Film Magazine textual analysis
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Target audience This is a magazine with the cover of a character of a early 90’s Horror film. This film is likely to be targeted at those aged 18 and above. Due to the BBFC rating Silence of the Lambs an 18. The magazine is also aimed at both genders. Layout/composition The magazine is set up in an inverted Z layout. The kickers are placed in the right size of the magazine with the Skyline, Masthead and the main cover line placed above and below the kickers, therefore justifying the layout. This allows the viewers to see all parts of the front cover in the order that is set by Empire in a desired order. House style? In most editions of Empire, the mast head is lively to be covered by the actor credit. This shows the main importance of the character as he is also placed in the centre of the magazine . The bar code is also placed in the bottom right hand side of the front cover
Transcript of Film Magazine textual analysis
Target audienceThis is a magazine with the cover of a character of a early 90’s Horror film. This film is likely to be targeted at those aged 18 and above. Due to the BBFC rating Silence of the Lambs an 18. The magazine is also aimed at both genders.
Layout/composition
The magazine is set up in an inverted Z layout. The kickers are placed in the right size of the magazine with the Skyline, Masthead and the main cover line placed above and below the kickers, therefore justifying the layout. This allows the viewers to see all parts of the front cover in the order that is set by Empire in a desired order.
House style?
In most editions of Empire, the mast head is lively to be covered
by the actor credit. This shows the main importance of the character as he is also placed in the centre of the magazine . The bar code is
also placed in the bottom right hand side of the front cover
Camera shot/angleThe camera shot is a close up of a character of the film, who seems to be wearing a mask to cover his mouth. I think that this is a studio set up shot because I believe this is quite an effective shot to use on the magazine front cover. The meaning behind this shot is to show the danger of this character, he is likely to be the film antagonist or someone who may have psychological issues.
Typeface/font
In this magazine there are about 3 different fonts. The masthead of the magazine can connote masculinity it is big and bold the main stereotypes of a male. The main cover line which is the name of the film is also in bold and is quite big in size as well. This could also connote masculinity. The third font is the cover line at the right side. This font is smaller and uses a serif font which can connote elegance .This can be a more feminine type of font, this is because it conforms to stereotypes of a female in terms of a more elegant personality and placed on the side which could refer to its importance in comparison to the masthead which is in the middle.
Colour
The main colours used are red and black. Red ,which is used as the title and as the border around the front cover, could suggest danger and/or blood with black connoting darkness. They have been used in this magazine to suit the style of the magazine, which is a horror slasher type of film.
RepresentationThe representation of the character in this film is suited to the colour which can connote certain moods, symbols and signs . This is due to the character being known for his killing nature which suits the colours of black and red. The fonts and also in bold and is big which can give the impression that it is direct and straight to the point. The character as well can give another impression of being dangerous and frightening.
Image denotation/ connotation
A close up of a man wearing a mask covering his mouth and nose with a hole in his mouth. Probably to allow breathing. Some kind of mask that could show that he is dangerous if the mask is taken off him. This mask could suggest a cannibal like nature within him as if he is an animal
Target audience
This magazine is targeted at those aged 18 years and above. Due to the BBFC rating Hannibal 18 which is evident from the website.
Layout/compositionThe magazine is set in a ‘C’ layout. The skyline and masthead is placed in the top, the kickers are placed in the left hand size of the print with everything else placed in the bottom of the print. This allows the viewer to see everything in a desired order from top to bottom. The shadow starts from the top middle/corner area of the cover to the bottom right area of the cover. The shadow area contains the text where the area with the model doesn’t, this however doesn’t apply to the masthead and the kickers in the bottom right
House style?
The shot of the model takes up most o f the entire front cover, this can show the importance of the film as it is placed in the centre can instantly capture the attention of the audience. The masthead also maintains the red coloured font with black surrounding most of the cover
Above the masthead is the date and the price. This magazine was dated ‘March 2001’. The significance of the date is that the magazine can be some sort of collectors item for following year, and considering there are 12 months in a year, there are 12 issues every year.
Below the mast head is the website to Empire. As I visited the website, there is loads more available online in comparison to just the magazine, this includes creating an account to access exclusive content, playing games, watching reviews for TV and Film and much more.
Colour
The main colours used in the trailer is red, black and white. The colour black can connote isolation and darkness, and the colour red to connote danger or death. The colour white seems to be mainly used to avoid the clash with the black
Camera shot/angle
In this shot we see a close up of a male looking out from the darkness, we can see half of his face and see that he has red eyes. This can connote that he may have some association with demons or any other type of evil spiritual beings.
Typeface/font
There are at least 3 or 4 different fonts on this print.
The masthead maintains its masculine structure conforming to the stereotypes of being the head (in terms of hierarchy) and the biggest sized font. This could be significant because it is probably an important element of the magazine the viewers should see, so it can attract their attention.
The Hannibal title appears to me the same as the masthead reiterating the boldness of the font and its colour to connote blood or danger
The fonts in white except for the ‘What’s cooking?’ quote can actually be portrayed to be feminine. This is because these fonts connote to stereotypes of it being smaller and it being placed under the fonts that are important in terms of power.
RepresentationThis shot, as well as the quote, can give a strong representation of evil. This can affect the audience in a way because the quote can be quite ambiguous. I say this because Hannibal is known to be a dangerous serial killer therefore the quote could be referring to people.
Target audienceThis print is targeted at those aged 18 and above of both genders. 1990s Horror Evil Dead was rated 18 by the BBFC
Layout/composition
The print has been set in a ‘C’ structure,. The masthead, skyline, issue number and price are placed on the top, the kickers are placed in the left side of the magazine and everything else is placed at the bottom. This structure allows the viewer to read everything in a desired order from top to the bottom.
House style?
The mast head uses the same font. It’s noticeable with the drops below the letters which is supposed to be blood which can give a clear indication to the audience that this is a horror magazine.
The barcode is located at the bottom left area of the front page. The fact that it is placed there and is so small could show how unimportant it may be as everything else is quite close together. The website is located in the skyline of the magazine. When I accessed this website, the style of the website is very similar. This is in relation to the colour scheme, the use of dark backgrounds etc.
Refer to next slide to see other issues.
Typeface/font
In this magazine there are at least 4 different fonts.
The masthead is large in size and uses sans serif. This could be a more masculine font. There is also drops of red representing blood. This could connote death.
The cover line is also big in size and despite the font itself it does not use curls which could connote to masculinity. The font itself however seems futuristic due to some letters overlapping one another. It could possibly hold another meaning with the letters ‘V’ and ‘A’ exactly in line with each other.
The white text at the bottom is much more smaller in size but uses sans serif. This can make the font both masculine and feminine.. The sans serif is a more masculine attribute with the font size likely to be more feminine due to stereotypes of being smaller than men. This can be in terms of power, importance and physique.
The last font are the ones in yellow. The colour itself could denote happiness but on the other hand can connote warnings. The cover line yellow font does not use curls but the ones in the kickers do. Both can be masculine and feminine. But the cover lines is more masculine and the kickers are more feminine. This is because despite being the same, The curls can be seen to be more feminine than masculine.
Colour
The main colours used in this print are red, white and yellow. Red can connote blood, danger, death. White can connote purity and innocence. Yellow is a noticeable colour which can connote warnings.
Representation
The representation behind this film and the actor in this shot is that this film is some kind of zombie-like horror film. The title ‘Evil Dead’ can possibly denote the undead who are trying to kill the characters in the film. An example can include zombies or psychopathic people who could be under demonic possession.
Camera shot/angle
In this shot, there is a close of a being looking at the camera with a frightening look. With the facial features this show can show to the audience that this character is an evil being who may be a killer
Image denotation/ connotation
The image on the magazine, could possibly be someone under demonic possession. This can be evident with their eyes which is an unnatural colour and blood all over their face denoting that it is likely to be some sort of serial killer.
It also appears in the darkness which can connote isolation, blindness and also vulnerability as being in the darkness can reduce your awareness of what’s coming towards you.
Target audienceThis magazine is likely to be focused at those aged 15 and above. Most horror films are rated 15 or 18. It is aimed at all genders
Layout/composition
This magazine follows a ‘C’ layout. The masthead is placed at the top, the kicker is placed at the right hand side and other information of the magazine is placed at the bottom towards the right hand side, justifying the layout of the magazine.
House style?
The masthead has the same font and style in many other editions, including the use of this colour and ‘weekly’ is within the text. The date is placed in the top left area revealing the issue number, date and year. According to the name, an issue is revealed every week
Entertainment Weekly is a mainstream cult film magazine that releases a ned issue of their magazines every week.
The difference between weekly and monthly editions is that it is depends on the type of audience it is aimed at. Weekly editions are aimed at a much wider audience in comparison to monthly editions which is aimed at a more niche audience.
Representation
The representation of this character is a lot more horror film characters, This character is seen to be the face of this 39 other horror films. This character could be seen as the most interesting or most anticipated character to be seen. This is clearly evident by using Johnny Depp, a well known celebrity who has played as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
Typeface/fontThere are at least 3 fonts in this magazine
The masthead is big in size and uses curls in the font. However it’s blue, which is known to be a more masculine colour.
The text below in white is also more of a masculine font. This is because there is no curls, in bold and is big in size.
The font in red however is more feminine, this is because it is in serif and is more smaller in size,
Image denotation/ connotation
The character in the shot has scruffy hair, black marks under his eyes and a pale face. This could connote that he could be some sort of psychopath. He could be some sort of serial killer
Colour
The main colours used in this magazine and blue, white and red. The colour blue to represent masculinity and is a cold colour. The colour white can connote purity, and innocence and the colour red can mean death and blood.
Camera shot/angle
This shot is a close up of a featured horror character that will be revealed inside this magazine. This could be a character of one of the most anticipated films or the actor who may be featured in an interview or any other exclusive event.
