Movie Magazine & Poster analysis Cover analysisNaomi Sian Bennett-Johnson

Along with my production piece I will be making a magazine cover and poster. The two pieces will help to promote the film. I hope to

express the film by having my trailer represented on the poster and cover and have taken inspiration from the pieces above that I

have analysed.

Posters A movie poster is a poster used to advertise a film. Studios often printseveral posters that vary in size and content for various domestic andinternational markets. They normally contain an image with text.Today's posters often feature photographs of the main actors. Thetext on movie posters usually contains the film title in large letteringand often the names of the main actors. It may also include a tag line,the name of the director, names of characters, the release date, etc.

Movie posters are displayed inside and on the outside of movietheaters, and elsewhere on the street or in shops. The same imagesmay also be used on websites, DVD (and historically VHS) Packaging, flyers, advertisements in newspapers and magazines, etc.

Types Of Posters• Lobby cards: like posters but smaller, Lobby cards are collected and

their value depends on their age, quality and popularity. Typically issued in sets of eight, each featuring a different scene from the film.

• Teaser poster: an early promotional movie poster, containing a basic image or design without revealing too much information such as the plot, theme, and characters. The purpose is to incite awareness and generate hype for the film.

• Character posters: For a film with an ensemble cast there may be a set of character posters, each featuring an individual character from the film. Usually it contains the name of the actor/actress, with or without the name of the character played. It may also include a tagline that reflects the quality of the character.

Movie Magazine

A movie magazine is a magazine dedicated tofilm and film culture. Such magazinestypically include film news, interviews, photoshoots, essays and movie reviews.

Conventions Of Magazines

Technical Terms

Masthead

Cover lines

Cover stories

Stories Pictures & captions

Route of the eye

Principle of thirds

Pull quotes

Flash

Kicker and explanatory

U.S.P

What creates meaning

Language &

register

Mise en scenePosition, pose,costume, eye

contact /gaze,facial

expression

Cameraangle

Font style, size, colour

Revealinggenre

Quotes/links to thefilm

I will use these conventions and my research to create my own magazine cover and poster. This will ensure my final products look professional.

Shows the main Characters of the film: • Characters positioned in a way to

suggest one of them is more dominant and important than the other this suggests to the reader what the film involves.

• Both wear contrasting costume one more formal, other wearing police badge in less formal clothing, suggests differences in hierarchy, personality and occupation.

• Action shots are used rather than posed photographs. There is no direct address of the audience which engages.

Masthead •Name of magazine is in bold, red, capital letters to make it stand out and is the biggest writing on the page this shows the importance of the magazine name and brand. The characters overlap the masthead that shows the brand is established as even without seeing the full name is recognisable .

SkylineReaders notice the addition is special , why its special and this may help appeal to people who like this genre and make it feel personalised.

Notice how small the price is, when magazines are cheap the price is larger so more noticeable and the ‘reasonable’ price is used as a selling strategy. Whereas if the magazine is expensive it may detract from the appeal, so isn’t used as a selling strategy. We also notice the barcode which on magazines is on the front cover whereas on books they are on the back.

Slogan• Boast claiming the

magazine is special and well established attracts readers

Anchor textA short summary of both characters is used to engage the reader by informing the audience of there roles therefore justifying there costume, surrounding , postures and facial expressions.

Sell lines: A range of topics that relate to crime and violence are mentioned in reference to the content of the magazine. This suggests that the magazine is aimed at fans who are serious about this genre or want to read detailed articles.

LayoutEverything on the cover is “centralized”. This brings focus to the image and text together, so to not have anything unnoticed.

Colour schemeThe font colours and background complement the images which harmonises the cover. They’ve also engaged the audience by representing the film on the magazine through mise en scene.

Masthead • The masthead has been edited

so to go with the genre and theme of the movie which is used to engage e the audience.

The price is in a unusual position as is it is usually at the bottom of the page near the barcode

Introduces readers to another platform of the magazine they can explore so to promote more, sell more advertising space and appeal to a wider audience. It may be suggested that it will appeal to a younger audience, those who are more ‘technology savvy’ or those who cant afford to buy the magazine constantly so use the website as an alternative.

The central image, a medium close-up of the main character is used so the audience can automatically relate to the movie and genre. The character also directly addresses the audience by making direct eye contact so to achieve intimacy and intensity.

Makes the content of the magazine seem exclusive

Magazine may be aimed at a more mature audience as it contains sexual content

Colour scheme: the background, font colours go with the image on the front. The colours creates a semantic field of hell which harmonises with the theme and title of the movie “Hellboy 2”.

Anchor text: The tells us why text the main image is featured. This is may also lure the audience to read the article inside about them.

Sell & cover lines: A range of movie topics are mentioned in references to actors. This suggests the magazine is aimed at fans of the celebrities, people who are serious about the film industry or who want to read detailed articles.

The central image, directly addresses the audience by making eye contact so to achieve intimacy and intensity. He stands with an upright domineering posture and straightaway is seen as strong which gives the audience a sense of his character and what the movie is about.

Colour scheme:The font colours and background complement the image which harmonises the cover. They’ve engaged the audience by representing the American flag in the background and in costume which reflects the film and the character which is “Captain America”. The character may be used as a symbol, to represent America as strong which shows a sense of patriarchy therefore may relate and appeal more audience in the USA.

“Plus” Makes it seem as if the magazine is giving you extra, your getting your moneys worth and more

Repetition of the word “the” emphasises the subjects presented

Some may argue the main image of a white, blue eyed “pretty boy” is representative of a common convention and stereotype of what a super hero should look like.

Previous credits: By mentioning previous films done by the producer the poster presupposes the target audience are familiar with the producers previous work. This suggests the last movies were a success so is used as a guarantee for a good movie and prompts audienceexpectations.

Positive quote: To the target audience Sky movies may be held in high esteem therefore a good response from them is ideal in appealing to the audience as it comes from a ‘trusted source’. The good feedback encourages people to watch it and the audience are able to get an opinion on the movie before seeing it.

The images of the main characters occupy a large proportion of the poster and the girls are used and appeal as the main selling point. The gang theme to the movie is represented through there body language and facial expressions which show aggression. Instead of directly addressing the audience an action shot of the girls is used to engage the audience and represent the film through mise en scene.

“Gripping” ,“raw”, “gritty” the terminology fits the genre and by using adjectives that will appeal to the target audience the film seems more exciting. The font main used also depicts these words by the font looking scratched and dirty.

The overall theme of the movie challenges social assumptions of only boys being in gangs. The low angle shot of one of the characters with a bat depicts dominance and aggression. This contrasts with how females are usually depicted as gentle and calm. The costumes worn can also be used to challenge conventions as they lack femininity and hoodies are usually associated with young males.

The title is at the bottom of the poster, the visual images are the main focus and may be seen to appeal to the target audience.

Colour saturation: The two main colours are red and pink which the images as well as the font are in. Red has the connotations of passion and anger meanwhile pink can be seen as a symbol of femininity. This may symbolize the concept of a girl gang. Despite red and pink being bold colours the black sand whites used give a dark tone to the poster which reflects the plot movie.

Certificate to be confirmed.The British Board of Film Classifications has not released an age rating for the title.

Informs audience when film is in cinemas so they can watch it

The artists featured go with the genre of an urban film and artists would be recognisable to the target audience.

The website introduces the audience to another platform of the film, so to promote more, sell advertising space and appeal to a young audience.

The image challenges the conventional movie poster by being simple. Simplicity of the poster may suggest the film is aimed at an more serious, mature audience. All of the poster is in black and white andthe only colour is red and is used to highlight the word “point” which shows importance and connotations surrounding the colour may depict danger and anger.

Gives a build up to the release of the movie by not disclosing the date.

The silhouettes of the man with the gun creates mystery and suggests the movie is about crime or violence.

All the images are incorporated within one main image to suggest there is one main character which may be the “one truth” quoted in the text. The 8 pictures may represent the “8 strangers “and “8 points of view” this brings cohesion poster and gives suggestions to the audience of what the film is about. All the images are action shots and are used to represent the film through mise en scene with the aim to engage the audience.

The font informing the audience of the release date is made bold and shows the precise date so to guarantee an audience for the film.

The website introduces the audience to another platform for the film, so to promote more, sell advertising space and appeal to new audiences. They also promote a soundtrack which has artists on it that relates to the urban genre of the film and can be used to collect more income . Its’ release date is prior to the one of the actual film suggesting the soundtrack is being used as another promotion strategy a to maybe create ‘hype’ and build momentum around the movie.

The rating of the “4 stars ” and the expert and critique statement is used to classify the film and rank it high quality so to appeal and lure in the audience. To the target audience RWD magazine may have a high degree of respect or be recognisable therefore a good response from them is appealing. The good feedback encourages people to watch it.

The poster has connotation's of doom with the dark cloudy background. In the clouds are what seem to be gang members suggesting in the film they ‘re the cause of trouble.

The well known actors within the genre are shown on the poster below there names , they are used as a strategy to sell tickets.

The image depicts a war with the people in the background looking as if they are chasing the main images. The audience is engaged by the representation of the film through mise en scene.

Mainly males are represented on the poster with a clear image of only one female suggesting the film is male dominated. This also may be seen as a bad stereotype of young males in todays society.

The well known song is used to promote the soundtrack and it presupposes the audience are familiar with the song. As well as the soundtrack helping to sell the film the film may also be helping to promote the soundtrack and song.