textual analysis : sight and sound vs empire


EMPIRE: DECEMBER 2007 - GOLDEN COMPASS SIGHT AND SOUND: AUGUST 2009 - PUBLIC ENEMIES
DIRECTED BY Chris Weitz DIRECTED BY Michael Mann

Sight & Sound Magazine is one of the best selling monthly film magazines in UK. Published by the British Film Institute and carries the entire world of cinema at your doorstep. There are wide varieties of in depth and informative features which covers various aspects of film world. Sight & Sound Magazine brings cinema history to life. Each issue of this magazine comes with features on past, present and future cinema’s. Some of the issues cover foreign cinemas, its directors, and other information. On the whole this magazine is a valuable resource for all cinema lovers. All the features are well written and presented professionally. In common with most British film magazines, Empire is populist in both approach and coverage unlike less irreverent and more 'serious' magazines such as Sight and Sound. It reviews both mainstream films and art films, but feature articles concentrate on the former whereas sight and sound tend to cover only niche films.
As well as film news, previews and reviews, Empire has some unique regular features. Each issue features a Classic Scene, a transcript from a notable film scene.
The regular Top 10 feature lists Empire's choice of the top ten examples of something film-related. For example 10 Best Chase Scenes or 10 Best Movie Gags in The Simpsons. Readers are encouraged to write in if they disagree with the choices made.
These acclaimed magazines are both successful in engaging their target audiences through different styles and methods. 'Empire' magazine is initially directed at the mainstream audiences of the cinematic world. Mainstream audiences tend to consist of people who may be less educated about what the film industry actually is, what it entails and it methods and processes in regards to all aspects and areas of the film industry. Empire tends to advertise films that are big budget hollywood stylized - conglomerate blockbusters. For example in the issue december 2007 the cover film Golden Compass- the article takes a behind the scenes look at the making of the film (populist approach). Whereas 'Sight and Sound' advertises more independent, lower budget, niche films catered more towards middle class society and those who may be working within or interacting within he film industry itself. An example of a film advertised in sight and sound - Public Enemies - photographed on the cover.
The noticable feature of Empire front covers is the contrast between text and imagery. The text completly complements the images and gives brief statements encouraging the audience and cosumer to read on. Aswell as having one main story they also offer many sub stories that may also appeal to the reader as a commercial product with a need to make money.
What is also noticable is the constant mention of popular actors and directors to further entice the audience to consume the product. The general format is simple but at the same time due to the use of colour it appears busy and almost gives the effect of bursting with 'you' want to read and hear about.
The inclusion of article in film magzines boosts the potential success of a film massively as the ratings go up because of another branch of unforced advertisement. It comes across as impartial but realistically it only displays the film that are believed to be sucessful.



The date is in quite small print, which gives the impression that it is not the most important thing on the cover, it just follows the normal conventions. The price is small too, which, the same as the date, follows conventions and is not seen to be the main importance on the cover of the magazine. The image of somebody flying reinforces the fact that it is a fantasy film and links to the word fantasy on this cover. The word magic adds to the fantasy of the film. It is also shown in the same colours as the ones used for the title of the film, making the two link together. All the text on the cover is gold/white to follow the theme of the film, which shows the importance, as even topics that are not involved with the film are in hose colours. The compass in the back- ground is one of the main focus’s of the cover, which links to the narrative and the title. The little girl is slightly more forward and is holding the compass, which shows that she most likely has the main part in the film. She also looks innocent which leaves you wondering what the compass is going to do. The dominant look is a contrast to the little girls innocence and vulnerability, adding to the narrative. The image of somebody flying covers the title of the magazine, making the film the most important thing. The gold dress also links with the ‘golden’ of the film. The blue back-ground has a sense of mystery to it, as you can vaguely see objects /shapes but not enough to know what they are. The top bar of the magazine gives more information about the film and advertises it. ‘ Collectors edition’ shows that it is different from any other edition, therefore it is unique.



In comparison the date is slightly bigger with the price around the same size (its more expensive) again indicating that the price is not important because generally speaking to pick up the magazine in the first place you would already be intending to buy it and would do so regularly. The main object in the picture bar the famous face is the gun showing the readers that the genre would be crime/drama possibly thriller shown through the wardrobe - trilby hat and long black coat along with the signature gangster leather gloves. If these obvious factors didn't indicate a gangster film the block print 'GANGSTER SPECIAL' splashed across the middle of the page just might. Also the use of several different fonts for different pieces of information draws attention individually to each piece of writing. Johnny Depp is the only character displayed on the cover suggesting he is the main character in the film and is also a familiar face in the film industry attracting his fan base unaware of the feature film. The lack of visual information gives a sense of mystery in comparison with the empire magazine where several characters of the film are displayed along with symbolic images indicating the narrative of the film in detail and all different themes in the film whereas the image of Johnny Depp and a gun does not.F

The advertisements and films in sight and sound follow the theme of less commercialized products although there are some exceptions. For example the film 'Coco before Chanel' which has received huge publicity is reviewed in the magazine alongside 'Charles Dicken's England' which is less known. The articles provide a synopsis of the film, list of the cast, credits and an overall review of the film itself. The picture to text ratio on a randomly chosen page but generally follows this pattern throughout the magazine is never really more than 20% in comparison with Empire magazine where it would never be less then 20% on average. General advertisements in both magazines differ. Films festivals are often advertised in both magazines an example of a film festival advertised in both would be the cannes film festival as it is an acclaimed film festival. Other smaller film festivals such as Edinborough film festival would most probably be advertised in sight and sound as it is less commercialized. General advertisements in other words sponsors for the magazine appear much more frequently in Empire magazine. Sight and sound advertisements are for critically acclaimed films rather the daily mail review, sunday times ect reviews in Empire. Other advertisements in the magazines - in sight and sound are for books or courses for film studies courses and little of them - in Empire magazine there are regular adverts for such things as cameras themselves ( e.g Dison, Canon) along with drinks and food advertisements. Thus indicating that sight and sound may be a more successful magazine that does not need a lot of sponsors.

When referring to color schemes in both magazines they are somewhat quite similar however sight and sound would be less busy in different and contrasting colors whereas Empire doesn't really follow a color pallet from page to page. The language/vocabulary used in sight and sound is that of a more technical style using specialist language when referring to films. An example of writing style reviewing the film 'Mesrine: Killer Instinct' - 'Of course, there's an ethical issue at stake here: despite the film makers admirable reluctance to be judgmental, its nigh on impossible not to side with our antihero, whom we last glimpse sauntering into the sunset, swag-bag in hand' key words - 'nigh, reluctance, whom, sauntering'. In Empire on a review of 'Cemetery Junction' - 'At the heart of the movie is a portrait of three friends — cool, good-looking Freddie, troubled (but good-looking) Bruce and group idiot Snork, so named for his close resemblance to a Banana Splits character — captured at a time when the friendship is evolving.' key words - 'cool, good-looking, idiot'.