magazine cover and film poster analysis
TRANSCRIPT
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7/29/2019 Magazine Cover and Film Poster Analysis'
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Cover Analysis 1The title of the magazine is Empire, a
very popular movie magazine; we know
this because of how the cover photo
blocks out some of the letters in the
title, suggesting that the magazine is so
well known that they can get away with
hiding the title as everyone will know
what it says. The colour scheme for the
whole cover is red, white and blue, so
the title stands out as it is written in
white.
This particular issue appears to be an
action and superhero special- it doesnt
state this anywhere as some magazines
do, but we can tell from how into the
theme the cover is- everyone other film
listed on the cover is action or
superhero related such as Sucker
Punch and The Amazing Spiderman.
The main cover image is of Captain
America, a well-known comic book
superhero character. He is stood in the
direct centre of the cover, looking
directly into the camera- this adds a
connection between him and the
consumer of the magazine, making
them want to buy it more as they feel
connected to it. He is wearing his typical Captain America clothes, which is what makes him so recognisable,
despite the fact that the main cover line simply states Captain America in bold capital letters. As I said earlier,
the colour scheme for the cover is red, white and blue, as they are the patriotic colours of the superhero,
however there are certain parts that are written in bright yellow to capture the attention and make the
colours stand out more. The background shows an American flag which looks like it has been burnt in places.
This adds texture to the cover though.
The strapline reads Magazine of the Year- and since the strapline is at the top of the magazine, it catches the
consumers attention, making them want to buy the magazine. The date line is placed within the M of the
word Empire. This is quite an interesting use of placement. The bar code has been placed in the bottom right
if the page, rotated at an odd angle, making there more room on the cover.
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Cover Analysis 2
This time I have chosen to look at a Total Film
magazine rather than Empire. Again the title is so
well known that they can get away with hiding
some of the writing behind the main cover image.
The cover image shows Leonardo Di Caprio in the
film inception. It shows an actual image of him
from within the film, as he walks looking shocked.
Showing an image from the movie itself gives theconsumer of the magazine a little taste of the
movie, encouraging them to buy the magazine to
see more, or even go see the movie. Inception is
quite science fiction, as it is about travelling into
each- others dreams and altering them to control
them. There is a particular scene where within a
dream a girl managed to manipulate a street to
lift off the ground at a right angle and sit above
the other end of the street- Total Film has used
the idea behind this scene to create the title for
this issue, building it out of bird eye views of
buildings. We can see that the whole top half of
the cover is filled with buildings, but particular
buildings are made to look higher up thus
standing out- these buildings become the words
total film. This also gives the magazine a science
fiction effect as it almost looks like a circuit
board.
The strap line of this particular issue reads The Mind-Blowing Issue in bright red capital letters, capturing the
consumers attention; this is also a play on words as Inception is all about entering the mind. The cover line of
this issue reads Inception- inside the ultimate head trip, in the very centre of the page, in big bold letters.
Since the plot of the movie is very structured, and precise, the layout of the cover also is- the cover image in
the very centre, the cover line is centred and everything else balanced on either side. The less important
coverlines are also centred into a list down the middle of the page. More cover lines at the side of the page
are also balanced. The plus symbol indicates that this magazine will provide more for you as a consumer than
any other magazine. Like every other magazine it has a barcode and date line. The barcode is at the bottom
right of the cover where it tends to be in most magazines. The date line spread across underneath the title.
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Cover Analysis 3Again I have looked at Empire magazine, this
issue doesnt appear to be pinpointed to one
particular genre of movie though unlike the last
two I have analysed. The main cover image for
this issue is of Daniel Craig for the newest Bond
film Skyfall. We see him stand in the classic
Bond pose holding a small gun, looking directly
into the camera. His head covers the P in the
word Empire, again suggesting that the
magazine is very well known. The cover line
reads Skyfall in big white bold letters with the
words Bond. Back In Business underneath is
smaller letters. This captures the consumers
attention as the white letters stand out against
his black suit. They also featured an article on
50 years of 007 so any James Bond Fans will
want this issue.
The colour scheme for this issue is red, white
and black, with odd bits in a metallic gold
colour. Keeping the colour scheme very simple
makes the cover almost sophisticated, reaching
their chosen audience who are more than likely
adults considering their chosen cover film is a
James Bond film.
They have edited on images of bullet holes in
glass on top of the cover, making it appear like
it has been shot at.
There are quite a few other cover photos on this issue- behind the photo of Daniel Craig, in what looks like a
film strip we have an image from the movie The Avengers on one side, and on the other a photo from
Anchorman. These help illustrate the other cover lines explaining how they have articles for these inside.
There are also five photos of all the previous James Bonds along the bottom, also helping to illustrate the
main article inside about 50 years of 007.
Again the dateline has been placed within the M of Empire, but this time, the barcode has been placed on
its side halfway up the page, which is quite an odd placement for this.
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Poster analysis 1
Here is the teaser poster for the film
Sinister. Teaser posters are important so
that they capture the audiences attention
and make them want to see the film, without
actually giving the plot away.
They tend to have very dull, muted colours,
nothing bright, like this poster, where the
colour scheme is black, white and red. Theseare typical colours when it comes to the
horror genre, as the black and white
symbolises the connection between good and
evil, and the red represents blood.
In this poster we can see a girl walking along
next to a wall, dragging her hands along. We
dont know who she is as she is facing away
from the camera with her hair hiding her
face. Where she drags her hand along, bloodis left on the wall, which drips down to show
a scary face. On the floor there are what
appear to be wires or old film.
I like how textured the background is with all
its cracks- the cracks could symbolise how
she is falling apart, or how everything in
general is falling apart because of the events
occurring.
The poster says From the producers of
Paranormal Activity and Insidious. It does
this as it knows these films were very successful in the horror genre, and by showing this they are enticing the
audience to watch this film. Even the title Sinister is scary, as it is a word used to describe evil things. It is
written in a ghostly black font that fades a little and smudges down the screen.
At the bottom of the screen are all the production details, as well as the distribution companys details. If you
look closely you can see a Facebook and twitter logo, this shows how social media has now become very
important in part of the distribution and feedback on a film.
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Poster analysis 2Here is the poster for the horror film Drag
me to hell. I really like this poster as it
almost physically shows what happens in the
film as what we see is her being Dragged to
hell. Despite showing us this we still dont
actually know what goes on in the plot of the
movie.
We see a blonde girl throwing her head back
as she screams whilst being pulled down into
flames by what looks like demon hands as
the skin is all burnt and the finger nails more
like claws. The girl looks very normal though
which is weird, as she has nice clothes on,
jewellery and looks like she is a pretty girl
with her long blonde hair. Of course, they
could be playing with the stereotype of
blonde girls being dumb, hence she is being
dragged to hell. She is indeed being
dragged as it looks like she is being pulled
against her will. Even the writing on the
poster tells us that she has a bright future,
but in 3 days she is going to hell. This shocks
the audience.
The background of the image shows a dark
stormy sky and two houses- one looking neat
with its lights on, one looking dark and
abandoned- could these be important to the
plot of the film?
Even a scratched texture has been layered on top of the poster, adding even more depth. The background has
been desaturated, so that the flames in the front stand out even more than normal, showing just how
important the idea of hell is to the plot of the story. We assume the flames represent hell as flames are a
symbol connected to the idea of the burning fiery pit where people are doomed to spend eternity.
The white title stands out against all the other colours going on in the image; however the production details
are in an orange colour, blending into the flames.
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Poster analysis 3
Here is the poster for the movie Insidious. The plot of the film is a boy whos soul wanders into a different
realm while he sleeps and gets trapped, in the meantime, loads of ghosts and spirits are trying to take over his
body and use him as a puppet. This poster shows the boy staring into the camera almost reaching the
audience- however, his eyes have been scratched over, almost suggesting that hes not all there or that hes
only a puppet- as It makes him not seem as real.
Other than the boy, at first glance the poster seems quite normal, until you concentrate on the top left
window and notice a creepy silhouette holding its arm out. Again on this poster the colours have been quite
muted, just as they seem to be on every other horror poster.
What I like about this poster compared to the last two I have analysed is the way it has shown a review- So
scary I was whimpering in sheer terror. It has also been rated five stars. I think by giving a review on the
poster it will help convince people to go see the movie, especially if it is a good review like this.
The tagline of the movie reads its not the house that is haunted which helps the audience to understand the
story without giving too much of the plot away.
Like all other posters it has its production and distribution details really small at the bottom.