Textual analysis of a movie magazine front cover - Jeffrey

The denotation of the magazine shows Jack Sparrow posing with a gun while staring at what could be considered the audience. There are a lot of coverlines that shows that the magazine has behind the scenes information about pirates of the Caribbean as well as other movies like Sherlock Holmes. It also shows that there is information on some actors. The magazine is Empire, Empire is a well known film magazine publisher, it is very well known amongst British people in particular as it is a British magazine. It is the best selling film magazine in Britain beating competitors like Uncut and Total film.

The main image on the front cover is of Jack Sparrow as mentioned before and he is the main character of Pirates of the Caribbean. A medium longshot is used and Jack Sparrow is shown to be leaning more towards his left which leaves more spaces for coverlines on the right. His pose connotes that he is ready for action (as cliché as it may sound) because he has a gun on him and the look on his eyes shows that he is a little tense. His NVC shows that he isn’t a light hearted character but is a lot closer to somebody who is serious about achieving their goals. A colour that is featured prominently in the magazine front cover is blue which is very interesting as it Jack Sparrow is wearing a blue cardigan and blue connotes loyalty which conflicts with Jack Sparrows character. White sleeves are also seen on Jack Sparrow and white connotes purity and innocence which is also contradictory as he is a pirate and they are known to possess none of those qualities.

The masthead of the magazine is red which completely goes against the background of the front cover as red causes feelings that opposes what blue connotes. This may be done intentionally in an attempt to get most of the audience to think about why something like that would be done. It is also worth noting that of all the colours used in the magazine front cover red is the one that relates to Jack Sparrow the most yet he isn’t wearing anything of that colour. Part of the masthead is hidden behind Jack Sparrows head which is used to bring him out more because the colours that he is wearing don’t make him stand out from the background that much. This is also something that may have been done intentionally because in bringing out Jack Sparrow they have also advertised the new pirates of the Caribbean which will make the audience consider watching it.

The coverlines shown on the magazine show that there is a lot to look forward to as the main coverline says: ‘Movies’ biggest year ever’. It is also done smartly because yellow is a colour that can attract attention and two middle words in the main coverline are yellow and it causes the target reader to want to read it and when the two middle words are read the reader will notice that there’s more and when the main coverline is read it causes the reader to see if the main coverline can live up to it’s claim. When it comes to how the coverline can attract the target audience the main coverline has more or less done the job which is why the coverlines are in yellow and white which don’t really stand out. The coverlines just simply state the names of well known franchises like Sherlock Holmes and Captain America and by reading these names it will automatically make the reader interest in reading what the magazine has to offer. There are two coverlines on the bottom left which talk about Matt Damon and Christian Bale who are well known actors. The coverlines from this magazine don’t heavily rely on colour connotations to grab the audience attention but more on what is actually being said and that ties in with the main coverline as it shows why this year could be the biggest year ever for movies.

This particular photo can tell the audience a few things about Jack Sparrow. Those who are familiar with him will know his character and that he witty and sometimes portrayed as a traitor. The colours that he is wearing would indicate otherwise because white indicates purity and innocence and since part of his attire is white it would show that while he is a pirate part of him is pure and innocent and will be a hero when need be. Blue connotes loyalty and this contradicts his character as mentioned earlier but it would show he may be loyal which means that he isn’t as bad a person as he is portrayed to be. These things are important as it shows that the magazine engages the audience because of all the connotations, it also means that someone who has never seen pirates of the Caribbean can learn about Jack Sparrow before watching it.

This magazine front cover shows that the main point is to advertise the movies that the coverlines mention. This can be noticed if the front cover is closely looked at because there is no dateline so it would show that if somebody wants to find out more about the magazine they would have to search for the website. The price on the magazine is very small which means that if the magazine is eye catching the target reader will not pay attention to the price and end up buying the magazine due to how interesting it looks.

To conclude the magazine has done a good job making use of connotations and attracting an audience that would want to buy it. Empire is also a very good example of a skeleton when it comes to designing a magazine front cover because when they don’t make use of all the conventions of a front cover they have still got effective methods which will ensure sales and this is something that will be taken into deep consideration when my group is designing their front cover. Even though I pointed out that Johnny Depp’s character doesn’t stand out it doesn’t take away from the fact that this front cover was carefully thought out and it would involve the reader engaging their mind to understand why it looks the way that it does.