We looked at a few different magazine covers from both Empire and Total Film. We couldn't find any horror based magazine covers but we felt that if we were looking at the layout of the cover then it shouldn't matter that the film genre is different.
This magazine uses a posed photo of Harry Potter, plus three smaller photos of other significant characters from the film. The photo makes it seem as if Harry Potter has smashed glass, and the other characters are reflected in some of the shards. This along with the expressions of the characters make the photo look tense.
This photo is also linked with the tag-line 'Friendships shatter. Evil unites' which is in yellow to stand out from the dark background.
Apart from the masthead, 'Potter 7' is the largest font on the page. It is white so that it also stands out from the background and is a bold, clear font for easy reading. Under this title, is the second part of the tagline 'The end begins', this helps build the tension and excite fans of the film because it is quite an ominous statement.
The masthead is the usual Empire font and colour and some of it has been blocked by Harry Potters head which makes it seem as if the film is more important than the title, but it is also because the magazine is successful and so people know what it is without seeing the whole title.
The cover also contains a barcode; a tag-line at the bottom of the page, which has it's own background; tag-lines on the right of the page which are introduced by the title 'Plus!' and a tagline which promotes the magazine itself 'our best preview issue ever' which is above the masthead.
This magazine also uses a posed photo of the main character of the film; this time 'Sherlock Homes'. As with the Empire cover, the photo takes up the whole of the page and the colour scheme of the cover fits with the colours in the photo. Whereas, the Harry Potter cover advertised a 'preview issue' this cover advertises a 'world exclusive'. Again, the title of the film is the largest text on the page excluding the masthead and it is a clear font that catches the eye.
The main article on this cover has two tag-lines, the first is a quote, presumably from an interview and the second, smaller tag-line says 'On set!' which connotes a behind the scenes look at the film.
There are more tag-lines on both sides of the page. There is a main title in blue capitals that draws attention and a small description underneath. There is also a tagline above the masthead with three smaller photos. This tagline promotes the '10 coolest movies' and draws in the reader because it seem exciting. AS with any magazine cover, there is also a barcode, date, price and the website address of the magazine.
This is our favourite of the magazine covers that we researched because it catches the eye and apart from one other tagline, the whole cover is dedicated to the one film; including the masthead which looks like blood. The main image is of the main character and the two other 'super-heroes' featured in the film are part of the background which has connotations of comic books.
The title of the film is the brightest thing on the page and is the first thing you see. The colours used on this cover are bold and are designed to draw attention.
Again, there are two tag-lines for the main article, the first 'It's bloody! It's brilliant! And, boy does it...' leads into the title of the film and is a clever play on words. The second 'the world's first look at your new favourite movie' creates excitement because it it seems to be a world exclusive and it holds the film in high regard by telling the reader that it will become their new favourite film.
The only tagline on the page that does not involve 'Kick Ass' is at the bottom of the page and introduces a new colour to separate it from the main article.
We think this is the most effective front cover, especially for a horror movie. We really like the blood style font of the masthead and will try to re-create this on our own magazine cover.
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