Cover Lines

Splash

Kicker

Box Out

Pug

MastheadPuff

Sight and Sound is an analytical film magazine that focuses on the serious review of recent films. From this front cover the audience understand that the main focus will be on their interview for male actor; Adam Driver, however, the cover lines tell us that they will also look at the making of Napoleon, The Black Actor in film noir, The Unknown Girl and Japan’s Master of Unease. The audience of Sight and Sound are people who are interested in film a lot and take it seriously; they are likely to of the older variety rather than a younger audience who are more likely to read Total Film or Empire. As mentioned before, Adam Driver is shown on the front cover as the main story within the magazine is about an interview with him and about his past films.

The image (Adam Driver) is directly looking at the audience, showing a use of direct address. However, the use of the black and white effect makes the magazine seem more mature and shows a focus on the person and their interests rather than the characters they play within films. This suggests that the magazine has a mutual understanding of what the audience wants, and that they are purely there to supply information about films rather than to be a friend. The anchorage text states Adam Driver, but also mentions “INTERVIEW: From Girls to Patterson and Silence”, this suggests that the focus will be on Driver’s films and his role in films rather than personal details. The overall message shown by the magazine is that this is a serious magazine which focuses on delivering quality content.

Furthermore, the lack of buzzwords depicts how the magazine view themselves as a serious analytical magazine, also it presents the magazine as niche, unlike magazines like Total Film which use buzzwords to stay relevant within popular audiences. The simplistic but colourful masthead tells the audience that the magazine is mature and focuses on content rather than design, this is contrasted by the masthead of “Empire” which is big and striking. Also the use of the words Sight and Sound instantly indicates that the magazine focuses on film as a serious concept, more specifically focusing on the cinematography and the micro elements associated with film. As previously mentioned, the photo uses a black and white effect to indicate the maturity of the magazine, this is because the colours connote calm and peace whereas mainstream magazines use bright colours to draw audiences in. The use of the close up is also unique and odd as it contrasts what mainstream magazines do when having a front cover that focuses on an actor.

Lastly the use of the connective “PLUS” suggests that the magazine is trying to emphasise the quantity of content that is covered within this issue of the magazine. However, this is a convention seen in other magazines as it makes the audience feel that the magazine is filled with good quality content.