Critical analysis of Total Film Magazine

front cover

Like many others of its issues Total film overlap their main image character with the masthead of the magazine to put more emphasis on the focus of the cover which is the movie.

This issue the magazine presents the masthead in a crisp white font to contrast with the faded blue to white

background, and as conventional magazines do it is positioned at the top of the issue covering the width span of the page. Alternatively this issue breaks conventions by overlapping three subsidiary images as seen in the top corner, which will give them extra attention from the viewer as maybe the

editor wanted this.

The main image of the issue is that of the actor Robert Downy Jr who plays the character of Sherlock Holmes in the new up and coming film. The character is shown in costume creating the theme of the page and its style, it also gives it an informal status as he is shown with his hands in his pockets as if in character. By showing the main protagonist of the film, this increases the chances of possible sales, as more often than not they are played by a well known and respected actors/ actresses that the audience can identify, peaking their interest.

The covers splash is placed conventionally in the centre of the page below the main images character. Shown in the

aqua blue and white to contrast with the dark grey background of the actors coat but also to create symmetry with the other colours on the page like the also blue and faded white background. The clever use of font colours in

this issue creates a link between the whole page, the images and its texts making for a professional look. As well as this

we can see pull quotes from what we the audience presume is from the actor himself talking about the stage that the production is at, giving the audience the incentive to keep an eye o the movies production and anticipate its upcoming release. “World Exclusive” also has the same

effect upon us.

Subsidiary texts/ Banner lines are also used in the issue to fill in any dead spaces and to also promote other areas of the magazine using attractive pull words like “EXTRA” and “SNEAKY” to draw the reader in to there extra areas of information. Again like the pull quote and the splash they use colours to contrast with their backgrounds, using the aqua blue and black against the faded blue to white background. This is shown similar in the banner along the top, but as the fade is darker they have switched from black to white to gain more effect. Finally the price tag is well placed at the bottom right hand corner of the issue, maintaining the same distance from the edges as the rest of the texts and images making it look more symmetrical to the eye and therefore more attractive