What are the main conventions of a magazine page layout?

Technical Codes:

The technical codes of a magazine are presented through the layout. The common conventions that a magazine review page will contain are:

1. Graphics and Logos: These are used to highlight certain areas of the text or break up the page to be visually appealing. 
2. Section title: Simply shows which section of the magazine that this article is in as there are several sections to a film magazine, such as the ‘film review section’, ‘new film releases’ etc.
3. Pictures: The type, amount and where the photographs are placed will have an immediate effect on the way the article is read by someone. When looking through magazines our eyes are readily drawn to the right-hand page so an eye-catching image which is placed on the right hand side page will immediately catch the readers attention and they will start to read the text from the left hand page down.
4. Headline: Can either be a phrase/word chosen by the writer of the article or the title of the film being reviewed. Normally if it is in capitals it immediately attracts attention and shows a matter of importance. If it is in block capitals, it adds urgency and if it is in lower case writing with the first letter of each word capitalised, then that is reduced. 
5. Introduction: The introduction gives a brief start to the article, sets it up.
6. Subheadings/breakout paragraphs: They are used to break up longer bits of the article to make it more digestible. Breakout paragraphs are used to pick out a particular feature of the story in the main body of the article and takes up space, catching the reader’s attention, drawing them into the important aspects of the article.
7. Captions: Used to explain what is going on in the picture and gives anchorage to the understanding of the picture.
8. Breakout boxes: Used as extra information which links in with an idea or main subject of the article, used to take up space.
9. Strap lines: Used either above or below the main headline, adding more detail and giving an insight into the article. 
10. Call to action: A bit of information that takes the reader further than this article to something that is linked to the specific article, or the magazine content/main subject.
11. Columns: All pages are broken up into columns and the number of columns on the page will vary with the different type of magazine it is. The main text will be within single columns unless a breakout paragraph or an introduction may be spread along two or more. 
12. By-line: Used to give kudos to the person who has written the article. 
13. Font and Typography: Font is the actual text style of the word, e.g – Times New Roman; the font can suggest whether the article is serious or fun. While the typography is the way the text is laid out on the page in terms of size, spacing line length etc. An article will normally use more than one font and typography to highlight the importance of different parts of the article. The typography will follow the set formula of the ‘house style’ of that particular magazine, e.g. all headlines will be in the same font and size in all articles. ‘House style’ explains how each page should look like – the grammar, language, and context that appears on the page, it shows what is appropriate and what isn’t. 
14. Issue info: Gives information about the article, e.g. page number.