Research into similar products: Ancillary products: Film magazines

As well as making a film trailer and an ancillary product of a film poster we are expected to also make and create a film magazine to further promote the film trailer. So that ensure that i have a deep understanding of this area it is vital that i also research into this area so that when it comes to making my own i actually know what i am doing. This post i will examine the codes and conventions of film magazines and also take a look into the magazine company known as 'Empire' as this company are one of the most well known and successful film magazines in the world so it would only be right that i start my research with the arguably the worlds best film magazine company.

Common conventions of the film magazine:

• The masthead: This of course is the most well known convention of any magazine and is normally situated at the top or centre of a magazine. It tells the reader what company it is which gives them an insight into what to expect.
• Main image: This will normally feature a mid shot and will most often than not will include the main actor or include the main actors from a particular film. It can reflect to the reader what the film may be about.
• Buzz words: These words include 'free' and 'exclusive', they capture the readers attention and entice them into the magazine.
• Anchorage text: This will commonly overlap the main image to tell the audience what the story is and give them an insight. It can be a quote from the movie/actor/director.
• Banner: Gives overall information about what is included in the magazine as a whole, a way to bring a reader in that may not be interested in the main article.
• Barcode, date etc: The common items that are needed.

Empire magazine:

This magazine is a British Film magazine that is published monthly by Bauer consumer media. The magazine is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain and has has published in the USA, Australia, Russia and many more. Some of the common features of the magazine includes film previews and reviews and features a "classic scene" page in which a transcript from famous scenes are included. One of the reasons why this would be a good film magazine to incorporate my trailer on is because its such a mainstream company that deals only with the big films which in such would add to my trailer making it seem like a 'big' movie that can attract more of an audience.

One thing that i very immediately noticed from just taking a look at some of empires magazine is how they individually style their magazine to suit the ethos of the film their promoting. This can include elements such as the colour of the masthead or just the overall design such as images and placement of the cover lines etc.  This is most evident in the "James bond" magazine as it features bullet shots on the magazine which of course is reference to the fact it is a action and spy movie but also reference to the iconic gun barrel James bond moment, enticing the readers into the magazine. This is one of the reasons i would lean towards having my own film magazine feature under the "empire" banner is it will allow me to be creative with my magazine and add elements of my movie onto the magazine. Making the magazine more related to the overall film that is being advertised.

The font of the empire magazine is always the same adding consistency and familiarity to the magazine however the magazine is known to change the colour of the magazine depending on the movie it is promoting, this allows the magazine to really sync together and also ensure everything goes with nothing seeming to look out of place.

The colour scheme of the magazine is also always dependent on the film that it promoting on that individual issue, for example on the interstellar issue instead of the original red colour scheme they've gone with a blue, white and black colour to really match with the plot and genre (Sci-fi, space etc)