Magazine front cover analysis

This magazine cover consists of the conventions of a typical horror “hell” movie. The main colours are red and black: common colours used to create the sense of danger especially in horror movies made in the 1950s. Mutant creatures and alien invaders surfaced in this era and are still around today. The main image is placed in the centre and holds eye contact with the audience. It’s also a photo taken in motivated lighting so that you can clearly see the image in detail, also it makes it more striking to perceive. The use of a mid shot on the character helps you to see his body language but also his facial expression. The eye contact directly addresses the viewers and consequently will draw attention to the product. The magazine follows the rule of thirds as the three main features take up a third each: The masthead of the magazine, the main image, and the title of the film. This guides the eye at the most important parts of the cover and which places to look first. The cover lines are organised in a way that the eye naturally travels: from top left to bottom right. This is done because it’s more likely that they’re read if they’re organised in this way. The target audience of this particular issue would be horror fans of the ages 16+ as this is the age range for empire magazine and this particular issue’s main feature is a horror. The fonts used on this front cover are masculine and bold. This is because typically the main audience for this movie would be male and the aim is to please the targeted viewers. EMPIRE have fit the theme of the cover by adding fire graphics to their masthead at the top. This creates a theme throughout the cover. It’s made more interesting and eye catching and the title of empire doesn’t have to be that prominent as it’s a well-known magazine.

The magazine cover has a lot of colours on the front page. This challenges conventions as front pages normally only have two or three main colours. Although they mildly connote Halloween, conventions are challenged in this issue of SCREAM as the colour variety is wide and some are questionable choices for a horror theme.

This technique of using many colours is used to draw attention to the cover but can sometimes push it away.

One main font is cleverly designed so that it looks as though someone has scribbled the main titles: "Friday the 13th" and "SCREAM". This is done to make the magazine look spooky an gives the impression of a psychopath with a pen.

The main image is a mid shot of the main character of Friday the 13th. This is so the audience gets a clear idea of what the magazine’s main feature is about. As the character is a popular, well-known one, the buyers will know the exact film that will be talked about inside. The mask is the main feature that will be recognised as Friday the 13th and for this reason it’s the main image on the cover. Eye contact is also held to draw in the consumers as they’re being directly addressed. Backgrounds for main images are usually blank or plain whereas this one is a forest scene. This challenges conventions and is used to intrigue the audience as it’s different and unique. Also it adds to the scare factor that horror lovers look for.

The rule of thirds has also been used on this cover. This is for the same reason that the eye travels to the most prominent features on a frame and the thirds help to divide up the important features and guide the eye.

This magazine follows the theme of gothic horror from the 19th century. Similarities can be seen between Dracula and the character shown on this FANGORA magazine. The close up of this actor snarling connotes evil and fear. The ambient light highlights half of his face suggesting a hidden identity. This mysteriousness will allure horror fans to buy this magazine. Eye contact isn’t held but the eyes are striking to look at. The colour of them link with the title and make each other stand out. This brings me to the main colour used which is red. This is a typically evil colour and used frequently in horror movies. Yellow is also a main colour used on the front cover. This challenges conventions as yellow isn’t seen as a “scary” colour. In this sense, it’s used to stand out against the dark background.

The layout is slightly different from the previous examples as the main image takes up the majority of the cover. The cover lines are arranged around the photo rather than to the left of it. This is to highlight the main image as it creates a border around his face. The target audience of this product would be gothic horror fans of the ages 13+ as this is the main audience for Twilight.