Deconstruction of Empire's Colour Schemes

To analyse the colours Empire uses in its articles, I compiled a large image of all the photos and the different texts and graphics together, so that it would be easy to see an overall 'theme' of colour.

The colours chosen seem to be BROWNS, TANS, DARK BLUES, BLACKS and WHITES. The photos used are all of these colours too: the images have a brownish, almost sepia-like tone to them which is complimented by the colours scheme chosen. The brown/tan/dark blue/black colour combination is also the colour of the character Bane's costume: as we can see here, there are more photos of Bane than there are of Batman, which tells us that Bane is the main focus of the article, as Empire is trying to introduce this new character. The colour scheme reflects Bane's character, which is a subtle way of indicating to the audience what the main focus of the article is. 

Analysis of Empire - Typography

To get a much more 'authentic' look to my production piece, I first began with one of the most important aspects of any publication: The typography. The particular style that the magazine adopts can tell a lot about what kind of publication it is: Serif fonts indicate traditionality and a more formal tone, whereas bold, sans serif fonts indicate informality and modernism.

I first studied the Empire masthead: bright red font, quite thick, sans serif. However, it has interesting little touches to it that aren't like normal fonts: some parts are rounded, and some parts are pointed, with some parts with diagonal ends.

Secondly, I studied the rest of the typography on the front cover. I took one word near the top, 'Exclusive' and used that as a basis for my font search.

I first looked through Word to find similar fonts: searching for thick, sans serif typefaces.

Out of all the fonts I found, the only font that was closest was TW Cen MT Condensed.

When the two fonts are compared (I took the letter C and the letter S from both fonts), there are still a few differences.

For one thing, the Empire font seems to 'slant' at the ends, whereas Tw Cen Mt Condensed is straight. However, in terms of the height and thickness of the two fonts, they are very similar.

Overall, I think I would probably use Tw Cen Mt Condensed, as it is the closest font I have found, and bears a lot of resemblance to the typography of Empire magazine. I think that Tw Cen Mt Condensed would work well within my production piece, as it is clear and easy to read, and bears a lot of similarities to Empire's typography. 

Deconstruction of Empire's Graphic Design

Moving on from looking at the typography of Empire, I decided to look at some examples of graphic design and the way pages are laid out.

I looked back over the Dark Knight feature, and studied the way that things were laid out by creating my own simplified version.

In this page layout (the first page of the article) the large photo on the left dominates most of the layout. The header also dominates the layout as it overlaps the large picture and 'cuts into' most of the other components. The small picture to the top right is almost overwhelmed by the text, but manages to stand out because it's dark, whereas the background it light. The content of the article itself is in a 'step like' formation, which helps lead the audience's eyes to the image at the top. Lastly, the small box out on the left of the large image helps to lead the audience from the first page into the second page, as it is the same font style/colour and background to the article itself. 

The graphical elements on the pages of Empire are usually very simple, and will be in block colours to match the theme colours of the page. In the Dark Knight interview, the graphical elements were strange triangular 'shards' that cut through the elements of the page (for example, quotes, photos, text, etc) This graphic design is meant to replicate the violence of the character Bane, as the graphical 'shards' seem to 'cut' and 'disturb' the elements of the page. This is a really powerful way of making pages stand out, and is very effective for setting the right tone for the interview. 

Some of the elements of the page (for example, in this image, a quote) seems to work with the graphics. The 'shard' shape here seems to 'underline' the quote, which gives it more emphasis. The 'shard' is a much darker colour than the quote, so really stands out against the pale background. 

Here, the graphical 'shard' works to frame the box out of the page. Again, this brings more emphasis to the text, and also is a small detail that improves the look of the page. Empire's graphics range from being very in-your-face to small and hardly noticeable, yet still important. All the graphical elements are carefully chosen to emphasis the text on the pages, and overall makes the pages exciting to look at, so therefore would engage the audience to read. If the pages contained no bold graphical statements, the audience would not pay as much attention. Before the audience even reads the text, they are first inspired by the visual graphics and photos. This is important for my own production piece, as I have to make sure that first my graphics and my photos are engaging and eye catching enough. 

Analysis of Empire Magazine - Feature Article

I also deconstructed another feature article from Empire Magazine, to check out more conventions. In this deconstruction, I studied the level of formality, ratio of fact/opinion, areas of content, and the writer's voice. There is a focus on language in this deconstruction, because in the Dark Knight Rises one, I focused on graphic design and language generally. 

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The language of the interview is informal: the journalist makes jokes about the director and uses a lot of language for humerous effect. 

The ratio of fact/opinion is something like 70% fact and 30% opinion. There are lots of facts and figures relating to the film, for example, how many puppets there are, how many hours it takes to do an animation, etc. There is a little bit of opinion where the journalist describes one film as 'magnificent' and another as 'lukewarm'. The opinion is sprinkled around the article, and is not really relied upon. 

There are also lots of little box-outs where the facts and figures are, which are placed in the middle of the images to create a really interesting visual and factual guide to the film for the audience. 

Analysis of Empire Magazine - Pages 7 + 8

These are the last two pages of the feature. Page 7 focuses in more on Bane's costume design, which would
attract hardcore fans of the character, as he's had a costume update. Fans would want to know the reasoning behind this change. Readers who aren't that knowledgeable about the franchise would find out interesting information about a previously unknown 'new' character.
The second page continues with the interview of Noland and the actor Hardy (who plays Bane), but also asks Bale a little about Batman, to entice the 'less knowledgeable' fans who really only recognise the character or Batman, but also appeals to the hardcore fans, as they will want to know how the character is developing throughout the films.

Page 7

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Page 8

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Analysis of Empire Magazine - Pages 5 + 6

The next two pages of the article contain some similar conventions to pages 3+4. By now, I am starting to recognise some of the conventions of feature articles in Empire, in terms of the components on the page and also the graphical elements. For example: Empire keep a 'theme' running through their feature articles, for example, a graphical element (in this feature, it's the triangular 'slash' shapes that cut through the text and page) and colour scheme, which helps the audience understand that these pages are all connected.

Page 5

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Page 6

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Analysis of Empire Magazine - Pages 3 + 4

The feature begins on pages 3 + 4. Again, on the 'first' page, there is a full page photo, but this time shows Bane from the front, so we can see the character properly. There is an overall theme of the colours of black, white, tan  and dark blue, the colours of Bane's costume design. There is also still a theme of violence: hardly surprising as Nolan's Batman films are known for their aggressive characters and violence.

Page 3

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Page 4

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Analysis of Empire Magazine - Pages 1 + 2

Before the proper feature started, there were two pages within the January 2012 Empire magazine that introduce the feature by providing a mysterious image with typography that contains a quote, and shows the reader that this feature will give out a lot of information on the new character, Bane. The audience is instructed to 'forget about the Joker', which makes it clear that the new villain is meant to be even better than the widely popular role that Heather Ledger starred in, in the previous film.

Page 1

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Analysis of Empire Magazine - Front Cover

I purchased the January 2012 Empire to study the graphical/typographical and linguistic elements, as well as the overall conventions of the magazine.
 The first page I looked at was the front cover: meant to instantly engage the audience and entice them to buy the magazine.

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Empire Magazine - Facts

• Empire Magazine is published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media (a German media company)
• It's first issue was in July 1989.
• Regular features include a more 'pop culture' approach to reviews and content.
• Reviews are of both mainstream and art films, but feature articles are focused on mainstream films more. 
• The magazine also features a 'classic scene', where a transcript from a notable film scene is included and analysed. 
• Readers are encouraged to write in if they disagree with anything said in the magazine, or if they have a different take on something, eg, the magazine's Top Ten list. 
• Empire also includes a feature called Masterpieces, a two page essay on a film. 
• Readers are also given the option of choosing their own favourites with polls such as the "201 Greatest Movies of All Time" feature. 

Introduction

For my production piece, I will be attempting to create a front cover and a double page spread in the style of Empire Magazine. My critical investigation is about the film franchise The Final Destination, so I will be centring my cover and interview on the final film, Final Destination 5. 

In order to tie in the theory and representations I wrote about in my critical investigation, I will fabricate an interview with the director of the film, Steven Quale. I really enjoy graphic design and typography, so I will be aiming to push my skills on Photoshop to the best of my ability, to achieve the most realistic pieces I can.