Final magazine analysis

Here an analysis of my final magazine. I decided not to make any changes from my final draft as I feel it is effective as a piece of film marketing. I did try to edit the secondary images to make the heads of the individuals overlap with the 'film strip to make them look 3D, however I would have to have got rid of the picture captions, a vital part of the cover.

Main image:
The main image conforms to typical conventions of a film magazine. Using a medium closeup shot enables the audience to see the face of the actress and the background. As some of the background is free, room is left for the coverlines to frame the face of the actor. The image uses high key natural lighting to give the actor that 'ethereal' glow. As she is looking directly at the camera, she is making a form of direct address to the audience, this establishes a bond in some ways. To make the image jump from the page, it overlaps the masthead slightly. I subverted conventions of the main image by using a photo of the actor not in character, this emphasises the realism effect I am going for as my magazine is an independent film magazine.
Headline:
The headline, like regular film magazines is located roughly in the middle of the poster, this draws the audiences gaze to it. I used the same sans-serif font and 'shadowing' style like I used for the poster, this creates a recognisable motif for the film advertised. I placed it on the diagonal to parallel the strip of secondary images, this ensures coherence thorough the page.
Masthead:
The masthead uses a similar sans-serif font as magazines TOTAL FILM and EMPIRE, this makes my magazine recognisable as audiences realise it is a film magazine. This is further highlighted by the editing of the letter 'I' into a film strip. The title itself relates to the topic of the magazine, 'film' and the 'REEL' part refers to the REAL films (independent films) featured.
Secondary images:
I used both EMPIRE and TOTAL FILM for inspiration for the layout of the secondary images. I placed them in a film strip format on the diagonal. using A boxout also distinguishes the secondary images form the main image. I used a mix of medium closeups and long shots to show stills from actual films. These actions shots create excitement, this is reinforced by the picture captions used to indicate the film shown. I used the banner style coverline to advertise the contents of the magazine, stating it is an ultimate summer guide. This anchors to the secondary images as they will obviously be part of this 'summer guide'.
Colour Scheme:
 After looking at my questionnaires, I discovered that the audience preferred my scheme of red, off white and green/grey as it gives a subtle tone to the cover. Red and white both contrast well, this is highlighted by the bright green background which also provides a colour contrast. The colour scheme also reflects the scheme of my film, this is a common convention of film magazines as the scheme of the magazine often reflects the distinct scheme if the main film featured (E.g TOTAL FILM using red, white and blue to advertise captain America.)
Cover-lines:
The cover lines in my magazine have a referential function to provide information to the reader. in my magazines case, the larger the cover line, the more important the article. I used the colours red an white to distinguish the text. To separate elements of the cover lines, I used red lines to separate them. Some of the cover lines feature buzzwords such as 'ultimate' and 'plus', to distinguish the m further I used a different font, weight of font, size or colour. I also included a tagline just below the masthead to summarise the objectives of the magazine.
Puff/pug:
The puff of information on the right hand side advertises a competition. This is further emphasised by the use of a boxout to separate the puff from the rest of the cover. I edited the circle to look like a peeling sticker, this makes it stand out from the page. I used a different font for the buzzword 'WIN' to also catch the readers attention.
Skyline:
Like most magazine covers, I used a skyline to set the premise of the issue. I have used it to summarise the issues contents. It features that the magazine is a thriller special, this will attract certain fans of a thriller genre. To make it stand out, I placed the text on a white boxout. The buzzword 'Exclusive' is in red, this further highlights the buzzwords function.