Research into similar products: Empire magazine conventions

As i have already decided that Empire magazine will be the company that issues and promotes the movie that i have created. Because of this i thought that it was imperative that i looked into the usual design layout and conventions for a typical Empire magazine.  By doing this i can refer back to the magazine to ensure that i am keeping to the conventions followed by this particular magazine. I used the magazine issue from may 2017. This was done for a variety of reasons one being that the issue is fairly recent so the conventions used will reflect what the magazine now uses in terms of conventions.

Masthead:
Empire magazine most often uses an established font that is recognisable to the audience. Commonly the masthead will be coloured in red which can be seen in the magazine to the left. Furthermore the colour of the masthead for empire can change depending on the house style and the movie that is being advertised.

Cover star:
The shot used for the cover star is usually a medium close up to show the body language and facial reactions of the star. Usually the shot will use direct address so that the star connects with the audience and so encourages them to read it.  If the issue does not use direct address it usually for the design process.

Main cover line: 
This is the main selling point of the issue of the magazine and so is the main attraction. To show this the main cover line will usually be in larger font so that it is easy to see by the audience and catches their eye. It may also be placed away from the rest of the cover lines to allow maximum impact for its issue selling point.

Skyline:
This is placed at the very top of the magazine so that the audience can get an insight into what else is featured in the magazine incase they are not interested in the main story.  It also allows the audience to see how much is featured in the magazine giving them more reason to buy the magazine and entice them into reading the magazine.

Coverlines:
These act as a way to advertise the rest of the big parts of the magazine and show what else is inside the magazine. In a way this works a similar way to the skyline as it shows the reader what else is in the magazine pulling them into wanting to buy the magazine.

Puff:
This is an incentive to make a particular stand out on the rest of the page to signify the importance to the reader and is something that may be exclusive to this issue and possibly this magazine. The most common way that this is done is by putting the text within a shape usually a shape.

Barcode/price/date:
The price and the date of the magazine is always featured above the "M" on the masthead and commonly the barcode will be near the bottom left hand corner. These are basically the finishing touches for the magazine but are still very important to the overall layout of the magazine.

From here i definitely will be referring back this blog post and also these magazines in particular the 'mummy magazine' to see that when my magazine is finished if i have followed the conventions of the empire magazine.