Magazine Cover Analysis - Empire (October 2007)

• The feature article photograph features Will Smith (the star of the film that the feature article is about) standing with a gun, looking into the camera and not much else. There is nothing that suggests the film's post apocalyptic setting. This is due to the fact that Will Smith is incredibly famous, and the fact that he stars in a film is enough to promote it.
• Will Smith is holding a gun, which suggests that there will be action in the film.
• The smoke that surrounds Will Smith gives connotations of danger. The fact that he appears to be amidst it suggests that he will be surrounded by danger throughout the film.
• In the cover line, the word 'legend' is set over Will Smith's body. This, coupled with the fact that the word is also in bold and is therefore different from the rest of the text on the line, associates the word 'legend' with Will Smith, implying that he is a legend. This boosts the status of the magazine, and will make people more likely to buy it.
• The masthead is large, bold and red, as it stereotypically seems to be in mainstream magazines. It stretches across the entirety of the top of the page, and is generally a very conventional masthead. This implies that the magazine has a large audience.
• The masthead appears in red and is the same shape in almost every issue, which creates a strong sense of brand identity.
• The puff at the top of the magazine details that the magazine has the 'best winter preview ever'. This implies that they need to always try to sell the magazine, meaning that they have a wide audience, rather than a niche one.
• The cover is packed with puff and plug arranged into columns on the left and right sides of the page. This is a conventional layout which implies that the magazine is designed to appeal to a wide range of people.
• The featured film, 'I am Legend', is referred to as a 'Sci-Fi Horror', but it could also be categorised as a Post-Apocalyptic film. However, the words 'Sci-Fi' and 'Horror' appeal to a wider audience. The fact that they have generalised the film to fit into this wider genre again implies that the magazine tries to appeal to as wide an audience as possible.