CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF FILM REVIEW PAGES

Benish Hussain

‘Avatar’

• Most of this review page is dominated by images and the images chosen illustrate interesting and exciting images from the movie, without being spoilers as they are just quick glimpses. This immediately draws the audiences attention because when they flick through the magazine the image will stand out.

• The central image spread over the two pages is a close up shot of the two main characters, the 'avatars' and it immediately portrays the extravagance of the film. These images reflect the film in a positive way before the review has even been read.

• The colour scheme of blue and orange has been carefully selected which creates a striking effect.

• The fonts used are quite basic, with a smooth round edge to ease reading. They are all of a consistent size apart from the film title itself which is a larger font.

• Each image is defined by a black border which is effective as it will draw the readers eye to each image. The most important image is larger than the secondary images taking up most of the A3 spread.

• The images don’t overlap however the text boxes overlap on to the image.

• This review doesn’t follow the convention of having 3 columns, yet has 2.

• One of the first features I noticed was that the image doesn’t just fit on one page but spreads over slightly on to the other page.

‘Spider-Man 2’

• The image itself seems to have been chosen to summarise the best features of the film; excitement, adventure, danger and mystery all portrayed through the one image. The use of background and the use of the metal machinery suggests impending danger. However, Spider-Man is the main focus of the image and draws in immediate attention.

• The review also features an eye-catching graph and verdict box at the bottom giving information on the film, for example the verdict box sums up the reviewer's feelings on the film and how many ‘stars’ it will eventually get.

• This review follows the convention of 3 columns which are easy to read, they are easy to read and broken up so that the reader doesn't have to read through a huge chunk of text all at once.

• The title is big, bold and written in a black font allowing it to stand out.

‘I Am Legend’

• The main difference in this review is that the central image chosen isn’t a still image from the film. Instead it is an image which shows the making of the film.

• This review shares a large majority of similarities as the previous two articles.

• It follows the convention of a big, bold title making it stand out from the rest of the text.

• The review page also follows the code convention of 3 columns, however it is slightly challenged since the 3 columns are spread over the double page.

• The review also features a secondary image which overlaps the central image.

• The review features the convention of including an overall view and rating.

• Also features short, snappy information of the film, e.g. length of the film, directors and actors names etc.

Overall…

• To conclude, I will do a double-page review spread and I believe that my magazine review should follow many of the review page conventions; including a main image which spreads over on both pages, a secondary image and maybe a third smaller image, an overall rating of the film, and an overview of the film.

• My review will have to be quite detailed and feature a clear, bold title in order to attract readers and encourage them to read the review.