BannerWhen there is writing in within a block in differing colour.

Main Cover LineThis is the title of the film.

MastheadThe title of the magazine.

PugIt is a block of writing within a colour, like a sticker.

Cover LinesAre the latest stories the magazine would be about.

Main ImageIs about the main film or story released.

GraphicsThese are additional pictures used.

Website

Strap line.

Date of Issue

One of the main tasks I had to carry out was to research on the conventions of the Empire magazine which gives the magazine its own identity and how we are aware of them through the way they present their magazine. Their presentational conventions are very powerful and these can be presented by their style of Masthead, sell Cover Line, Strap Line, Cover Lines, Main Cover Line, Main Image and pugs which I have already annotated on a magazine of Empire to show where and what all these key conventions are on the magazine.

First of all a Sell Cover Line is basically in place to grab all public eyes and audience as this is usually in CAPITAL and BOLD letters, and this punch line is placed right above everything else on top. On this magazine it is “James Bond is back!” this also tells the genre of the magazine therefore those who love James Bond films or action films are highly likely to be attracted to this Sell Cover Line. However it is essential that the magazine doesn’t give everything away as they want consumers to become customers! And buy the magazine in order for them to make profit.

Mastheads tend to be one of the most significant simply because it’s how we identify the magazine when we go to buy it. The Masthead is also presented in capitals simply says “Empire” at the top, Takes up the entire top section therefore it’s easy to see. The style and convention is always that a mid shot is used of the image to cover up the middle letters.

CONVENTIONS

Other distinctive convention Empire uses is the Date of Issue which is simply the date the specific magazine is released. This can be because customers may want to know when that specific magazine was bought due to its relations to a specific film or to even know when the next film is going to be out. This Date of Issue is usually placed on top of the letter ‘M’ on the masthead; this is one of the conventions.

Another convention this magazine includes is a strap line that is usually placed beneath the masthead which is ‘The World’s biggest Movie Magazine’ which is in capital fonts. This is seen to be very influential as they clearly state that they are the best out of all when it comes magazines in the movie business.

One of the most important conventions on this magazine is without a doubt the main image. The entire purpose of the main image is to attract the customer’s attention and is the biggest selling point of a magazine as the main image is usually about what film they will be talking about in the magazine, for example if it’s the James Bond magazine I’m using, that specific magazine would attract all James Bond lovers out there. This main image is always placed in the middle of the magazine and tends to go over the letter ‘P’ the fact that it goes over the masthead itself, which is the Empire, not to forget is brand of its own and is a huge company shows that the main image is even more significant than the masthead itself. This also helps the image to stand out. In my opinion, which I’ve already given before, this method simply reflects on how powerful the use of a main image can be and I think it’s not only representing the superiority of the main image but also creativity is shown as some people would find covering letters off the masthead is wrong however Empire is creative in their representation and I am fascinated in the way Empire has made this as one of their conventions, it’s simply looks amazing.

CONVENTIONS

The cover line placed in this magazine is usually placed on the sides and is small compared to the masthead itself which is a very traditional way of imagining cover lines anyway. Empire uses this specific convention to promote other films as this is very important for them to do in order to give more out more information to customers. And also basically acknowledging that cover lines tend to tackle the problem against having empty spaces on the magazine therefore it has a fundamental purpose of its own. In my opinion this enables the magazine to give out more information and look informative instead of it looking dull and empty therefore it is also another important element to include on a magazine cover, also I love the way how the cover lines scream out a certain phrase to catch attention such as ‘Body of lies’ in this case on the James Bond Magazine, this is also in capitals to grab attention. This little image placed on the side is one of the cover line’s placed on the magazine.

Another little convention Empire use in each of their magazines is something called Pug, as mentioned before which looks like a little sticker placed on the magazine. On this magazine it is placed on the left side near the main image, its purpose is to advertise a film; in this case it’s James Bond.

CONVENTIONS

Now that I have already explained what the conventions of this magazine are, I must also introduce you to something what the Empire magazines which are called the Rule of Third. This rule comes up nearly each time. The Rule of Third is simply when the main image is meant to be a mid-shot of a movie character placed in the middle of the magazine and his head must cover some of the letter above, as seen with the James Bond issue. The body of the character must also be placed in the middle of the central box, and this works correctly with magazine placed here. And last but not least the lower fraction of the body must be lower middle box; this would be consistent in all other Empire magazines too. This is usually a tack the editors undertake as it is essential for all other conventions to work on the magazine therefore this rule helps them work out how the magazine would look with all the conventions placed in there.

Though I have just discussed all the trademark features of an Empire magazine, Empire has previously broken their own conventions therefore also broken the Rule of Third. This Issue clearly shows that the main image is not a mid-shot of a character therefore it is different. Though the style of how a main image is set has changed, other structures are still the same on the magazine such as the placement of the masthead, cover line, etc. Personally I absolutely love the way how they managed to change the character shot selection from a mid-shot to a close-up because this gives more detail to the cover and the face is placed behind the masthead, this change is very big for an Empire magazine as only a limited amount of magazines would actually include this way of having a cover. Also not to forget this technique is more used by Sight and Sound than Empire, personally I approve both ways of presenting a cover with different types of shots.

MastheadThe title of the magazine.

Main Cover LineThis is the title of the film.

PugIt is a block of writing within a colour, like a sticker.

Date of Issue

Main Image

Cover lines

Strap line

In the last slide we seen all the conventions of the Sight and Sound magazine and this showed us that it is fairly familiar to Empire as it has features like a main image and masthead. However one of the main things to point out are the differences from the Empire which makes Sight and Sound its own magazine through it convention and this is simply shown on where they have placed their conventions.

On the magazine of Sight and Sound we can clearly see the masthead is placed at the top left of the cover which is one of the conventions this magazine company applies. It always on the top left, text in black within a yellow box. If I was to be constructing my own version of a Sight and Sound magazine then it would be essential to have the masthead on the top left of the cover.

Also similarly to Empire, Sight and Sound also has a Date of Issue which is placed on top right which obviously lets us know when this specific issue was released.

However differently, Sight and Sound only place their cover lines to the left of the cover and not both sides in comparison to Empire. Also the font size of the text seems to be shorter therefore this means that it has more words, this is also different in comparison to Empire. It has a superior use of vocabulary therefore it would also attract analytical readers and reviewers.

The main cover like is placed on the left of the magazine which says ‘Gary Oldman is smiley in tinker tailor soldier spy’ which relates to the main image, this is used in Empire too.

CONVENTIONS

The main image is always a close ups as its one of the conventions of the magazine, Empire occasionally applies this too. Sight and Sound always uses close ups of characters. Another presentational scheme Sight and Sound use is that thy place the main image behind the masthead, this is also occasional with Empire, it can be said that Empire stole this idea from their competitors (Sight and Sound).

CONVENTIONS

Masthead

Date of Issue

Main Cover Line

Main ImageBanner

Cover Line

Total Films uses the same layout and conventions as Empire, very similar and identical as it has all stuff like masthead, main image, cover lines, etc. Also very importantly, the main image goes in front of the masthead and this is how ideally Empire present their magazines therefore it can be said that Total Films magazine company have copied their competitors, also the Date of Issue is placed which is on both of the other magazines.

CONVENTIONS

Masthead

Main Image

As I’ve mentioned before this is different in comparison to the magazine covers as Empire, Total Film and Sight and Sound. Instantly we see it isn’t an ‘All in your face’ type cover, it is more neat and empty as in the way it is presented. I personally do not prefer this as it doesn’t look as attractive and informative as other magazines, it doesn’t grab the audience's attention straight away, however the way the main image is presented is very interesting as in the way it is a sketched type image and not like a picture. The sketched image presentation reflects on the magazine as a whole as it is analytical and the sketched image connotes this.

It is very different as it only has a masthead and a main image, and the masthead is placed right at the top in circle, and the image goes behind the masthead. This a very simple convention used Little White Lies.

CONVENTIONS