What are the main film magazines in the UK?

Magazine film reviews are used to give the audience an objective opinion as reviews are usually more balanced. A film poster has an instant affect on the audience however they may not take in as much information as it takes a maximum of 2 minutes to look at a film poster whereas if they were to read a film review, they would be spending more time to slowly take in the information. Film reviews play a very important part in a firm's marketing campaign as it is free publicity, as the press are objective and just has to tell the truth about what they thought about the film. However, there is an element of risk as the publicity isn't paid for so they can therefore write whatever they want. If the film review is good then it can work in favour of the films marketing campaign however a very bad review can ruin a film completely.

The main film magazines in the UK are Empire, Total Film and Sight and Sound. They are there to cater to the general public and are heavily distributed and accessible. Niche audiences on the other hand are addressed by independent cinema and have magazines such as Little White Liesand Electric Sheep. Another established film magazine is the House cinema magazine; these can be found in well-known cinema’s such as Odeon, Vue and Cineworld. Although all these magazines follow the conventions of a film magazine they come in very different styles, layout and content as they target different audiences.

Empire and Total Film are similar magazines; their style is very glossy and colourful with bold titles. Both magazines cater for films with high budgets such as Hollywood movies and are released in mainstream cinemas. The block headings are in the font ‘San Serif’ alongside large pictures to help draw attention to the

viewers. The photo tends to be a clip from the film showing the main stars in action purposefully chosen to sway them into reading the article and to promote the film. The tone of the article is very laid back; it manages to have a formal yet chatty tone to the reader. The content of Empire and Total Film articles usually relates the film to other well-known films; although the writing is objective it mostly sums up films in a positive light.

Similarly, in the house magazines distributed in cinemas such as Cineworld they have a similar layout with a large picture, bold title and columns; however the mode of address is very informal and chatty. In addition, the films are biased as they are trying to promote the film in order to gain attraction and they therefore do not reflect on the downsides of the film. The audience for this magazine are cinema goers looking for a direction on what film they want to see in contrast to Total Film and Empire which is aimed at people who are interested in film, and seek expert opinion on them, and therefore their reviews are not biased. However, sometimes they do include a breakout box with a verdict of the film or the star rating.

Sight and Sound magazine looks at cinema and film as pieces of an art form, aimed at educated middle class people, alongside an open minded audience. Their articles are well structured and they give in-depth review information. Unlike Cineworld magazine, Sight and

Sound produce reviews for independent or global films as well as mainstream big budget films. Sight and Sounds layout is crammed with many columns and sometimes pictures. Their mode of address is formal, with a pitiful attempt to include humour in the article. There articles are well structured with an introduction on themes followed by a synopsis, commentary on the director, an objective balance, wider academic context and finally bringing the article to a closure. Sight and Sound is produced by the British Film Institute (BFI) to inform the audience about up and coming film and to educate people with the art of film with its unique narratives and films.

Two examples of UK independent cinema magazines are Little White Lies and Electric Sheep. They are very different to the mainstream magazines as they are aimed at a niche audience. This consists of independent cinema goers who want to find out about independent film directors and a range of cultural films that are coming to independent cinemas. The front cover of both Electric sheep and Little White Lies have a very unique style, the names of these magazines are quite strange which highlight that they are aimed at a specific audience. The Little White Lies has a comic look to take it away from the standard glossy magazines that you would usually find. These independent cinema based magazine articles are eccentric, intelligent and informative with a real love for the world of cinema.