Front Cover Analysis #2

"Empire"


Every month, a new issue of ‘Empire’ is released in Britain and every issue promises to provide its audiences with excellent reviews and fantastic feature articles on both mainstream and art films. ‘Empire’ is considered to be one of the most iconic movie magazines in Britain due to its approach and coverage of world-wide cinema.

In order to gain a greater knowledge and understanding of the way in which film magazines are created, how they lure in their audiences, how they are used as promotional tools and how they encourage readers to watch films, I must analyze a range of different magazines. The first analysis created was on small, independent publication that celebrated retro movies from the 1960’s and 70’s. To expand my horizons, the second publication in which I have chosen to analyze is ‘Empire’. It is only necessary to review mainstream magazines as well as those that are independent.

This issue of ‘Empire’ was released in July 2001; it exclusively features the film ‘Pearl Harbor’; An American action war film which is a dramatic reimagining of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It became one of the most triumphant films of the year. Why have I selected a magazine issue that is ten years old? Simply due to the fact that I draw huge amount of inspiration from the film, seeing as I have chosen to set my own narrative in the roughly the same time period. It was in fact this particular movie that triggered my interest in the war-time era. Not only do I feel I owe it something, but it also makes sense to analyze a front cover that relates to your work instead of meaninglessly selecting any front cover. I too, find the concept of selecting an issue that is a decade old, intriguing as I can learn more about the ways in which ‘Empire’ has developed over the years.

Let us begin by discussing the image featured on the front cover. The main image is of the actor Ben Affleck, who plays the role of the main protagonist in the film. A common known fact of magazines is that nothing lures in the audience more than using a heart-throbbing star on the front cover! Fans of war-films, fans of the actor and fans of the magazine in general are captivated through the way in which the layout of the front cover has been constructed.

Elements of both the main image and the background indicate to audiences the narrative and the genre of the film being featured. The character appears to be wearing a brown leather jacket, a beige colored shirt with two small military badges on either side of his collar. The badges are the key pieces of costume that indicate the characters association with the war.  If they were not included, I would have assumed the character was some kind of American cop and so the genre of the film would not have been successfully directed to audiences.

Due to the style of his outfit and the inclusion of planes in the background; we can assume that this is WWII. The background exhibits a warm air of blue skies tainted by an evil red and orange smoke, giving the impression of destruction and disaster. Additional images in the background include silhouettes of war-planes and war-ships; as we try to figure out this characters position in the war, it is clear that he is not in the navy as he isn’t wearing a suitable uniform, and so we presume that he is a pilot.  After studying the image for information about the narrative and genre, audiences gather that this is an action film set during the Second World War, suspicions are confirmed when the eyes are diverted to the main sell-line in which the film title is revealed.

Looking at the film poster for ‘Pearl Harbor’ I can instantly detect a symbiotic link between the poster and the image on the front cover. Although the photographs of Affleck differ in composition, his facial expression, body language, costume, hair and make-up and uses of color and lighting remain the same. The front cover must use images that are similar to that of the poster so that the audiences become familiar with the style of mise-en-scene, allowing them to be able to recognize the film in other forms of media.

Allow us to move onto discussing the elements of mise-en-scene, camera and lighting in more detail. As previously mentioned, the costume of Affleck in the image is representative of a WWII pilot. Although he lacks the common iconography, for example, the aviator sun glasses or the military hat and the dog-tags, I feel he has been tastefully presented by avoiding cliché’s. His hair style isn’t specific to any era in particular, but it can pass for a 1940’s pilot style, as it has been slicked to the side. I get the impression that intentionally, his hair is supposed to look smart and slicked back, yet it also maintains a disheveled element to it, making his character look quite rough and ready. However he doesn’t portray an image of scruffiness or aggression that can be associated with the word rough, but more so a look of hero-some activity showing that his character has experienced some kind of pain and struggle, whether that be within the war or personal relationships. This of course reflects the narrative of the film and suggests that the genre could be that of a war-time romance.

Films that are set in the 1940’s era tend to contain sepia tones, resembling that of an old film reel. Not only does it give off this aged effect but it too provides it this nostalgic warmth, making the scene appear more idyllic. The same effect is used with war films, the warmth is still established but the use of color seems dirtier, almost tainted by the grim and disastrous effects of the war.  This image indeed reflects this idea, by containing this polluted, murky tone.

Moving onto the analysis of the masthead, the actual name of the magazine, ‘Empire’ is the type of word that is associated with strength, power and ownership. Which are words that are traditionally accustomed to the characteristics of a male. Simply because it relates to the idea of physical vigor and dominance it is appealing to men because they have a tendency to buy into things that make them appear more masculine and authoritative.

The word ‘empire’ itself refers to the domain ruled by an emperor (or empress); the readers of the magazine consider themselves the emperors, monarchy’s or the owners of the magazine. It provides these ardent film fans with a sense of authority over what interests them the most: movies! Conventionally, the masthead dominates the front cover being the largest piece of text on the page. The style of the font used for the masthead is soft around the edges, yet still exhibits an air of strength and power with its use of depth. The masthead appears to be coming out of the page as it has been outlined to appear 2-d. Today the magazine has adopted a different style to the masthead which is sharper, flatter yet more defined. The masthead reflects the characteristics of those who read the magazine; they are strong, intelligent and create a powerful exterior, but they maintain gentleness to them.

Red is the conventional color to use for publications with a male target audience, this is because it’s a primary color which is simplistic yet dominant in its own right. It stands out as a masculine color.

The subject matter of the sell-lines includes the main sell-line which reads “Pearl Harbor” with a sub sell-line description underneath which reads “Bombs, budgets and Ben”. The sell-line clearly indicates that this issue is featuring an article on the film with the main star Ben Affleck. It appeals to men because the main sell line discusses two of their main interests, action and money! Other sell lines relate to the interests of the target audience, as they have a feature on ‘Lord of the Rings’, interviews with David Duchovny, Heather Graham, Jean Reno and Spiderman.

Different types of techniques and language devices are used in order to lure in the target audience, for instance, with the main sell-line there are uses of alliteration with the letter ‘B’. It provides the sell-line with a catchy, quirky edge that lingers on your mind, making you want to read more. A pun is used for the picture article featuring “Lord of the Rings” in which they use a sub-heading that reads “Hobbit Holiday”. This use of humor exists to entertain the audiences by making them laugh.

Conventionally the main sell-line has the largest size font and the style of writing is in sans serif, which provides the sell-line with a sense of formality. The rest of the text of the page excluding the masthead is in serif font, and is of course much smaller to emphasize the importance of the main sell-line.

The uses of color are a huge indicator as to the genre of the magazine and the target audience in which it is directed. When looking at the sell-lines it is clear to see that the palette consists of mainly white and yellow, so that the text stands out against the dark background.