Secondary Research Alice Sophie Turrell

What magazines would have my film on the cover?

There are not many film magazines, and then they generally do not show horror movies on the front cover unless there is an exception to a highly anticipated film. The potential magazines would be; • Empire• Gorezone • Fangoria• Total Film• Entertainment Weekly

All of these magazines could potentially advertise my film, as they either feature just horror films or advertise a range of different film genres. In terms of appealing to the target audience, the magazines are read by my target audience as well as by a wider range of people.

Empire Magazine

Mission Statement; I’ve been editing film magazines for 12 years and we have never seen a slate like this. If you look at 2012 you have got your Batmans, Spidermans, James Bond is returning. The Avengers is now the third biggest movie of all time. It’s a huge, huge booming business.

Empire is growing at an astonishing rate. We have just become the second biggest men’s magazine in the UK and we’re adding international editions all the time. Empire is an incredible opportunity. Our readers have film at their heart but they also have a large disposable income and an interest in a number of other products whether that is cars, phones, fragrances or holidays. These are people with broad horizons and deep pockets and I think that is what makes them really attractive to advertisers.

Mark Dinning - Editor

Empire Magazine

• Circulation – 160,067 (Jan-Jun ‘13)• Readership – 873,000 (Jul-Dec '12)• Empire is the WORLD’S LARGEST movie magazine• Empire is the 2nd biggest UK men’s monthly magazine• Dominates the UK film market with over 70% circulation

share, outselling its nearest competitor by almost 100,000 copies

• Empire has over 57,000 subscribers• 47% think that the Empire brand is better than all or most other

magazines• With the magazine, iPad, empireonline.com, social media and

our international editions, Empire reaches over 2.5 MILLION of the most dedicated movie fans on the planet

Empire Magazine

Empire Magazine Brand Extensions

empireonline.com;• Unique users - 2.3 million*• Page impressions - 22.2 million*• Email subscribers - 98,192*

*All stats as of Nov 2012

Empire app; In May 2012 the Empire iPad was launched in the US into a market which had no consumer film magazine, broadening Empire’s global reach and increasing an already unprecedented access to film’s biggest stars

Entertainment Weekly

Mission Statement;

Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly Website

Total Film

Readership; Launch Date;

68% male 32% female 1997

“Total Film is the modern movie brand, taking an affectionate and irreverent look at Hollywood

blockbusters, classic films and more indie fare. The Total Film brand offers the world’s most reliable film and DVD reviews together with

exclusive interviews with the biggest names and hottest talents working in movies right now.”

- http://brands.futureplc.com/brands/total-film/

Total Film Online

Averaging over 1.6 million monthly global unique users

Also available on tablet via iPad or Android

Outcome

After looking into three highly popular entertainment and film magazines, I have determined which one I think it would be best to promote my film with and what I have to take into account when designing my cover shoot plan after looking at existing ones and statistics.

In terms of what magazine I would promote with, it would be Empire. This is due to the fact it reaches the largest amount of people so my film would get noticed a lot. Also, the age range of their audience is 34.8% 15-24years old. This is the greatest percentage out of all the age groups and is the same age group that my film would be targeted at meaning the film would be advertised to the right target audience in terms of age. They advertise mainly thrillers, action, and sci fi movies but this does not rule out them advertising horror films as they have done so before.

In terms of what I have found out that will help me when planning is certain areas I should cover and the audience I should tailor the cover to. In terms of tailoring the cover, I need to take into account Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory as the readership is 77% male. This means the cover model will be one of the female covers instead of the male murderer. This does not mean that the cover will be over sexualised, as it needs to appeal to the female audience and reflect the film as well, for example the female character is strong and someone women can look up too or relate to.

Most film magazine covers use head shots or full body shots if needed to portray a certain idea or show something specific. This is another thing I am going to consider when planning my shoot in terms of taking the photo and what it is of. I will most likely use a head shot and have it shadowy and include blood to give the right effect.

Posters

Possible Locations

Movie posters are shown in various obvious places that are going to get noticed by a lot of people, they are; • Billboards• Buses• Bus stops• Sides of buildings • Cinemas • Magazines/newspapers• Taxi’ • Underground Stations

What would my poster feature?

Another key feature would be a tag line or slogan. This would make the film more memorable. This is usually quite short and gives away a small part of the plot while creating questions to hook the intended audience. A very famous one is from A Nightmare on Elm Street “If Nancy doesn’t wake up screaming she won’t wake up at all”. Instead of a tag line it could also say something along the lines of “based on true events”.

The title of the film would be present on the poster as well, commonly along the bottom or top of the poster. It would be in the titles font that is used for all advertising and promotion so that viewers can identify it. Just above or underneath, there could also be a few major actors/actresses or major crew member such as a director. This would show use of auteur criticism.

The main image on the cover would be a main character, a few main characters or a place or object that is important and relevant in the film. For example, this poster shows the main character but a poster for The Conjuring shows an object that is featured and important in the film. If the film is starring a major actor/actress, they may be featured on the film even if the are not the main character.

Another feature that would defiantly be on the poster is a list of credits and a date. This would feature key crew members such as director and writer, the main actors/actresses, production company(s), a date (or coming soon) and a website. This would give important information about the film that could attract the audience. This is typically along the bottom of the poster.

Where would my poster be shown?

My posters have to be placed strategically in order to attract the target audience of both males and females of 17-25 years old. I think that the best places for my poster to be advertised would be underground station as people around that age spend a lot of time in London on days and nights outs so the posters would be seen by a lot of people. Other locations that are common for posters to be shown are also good places to advertise as the age range that my film is targeting I am assuming had expendable income and therefore spends time socialising and buying magazines. Cinemas are the obvious place as people would have go in to see films perhaps of the same genre and then would see the poster and want to see it. Certain magazines such as Kerrang!, Empire, NME are read by teenagers and young adults into horror films and would therefore been seen by the right potential audience.