The masthead for ‘Fangoria’ is bold, curved and a bright red reminiscent of the colour of blood. The name itself sounds similar to not just the word ‘fan’ as in fanatics of horror films but also the word ‘gore’ which is an adjective often used to describe horror films and more specifically murder, bloodshed and violence. Both the words fan and gore relate directly to the magazine’s demographic – huge enthusiasts of horror films.
Underneath the ‘Fangoria’ masthead the buzzwords Monsters, Aliens, Bizarre Creatures have specifically been used to draw in the demographic whom this magazine is specifically aimed at. Fangoria’s audience would be considered niche as it is aimed at a lot of horror fans in their teens, 20s and 30s.
‘Fangoria’ does not usually feature blockbusters or major films so using a Stanley Kubrick film as a cover story is something unusual for them. More unusual is the lack of clutter on the cover as normally there are buzzwords and feature stories scattered on the cover but the editor in this case obviously realised that the name Jack Nicholson itself would be enough to draw in intrigue and potential purchasers of this issue.
Like most magazines there is a main image that relates to the cover story. In this case it is Jack Nicholson who is the main character in ‘The Shining’. He is glaring at the camera in a threatening manner in what seems to be a shot from the film. Main images used on ‘Fangoria’ covers are almost always shots from films in which the image has something to represent gore and horror. ‘The Shining’ typography is the one from the film posters themselves which shows that ‘Fangoria’ is more about brand loyalty and giving fans details about the films rather than just making a profit. It is also a convention of this magazine to use the film’s branded typography.
There is also a film reel going down the left side of the page which is used on all of ‘Fangoria’s’ issues to further reinforce that this is a genre specific film magazine and will have content specific to horror films.
The use of the colours red and yellow clash quite distinctly in the design of this cover. The red is a stereotypical horror film colour used to represent bloodshed and violence whilst the yellow is an unusual choice for a magazine mainly about the horror film genre. The most likely explanation is that the two colours that seem somewhat tasteless and inelegant indicative of the infamous video nasty era in which films with extreme amounts of gore and violence were banned as they were believed to have the power to deprave and corrupt the masses.
The barcode on the magazine is in the bottom left hand corner of the page which is a convention of all magazines, not just film or genre specific ones.
The use of supplementary images is a technique used by most magazines as it shows what else to expect from within the magazine. Supplementary images are common characteristics of most magazines but the use of them within the film reel is something exclusive to only ‘Fangoria’. It is a part of their brand identity and a use of iconography. Also, the banner going across the top of the page with various features lets us know what else to expect. These act as methods of enticement to draw in people who may not be fans of the main image but see something of interest to them mentioned in the supplementary images or in the banners.
This is a typically formulaic magazine front cover as it has a cover story, main image as well as cover stories and supplementary images. There is a typically positioned barcode and the use of buzzwords is a characteristic of most standard magazine covers. The masthead is the important thing on the page and accordingly is the biggest piece of text. Most magazines follow this formula in their layout but I am going to go on and examine a more subversive text for my next magazine analysis.
The ‘Little White Lies’ magazine does not use a conventional layout for its cover. It also is not of a conventional shape – It is more square than rectangle and is different in the same way the niche audience who read ‘Little White Lies’ are different from the mainstream audience. The position of the white circles, masthead, barcode and other details never chance position making it easier for fans to identify that this is ‘Little White Lies’ magazine; The main image is generally a minimalist themed hand drawn close up.
The masthead is positioned at the top of the page and as it is the easiest way to identify the magazine it should be in the biggest font but is of a similar size or even slightly smaller than the ‘Let the right one in’ typography insinuating that rather than indorsing their own brand they want the audience’s attention to fall directly to the film they are promoting on their cover. There are no cover stories or supplementary images which is atypical as magazines normally use them to show the audience what else to expect from within the magazine and entice them with more than just a main image and cover story which is what ‘Little White Lies’ does in all of its issues. There are also no smaller images meaning that someone buying this issue would not know what else to expect other than information about the ‘Let The Right One In’ film.Even the barcode, date, issue number and price are positioned unusually as it is right above the masthead instead of thecommon position in one of the two bottom corners. As ‘Little White Lies’ cover a range of independent and major films the only way to gather any sense of narrative or genre from their cover is from the typography and image. The red and white colour of the typography are well used colours in the horror genre and through common use have come to represent bloodshed and violence. Also, the almost handwritten rough writing is almost chilling and eerie. Other than this, the main and sole image of the page screams horror. The use of blood on the close up of Eli from the film brings a sense of danger and carnage to the magazine confirming that ‘Let the right one in’ is in facts a horror film although just from the cover we cannot easily identify its specific genre.This is a little girl who is representative of innocence and purity covered in blood which is a key use of anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary opposites which reveal the structure of media texts. Without the red it is doubtful that any sense of genre would be successfully conveyed. The use of the black hair/background is also effective in that it makes Eli seem like she is standing in the dark, surrounded by the unknown. Facing and exploring the unknown is a common trait in horror films particularly Slashers where the villain sometimes wears a mask to hide their identify and to force the audience to contemplate their own fears and what would truly frighten them most once the mask is removed.
The main image for almost all magazines is normally photographed and photo shopped yet ‘Little White Lies’ choose to use a drawn image in all their issues probably to reinforce the fact that this is magazine is aimed at a niche audience who do not follow the crowd and may have eclectic and different taste from their peers. Also, the use of a hand drawn image is reminiscent of the time when film posters and magazine covers were hand drawn a reference most probably understood and appreciated by this demographic who are most likely mature young adults who enjoy the informative, detailed aspect of films rather than the celebrity and gossip dimensions.
Despite being a mainstream movie magazine, ‘Empire’ does successfully use some conventions of horror movie magazines in its layout, typography, colours, style etc.
‘Empire’ magazine has more of a formulaic layout. The distinct masthead spans the top of the page, blocked slightly by the top of the main image indicating that it is a high status publication that is recognisable even with a slight obscurity blocking its masthead.
There are no supplementary images which is not too unusual as most very well-known magazines such as the ‘NME’ do not use smaller images, instead they will have a lot of text hinting at what else to expect from within the magazine. The cover stories are written in various texts and colours which makes the cover aesthetically pleasing and generally eye catching suggesting a wide range of content. The writing going across the page is written is such a way to appear as though it has been etched into something like a wall for example. The combination of the text and typography have a chilling effect on the reader. The typography used for the words ‘Meet the Joker’ is reminiscent of newspaper cuttings which are used by criminals when they want to send something written without any risk of being incriminated. This reinforces that the Joker is a criminal and someone who cannot be trusted within ‘The Dark Knight’ film.
The person posing for the main image is normally only shot with a close up or a medium close up but for this particular cover it seems they chose to use a full shot of ‘The Joker’. This could be because he is such an imposing character and they wanted to display him in a fully threatening manner. Also, the mise en scene of the cover is attempting to portray a certain sense of narrative. The joker is positioned in front of what seem to be cages indicating that he is isolated and inside the cage or is outside and has trapped someone (Batman). There are shadows of people behind him which are not particularly clear representative of the notion that there is going to a lot of intrigue, mystery and commotion within the film as a whole.
The side line above the ‘Empire’ masthead has been specifically picked to entice fans of ‘The Dark Knight’ film. As ‘The Batman’ franchise is widely popular, ‘Empire’ magazine has ensured sales given that hard core Batman enthusiasts would surely buy this issue. Also, the use of the ‘Batman’ logo is attempting to draw in the fans as well.
‘Empire’ attracts mainstream audiences as they always feature blockbuster films with big budgets and big audiences.
By including the name of their website ‘Empire’ magazine are attempting to have a multi-platform approach to promoting their magazine; They are using web 2.0 to expand their brand. This is also an example of synergy in which the audience who read the magazine will visit the website and those who interact on the website will be inclined to read the magazine. This is a smart approach to marketing a brand as audiences are now fragmented and so having some form of brand promotion on multiple platforms would reach even niche audiences.
After analysing these three different texts I have learnt that they have all used certain conventions coded differently as well as different modes of address to appeal to their own demographics. As my target audience are teenagers I do not need to create as subversive a front cover as ‘Little White Lies’ but instead I will attempt to recreate a ‘Fangoria’ front cover which uses more colour and supplementary articles to entice its audience. Also, ‘Fangoria’ is more likely than ‘Little White Lies’ or ‘Empire’ to feature a low budget British independent film.
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