Magazine analysis- The Dark Knight

Layout

The layout of the magazine cover isn’t busy or over crowded. Text only overlaps the plain areas of the image. Therefore, none is placed over the Jokers face as this would take away the effects that the close- up angle creates.

The masthead is placed towards the top of the page. This is conventional for a magazine cover so readers know where to find the magazine brand name.

Eye catching text which would draw readers into the magazine is situated towards the top of the magazine.

Additional information as to what can be found inside the magazine is placed at the bottom.

A small amount of text has been placed to the left hand side but so it only overlaps a small proportion of the Jokers face. The word lengths follow the shaping of the characters face.

The text in the upper section of the magazine is centered compared to the texts seen in the lower section which is left hand aligned.

There isn’t too much text found at either the top or bottom to balance it out.

Masthead

The masthead tells readers the magazine title “Empire”. It’s situated always for Empire magazines towards the top of the cover.

It is written in capital letters to stand out so readers can spot this particular brand easily.

All the letters are the same height. The masthead colours are colours which are associated with the

character seen as the central image. Black connotes the dark side of the character seen as well as highlighting his eyes. The green acts like a glow around the letters making the word stand out.

There is an equal amount of space between the letters and the edge of the cover.

It is placed over the Jokers forehead which is one of the plain sections of the central image. The masthead doesn’t cover up the main features of him.

Price, Date and Barcode

The price and date of the magazine is placed in the gap between the ‘M’. Putting it here doesn’t make these features stand out and distract the eye from the rest of the cover.

The barcode is placed in the bottom right hand corner sideways. Putting it to the side at the bottom of the page prevents this necessary feature from standing out. As it isn’t a main feature used to draw readers to the magazine, there would be no need for it to stand out.

Colours

The colour scheme for the front cover is black, white and green. Having a colour scheme allows the different elements of the cover to visually come together.

The colour green can be seen in the masthead, central image and other text.

The colour black connotes the dark side of the Joker.

White can connote death and loss of feeling. This represents some of the Jokers characteristics.

Font Type All of the text is written in capital letters. This

makes the words look bold. However, some words are in a bigger font size than others depending on their importance and what will encourage people more to pick up the magazine to find out more.

The masthead is written in the biggest font followed by “The Dark Knight” written below. This is written in a bigger font compared to the other text because it links clearly with the central image. It’s the film the magazine is promoting so they want it to be one of the first things their target audience spot.

Unimportant text which is on the cover just for readers benefit (the price and magazine date) is written in a smaller font size. It’s because this isn’t something that would draw readers in to buying the magazine.

Central Image and Star Personal The central image takes up the entire magazine covers’ background.

A close- up shot is used of the Jokers face making it take up the majority of the cover. This shot positions him close to readers making them feel slightly intimidated. The make- up draws emphasize to the characters eyes. Eye contact with the main character is something which will help draw readers to the magazine.

The central image is sticking and creates wonders for readers if they haven’t seen this character before. It is clear that he is the antagonist because of the dark make- up around his eyes and the evil smirk. He seems to be looking slightly up at the camera as if he’s making a plan to attack whoever he’s looking at.

Having one of the main characters on the front cover will attract fans of the film as they will know who he is and what film he’s from. The Joker was played by the star Keith Ledger which would draw his personal fans to the magazine to.

Anchorage Text

Anchorage text is used to support the central image. The boldest anchorage text on this magazine front cover is “The Dark Knight”. It tells readers exactly what film the character is from.

Text beneath that says “The Joker vs Batman- Summer Just Got Serious” This clearly links to the image as the Joker looks serious in the image. It also suggests there is going to be action. The Jokers famous quote is “Why so serious?” This is cleverly linked to “Summer Just Got Serious”. The text provides little hints as to what to expect from the film to hook readers into buying the magazine to find out more.