Film Poster and Magazine Cover Conventions &

Deconstructions

Conventions of a Film magazine front cover

The cover has to be eye-catching and the magazine’s name is clearly displayed at the top

The new film is often the main focal point and the title and tagline are displayed on the front cover

Cover-lines about other stories in the magazine are shown on the cover

Famous actors are often used as the focal point The use of colours and fonts usually give an

indication of the film’s genre – a horror film would use dark colours whereas a family film would use brighter colours

The price and the barcode of the magazine is shown usually out of the way at the bottom right.

The masthead of the magazine cover is placed behind the main image, by doing this it is has maximized the space allowed to position with the main. Also by doing this did not make the masthead less recognizable because Empire is already a popular franchise. The colour used for the mast head also contrast well against the blue background thus make the masthead more eye-catching.

The main sell line on this magazine cover is marginally larger than the sell lines, thus implicating this is the main attraction that will be in the magazine. The film’s name has also been abbreviated to “potter 7” to be more catchy and easy to remember to the potential buyers, but the full film title is also added below the masthead, to provide extra information to those who are unaware of the Harry Potter franchise. The colours used for the sub head also differs from the rest to make it eye-catching. It also does not follow the usual convention of placing subheads below the main sell line.

The main image used for this magazine cover is an excellent choice, it is shot in an intriguing position. It also includes props from the film such as the want and the glasses. Shards of glasses was also added to the main image to relate to subhead “friendship shatter” and in the shards of glass images of Ron Weasly and Hermione Grainger. By choosing Daniel Radcliffe as the main image, the editor was able to use the actors “star power” to attract more audience in potentially buying the magazine.

The sell lines in this magazine front cover are rather small compared to other magazine I have analysed, this might be because they are not that interesting compared to the main sell line or they just did not have enough space to enlarge it.

The masthead of this magazine cover is a very clever adaptation, it utilizes an overhead shot of building and sculpted it to fit the outline of “FILM.” Just like the previous deconstruction the masthead is layered behind the main image, this doesn’t ruin the masthead because it is a widely know franchise and can be easily recognised at a glance. The choice of colour for the masthead is also rather clever as it mimics the colour of concrete and making it stand out from the rest without overdoing it.

The main image used on this magazine cover is not very ideal in my opinion, it is not the most flattering photo of Mr.DiCaprio and compared to the Empire version of the inception this is appalling. But I might be wrong, this main image may have some other effect that I don’t recognise. That being said, the tonal work on the image does work very well with the background as it creates a dark and mysterious feel to it.

The main sell line on this front cover is also rather poor, it uses the film name as it’s main sell line, but the choice of colour for it is not ideal as it does not stand out very well, compared to the subhead that does. If anything this should be the other way around.It tries to compensate this by using an ambiguous sentence that could attract its potential audience, relating to the complicated manner of the film. In my opinion as well the location of the main sell line and sub head is too central, the position of where it is not should be reserved for the main image only, by as I said before the main image is not the best, so this might be the reason why.

There are numerous amounts of sell line on this magazine front cover, this made the cover looked cramped as they overloaded it. The positioning of these sell lines at least are favourable, though the colours used for them is not appropriated as they are the same colour as the subhead, this could potentially create confusion to some readers.

Terminator Salvation is being featured on the popular film magazine ‘total film’ this will appeal to the audience as a reliable magazine has chosen to promote this film suggesting that this film is in fact a good film (animated Arnold disappointing). The fact that this film is covering the whole front cover of the magazine is telling the audience that this film does in fact have a massive budget ($200 million) and also big stars however this can clearly be seen by the images of Christian Bale star of The Dark Knight and The Machinist also Sam Worthington the star of Macbeth and The Great Raid

due to the film history of both actors they have a large fan base which will encourage the audience to watch the film. The cover does also feature other film articles such as Angles and Demons this might engorge readers to read the magazine and may then read the article about Terminator Salvation even if this was not their first decision. Angles and Demons had an phenomenal start up and was an anticipating film this will attract a larger audience to read the magazine however this text will have a hard time trying to go against with the large image of Terminator.

The film’s title is written in a large and bold red text causing it to stand out against the other elements of the magazine, the blood red text colour promotes danger and panic this suggests the nature of the film and cause the audience to think what the film is about giving it a negative enigma. Both characters are wearing an army clothes which gives us the image that both characters are in some sort of army but what army would go against the machines they built this is causing interest and an enigma. The mise en scene, the dark and eerier colouring of the cover is creating a depressing war time feel to the magazine. The facial expressions of the characters, they are holding a grim and serious expression this also connects with the colouring of the magazine backing up the characters back story.

Convention of a Film Poster

• An eye catching image or images- often related to characters (and the stars in the film) or the setting of the film.• The title of the film: carefully constructed in terms of font style, colour, size and placement: a lot of thought goes into the title – it is meant to be memorable, and also suggest the genre of the film.• A tagline for the film- which is like the catchy slogan of advertisements – offering another clue to the genre and main themes or content of the film.• The names of well –known or key people connected to the film. These are usually the lead actors but may also be the director of producer.• Critic review (for example. Empire magazine) giving their comments such as ‘an unmissable film’• Details of any awards nominations or awards that the film has already won. These will be placed clearly on the poster.• The production blurb – information, in tiny print, that lists the production and distribution companies as well as other information.

Stanley Kubrick’s film poster for Full Metal Jacket is one the most well know posters in the film industry, but further deconstruction show how minimalistic it is.

The pull quote “in Vietnam the wind doesn’t blow it sucks” is a very famous phrase as well, but it has deeper meaning as due to the high temperature in Vietnam, the wind doesn’t have a cooling effect as it normally would, does creating an impression of hell. The pull quote is also in black contrasting against the white background and is bold for emphasis

Below the pull quote is the main image. The image chosen for this poster is also very provocative as the helmet a sign of war and written on it “born to kill” is paired right next to a sign of peace. This creates a contrast in just one image. This is to show as Private Joker would say to show “the duality of men”

Below the main image is the directors name “Stanley Kubrick” it is placed there to use the directors star power to potentially attract audiences. This could also be changed to the main actors name which could also work, depending on the actors star power

Beneath the directors name is the Film title, it is the largest text in all of the poster to make it easier to be seen from a distance and to stand out the best. Again the film title is black to contrast against the white background and in bold to emphasize it.

The pull quote on this poster is rather small for my liking but that does not mean it has lost its effect , it creates a mystery by uttering the same word. The colour chosen at least is ideal as it contrast against the white background.

The main image for this poster is wonderfully created, not as iconic as Stanley Kubrick's but much more intriguing. It incorporates 5 figures to mimic the shape of fingers and thumb. The 4 figures are grouped together just like your fingers and the separate figure on the thumb to imply that one is the killer or who survives. There also is an outline of a mouth on the palm, which is then smeared by red spray paint of blood.

The actors name are below the main image, and since there are quite big named actors in this film they are all listed, to use all of their star power to attract audiences

The film title is again quite small just like the pull quote, but it is big enough that you would not struggle to read if you have vision impairment. It blends from black to red, to imitate the main again. Below it is a phrase to add more mystery, in almost small print.

The date release is kept by ambiguous by saying “coming soon” this would make potential audiences excite its release keep track of it till the release date is finally revealed.

The main image for the poster is a mysterious looking character, that doesn’t show its face in a clear view meaning the audience will be intrigued into finding about the real identity of the figure .

The character shown is one of a typical horror genre. This is achieved by how mysterious the character looks and it is blurred.

A full bodies shot is used for the character but does reveal much of the characters true identity

The pull quote is used to intrigue the audience . The idea behind it is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of the film

A bold font is used to make the title stand out from the image behind it to make it easier to read. A light colour is also used because this stands out against the background.

The release date for this film is kept ambiguous as it does not have a specific date of release .