Magazine Covers

Alice Sophie Turrell

Gorezone

Colour Scheme

The colour scheme is quite bright using reds, blues and white. Although the colours used are bright, the horror themes are still shown through the red colour.

The colour scheme for the image contrasts this, as it is significantly darker, opting for black and kaki colours mainly as well as red.

These colours make the cover stand out, however they do not straight away give a strong indication towards horror films.

Layout

The layout for this is relatively simple and conforms to typical magazine conventions. For example, the title stretches across the top of the magazine, with the slogan underneath. The positioning of the image is central to the magazine, with the stories surrounding her face. In terms of the overall positioning of the stories, I think they would have looked better spread out more rather than cluttered around her face.

This cover uses the rule of thirds well, as it puts the models face along one of the focus points so the viewer would naturally look there first.

Image

The image used fills the majority of the composition. With the model staring straight ahead at the camera which creates a eerie look seeing as she seems “dead” and emotionless. The blood on her clearly shows the horror theme, but it is unsure if it is hers or if she is the antagonist. Although the image uses quite dark colours, it is quite bright which enhances the bright red colours.

Text

The text on this is quite bold and stands out well as it is in colour instead of black which would have blended in with the shadows on the image. The title of the magazine stands out well due to the shadow and the sharp font.

In terms of what the text says, it just gives the reader a taster of what will be in the magazine. For example just saying names of people or brief overviews of what the article will be about.

Fangoria

Colour Scheme

This magazine cover has a very dark, stereotypical colour scheme for horror. Focusing on using black, red, yellow and white which reflect the horror ideas. Especially the red which connotes blood and black which connotes evil and darkness. The white and yellow goes well as well as they show up well against the back and red.

Layout

The layout for this is quite neat, with a lot of space around the image so it does not look crowded and claustrophobic. The layout clearly shows that the coverline going across the bottom is the main one and linked into the image.

This cover uses the rule of thirds effectively, positioning the magazines name in the top half, the focal point of the image in the middle, and the main article coverline along the bottom.

Image

The image use for this gives off strong indications that the magazine is aimed at horror films due to all the blood and animal teeth. Due to the cover model looking off to the side adds a more sinister feel, and as though she got caught. Other than the teeth, she looks normal so that gives an indication that the image is showing the ideas of a supernatural horror and that she is the antagonist.

Text

The name of the magazine is in a bold font, which creates the shape of fangs at the end. This bold font makes it clear what the magazine is and separates it from the cover lines. The cover lines are in yellow and white, separating them from the rest of the cover. The main cover line along the bottom is in a bolder font to make it stand out more and link it more to the image.

In terms of what the text says, it just give names of movies and a very brief description of what the article/film is about.

Empire

Colour Scheme

The colour scheme is mainly very desaturated, giving the cover a more dramatic feel. The desaturated look also is similar to the colours used in the film that is being advertised. The red used helps make the attention grabbing parts of cover even more powerful, as the bright red contrasts with the darker tones.

Layout

The layout for this is slightly different, with the coverline creating a sort of 3D effect, with them being pulled behind the cover image. The fact that the cover image is over lapping the title shows that he and the film he is promoting is big and important.

This cover uses the rule of thirds, but slightly different to the previous magazines I have looked at. For example, “INCEPTION” is bold and cutting right across the middle section of the magazine, with the image going vertically through the centre.

Image

The image in this is also different to the images in previous magazine I have looked at, as it is not a portrait, instead its almost full length. For the movie this is advertising, this works best as it shows the star in a more powerful stance. This also shows the gun in his hand which hints towards the themes of the movie. The colouring works with the rest of the image, as it desaturated, dark and shadowy like the background.

Text

The text on the cover is fairly simple, just mentioning the names of directors and movies with a small piece of description. This helps to tell the reader whats in the magazine without giving too much away. The review about Inception “THE MATRIX MEETS 007 ON STEROIDS” really talks up the film, comparing it to two different highly popular movies. This will make the reader want to read on.

In terms of font, its constant throughout the cover, being bold and simple. This helps to attract the audience and make the coverlines visible, while not taking too much attention away from the image.