What are the conventions of magazine page layout?

This article is from the magazine "total film" and this magazine is quite a commercial magazine and it promotes the big Hollywood films. As a result of this you would expect a much more working class audience who want to see films as a source of enjoyment and it is because of this reason why the page layout of the article is printed out in a different way to another film magazine such as "sight and sound". At the top of this article we have the section title, which is “Screen”, and underneath it we have quite a big screenshot of a specific scene within the film. The picture gives us a little insight into what the film may look like and what may occur in the film. Underneath the picture you have the headline, which is the title of the film “The Road” and beneath that you have the strap line which is an informal but friendly slogan to introduce the film. Within the text there are 2 columns and there is also a breakout paragraph which highlights an important phrase given within the article. The byline is written after the article and the fact that it is bold shows the reader that either the writer is trying to promote himself or is all ready an established writer. There are also other break out boxes within the article and one of these break out boxes encourages you to see the film if you had liked films such as "The last man on earth 1964".

This article is from the magazine “sight and sound”. “Sight and sound” is a magazine generally seen for people who see film as a piece of art work and these people are usually educated people who are middle aged and from a middle class background. The magazines target audience would there for be for educated people and this is shown through the use of 4 columns within a page. Whereby in the article for “total film” it had 2 columns, here you have 4 columns which shows the reader that this article has a lot of contextual knowledge about the film. At the top of the article you have the section title and underneath it you have the headline. Beneath the headline you have the introduction which gives you an insight towards what the film is about. You also have the byline underneath the introduction which also shows that the writer of the article is recognized. The main picture in the middle is also a clip from the film and there is another picture on the top right hand corner of Andre Techine and underneath this you have his opinion towards the film and this encapsulates another view point of the film.