Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media.
Since its original release in July 1989, it has become the biggest selling film magazine in Britain. Empire magazine is also accompanied by Empire Multiplex Cinemas which was first introduced in 2005 with its HQ in Leicester Square, London.
I chose Empire Magazine because of its growing popularity with the consumer. They are able to add features to their magazines that other magazines don’t seem to comprehend for example the reviews of both feauture films and art films. They also have their “Top Ten” feature for example Top Ten Movie Gags which is very popular with their readers.
The denotation of this magazine is a colour close up image of the character The Hulk from the film of the same name which was written and directed by Louis Leterrier. The picture of The Hulk is the only picture graphic on the magazine making it the main focus 100%. The Hulk appears to be trying to break out of a wall.
The picture is a close up shot and The Hulk is looking fiercely at the camera.
The lighting used for this shot is mainly low key as the Hulk himself is a dark green shade and the grey wall he is viciously breaking out of. However, there is a visible bright blue coming from the top of The Hulks background where he has managed to break fully and this lighting is high key. The lighting is effective on The Hulk as the dark shades on him makes him look scary and the adaptation of him looking as though he is coming at the reader makes everything seem all the more uneasy. This point is very important as the magazine coverline says it is the first ever 3-D cover and because this is on the Left third of the magazine, if it is on the shelf with other competitors, it could be the one that stands out more.
The colour scheme of the magazine has the original Empire masthead in red which is a very popular colour for magazine mastheads as it is very eyecatching. The Hulk is in his trademark green which has been imported into the main coverline and title. The grey wall allows for the green to stand out more making it look brighter and “pop” out.
The masthead’s font is signature to the magazine unless it has been purposely changed to match the theme and features of the front of the magazine. This normally see’s the original masthead colour change in order to match the colour scheme from the front cover. The “P” in the masthead is seen to have been violently split up through the aggressiveness of The Hulk, adding character to the masthead, as though it is playing a part instead of just letting the reader know who the magazine belongs to. This is an unusual convention for example; you would normally see mastheads behind the main image with some letters not visible to the reader. The release date and price of the magazine is in small print just above the “M” in Empire. The fact that this has been placed on the Left Third of the magazine makes it visible on a news stand or shelf. The “M” in Empire is very popular for placing the release date and price. It is placed in almost if not every Empire magazine in the same position. Monthly magazines are released a month before what it says on the magazine so this magazine was released a month before the film release, which allows for the film to build momentum. The barcode is very visible at the bottom right hand side which connotes something that needs to be bought.
The magazine cover does not feature any other coverlines apart from “The Hulk Unleashed” and “Incredible! The World’s First Fully 3-D Cover!” This obviously makes it clear that The Hulk is going to be feauted in the magazine and that it is a 3-D cover however, it does not let the reader know of any other interesting things that might happen in the magazine. I believe that the attention for other coverlines is taken away because of the admiration readers might feel from the fact that they could purchase a 3-D cover magazine.
By Fergine Nzita
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