film community. The magazine publishes stories including interviews,case studies, festival reports but it also looks at distribution and financing reports, alongside production updates, legal pointers and filmmakers on their own filmmaking. It is an American based magazine and used to be accessible in the Uk but since 2009 it has not been on sale in the UK.
Film Journal International is a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It is a sister publication of Adweek, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and other periodicals. The magazine was launched in 1934 and published monthly, Film Journal International covers exhibition, production, and distribution, reporting both U.S. and international news, with features on industry trends, movie theatre design and technology, screen advertising, and other topics.
Which covers do I prefer/which do I think are most appropriate for my film?
Out of all of the above magazine covers I like these two the best.
Out of all the Film international magazine covers this was my absolute favourite. I think the image is really elegant and the block lines over the face make it look really creative, the blocks over her face slightly hide her identity making it look as if she was hiding something which in fact may have something to do with her storyline. I think that it would appropriate for my storyline as my character Sophie is hiding the fact that she is in love with Ben. This is an image that I will use to inspire my image.
This image really caught my eye, I think it is because of the colours and the playful typography. Again like the above image I will use it to inspire a draft of my film magazine cover and between the two I will pick which I think suits my genre the best as well as fitting the codes and conventions.
Looking at indie magazine covers you can see that some of the typical codes and conventions aren't used on their covers.
