Magazine Cover Analysis

Magazine Cover Analysis

Tron: Legacy(Empire)

This cover by empire showcasing Tron: Legacy shows a character on a light cycle in the classic battle outfit with the masthead of the magazine following the same theme - as it's shown in a neon blue outline as opposed to the classic block red lettering Empire traditionally uses. To contrast the bright blue and black colour scheme, the sell lines are in a bright yellow so that they're easily visible and stand out from everything else on the cover. The cover lines in the bottom third of the cover follow suit so that they are also easily visible, this is vital for sales in shops so that people know what's going to be inside the magazine - if it's more likely that they notice it and realise the magazine isn't just about Tron, they'll be more likely to buy it. The use of hyperbolic wording through 'Huge comic-con review would also grab people's attention as it uses the same colour scheme as the sell lines and cover lines - especially when one of them reads "First Look at the Most Incredible 3D Movie Ever. The cover itself is designed in an informal way, so this could suggest that it's aimed more at younger, less serious audiences. The cover also directly addresses the reader by having the character look directly at them, drawing them into it. Another feature of this cover is use of a stamp saying 'Magazine cover of the year' which would help attract new readers since there are plenty of magazines about movies and this one stands out from the rest. 

Skyfall (Total Film)

This issue of Total Film produced for Skyfall in 2012 showcases James Bond in it's main image in his trademark black suit and holding a handgun, looking directly at readers when they pick up the magazine, against a dark grey background, so he almost blends in - as a spy should, but the lighting used reflects off of his suit and his white shirt. In the Left Third we see sell lines reading 'The Ten Coolest Movies Being Made Right Now' showing images of 5 of the films featured in that article so that people get a preview of whats to come in this issue. Hyperbolic wording reading 'The Cool Issue' is streamed across the top in gold lettering matching the cover line reading 'Skyfall' - paired with the image of James Bond to let people know what the feature article of this issue is. Beneath this is some anchorage text reading 'Bond gets his swagger back'. This would attract fans of the character as the previous film 'The Quantum of Solace' did very poorly; this would give off the idea that Skyfall would return the films to the esteem that they had after 2006's Casino Royale was released hence the use of the word 'back' in the text. This cover also features a stamp with it's selling point in it - "The World's Best Movie Reviews" which would instantly interest people if it has this much prestige. This cover is fairly unorthodox as it doesn't feature a barcode, but it does show a price. This means that there's less clutter on the page and it looks more formal as it's focused on a few things rather than just trying to include as much as possible to attract new readers.