Total Film Cover Analysis

Total Film Magazine - Cover Analysis

This issue of Total Film focuses on "Inception" starring Leonardo DiCaprio. His character is used as the main image, as is he is the main character in the film.
The concept of the film being "mind blowing" is used as a concept for the entire issue and cover theme for the magazine. Taking the theme from the film, of playing with the mind and the nature of dreams, one of the main sell lines is "The 27 most mind-blowing movies ever!" This is likely to feature a list of psychological thriller films , attracting fans of this genre to purchase the magazine. This sell line is coupled with another- "meet the master of mind tricks" , following the same theme.  The issue is even titled in bold red, "The mind-blowing issue!"

The masthead has been edited so that images fit into each letter, an aerial view of various skyscrapers and buildings have been cropped and angled to fit into the individual letters "F" "I" "L" and "M." The aerial view of buildings and roads also continue to surround the cover around the title. The background theme here has clearly been made to fit in with the film, as we view the cover, almost from half way down, the image steadily transforms into a regular view of a city setting. The whole cover background fits in with the character and the film which he represents.  The city setting represents and reflects the corporate/business world and the sub-genre of the heist film. The "Total" letters are created by images of swimming pools on the roof, making it appear luxurious.
The film title, two sell lines, and the splash is in silver font, which neatly reflects the silver/white colour of the buildings in the masthead. It also creates a futuristic theme.

There are no subsidiary images as the masthead and background are busy enough without any additional focal points.
Neatly underneath each end of the masthead, we can see the issue number, and then the website on the other side. This creates an almost symmetrical feel, making the layout seem organised and visually appealing.
Some of the sell lines bound to attract attention include,
"First Looks! The immortals, Let me in, Thor"  and on the splash, "Tron , everything you need to know." These articles are made to sound like exclusives, enticing potential viewers to buy the magazine, so that they can be updated on the latest film news.
The colour red is also used in the colour scheme , which contrasts against the blue but also compliments the silver and white, standing out against them.
As the magazine is already a well established brand, the masthead is slightly obscured by the main image, but is still obvious and readable. The barcode is positioned at the bottom right of the cover , and takes up a very small amount of space. The overall appearance of the cover is not crowded with information and imagery, it looks sleek so that the main feature is the image, but enough key articles are still featured to attract the audience to buy it.