Drafts of film magazine front covers

This is a possible layout in which I will apply to my final magazine front cover. The masthead of the magazine "ACT!ION" is featured at the top of the front cover, with help of analyising existing texts I came to realise that all of the magazine front covers analysed featured the masthead being the name of the magazine at the top of the front cover, therefore I have applied these ideas to the draft i have created. The masthead "ACT!ON" will be featured in a large font as this is the name of the magazine and is an important component when advertising to fellow fans of films. The image shown will be the main image of the front cover, this I have also taken from analysis of existing texts. In my opinion I like having the main image being the background of the front cover as this focuses the readers eyes straight to the image and therefore to the film. The main image shown is the main character displayed in the film (Ellie) she is shown glancing behind a tree in the dark and gloomy forests in which she takes a shortcut home through, my reasons for placing Ellie in this pose would be because it adds an element of creepyness and mysteriousness! With only seeing half of Ellie it keeps the audience guessing as to what she is hiding from, the use of including the tree establishes the location in which most of the trailer will be set, this also helps the public understand the plot. If I used this image as my final image I would feature 'Ellie' in a piece of clothing in which is featured in the trailer to keep up with the continuity.
The phrase 'Free poster inside' can be viewed as being a screamer (attracting and drawing the reader into purchasing the magazine) this therefore can be linked with my other anxcillary text which is the film poster, as i think this is a creative aspect as you often see magazines giving away posters on upcoming popular films, it is also a good advertising and marketing technique. The title of the film 'The Hunted' is placed underneath the free poster representing the headline which almost acts as an intro for the brand new hit film to be introduced! The headline 'The Hunted' will be stressed in a large font so that as much attention is drawn to it as it is the main focus of the page, it will also be placed next to the main character Ellie's face to create an ambigous element for the readers. Underneath 'The Hunted' I have gathered together exciting aspects as to which would draw in readers into wanting to read the film magazine, for example I have used the word 'Exclusive' which makes the reader feel priviliged! I deliberately used the word 'catched' almost as a pun to the storyline as it is about a stalker catching up with it's victim! Included also on the front cover are several smaller images which will be made to look like they are screen shots of behind the scenes or from the trailer, so that the reader knows what they are expecting to read and view. In magazines there are always competitions and prizes to give away, this can be seen as being a modern day contemporary feature. Consequence to this I have added a giveaway prize to the Bafta Awards as this gives a realistic aspect to the magazine and gives it a sense of quality by including 'The Baftas'. At the bottom of the front page I have added a small advertising strip which is another feature involved in the magazine, also by analysising other existing and contemporary magazine front covers I have discovered that many of these do this, also being another possible advertising technique. Therefore again I may apply this attribute to my final product.

The main image on this front cover is fairly similar to the main image featured in the first draft, as it features a tree in the woodland area with 'Ellie' the main character stood next to it. However, 'Ellie' will be posed in a different way with her head turned around looking shocked and alarmed as if she has come face to face with her stalker! This immediately projects to the reader the genre of the film and also perhaps the plot and storyline as the camera shot acts as the stalker itself, which is the effect in which I am after if I choose to use this draft for my final production piece.


The masthead of the magazine 'ACT!ION' is again displayed at the top in a large font, however I have added an advertising strip so that I could add text for example 'Review of top 100 films of the decade' this is an interesting aspect of the magazine which would definately draw in film lovers. Again the headline of the film 'The Hunted' is placed next to the main image to show the link and connection between the two, it also adds mystery and suspense. The sub-headline in which I have featured underneath the headline 'ACT!ION meets the victim...' keeps the film alive and adds a realistic perspective for the audience. Included are pictures of behind the scenes images taken from the trailer to show the reader that this is pure exclusiveness! Featured at the bottom of the magazine front cover is another strip like at the top however advertising 'behind the scenes at the new Harry Potter film' this could be seen as adding an element of Postmodernism by using intertextual referencing of current films to this day.






This is the third draft I created, this layout very much differs from the other two. The main image featured is a close-up of 'Ellie' with her hand over mouth in shock, this could again establish to the audience that there will be a vast amount of shock in this film and could perhaps represent a specific part in the film were 'Ellie' faces a large amount of distress! If I used this draft for my final production I would again keep up with the continuity by featuring the main character in clothing which is used in the trailer, perhaps were 'Ellie' is confronted by her follower! The name of the film magazine "ACT!ON" is displayed just under halfway down the page, I experimented when doing this and have realised that having the name of the magazine this low down on the page could perhaps confuse the reader when looking at the front cover of the magazine as the title of the film 'The Hunted' is featured higher up than 'ACT!ON' therefore this could be easily confused. Underneath 'ACT!ON' there is a prize included again to offer opportunities for the reader which is vital and can also help the reader engage and possibly included. I have used a language device in the form of repition such as ' Exlusive, exclusive and...exclusive!' this stresses the exclusivness of the magazine to the readers. Again at the bottom of the front cover there is a strip including other interesting aspects of the film magazine and in a smaller font other hit films such as 'Paranormal Activity' again this can be associated with Postmodernism and the world in which we live in today.