Magazines & Audience Appeal

In this double page spread for Skyfall, the most dominant feature is the main image, which takes up almost the entirety of the two pages. As this is likely the first two pages of an article that takes up about 4-6 pages in a magazine, there is not a lot of text shown. The purpose of this page would be to attract the audience and draw them in so that they continue reading the remainder of the article. The first thing that draws your eye is the image of Daniel Craig dressed as the character James Bond. This would take up the entirety of one page. The words 'something old something new' draw your attention away from bond and onto the second page to help draw you into the article. The text for the 'something old..' and the introductory paragraph is written in a bold, italic font that is different from the rest of the article text. This helps to draw attention as it is large and eye-catching. The text is written in back, which stands out against the low saturated, pale background. 

Magazines can be more beneficial for film fans if they want to find out information about a new film as posters and trailers cannot tell you everything. Film trailers are left to be enigmatic, so we are left asking questions that we will want answered, but the only way to do so is to see the film, and sometimes the plot of the film is not fully conveyed in a trailer, so a viewer may be left feeling confused. With a poster, although it is a good way to advertise a film, it is very hard to convey the narrative or plot of the film since it is only a still image, so it does deliver a good amount of information. If the poster showed all of the information for the audience, it would include a lot of text that many people will not find captivating to read. With a magazine, you can read articles about the film that vary between interviews from directors or stars, to reviews. An audience can gain information about the film from the perspective of the directors and stars, such as why the characters are portrayed in certain why, what image they had for the film and the intended impact on the audience should be. .The magazine can also explain more in depth as to what the plot of the film is, whilst avoiding spoilers for those who have not had the chance to see it. These articles can be written in more of an informal and friendly tone that will make the magazine feel more personal to the reader

However not everyone buys magazines and some people prefer getting information visually through trailers or posters rather than having to read about it. With trailers, audiences will be able to see the full extent of the action in the film, which could be a film's selling point. They would also get first hand experience at seeing certain actors in their roles, something a poster or magazine cannot offer to the audience. If an audience watches a film purely for it's action scenes or an actor or director, then a trailer would appeal more to this type of audience.  A poster would be better suited towards a person who is stationary and has the time to stop and look, such as those who are waiting at a bus stop. Those who are driving would be more concentrated on the road and other drivers to be able to stop and look at a poster.  Trailers and posters appeal to a general audience, whereas film articles apply to more of a specific, perhaps niche audience, as those with a strong interest in films will be more likely to buy a film magazine. Magazines can be read at any time of the day, any day, and can be read at the viewer's own pace, or resumed when they have the time.

To summarise, a magazine can offer much more information for an audience about  a film they might be interested in seeing. It will make the audience feel like the film is more personal to them since they will have the background information with them should the watch or purchase the film. A trailer is more appealing to an audience who want to find out about the film, but want to watch it with only a vague idea what it is about so that their expectations are not raised too high, or if they are interested in the visuals or cinematography of the film. A poster will appeal most to those who like to gather information visually and perhaps speculate what the film is about based on what they see in there poster.