Empire nearly always has the same style of front cover. There are large red letters saying “Empire” and there is nearly always just one actor, usually the main character of a new film being released on the front and the photo is usually posed or a snapshot/freeze frame from a film. The title on Empire magazine is usually in red but if there is a special edition or a certain type of film then this may change; for example, the issue of Empire that was featuring 'The Dark Knight' on the cover had a black title with a green glow. This was to match the film but could also attract the attention of regular cusomers if they see the magazine title has been changed. Empire is easily recognizable to its customers so they can pick it out from all of the other magazines in the shop. There are always main features and quotes around the edges of the picture to grab the customer, or potential customers attention, there is never writing in the centre of the picture as this would look messy and untidy. Like all magazines, Empire has the, date price, issue number and barcode on it. All these features on the front cover make it recognizable as a magazine. Empire is a very high quality magazine, glossy, thick paper is used for the back and front and the paper on the inside is thicker than most magazines so it is unlikely to tear. Therefore this magazine is more likely to last longer than most magazines which fall apart within about a week, thus the customer who bought this magazine can keep it for some time and perhaps refer back to it for whatever reason. By using these high quality materials, this makes the magazine more attractive which could prompt potential customers to pick it up and take a look.
About 50% of the magazine on the inside is advertisements for film and music stores such as HMV who are doing offers and deals, or advertisements for new films being released at the cinema or on DVD. Nearly every other page is an advertisement of some sort. Many magazines need lots of advertisements because they need the funding from whatever company is wishing to advertise because the magazine company does not have enough money to have all its own material inside. As soon as you open the magazine there is an advertisement rather than the index which is slightly unusual, however companies pay more for their advertisement to appear for in a magazine. I think the reason for this is that Empire is more expensive than most magazines and needs the extra funding.
Empire magazine starts with a countdown of “the top ten films of all time”. This is light reading; it is in small, snappy paragraphs which are quick to read under each film giving a brief outline of the film. By having this to begin the magazine, it engages the reader’s attention rather than having a really long interview with an actor or an actress which may cause the reader to become bored and discontinue reading the magazine. After this there is an index, in an easy, reasonably sized font.
The language of the magazine is formal; not as chatty as most celebrity/gossip magazines, which indicates that Empire is geared at a male, middle class target market and the age group is from about 25 to 40. The reason why I say “male” is because there are adverts for male skin products, one of which was an anti-wrinkle cream which indicates that Empire are reaching out to a slightly older age group. There is also an advert for FHM magazine, which is generally read by men, as FHM comes under the category, “lad mag”. Also, at the back of the magazine, there are advertisements for phone downloads such as wallpapers of female models; this feature would generally be used by men too.
Empire is an enthusiasts magazine; obviously for film and cinema. Apart from the advertisements, everything in the magazine is to do with film. It gives news about new films, where they’re going to be shown, they’re release and premier viewing dates and the general plot. There is always an interview with the actor who is on the front cover of the magazine, or there would be no point in making them the main feature. The interviews are generally over a double page spread with a large, posed photo of the actor or actress across it and sometimes snapshots of them in past or recent films they have starred in, there are also a few quotes from the interview blown up to a bigger font dotted around the edges of the photo or in-between paragraphs. The interview usually consists of questions about the actor or actress’s latest films, if there are any films they have been picked to star in future films and questions about acting life and how their coping. Unlike most celebrity/gossip magazines, there are very few questions about their personal life; again, everything is focused on film and everything to do with it. This is because the reader isn’t really interested in the personal life of the celebrity; they only want to know about the acting and film aspect. There are usually about three interviews with famous actors or actress’s, but they are not as long as the main feature, usually on a single page, but still with a large, posed photo and blown up quotes, the interviewer asks similar questions to that of the main actor but they are more specific and less detail is written about their answer.
Another thing I have noticed is that when there is a film advertized, there is also a picture of the main actor underneath with a quick, light profile of who they are, where they’re from and other famous films they have starred in. There is also a small leaflet advertising the next issue of the magazine and how to subscribe to Empire so that you will pay for it in advance and receive a copy every time a new issue comes out. There is all the necessary information on how to subscribe and there is also Empires website in case the reader wants to subscribe via the internet. This a good way to get customers to go on their website where there is news about film, there was a slogan saying “know it first” and another saying, “suggest to friends” which is a good way for exceptional enthusiasts and new customers to use the website.
Toward the end of the magazine there is a lighthearted quiz about film, testing the reader’s knowledge. As the magazine comes to an end, the reading becomes lighter and the last 6 pages or so are advertisements. Having advertisements at the end of a magazine can be a good marketing trick because people are more likely to remember what they read last rather than what they read first because it is fresh in they’re mind. The advertisements at the end are mostly mobile phone features, such as the downloadable wallpaper which I mentioned before and ringtones which are theme tunes of films that readers can subscribe to. There are also advertisements for film conventions and concerts which include contact numbers if customers want to book something straight away.
Empire defiantly meets up to the conventions of a film magazine. Almost everything is to do with film and the topics surrounding it such as actors, film awards and DVD’s. Empire gives their customers exactly what they want and they rarely stray off the subject whereas many other magazines do so. All the factors I have covered are the reasons why Empire is so successful within their target market.
The first picture above is of my magazine that I have created, 'FilmFest'. The photo is a posed shot of my brother. I considered using a freeze frame from the trailer but when I attempted this it became blurry and looked uprofessional. More information can be found on the making of my magazine on my other posts. The second picture is from Empire magazine promoting James Cameron's 'Avatar'. Obviously Empire is a major magazine and has access to far more sophisticated photography equipment than I do, so when one looks at the two magazines together, Empire looks far more professional, which is true. I created this magazine cover in PhotoShop and when I converted it into a JPEG the quality has depreciated. However my final magazine will not be in JPEG and is only in this particular format for the purpose of this post. Despite my limited resources I have followed all the conventions to make my magazine as realistic as possible. I have included other features such as the advertisment of another film and the promotion of a free James Bond poster. The main feature; 'Virus' is at the bottom and is in larger letters to grab the auidences attention. I have included a barcode, an issue number, the date, the price and I changed the saturation and lighting on the picture to make it appear darker. Before and after photos can be seen on other posts.
I feel I have followed the conventions of a film magazine to the best of my ability and resources. However this is not to say that I will not make modifications to this magazine in future. So far I am happy with the way my magazine looks but I am also considering doing a questionairre amoung my target market to find out what they think.
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