Draft Ideas for Film Magazine

Draft Ideas for Film Poster

 

When it came to editing my film poster I knew from thstart that I wanted the face of the protagonist to be a mystery to avoid audiences losing the scare factor before they even see the trailer. I cam up with the idea of the demon peering through a stain glass door as if she is being watched, making the audience feel uncomfortable and that they have disturbed her presence. I also knew that in order to hide her face I had to rely on the editing software offered by Pic Monkey which allowes you to pixelate and soften any feature making it difficult to identify the character.

 

Replacing the tagline font with 'Arial'

Changing the  background to create a bloodstained derilict enviroment which signals to the audience that this is the home of the demon and it is not to be distubed.

The one common element that has remained throughout the creation of my film poster is the main image of the demon staring directly into the camera, I felt that this added to the chilling feel of the poster almost as if the deomon is looking at a member of the audience as its next victum. I also want to keep the 'pixel' face look as I feel it compliments the narrative and the style in which the trailer was filmed in.

Codes and Conventions of Film Posters

Film posters are used to promote films by drawing in target audiences, they contain uses of key iconography and this establishes what genre the film belongs to. By using images and symbolic representations that are traditionally associated with horror, the poster can appeal to the correct target market. Film posters communicate through a combination of visual and verbal messages, which provide clues as to what the film is about. They also embody artistic value to some people, which explains why so many people collect film posters and display them on their walls. Film posters take advantage of the fact that audiences are often attracted to a film simply because of who’s staring in it. These posters are exhibited in public before the film is released in the cinema and so people are automatically intrigued by this powerful piece of still media, wanting to see the film, before they even know what it is about!

Film posters vary, however the most conventionally used is called a ‘teaser’ poster. Similar to teaser trailers, this piece of media is used early on in the promotion process.  Teaser trailers take the ‘less is more’ approach as they simply contain a basic image and perhaps a short, quirky caption as they avoid exposing too much information. It is common for a few different posters to be released for one film, some can be classified as teasers, whereas others contain the names of actors and the film’s title, or even just showing a range characters. This is done to build up excitement and anticipation for the film. With the more popular films, such as Scream or the Twilight Saga, the film poster only needs to contain a few vital elements of its own iconography and the audience can immediately recognize the film. Different film posters promoting the same film or series of films will always feature similar images. 

 

 

 

The image will always reflect the narrative of the film and genre-specific iconography will be used. The image and its background will cover entire poster and text is conventionally placed over the visual. The main focal point of poster is always completely visible to the audience. The image used on the poster must charm the target audience, tempt and fascinate them, appeal to their tastes and promise to deliver whatever it is they expect to see from the film. Whether that’s excitement, drama, romance, fight scenes or gore, so be it!

When looking at a poster, our eyes move from the centre to top to bottom and horizontally from left to right. In this exact order, we look at the centre, top centre, top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right. Conventionally, the title of the film or the tagline (or both) will be placed in the top centre of the poster and this piece of text will be the first the audience shall see. They avoid using too much textual information as the audience usually have little time to acknowledge, stop and read it; also posters like these are too tiring and difficult to read. The most effective of film posters contain a quick, punchy, simple and easy to read tagline.

Linguistic devices are conventionally used for film poster taglines, such as a pun or play on certain words, direct address, rhetorical questions, short but direct sentences, alliteration, emotive language, repetition, rhyme and humour. These are all example of devices used in order to create successful taglines.

Codes and Conventions of Film Trailers

Film trailers exist are a very important feature of a films promotional package; they visually demonstrate the story of a film in a concise and easy way for the target audience to comprehend, without giving too much away. Features of the narrative are displayed in short segments allowing the audience to gather the narrative. They are chosen to feature in the trailer, usually because they are the key features or the scariest parts of the movie, however to break the chain of the film, they are never placed in chronological order distorting the narrative making the sequence erratic. 

The trailers are aimed at a specific target audience, and they are now seen as part of the film making process, in which they are relied on by film makers for promotion. In the digital age in which we live in, distribution companies are looking to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook as a way of advertising their new film months prior to its release. You tube has most certainly become a revelation in terms of film advertising, with other a billion hits for movie trailers, it is certainly the easiest and most accessible way of releasing a new film.

Initially, trailers were created to be played at the end of a showing in the cinema. However, due to audiences walking out straight after the film had ended, they began to start showing them before the film begun. The original trailers were very simply constructed, including slow editing, with little narration and uses of big words plastered on the screen. A man named Andrew J Kuehn began to create the type of trailers that audiences are familiar with today, revolutionising this form of media.  Film trailers have many key functions and objectives; ultimately, they exist to generate an interest in the film and the genre is always clearly indicated so that the accurate Target Audience are addressed. Trailers inform viewers what the film is about, without giving too much of the plot away, they build up excitement and anticipation by showcasing the film’s best bits and presenting the film to its best advantage. Audiences feel obliged to watch the film having been teased by the narrative enigmas. Also, trailers are commonly used to show off stars in a film as well as provide details about the production teams.

There are two main types of film trailers, the first is known as a teaser trailer which is commonly used to advertise upcoming movies. These trailers are extremely short in length, ranging from 30-40 seconds and use very little of the actual footage in the film. These trailers come out long before the film itself has been released, therefore they ‘tease’ the target audience.

 The purposes of a trailer are to promote and introduce a film. They normally introduce the storyline, genre, setting and characters which should lead to the audience having certain expectations about the film. Genre and storyline are the two things that give the audience the most expectations. A genre carries certain conventions; for example, with a slasher movie you would expect a killer, murderer’s weapon, screaming victims, police investigating etc. This means the audience would want to see some of these things within the trailer so they can identify the genre. The clips used are non-chronological but they have a structure that outlines the film’s plot. The majority of trailers have a voice over in them so we would need to strongly consider incorporating one into our piece of film. They can tell the audience about characters, plot and setting for the film. This can be over the film or it can read out text that is displayed in the trailer.

 The production logo symbolises to the audience the budget of the film they are about to watch, and who has created it. If the production company is well-known and liked, or have produced other successful films, people may want to watch films produced by these, so including the logo on the trailer may encourage more people to watch the film. Film logos may give an indication to the genre of the film, as they are sometimes changed to look like the chosen genre. 

Also in film trailers the names of actors and actresses involved are usually included, to entice potential audience members. For example, Brad Pitt is a well-known and loved actor, therefore people who like his work may be encouraged to watch the film purely because he is in it. Sometimes in film trailers, it will also say ‘from the director of…’ which is another way of enticing audience, as if people like a certain director, they are likely to enjoy watching more films by them as they will assume the content is similar to those they have enjoyed before.

The second type of trailer is called the theatrical trailer; it is typically shown in cinemas a few months before it is set to be released. A TV-spot is the theatrical trailer that has been edited to be shorter in length; they are then advertised on television.

Let us explore in-depth the conventions of horror film trailers. The trailers contain a three base structure, the first being the ‘gentle calm’ where we experience a taste of the narrative and are informed of the element of the story. The audiences learn the equilibrium of the plot, which is shown through scenes of an eerie tranquillity. This would be followed by the ‘silence’ of the trailer, where the image and sound decrease, constructing the sense of nervousness and anticipation in viewers. Suddenly viewers experience the disruption, which involves the fast paced crux of scenes which generate excitement and grip the audiences. Here we acknowledge quick cuts and edits known as ‘blackouts’ until finally we reach the climax. Then viewers experience ‘The Sting’ which is the clip used at the end that makes the audience jump with fright. 

As well as showing scenes from the film, there are three other functions that trailers use to help notify the target audience of the narrative. The first being straps, these are text captions used in between footage that help the audience to keep up with the basic plot. Alongside the straps, it is conventional for trailers to use voice-overs too. This involves a narrator informing the audiences what the film is about. The voice-over tends to be the voice of a male and it is deep, dramatic and slow. Some horror trailers also include dialogue from the scenes in the film; it is carefully selected and then put together in a montage of shots, helping the viewers to understand where the plot is going. Not all of these informative functions are always used at the same time; other structures include uses of strap-lines and voice-overs or strap-lines and dialogue.

The shots used in a film trailer are never in sequential order or shown in a linear pattern, otherwise the entire plot would be revealed. Certain footage is selected to be used in the trailer and those bits are usually the best parts of the film.

Music, lighting and Mise-en-scene elements are used to compliment the genre and make it clear to audiences what genre the film belongs to. Music is used to set the tone, create excitement as well as inform the audience of the mood of the narrative through uses of sound. Lighting also reflects the mood of the scene and can inform us of the persona of characters, for instance, if profile-lighting is used on a character, it indicates to audiences that there is something sinister about them. Mise-en-scene elements include costume, hair and make-up, character positioning, body language and facial expression, lighting and colour, settings and props. All of which have their own function. 

Trailers usuallycontain iconography (images and symbolic representations that are traditionally associated with a specific subject) and it is used to help the audience recognize what genre and sub-genre the film belongs to. Another convention of trailers, especially horror film trailers, includes dead black-outs (DBO’s) they are constructed during the process of editing and used to achieve great effect. Film trailers are usually two to three minutes long in length, they are kept ‘short and to the point’ to tease audiences, a trailer that is too long would become boring and possibly reveal too much of the plot. Additional conventions include the movie title, release date, director’s name and taglines.

Film Magazine Analysis - Total Film

Each month, Total Film provides a range of features, from full-length interviews and photo shoots with established and up-and-coming actors and directors, to major film previews and retrospective pieces. All issues contain the Total Film Interview — an in-depth chat with a celebrated actor or director, along with a critique of their body of work; the Abridged Script - a one-page parody of a recent release and Total Film loves..., a one-page celebration of a film, a scene or a performance.

The barcode is positioned on the right hand side in a vertical fashion so it does not obstruct or steal focus away from the main image. The barcode is often necessary for the sale of the magazine and therefore it is a requirement which denotes professionalism. The date of release, price and issue number of the magazine appear above the masthead. They are in a smaller font so they do not steal attention away from the main images or cover lines. In addition, they are the last things the target audience of film lovers would notice which is a clever tactic as their attention has been captured by the main image, their interest has been heightened with the cover lines and then the price is the final piece of information they look at but at this point they are engrossed in the magazine so they are willing to pay £3.99 for the magazine. The higher price of the magazine, when compared to weekly magazines, shows that the audience can expect quality and focused attention on the target audience’s interests. The website of the magazine is included under the date of release, issue number and price yet it is in a bigger font. This is not only so the audience can view more information about the magazine and it’s articles but also because people who have newly discovered the magazine can see that it is a reputable company as the mention of a website makes the magazine look more professional. 

The cover line for this magazine front cover is ‘Massive 2010 preview’ which can be recognised as it is the biggest font in the left-side third and it is positioned in the sweet spot so it is the first piece of text that the target audience’s eyes are drawn to. The text is all in capitals which helps make it stand out against the lower text as it establishes it’s importance. Furthermore, the writing is in white which helps it to stick out against the dark background thus, becoming more visible to potential readers. The text above the cover line is read almost as an afterthought as it is neither in capitals or a large font. It does, however, include prominence as it mentions Johnny Depp which would appeal to perhaps a wider audience because he is a popular actor and ‘sex-symbol’ to many women. The whole of the left-side third is started off with a puff which is ‘World exclusive’. The puff stands out against the dark background as it is black writing that is framed in a yellow box. This would capture the attention of the target audience and attract them as they are told that this information isn’t available anywhere else. 

The left-side third on this magazine is all about the main article therefore the information below the cover line is related to the ‘World exclusive’ and there is no secondary lead. The word ‘starring’ fits in with the colour palette of white and yellow but still manages to stand out as it is one of the larger fonts due to it being a sub-heading. The consistent colour palette helps to link the cover together and therefore keeps the reader focused on the information they are viewing. The list below has been carefully selected to appeal to all film lovers as it displays a range of genres from action to comedy. In addition they were some of the most anticipated films of 2010 thus, the potential readers would want to find out about them. This text is smaller again but the colouring helps it to be noticeable as well as the simple layout which makes it easy to read. The use of a plug, ‘and 38 more…’, also helps to tell the reader what they can expect inside plus, it leaves a sense of mystery about what the other films are so it temps the target audience to buy the magazine. 

At the top of the magazine is a banner offering a freebie which would attract the target audience as they are getting free merchandise when they purchase the magazine. The banner is very noticeable as it is above the masthead, in capitals letters and in a large colourful font- all of which help it to stand out from other information. The free gift is relevant to this edition as Iron Man 2 is featured in the 2010 preview and thus, this would be alluring to the target audience as they know that similar goods will soon be appearing to coincide with the release of the new film. The menu strip at the bottom of the front cover gives the potential reader an indication of what they can also expect from the magazine. The names/ topics have been carefully selected and only the most appealing features of the magazine’s contents make it onto the front cover. In this instance, the menu strip includes two big Hollywood names that would appeal to a wide audience as well as the topic of a ‘Blue-Ray special’ which will entice the target audience as they will wonder what the special is. Also, Blue-Ray is a new technology which enhances the film and therefore this would appeal to the magazine’s target audience. 

The main feature picture is very colourful so it is able to stand out against the darker background and therefore it almost creates a 3D effect. This in turn appeals to the reader because the image catches their attention. Furthermore, the character is in front of the masthead which gives him prominence over anything else on the front cover. This indicates that the magazine is so well known that they do not feel the need to make their name more noticeable than anything on the cover. The character pictured corresponds with the cover line which makes the magazine look more professional because everything is related and thus, it is easy for the audience to understand. The person featured in the main picture is in character which attracts the target audience because it indicates that the feature is about the film and not the life of the individual actor. The technical codes, for example the lighting, help to convey the genre of the film and the personality of the character. He is very well lit and colourful which connotates that he is a comical character and the film he stars in is funny as there are no dark shadows or low key lighting which suggests the film is cheery not gloomy.

Film Magazine Analysis - Total Film & Empire

 

The front cover of a film magazine is primarily used to market current films, Total Film has chosen to picture Megan Fox who is the star of new movie Jennifer’s Body. When you look at the picture in more detail you can see that Megan Fox’s character has blood dripping down from her right hand. The character is wearing a cheerleading outfit that shows a lot of flesh that will attract the male gaze. Megan Fox’s stance is also very powerful and she is looking directly at the camera which may be intimidating for some readers. There are 3 main colours on this issue; red, white and blue. The white acts as a blank canvas to place storylines over and the red is very bright and stands out against the white which is eye catching to the viewer. Red, White and Blue are also the colour of the American flag! The masthead of the magazine ‘Total Film’ is partially covered up which indicates the magazine is already well established with its readers, the masthead covers around ¼ of the magazine cover and is situated in the top 3 rd , which gives the magazine more recognition on the shelf. The bold sans-serif font used is easily recognisable to viewers, it is simple, bright and eye catching.

The Magazines selling line is ‘ OUR BIGGEST PREVIEW EVER ! ’ The bold sans-serif font stands out and as ‘BIGGEST’ is in a different colour it is also made to stand out, the word biggest makes people think that this is something that they defiantly do not want to miss out on. The tag line is positioned in the left third of the magazine; possibly the most important part of a magazine cover as it is not covered on the shelves. The date, price, issue number and magazine web address are interestingly positioned between the top of the ‘M.’ The web address is the largest of these and again reaffirms the name of the magazine. These texts are black so do stand out against the white background, but not as much as the red and blue texts do. The top right of the cover shows 3 images of films that are featured inside the magazine, like Jennifer’s Body they are current films. The images are placed in individual grey boxes that are manipulated in different directions to be appealing to the eye. The images have the film title and page covering the bottom of the image. This is an interesting and eye catching way to display cover lines.

The left hand side of the cover displays a Grey/ Blue/ White arrow that is pointing toward Megan Fox. The arrow has ‘THE FUTURE 100’ written over it in football shirt style writing that works with Megan's cheerleader outfit. Directly below the arrow is ‘ EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS’ as this is positioned in the left third it is constantly on show and attracts the eye. The writing is very simple and the grey writing mirrors the grey arrow. On the right hand side below the masthead is ‘A TON OF EXCLUSIVES!’ a bold capital font is used, continuing the blue/ white theme. This title is eye catching as people want to read ‘exclusives.’ Large numbers appear to be used over the cover; 100, 59, 53, 94, 128. This is done to create the illusion that the magazine is FULL. ‘ PLUS ’ stands out as it is positioned on a spacey white area and uses a bold red font that is similar to the masthead. The bottom left of the cover has a quote that relates to an actor from Jennifer’s Body which links in with the cover image. The quote is rather intertextual- ‘Jar Jar Binks’; a Star Wars character.

The barcode is situated on the bottom right hand corner of the cover; possibly the least important part of the cover. This cover uses white space efficiently to break up the variety of cover lines and stories that appear on the cover. The cover clearly expresses that the magazine is a film magazine; combining the masthead, imagery and cover lines. This magazine cover is simple, yet effective. 

 

 This cover of Empire magazine clearly has an X-Men Wolverine theme. The masthead of this magazine ‘EMPIRE’ is situated in the top ¼ of the magazine cover, the masthead uses a bold red font that stands out from the dark background. The centre of the masthead is partially covered by the cover image; this shows that the magazine already has a well established readership. The magazines selling line is ‘THE WORLD’S BIGGEST MOVIE MAGAZINE’ this gives the impression that the magazine will have all of the information of the genre; movies, inside. At the very top of the magazine cover it says ‘ WOLVERINE HAS RETURNED FOR… ’ Wolverine is displayed in a larger font than the rest of the tag line, this is to make it more eye catching as it is the most important part of the sentence (it is placed in the top left third). The date and price is placed between the M in small white writing, this makes it perfectly clear, however, is not the most important information on the cover. The magazines web address is positioned directly below the masthead on the right hand side of the cover, this helps to reaffirm the magazines name.

The image used on the cover looks like it has been taken out of the film, with an impressive background and the main character. The background is of the sky and allows black and white fonts to be seen. The main character has blades coming from his knuckles and large muscles, his stance and facial expression show that he ‘means business’ and has a stern look on his face. On the left hand side of the cover there are 4 large cover lines, although they all use the same font style the first cover line is a lot larger in size than the one at the bottom, they also vary between being black and white with a white line used to separate each of the cover lines. On the right hand side of the cover there is another 4 cover lines, once more using the same black and white with white lines to separate each of them. The cover lines on the left hand side are larger in size than the ones on the right, this is because the left cover lines need to be visible and to attract the attention of readers when it is placed on the shelf amongst many other movie magazines. The barcode is placed at the bottom right hand corner of the magazine cover. There are no page numbers displayed on this cover either!

Film Magazine Analysis - Empire

 

 Looking at the denotation of this magazine cover, the overall look gives a bright affect, which is high key lighting. This is a photograph of Johnny Depp’s character ‘John Dillinger’ who plays an notorious bank robber, this is a 2009 American crime drama film directed by Michael Mann and written by Mann, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. This photograph is the main image on the magazine cover John Dillinger is dressed as an 1930’s Italian American gangster in the traditional suit and overcoat with the vintage fedoras hat, Dillinger is wearing leather gloves which is said to be worn during a killing so FBI can’t get hold off finger prints this adds to the overall gangster look, he main prop in this photograph which another 1930’s object a Tommy gun. The combination of black on black of the costume connotes power and darkness suggesting this character is ruthless and respected and holds deep secretes. 

In this medium long shot photograph, his attention seems to be on something else other than the camera suggesting that his being aware of his surroundings. The setting of this photograph is in the streets of New York. Dillinger’s non-verbal communication is very serious and stealth and gives the viewer an idea of how solid cold heartened this character I, even the way the page is laid out shows the power of the character as most of the features are put behind the photograph even the main masthead.

This magazine cover is portrayed to look like reality, it’s done in left third, the high key lighting allows the audience to fully see the image and what are on the page, the colors used on this magazine is red, Grey and white. The red used connotes danger, blood and caution which relates to the image of gangster holding the gun suggesting this character is very hazardous and alerts the viewer making them want to watch the film. The color Grey is used as a mixture of emotions to confuse the viewer as Grey gives a calm effect on the front cover; it also links to the photograph as Grey also connotes class which relates to his costume. The smoke effect on the front cover makes the viewer have to decide whether it is cigar smoke or gun smoke.

The masthead’s font is in Sans Serif font usually it would be in serif font as it should be based on the topic and in this case it’s a 1930’s film but it has not been changed to match the theme this time. This font is almost signature to the magazine as is a common choice. The Masthead is red, which is a common masthead colour for the magazine as it stands out from all the other colours as we know the colour red is used to alert readers. This again adds to the overall effect of the photograph of Dillinger. The ‘M’ in ‘EMPIRE’ is not visible as Dillinger’s head is in front of the letter which is a conventional technique of magazines in general, but this also could have been done to show the admiration of this character. On the bottom right of the masthead are the cover lines which is slightly connected to the masthead the cover lines consist of images and the bar-code alongside with date and pricing which is an unusual technique for cover lines, usually editors make the mistake and make the cover lines go across the image but as the photograph is portrayed to be significant it’s all placed behind the main image.

The cover line which is placed just under the photograph says ‘Johnny Depp Steals Summer!’ this emphasizes how much of a notorious robber Dillinger is. Just under that cover line is the main cover line that says the movie’s title ‘Public Enemies’ this is written in Grey and serif font which identifies the type of movie, as we know its shot in the 1930’s and has class which is what the Grey colour connotes.  A repeat in size and font of the cover line ‘Johnny Depp Steals Summer!’ is repeated but says ‘Inside Michel Man’s Gangster Blockbuster’ this is used to identify the genre of the movie.

Other films mentioned are: Iron man 2, Robin Hood, Clash of The Titans. All of the films mentioned are high profile films funded by majors, which show us that the magazine specializes in reviewing more commercial films in order to keep up with what’s current.