24th february

i am going to use popular film magazine Empire as inspiration when making my magazine cover. the image on the front cover is large, taking over two thirds of the page. the black background used on the cover makes the red tone of Hellboy’s skin really stand out. minus the title, all text on the cover is either white or a dull khaki colour making it stand out, but not taking the focus off the main purpose of the magazine; the release of Hellboy 2. there is only one font style used on the cover of the magazine; however it has been either enlarged or made smaller. the second largest font to the title Empire, is used layered on top of Hellboy’s chest in white making it stand out against the red of his skin. the tiniest font is used towards the top of the magazine where Empire’s website it mentioned, along with the date, price and issue number of the magazine, in red, which makes the potentially less important information not stand out.

the sidelines, mentioning other films or stars, are a lined perfectly around the image of Hellboy, framing his head and neck, meaning the main focus is not lost. to the right of Hellboy, there is a circle containing text which reads ‘40 MOVIES THAT WILL GET YOU SEX!’ Empire have cleverly kept with the theme and genre of the magazine but mentioned sex, which is likely to draw some readers in. being the only thing on the magazine cover which is in a colour filled circle, it stands out and the reader’s eye is drawn to it second or thirdly. the use of this sentence suggests the target audience of the magazine too; 16+ males. this is not true of all Empire magazines, but in this specific issue, the target audience are more likely to be males, as Hellboy is more of a male’s film and in addition, sex is mentioned; stereotypically linked with men. finally, one strap line says ‘NATALIE PORTMAN VS SCARLETT JOHANSSON. WELL WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE?’ making the magazine suggestive towards men too; choosing between two attractive women.

a diverse feature. and unique selling point, about Empire magazine is its theme to change the font style of the title Empire so that it is appropriate to the main film it is advertising. for example, in this instance Empire is made red and the letters look as though they are on fire, all in relation to Hellboy. Empire magazine titles are versatile and varied, which makes the magazine front cover more attractive to the audience.