Types of magazine front covers
There are several different types of film magazine covers. Some covers focus solely on the action within the film, whereas others tend to focus more on the actors themselves. Each of the different layouts are very successful in the magazine industry, in fact they tend to use a wide range of covers for each magazine to get a more diverse layout. The main four cover types include: Actor, Character, Action Shot and Staged Action Shot. However there are some more uncommon layouts known as: Split-cover and Gate-fold cover. All of these layouts are used throughout the film genre of magazines.
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ActorThis cover layout features an actor, from the film, in they're normal clothes. In these magazines the actor is usually discussing his role in an upcoming film. This is used to entice fans of the actor, not fans of the film. They also tend to put the most famous actor from the film on the cover, as it means that people will notice their favourite actor and want to purchase the magazine. Examples of Actor based front covers include:
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Character A character front cover is very similar to that of an actor front cover, as it both focuses on the idea of a main figure on the front of the magazine. However a character front cover features a character from the film being advertised. It is usually the main protagonist from the film, for example; Batman featured on the cover for The Dark Knight (2008). However sometimes they use the antagonist of the film as most people recognise the bad guy in association to the film. An example of this includes covers featuring The Joker when also advertising The Dark Knight (2008). Here are some examples of what a character front cover looks like:
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Action ShotAn Action Shot front cover includes a screenshot from the film itself. This is where an image that is present in the film is replicated on the front of the magazine. This is a good way of giving the audience a sneak peak of what will happen in the film. A good example of this is Total Film's cover for The Last Samurai (2003), which shows a screen shot of Tom Cruise taken from the final battle of the film. Other examples of Action Shot covers include:
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Staged Action shotIn a Staged Action Shot the image looks as if it is a screenshot from the film, but is actual a staged picture specifically for promotional purposes. This magazine cover is a similar concept to that of a poster, as it advertises the film through an iconic image relating to it. A good example of this is the cover for The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), which is an image of the three main characters in a staged pose that has also been used for the posters. Here are some other examples of Staged Action Shots:
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