TEXTUAL ANALYSIS FOR ANCILLARY PRODUCTSRhiannon Jenkins

Film Magazine Cover Analysis

Film Magazine Cover AnalysisColour: the colour scheme of this issue of Empire is red, yellow, white and dark blue. The dark blue serves as the background and basis for the magazine cover, while the white is used for most of the text. Yellow and red are bold colours which connote energy so are used to highlight important words such as the masthead and taglines that will interest the audience. Colourful inserts such as the little star and yellow stripes, which connote danger are used to add detail and depth to the cover.Layout & Design: the font of the masthead is bold and recognisable, meaning that if an image were to be put on top of the masthead the audience would still recognise the magazine as Empire. The text is displayed in one column on the left hand side, leaving two thirds of the space left to show the main image with a small box of text related to it. There is also a small tagline along the bottom with featured films.

Film Magazine Cover AnalysisImages: a main image of Harry Potter is used to convey what the featured article of the magazine is focused on. A smaller image in the lower left hand corner shows characters from other films that are featured. All of the characters shown look as if they are heading into action or are in the midst of it as the audience will be attracted to the most exciting parts of the film, as they enjoy watching danger unfold from a safe distance. Pose, style, hair & make-up: the main image of Harry Potter shows him looking disheveled and covered in blood and dirt with his glasses smashed which suggests he has just been or is still involved in a battle which is exciting and intriguing for an audience. He is pictured looking serious and not smiling which shows him as powerful and older than he has looked before.

Film Magazine Cover AnalysisComposition and Framing: the main image used is a mid-close up which is fairly intimate, suggesting that by buying the magazine the audience will get intricate details of the film and characters. The rule of thirds is used to frame the shot, meaning that the audience look directly into his eyes. This rule also applies to the text placement; with the masthead featured in the top third of the cover and the bulk of the text placed in the first third/left hand column.Written Codes and Language: the words “massive” and “special” imply that the issue is important and not to be missed. The phrase “bloody hell” is used as it is a common phrase within Harry Potter, which is the main feature, and because the audience is older it will appeal to them as they won’t be offended by the use of language and will understand what it means. The language used is easy to read and is not complex, meaning it appeals to everyone.

Film Magazine Cover AnalysisColour: the colour scheme of this issue of Empire is blue, white, red and gold. Blue is used as the main background colour and white is used for some of the text. Red and gold are used as the main feature is Iron Man and these are the colours of his costume. Unlike the first issue, the colour white is used for the masthead so it doesn’t stand out too much as people already recognise it. Instead red is used to make the titles of the films stand out to the audience. Layout & Design: unlike the first issue of this magazine that I analysed, the masthead is actually pictured behind the image of the main character as the magazine has become more well known so people recognise Empire’s house style. The masthead is shown at the top of the page and the main part of the text is shown on the left column of the front cover. Again there is a small text box on the right side and another in the left corner talking about other films that are featured.

Film Magazine Cover AnalysisImages: the only image used is a picture of Iron Man, the main character from the featured film. The colours of his costume match the colours used for some of the text on the cover which keeps continuity. The background image looks as if it is of the sky which fits the character as his suit allows him to fly. Some media theorists suggest that an image of a single human will sell more copies than multiple people which is why this image may have been used. Pose, style, hair & make-up: the character is shown posing whilst holding his mask, allowing the audience to see his face as besides being a popular character, the actor himself is very well known so will sell more copies of the magazine. The character is shown looking serious and the fiery embers around him suggest that he is in the midst of action, something that obviously appeals to the audience.

Film Magazine Cover AnalysisComposition and Framing: The rule of thirds allows the text to be placed within the most appropriate columns which frames the image, making it the centre of attention. Although the image is a mid shot from the waist up, because of it’s placement the audience’s eye line will be directly drawn to the characters eyes, making them feel more of a connection. It has also been placed so that the masks’ eyes fall on one of the lines, meaning that fans of this particular movie will be drawn to the magazine cover.Written Codes and Language: the written codes and language on this cover mirror the action-based atmosphere the magazine portrays in it’s images. Words such as “action”, “dark side” and “lethal weapon” are dangerous and exciting, which attracts the audience as it leaves enigma codes which makes them want to read and discover the whole story. Again, the language used is simplistic and in short, sharp sentences which appeals to a wider audience.

Film Magazine Cover AnalysisColour: the colour scheme for this issue is grey, white, gold and red which is very similar to the other two issues I have analysed. The grey is used as the background and the white is used for the majority of the text as it is easy to read. Gold is used as it is a celebratory issue for Star Wars and features important film releases as it is the Christmas period. Red is used to still connote excitement and highlights important parts of the front cover.Layout & Design: the font and position of the masthead is the same as the previous issues which continues the house style of the magazine. It features a tag line along the bottom much like the first cover I looked at, yet much like the second cover, it uses the colour white for the masthead as it does not need to attract too much attention as audiences are already familiar with the design.

Film Magazine Cover AnalysisImages: the four smaller images used are all mid-close ups that show the characters from the shoulders up. This allows them to be easily framed off so that they do not capture too much attention initially but do after the reader has picked up the magazine. The main image of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss is almost a mid-long shot which shows that she is the main attraction on the cover.Pose, style, hair & make-up: The pose Katniss is in shows her holding the bow, which again seems to be a recurrent theme of the magazine as it shows the characters in the midst of action. The Male Gaze is used slightly here as her clothes are fairly tight fitting and she looks attractive, but still does not completely break away from the action-genre of the magazine as her hair is tied back and she is very fresh-faced. The clothes she is wearing match the colour scheme of the cover.

Film Magazine Cover AnalysisComposition and Framing: unlike the other two covers, this one has five separate pictures showing different films. However, the rule of thirds is still applied by using these four smaller pictures to actually frame the main, most important one. This rule is again use to draw the audiences attention to the main characters face and the masthead as well as the featured title. Written Codes and Language: this cover features almost no words that aren’t an actors name or the title of a film. This is so it appleals to a wide audience of any form of intellect and targets people by being concise and sharp with the choice of words used. Unlike the other two covers, this one has less emphasis on action through language used, but still manages to portray this up to an extent with the phrase « Jennifer Lawrence catches fire in the hunger games 2 », which, although made up almost entirely of film names still connotes action.

Film Poster Analysis

Film Poster Analysis

Film title is in the bottom third of the poster.

Billing block is at the bottoms of the poster.

Featured actress’ name is featured at the top, but not in too noticeable a font.

Colour scheme of black, grey, white and beige. Looks desaturated and could have been edited through a sepia filter.

The image takes up the whole poster and serves as the background as well. The close up of the eye shows an image inside which is very mysterious as it is not a normal image. The image can also mean many different things to an audience e.g. seeing yourself, someone watching you or even seeing the future or past.

Film Poster Analysis

Close up of protagonists face in the middle third.

All text is in the bottom third of the poster minus the tagline.

The original backgrounds of the images have been taken away and edited together onto a plain black background.

Colour scheme is black, white and red with hints of orange and blue.

Red is used to make the title stand out.

Notable actor.

Film Poster AnalysisNotable actors.

Most important text is in the bottom third of the poster.

Close up of the main protagonist on the left third.

Critics’ comments.

Colour scheme is sepia and is similar to The Skeleton Key. Uses the colours beige, white, black and yellow.

Similar to the Shutter island trailer which uses two images edited together to convey setting and character.

Tagline.

Film Poster Analysis

Tagline.

Text is in the bottom third of the poster, much like all of the others.

Notable actor.Close up of protagonists face featured in the left hand third.

Much like the previous two posters there is two images edited together and stripped of their original background to look more menacing.

Colour scheme is sepia, using black, white and a dusty beige.