Researching film magazine cover (annotation and analysis)

Annotation (you may want to expand the image by clicking on it to read the text easier)

This is my analysis of a film magazine cover for 'EMPIRE'. All of these comments above are based on the visual and verbal techniques, as well as the persuasive techniques and the institutional information. Blow I will give my 'critical evaluation'...

This is a good cover for a film magazine as it meets all the expectations of a film magazine cover in order to attract the correct target audience. It's visual techniques in particular (connotations, symbolism, fonts, main images, strapline, genre, puffs and what is represented) are all mentioned in my annotation above and they are all used successfully in order to represent what the magazine is featuring and attract the target audience, it is a good cover for these reasons. It meets all the visual expectations of the potential buyer too as the cover is very colourful and features images that will immediately appeal to the target audience (like the robotic sci-fi image taken from Transformers, a film largely popular with a 16-24 year old target audience on a global stage). It also presents features of the magazine on the front that will influence the audience to purchase the magazine, like their 'annual review of the year' which is something the magazine audience will look forwrd to reading, and this is a persuasive technique. The magazine also featuers star power with Mark Wahlberg who is in other popular action / adventure films such as Italian Job which will appeal to the target audience as this is the genre most heavily featured in 'EMPIRE' magazine. 

This example of  'Total Film' magazine uses
more frequent and effective coverlines

The magazine communicates effectively with the audience with the use of coverlines, however this magazine doesn't use coverlines as frequently or efectively as other film magazines do. Certain coverlines that are present include 'Plus! Our annual review of the year!' which is used as a communicating feature in order to appeal to the target audience and persuade them to read the magazine as they will be interseted in reading about the magazine's annual review as it is clearly a popular feature if it is presented on the front of the magazine. Other coverlines such as 'OSCARS SPECIAL!' and the three movie titles in the top right of the magazine cover are used for the same effect, they influence the reader to buy the magazine in order to read about what is being featured inside - as these things are popular witht he target audience of this magazine. They use the main actors' surnames e.g. 'BAY' and 'WAHLBERG' to appeal to the target audience of 16-24 year old males as it seems more 'cool' by adressing th actors by their second name, and this will also appeal to them. The connotation of the tagline 'The worlds biggest movie magazine' is that it is the most popular and favoured film magazine in the world, and therefore this will appeal to the targe audience as movie lovers will want to buy magazines of the highest quality.

There isn't  any alternative readings on this film cover however, as all of the text is focused on the same thing which is influencing the audience through persuasive techniques and featuring popular Hollyood films on the film cover. All of the text on the cover is for the same purpose and therefore this cover doesn't use any alternative techniques in order to persuade the audience. Instead, this cover focuses more on preferred reading, it trusts that people who will be readnig the magazine cover will be those who are interested in the genres presented on the cover, therefore they don;t need to use certain alternative readings in order to attract other audiences, they aim for appealing their target audience specifically.

The cover is a good one for another reason in that it isn't offensive in any way to any potential buyer of the magazine. The cover includes both male and female characters in an action / adventure / sci-fi movie 'Transformers to avoid being sexist as usually only male characters are presented as being more important in this genre of film, and are therefore usually always presented on the front of the magazine as opposed to women who aren't. There also isn;t any language used that could potentially cause offense to any race, gender, culture etc.