Scream and my mag

Side-by-side magazine cover analysis

The structure and overall appearance of my magazine was heavily influenced by Scream, specifically the issue focused on Evil Dead. Both reinforce the concept of low key lighting to convey darkness, appealing to the conventions associated with horror. Furthermore in addition to this, the colour scheme of my magazine is similar to that of Scream’s as it uses the conventions of red (in the Mast Head of my magazine) to signify blood and danger, yellow to create a sense of nausea and white to portray supernatural forces, which overall work to establish the genre of horror my magazine focuses on.

In regards to the typography of my magazine, the Mast Head follows the similar conventions of Scream’s as it is positioned on a slight angle to create a feeling of unease and its scale of size illustrates it’s a well established brand.

The connotations of the red lettering again conform to the horror conventions, therefore reinforcing the genre of the magazine. The text set behind the main image to appear more professional which would therefore add further appeal for the audience. The website of my magazine is also structured similarly to Scream, and represents identical text to emphasise intertextuality between both products. The inclusion of the website addresses portray the brand identity of both magazines, which appeal to online marketisation by offering their audiences access to a wider variety of articles. I have included a price, issue and barcode in my magazine to follow the conventions of other existing ones as they provide basic but essential details for the audience.

The cover lines are illustrated similarly to Scream which compliment the images linked to them, working to give the magazine more dimension and attractiveness. The format, colours and fonts used in this section are all structured professionally to add audience appeal due to its creativity and ease of legibility. The main cover line of The Evil Within is in a white, corroded font again denoting the psychological aspect of genre focus within the magazine. Its size signifies its importance on the cover, instantly grabbing the attention of the readers to encourage them to watch the film. The Plus! section at the bottom of the cover is again intertextual to Scream, working to provide details of other various articles which are included in the issue, working similarly as the selling lines to engage the audience and add to the overall appeal of the magazine.

The main image depicts the main character who is again portrayed dismally through the use of a dark background and overall low key lighting which conforms to her negative nature obtained through possession, similarly conveyed in Scream’s focus on Mia in Evil Dead (2013). By editing certain elements, such as the eyes and skin by adding a scratchy texture etc, it allowed me to represent certain connotations to emphasise the horror dynamic.

The scale of the image shows it is the central focus of the cover and confirms it represents a conventional magazine.