Total film textual analysis

One of the two film magazines I will be analysing is total film magazine. Total Film magazines were launched in 1997 and are a monthly magazine like most film magazines. It is published by Future publishing and is this country’s second best-selling film magazine. It includes film and DVD news, reviews and features. Each issue contains several stories such as a range of features like full-length interviews, with established actors and directors, and previews of major film. They also consist of still frames and profile shots from the film. Every issue contains an interview with the star of the latest, upcoming film. This could be Total Films unique selling point (USP) and could be a feature my group and I could incorporate. It is also a typical convention for a film magazine to give ratings of films (many people buy these magazines to find out the reviews and rating!)

From researching this film magazine I found out that in 2004, Total Film carried out a survey of 25 British film critics produces a list of their Greatest British Films of all time. This could have been carried out due to public demand and it helped promote the magazine even more.

Here is the magazine I analysed:

What will I use from this magazine?

After analysing this magazine I have gained a better understanding to the type of layout a film magazine uses. Last year Abbie and I also created a magazine as part of our coursework however it was a music magazine aimed towards a younger audience. I feel this puts me to an advantage as I have something to compare it to and can differentiate the aspects which are specific to film magazines.

There are certain features on this magazine which I am very fond of and will consider using it in our final product. One feature I really like is the names of the film at the very top of the magazine running like a banner. However we may incorporate this with a different shape instead of the stars and will obviously have different films.
Another thing I have come across is that all magazines have a colour scheme and therefore we will also use one too. Most film magazines are quite dark, a lot of black and blues and whites are used. This is an advantage for us since the genre of our film is horror/thriller so we can represent this genre through the colours.

I also liked the way the barcode is positioned so this may also be something I might incorporate.
The main image is a long shot however I personally am not fond of this since I feel it doesn’t allow the audience to connect with the actors. A medium close-up helps show the emotions of the actor making them feel more relatable and understandable.

Similarities and Differences between Total Film magazines:

After analysing this specific issue I looked at other issues of Total Film. I found out that they all have very similar codes and conventions and have a house style which is important for the audience as they identify with that.