Saturday, 13 December 2014

'FANGORIA' Magazine Analysis

The Masthead for this magazine is in large, bold, uppercase typography. This is due to the fact that the designers of the magazine are trying to capture the attention of their target audience; in this case it would be horror fans. The main title of the magazine is ‘FANGORIA’, this is clever play on words by incorporating ‘FAN’ and ‘GORE’, this is appealing to horror fans due to the fact a lot of horror contains gore and that is a component they are familiar with and love, this is why the cover lines contain gory horror films and characters. The yellow and red colouring of the title is used to create an uncomfortable colour clash, to makes you think of gore straight away with things such as cuts, wounds and infection. This sets the tone for the magazine almost instantly with the play on words and the colour scheme used. 

The primary colour scheme is red, yellow, and white. Red is used to place the most emphasis on important part of the magazine such as the main cover line. This is because of the strength that the colour possesses, it stands out above white and yellow in the places it is used and is a commonly used feature in horror magazines. The yellow is used to create banners for the cover lines to be placed separating it from the main image, linking in with the masthead and some of the text of the main cover line as well as a graphic element at the top left of the cover. It is used to signify the key features of the magazine, the parts that are going to sell their magazine, their USP. The main image is shot of the species of villain that are in the film, they contain the most horror and gore within their characters. However, the image does not show too much gore, it creates intrigue as all you can see is this disgusting creature that features in a film it makes you want to read on a find out what is happening. It is used to sell the story and not give too much away as well as exposing you to this odd creature that gives you a sense of uncomfortableness and sickness as soon as you look at. The creature is looking directly at the lens too meaning that it seems as if it is looking it to your eyes, this makes it very noticeable and eye-catching. The headline for the magazine is ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch These teeth were made for biting’ which refers to the image where the creature is showing off his teeth with an evil grin, this emphasises the main image. However, it does stand out to due to the cleanliness of the white on this grimy yellow although it is not plain white. The strapline is used to again emphasise the main article by stating ‘They’re lovable and lethal’, giving a slight insight into the narrative. 

Cover lines have a slightly cleaner appearance but still keep in the theme with the unsettling colour scheme in order to keep the flow of the magazine; some have graphical elements and sub-images to emphasise certain features ‘The Feebles’ is made eye-catching by the ‘Plus’ graphical element and the image below, enticing the fans to the cover line opposed to the others. The sub images also both contain important characters, all of which seem to be some kind of villain or monster. A theme is set for the cover seeming as if it is a monster or villain issue , backed up by the famous horror films contained in the cover lines. All of these components will grab the audience’s attention due to the fact that monsters are a massive part of horror and often include gore, which is a large part of this magazine and the demographic they are aiming at.

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