Film Magazine Review

How film magazines are constructed

Every film magazine are different from each other and are individual on their own, however it is essential that they all follow a certain structure in order to make it successful. Film magazines attract audiences as they wish to be further informed by a third audience which may ultimately finalise their decision to watch a film. Therefore reviews need to contain structure including technical codes, written codes and symbolic codes. Each are vitally important to fulfill the purpose of a film magazine.

Technical Codes

These are displayed through the layout of the film magazine.

Taken from totalfilm magazine, we can identify the main technical codes located in this layout. This includes the-section title-usually found at the top of magazine to label what section the film review has come under. We are then faced with a picture, which is evident in almost reviews no matter how small, in this case it tends to be a rather large image which can be a screen shot or a publicity shot that tend to be focused a section of the film. There is no real location of where the image should be, however it does tend to be at the top and/or on the right hand side as that is the way people read thus attracting the audience in this way. Every main picture includes an image caption that provide anchorage about the specific shot taken, this is sometimes made to be humours, such as the one shown above. Headlines are clearly identified in the large, bold title where commonly, the film name is the headline but this is not always the case. This is so that it can stand out from the review and attract readers in. Straplines tend to follow after the headlines, they usually lie underneath. They consist of a brief sentence, sometimes humorous or a question to make it a little more interesting, again not all reviews include them. As the review begins, it often starts with a brief introduction a one line phrase to introduce the film. Some reviews don't include them as they be seen as unnecessary and other times it my just be one line that is either bold, larger font then the rest of the article or in italics, all done to differentiate from the main body of writing. Subheadings and breakout paragraphs are almost certainly included in most reviews, breakout paragraphs are a main quote taken from the article that are highlighted and made larger. Subheadings are commonly used either as apart of the article or sometimes used in breakout boxes, such as in the example used above. Reviews are always written in columns, sometimes two columns like the one featured above but it is most common to use the 4 column structure. Another technical code sometimes taken for granted, is graphics and logos , these include the mini icons that are located all over the article whether it be stars, logos or any other kind of added feature, making it more pleasant for audiences. Font focuses on the style of the letter such as heading being used in a sans-serif font to make it bolder and attractive for the audience as using a serif font can be easily confusing. Serif font is used for the main body of the text. Breakout boxes are added sections of information concerning any part of the film, actors or director and are commonly used to 'fill in the space' it also provides more interaction for those reading the review. The-call to action-is an action in which the audience can do in order to find out further information, therefore it consists of, for example, visiting a website as shown above. Finally the article ends with a byline, the writer of the review, this is commonly given as a full name, although initials can also be used or sometimes the byline is not included. However some reviews may also include the byline at the beginning, if the writer is of importance or well-known. Lastly, issue information is also a technical code, where it provides information such as the page number and usually the name of the magazine.


Written Codes
With this we can clearly identify who the audience is, by looking at the specific language they use. If we look particularly at the example from 'Light and Sound Magazine' it presents a formal in-depth review, evidently aimed at the educated middle class with a dry sense of humor. This informs the audience of how detailed and well researched the review is, indicated its higher status over other review magazines. Its review on the french film ' The Witness' (Les Temoins) uses the above criteria, for example 'aids memoir' portrays their form of dry humour. Due to it seen as such an intellectual review for its educated audience it assumes that the audience is familiar with Techine (the director of the film) and French Cinema and Film. Introducing the review as rather cultured and non-inclusive.

Comparing this to another such review magazine such as Prevue, an inhouse cinema review magazine, we can see a very different audience type as it uses a significantly different use of language. Although the language is not colloquial, it does not use the same level of depth or formality that is used on 'Light and Sound'. Instead it deals with interacting more with the audience in a language that possibly younger audiences could also read as it does not use grand words such as 'verisimilitude' in which may require a dictionary for the average person. Moreover, the reviews do not go into excessive detail about the film and in the review about ' Did you hear about the Morgans?' focuses mainly on the characters and their actors. However this could be forming a slightly biased review as Prevue wishes to attract audiences in watching films rather then stirring them away. For this reason, there is hardly negative elements of films mentioned. Criticism is left at a minimal level.




Symbolic Codes
This deals with the visual elements of a review, including images, fonts and colours. All are important as they express a certain connotation to the audience. When looking at images, it is important to focus on framing, cropping, selection and point of view as they are important in producing a certain outlook. Selection is where a shot is selected to use, preferably one that will look more intriguing for audiences. Cropping images so that no unnecessary parts of the shot are involved that are not needed, therefore the focus will remain more on the main protagonist rather than any other background distraction. Framing focuses on the main element being taken, such as how far away the subject is and how it is presented. This works closely with the rule of thirds, where the frame of the image and the positioning is key. Point of view takes a look into a background as location can change the way that the audience perceive it.

Therefore if we take for instance the above examples from Prevue, we can see these in motion. Prevue uses almost a whole page worth in size for an image. The image focuses on the two main protagonist in which they excessively talk about. However without reading the article the audience will be able to identify this couple as the main characters as they are positioned in the middle, this is therefore looking at framing techniques. With concerns to selection, this shot may have been chosen due to the fact that it is unheard of for those actors to be wearing cowboy hats, when the audience sees them dressed in this way it would be evident that there is some form of comedy element contained in the film. This also links in with point of view as the location of where there shot is given identifies that they are in the country and not a city. Also the position in which the characters are looking portrays certain connotations to the audience. Cropping has most likely been use to avoid the extra characters seen in the background, so that there is only a main focus on the two main characters. Moreover a break out box has been placed on top of the image on the far right, replacing an insignificant section of the shot. However this does not detach the audience away from the main image.

Moving on to the 'Sight and Sound' magazine review, we can see that there is a main image located in the middle that fills half a page. Again, the audience can see the main protagonists in the central part of the image. Here it is noticeable that this image has been selected as it shows how the character are all enjoying themselves despite it being a negative film, this may result in the audience anticipating how this picture-perfect lifestyle changes. Linking in with point of view, it indicates location at home introducing the connotations of being comfortable. With reference to framing, it is evident that the shot includes all the main characters showing the lifestyle that they live, plus cropping has been used to keep all these characters in the shot.