Textual analysis of posters & magazine covers

Magazine cover analysis:

Pug(s): 

These are like little stickers that appear eye catching to make the reader focus on the text, the content is usually minimal yet quite informative. The pug on this film poster magazine cover reads "every new film & DVD reviewed" which intrigues readers to buy the magazine so they can read the reviews, something that isn't offered in every magazine.

Strap line: 

This is usually a tagline for the magazine company that makes them seem 'better' than the rest. In this film magazine cover, the strap line reads "The Ultimate Movie Magazine" which persuades buyers that this is actually the best movie magazine that they can get their hands on. It might not necessarily be true, but does gain a positive response from buyers.

Star cast/central image: 

This is exactly what it means, the central image in the magazine cover; in this case Johnny Depp. Generally magazines try to star highly popular celebrities that they assume would attract a huge audience, e.g. by starring Johnny Depp, Total Film is clearly going to receive a successful audience as he is a popular celebrity that attracts a huge target audience. The shot used is a close-up which is quite basic but powerful in terms of advertising charlie and the chocolate factory. 

Colour palette: 

This is the colour scheme used across the whole cover that fits the theme of the film magazine cover, in this cover we see a lot of deep red and purple. Therefore, the text needs to be in accordance to the colour scheme,  Total Film's masthead has been converted to red and white which is different to it's usual all white signature masthead, this makes the masthead stand out more and matches Johnny Depp's jacket making the colour palette more evident.

Tagline: 

This is simply a 'dramatic phase' that grabs the attention of people, in this magazine cover, it read "FROM BATMAN TO STAR WARS; THE 50 MUST-SEE MOVIES FOR SUMMER!". This is a statement giving information as to some of the content within the magazine, it gives a brief amount of information, enough to grab the attention of buyers.

Masthead:

 This is the name of the magazine company. It needs to be bold and evident as to who this magazine is credited to, therefore all magazines have their own logo that establishes their company. Total film has a signature masthead that occasionally changes it's colour scheme, e.g. in this issue to match the colour theme of Johnny Depp starring in charlie and the chocolate factory. 

Bar code:

 Because a magazine is a product, it must have a bar code that changes positions occasionally according to the format of the magazine cover. It doesn't need to be huge, yet visible enough to clarify that this is a cover for  a  magazine.

Feature article cover line(s): 

These give some brief information regarding the contents of the magazine, it's little to keep the buyers intrigued to actually buy it and then read the full article, story, etc. By saying "And many more!", the buyers are compelled to buy the magazine to know more details regarding new films and so on.

Total Film is owned by Future Publishing, they release 13 magazines a year, monthly and a special summer edition since 2004. Now that technology had majorly advanced, the magazine is available in a printed version alongside the electronic copy available on iPad's. It has a news section that informs readers of new upcoming films, first-look photos, on-set visits and exclusive 'sneak peaks'. A regular feature of this film magazine is 'Ever met Tom Cruise?' where a behind the scenes person such as a stunt-woman or casting director is interviewed. This is something unique and attracts buyers. Along with the many features of the magazine, it offers a home entertainment guide where you can find reviews of the latest films as well as games, soundtracks and books. 

Total Film is based in the UK, however there are foreign editions available in many countries, including Turkey, Russia, Serbia, Croatia, Indonesia, plus many more. 

This film magazine is quite active on social media which allows them to target and approach a vast audience. Their website includes news, reviews, features, trailers, films soon being released, competitions and much more. Everything is updated regularly and it holds a database of every film review that's been featured in the magazine. Users have been given the privilege of commenting on articles and re-tweeting on Twitter, sharing on Facebook, etc. 

Cover line: 

"THE DARK KNIGHT WORLD EXCLUSIVE!" By using buzz words such as 'exclusive' , readers are interested to know what the exclusive information is and, the simple act of advertising a huge film such as Batman, will automatically attract a huge audience. Cover lines need to be simple yet interesting enough to compel readers to buy the magazine.

Main cover line:

 It reads "Joker", this is more than enough to get the attention of all Batman and especially Joker fans; the green colour makes it bold and therefore having all the emphasis put there. The use of different texts reflects the characteristic personality of the Joker and therefore makes it more attractive to buyers. 

Star casting:

 By using the Joker as the central image, Empire knows that they will receive a huge positive response with this particular issue because The Joker is so popular and in demand. 

Low key lighting:

 the theme of low key lighting makes the central image stand out more and gives the masthead a lot of emphasis too. The lighting of the image always needs to be appropriate to the featured film as it reflects the type of genre the film is and in this magazine cover, we can clearly see this.

Pug(s): 

Although all pugs may not contain necessary information, they make the text stand out more and makes the magazine more pleasing to the eye. Again, you can see that it's in accordance to the colour scheme and the white text upon that looks more eye catching.

Buzz words: 

these are words that are eye catching that make readers think that this is something special, e.g. this magazine has used "Plus!". This makes buyers think that this issue is more different to the others, the illusion that it's more exclusive than the rest. It's generally in a bigger font size to catch the attention of people and expressed as an exclamation.

Masthead:

 Empire's masthead colour is generally red which is a bright colour, acting as the center of attention that establishes clearly and successfully as to what company this magazine belongs to. Empire generally allows the central image to slightly run over the masthead as you can see in this issue. Whereas, Total Film try to avoid this and try for their masthead to be bold and on top of the central image. 

Empire (film magazine), a British film magazine, is owned by Bauer Media and is 23 years old, it's the biggest film magazine in the UK and has even been published on the United States, Australia, Turkey, Russia, Italy and Portugal. Empire even has it's own Empire Awards that take place annually, the awards are voted from readers of the magazine. 

 Empire covers mainstream films and art films, a regular feature is 'Classic scene', a transcript from a notable film scene. Another feature is 'Top 10' in which Empire lists it's choice of the top ten examples of something film related. A regular feature since Empire's 167th issue, the masterpiece feature is a two-page essay on a film selected by Empire in the 'Re.View' section.

 Empire targets a male orientated audience aged 17-35 and this is solely due to it's structure of layout, content and advertisement, although Empire does claim that they're not gender specific. Empire is more for film lovers as it's a little pricey than the others ( four pounds).

Tagline: 

"The international film magazine" - the term 'international' makes this magazine different to the others because the majority are only national whereas sight and sound are international. This has the same affect as buzz words that grabs the attention of buyers persuading them that this is the best magazine company.

Masthead:

 Sight and Sound don't like to cover their masthead, so in every issue their masthead is big and bold, it's like their signature style. The yellow block makes this stand out more especially with a dull background as the one for Cosmopolis. 

Colour palette: 

The colours used here are revolving around blue, grey and black. This magazine cover is for  a thriller drama and therefore the colour scheme is reflecting this; the central image is being overpowered by the bold and bright text yet it's still effective in giving a mysterious look.

Pug(s):

In this magazine, there's only one and is effective in making the text stand out and grab the attention of customers.  The text reads "EVERY NEW MOVIE REVIEWED", which persuades buyers that this is the best magazine they can get their hands on where every new film has been reviewed. This almost acts as the magazine's USP as not many magazine's offer this. 

Main cover line: 

This magazine cover reads the movie title: "COSMOPOLIS", this is a common technique for grabbing the attention of buyers. Magazine companies often emphasize the title of  a movie that entices customers to read this particular magazine.

Bar code: 

Sight and Sound have their own signature style of placing their bar code in the top right hand corner on a yellow block with a watermark logo of the BFI. This style is the most updated as sight and sound have changed around their masthead quite a  bit in the past.  

Sight and Sound is a British film magazine - monthly. Founded in 1932, published by the BFI (British Film Institute) and edited by Nick James, they have 19,000 subscribers of which 6,000 are international members. Every decade (10 years), Sight and Sound asks an international group of film professionals to to vote for 10 films they believe are 'the greatest films of all time'.

 I would say that Sight and Sound is a magazine that has a unique style, it's one of the oldest so therefore trusted a lot and it credits directors and editors more which contrasts with Total Film and Empire as they star the hero and heroine's the majority of the time.

Connotations: 

• Central image
• Movie title
• Low key lighting
• Billing block
• Release date
• Tagline

Denotations:

Central image - 

A man that has been edited into the mist of clouds, he's got dirt all over himself which suggests that this is a  action thriller, the burning fire denotes danger, sadness, action, etc. This central image is very effective as the emotionless facial expressions on the actor connote that the film revolves around the theme of relationships, dilemmas, etc.

Movie title - 

The movie title is big and bold to make the name more memorable, by making the text big and bold people read it first and therefore makes it more evident. The colour palette for the text matches the colour scheme of the overall poster to reflect the genre/events of the film, by this is mean that because this film is an action-thriller,

Low key lighting - 

The lighting is the key to a successful poster, obviously high key lighting is for genre's like romance and comedy whereas low key lighting is for genre's such as action-adventure, horror, gothic, etc. The low key lighting scheme used in this poster helps to establish the fact that this is a action thriller because the main colours used are blacks and greys with a touch of the bright flames of fire.

Billing block - 

This has information of the crew members such as the director(s), producer(s), actors, etc.

Release date-

 By including the release date, the audience feel more excited that the movie's launch is not that long away now. Even by saying 'coming soon' the poster makes the audience want to find out when it will be released and therefore is another way of promoting the film.

Tagline - 

These are really effective in getting the attention of people because it's a short catchy sentence that gives a little detail about the film. For example, in the poster above it reads; "Inspired by a true story of real life heroes." From this we get an idea that this film is linked to action adventure, reality, an intense story line, etc.

Connotations: 

• Colour palette
• Movie title
• Central image
• Billing block
• Tagline
• Star cast credit
• Release date

Denotations: 

Colour palette - 

The dull and cool colour palette used in this poster reflects the idea that this is a thriller film, this is because the use of dark tones that portray the themes of  sadness, mystery and drama.

Movie title - 

The fact that it's in a different shade makes it stand out more to make it seem more spooky, the blurred effect leads it to fit the theme of a train. Being placed in the middle, it's the most prominent piece of text on the poster.

Central image - 

The image isn't complicated and the minimalism of it leads the focus to be on the facial expressions of the woman which are quite blunt yet mysterious as the title and image aren't giving away much which compels the audience to watch the trailer which would hopefully result in being appealing and then persuade them to watch the film. This is similar to convergence because the poster isn't giving much information yet looks appealing to the audience which makes them want to find out more about the film. (go onto other resources such as YouTube or social media accounts.)

Billing block - 

A film poster doesn't look like a film poster without the billing block, it has information about the cast/crew, production/management team, directors, etc.

Tagline - 

By using the question "what did she see?", the audience is put into suspense as they wonder exactly what the question says. It's effective in getting the attention of passersby who just glance at the poster because it's short yet catchy and mysterious.

Star cast credit - 

Many film posters use this format of including the star cast credit because it grabs the attention of the audience as many actors and actresses are liked by different members of the public. Only Emily Blunt is credited which

Release date - 

This is important to include so that readers and the audience look forward to that date, not including a date would clearly result in a low response as people wouldn't know when this film is being released. On this poster, the poster states that it's being released in October and consequently, this date remains in the mind of readers making them aware that this is coming soon.

For my third poster analysis, I wanted to use a psychological thriller film because psychological thrillers have their own representation:

Connotations:

• Flipped image
• 3D text
• Minimal colour scheme/palette
• Billing block
• Release date

Denotations:

Flipped image -
This is very effective in expressing the sub-genre, because psychological thrillers take on a very different style that effects the audience mentally and this poster is doing the same thing by making the audience fear a flipped image. The focus is all on the girl with casts on both her legs connoting danger and abuse that attracts people who like to see a bit of torture or tragedy in films. The open door suggests that this is what she's looking for and being trapped in the room, she cannot get to the light.

3D text -
The text has been edited to appear as if it were on the wall. The content is effective in grabbing the attention of people as someone who enjoyed watching Sinister or The Conjuring would be persuaded to watch this film and therefore including this information is a way to target a broader audience. 

Colour scheme/palette - 
Red has been used purposefully to emphasize certain aspects of the poster like the mention of Sinister and The Conjuring, this highlights these pieces of text which attracts the attention and therefore persuades people to watch the film as Sinister and The Conjuring were quite successful.

The title:

The black title connotes sadness, fear and evil which brings it into the thriller genre,

The strap line:

I'ts very effective because it makes the audience question 'what is so dangerous that shouldn't be seen?' It also gives hints, maybe the villain is the cause for that fear.

The young girl:

Children are very delicate and therefore play a huge sensitive role in thriller films, they are often the victim and in this poster we can imply that the girl is possessed of some sort and the story will revolve around her. The fact that she's wearing a night-dress, connotes nightlife and thriller films are usually based on low key lighting as we can see in the poster.

Blood:

Blood simply links to death and murder. The fact that the girl is dragging the blood implies that she has a very strong connection with the murder/attack. The blood shapes a demon or devil's face that suggests the girl is possessed, another feature that suggests possible events.

The title:

The fact that the letter 't' has been replaced with a Christian cross connotes that the story will be closely linked to religion and maybe that religion is a major theme.

The man:

His face has a very blunt expression and we can imply that he is the villain.. The fact that his face is the most prominent thing on this poster clearly suggests that he is the main or one of the main characters.

The strapline:

This implies that the film has some sort of relationship to supernatural thriller. It's effective in intriguing it's target audience by having a 'teaser' strapline.

General background:

It's low key lighting which gives it more of a 'spook' suggesting that this is how the film will be shot.

The bronze metal objects:

These form a Christian symbol, the cross that again suggests a major role/theme of religion.

Main character's name:

The fact that Lianardo Di'Caprio's name is prominent, intrigues the public to watch the film, so is acting as a publicity feature. It clearly identifies the min character.

The man:

The fact that we only see his back and his head slightly turned, connotes mystery, therefore again, intriguing the audience to watch the film or even just find out about it. His black suit connotes darkness and therefore fitting into the thriller genre.

The title:

The red colour of the title connotes death, murder and most importantly blood which strongly connects to the gun being held by the man. So we can assume that there will be some action in the film.

The background:

Low key lighting connotes darkness and thrill...

The strapline:

It's catchy so it stays in your mind making people look more forward to the film so they can find out what it means in the film.