Cover Analysis 1

The title of the magazine is Empire, a very popular movie magazine; we know this because of how the cover photo blocks out some of the letters in the title, suggesting that the magazine is so well known that they can get away with hiding the title as everyone will know what it says. The colour scheme for the whole cover is red, white and blue, so the title stands out as it is written in white. This particular issue appears to be an action and superhero special- it doesnt state this anywhere as some magazines do, but we can tell from how into the theme the cover is- everyone other film listed on the cover is action or superhero related such as Sucker Punch and The Amazing Spiderman. The main cover image is of Captain America, a well-known comic book superhero character. He is stood in the direct centre of the cover, looking directly into the camera- this adds a connection between him and the consumer of the magazine, making them want to buy it more as they feel connected to it. He is wearing his typical Captain America clothes, which is what makes him so recognisable, despite the fact that the main cover line simply states Captain America in bold capital letters. As I said earlier, the colour scheme for the cover is red, white and blue, as they are the patriotic colours of the superhero, however there are certain parts that are written in bright yellow to capture the attention and make the colours stand out more. The background shows an American flag which looks like it has been burnt in places. This adds texture to the cover though. The strapline reads Magazine of the Year- and since the strapline is at the top of the magazine, it catches the consumers attention, making them want to buy the magazine. The date line is placed within the M of the word Empire. This is quite an interesting use of placement. The bar code has been placed in the bottom right if the page, rotated at an odd angle, making there more room on the cover.

Cover Analysis 2
This time I have chosen to look at a Total Film magazine rather than Empire. Again the title is so well known that they can get away with hiding some of the writing behind the main cover image. The cover image shows Leonardo Di Caprio in the film inception. It shows an actual image of him from within the film, as he walks looking shocked. Showing an image from the movie itself gives the consumer of the magazine a little taste of the movie, encouraging them to buy the magazine to see more, or even go see the movie. Inception is quite science fiction, as it is about travelling into each- others dreams and altering them to control them. There is a particular scene where within a dream a girl managed to manipulate a street to lift off the ground at a right angle and sit above the other end of the street- Total Film has used the idea behind this scene to create the title for this issue, building it out of bird eye views of buildings. We can see that the whole top half of the cover is filled with buildings, but particular buildings are made to look higher up thus standing out- these buildings become the words total film. This also gives the magazine a science fiction effect as it almost looks like a circuit board. The strap line of this particular issue reads The Mind-Blowing Issue in bright red capital letters, capturing the consumers attention; this is also a play on words as Inception is all about entering the mind. The cover line of this issue reads Inception- inside the ultimate head trip, in the very centre of the page, in big bold letters. Since the plot of the movie is very structured, and precise, the layout of the cover also is- the cover image in the very centre, the cover line is centred and everything else balanced on either side. The less important coverlines are also centred into a list down the middle of the page. More cover lines at the side of the page are also balanced. The plus symbol indicates that this magazine will provide more for you as a consumer than any other magazine. Like every other magazine it has a barcode and date line. The barcode is at the bottom right of the cover where it tends to be in most magazines. The date line spread across underneath the title.

Cover Analysis 3
Again I have looked at Empire magazine, this issue doesnt appear to be pinpointed to one particular genre of movie though unlike the last two I have analysed. The main cover image for this issue is of Daniel Craig for the newest Bond film Skyfall. We see him stand in the classic Bond pose holding a small gun, looking directly into the camera. His head covers the P in the word Empire, again suggesting that the magazine is very well known. The cover line reads Skyfall in big white bold letters with the words Bond. Back In Business underneath is smaller letters. This captures the consumers attention as the white letters stand out against his black suit. They also featured an article on 50 years of 007 so any James Bond Fans will want this issue. The colour scheme for this issue is red, white and black, with odd bits in a metallic gold colour. Keeping the colour scheme very simple makes the cover almost sophisticated, reaching their chosen audience who are more than likely adults considering their chosen cover film is a James Bond film. They have edited on images of bullet holes in glass on top of the cover, making it appear like it has been shot at. There are quite a few other cover photos on this issue- behind the photo of Daniel Craig, in what looks like a film strip we have an image from the movie The Avengers on one side, and on the other a photo from Anchorman. These help illustrate the other cover lines explaining how they have articles for these inside. There are also five photos of all the previous James Bonds along the bottom, also helping to illustrate the main article inside about 50 years of 007. Again the dateline has been placed within the M of Empire, but this time, the barcode has been placed on its side halfway up the page, which is quite an odd placement for this.

Poster analysis 1
Here is the teaser poster for the film Sinister. Teaser posters are important so that they capture the audiences attention and make them want to see the film, without actually giving the plot away. They tend to have very dull, muted colours, nothing bright, like this poster, where the colour scheme is black, white and red. These are typical colours when it comes to the horror genre, as the black and white symbolises the connection between good and evil, and the red represents blood. In this poster we can see a girl walking along next to a wall, dragging her hands along. We dont know who she is as she is facing away from the camera with her hair hiding her face. Where she drags her hand along, blood is left on the wall, which drips down to show a scary face. On the floor there are what appear to be wires or old film. I like how textured the background is with all its cracks- the cracks could symbolise how she is falling apart, or how everything in general is falling apart because of the events occurring. The poster says From the producers of Paranormal Activity and Insidious. It does this as it knows these films were very successful in the horror genre, and by showing this they are enticing the audience to watch this film. Even the title Sinister is scary, as it is a word used to describe evil things. It is written in a ghostly black font that fades a little and smudges down the screen. At the bottom of the screen are all the production details, as well as the distribution companys details. If you look closely you can see a Facebook and twitter logo, this shows how social media has now become very important in part of the distribution and feedback on a film.

Poster analysis 2
Here is the poster for the horror film Drag me to hell. I really like this poster as it almost physically shows what happens in the film as what we see is her being Dragged to hell. Despite showing us this we still dont actually know what goes on in the plot of the movie. We see a blonde girl throwing her head back as she screams whilst being pulled down into flames by what looks like demon hands as the skin is all burnt and the finger nails more like claws. The girl looks very normal though which is weird, as she has nice clothes on, jewellery and looks like she is a pretty girl with her long blonde hair. Of course, they could be playing with the stereotype of blonde girls being dumb, hence she is being dragged to hell. She is indeed being dragged as it looks like she is being pulled against her will. Even the writing on the poster tells us that she has a bright future, but in 3 days she is going to hell. This shocks the audience. The background of the image shows a dark stormy sky and two houses- one looking neat with its lights on, one looking dark and abandoned- could these be important to the plot of the film? Even a scratched texture has been layered on top of the poster, adding even more depth. The background has been desaturated, so that the flames in the front stand out even more than normal, showing just how important the idea of hell is to the plot of the story. We assume the flames represent hell as flames are a symbol connected to the idea of the burning fiery pit where people are doomed to spend eternity. The white title stands out against all the other colours going on in the image; however the production details are in an orange colour, blending into the flames.

Poster analysis 3

Here is the poster for the movie Insidious. The plot of the film is a boy whos soul wanders into a different realm while he sleeps and gets trapped, in the meantime, loads of ghosts and spirits are trying to take over his body and use him as a puppet. This poster shows the boy staring into the camera almost reaching the audience- however, his eyes have been scratched over, almost suggesting that hes not all there or that hes only a puppet- as It makes him not seem as real. Other than the boy, at first glance the poster seems quite normal, until you concentrate on the top left window and notice a creepy silhouette holding its arm out. Again on this poster the colours have been quite muted, just as they seem to be on every other horror poster. What I like about this poster compared to the last two I have analysed is the way it has shown a review- So scary I was whimpering in sheer terror. It has also been rated five stars. I think by giving a review on the poster it will help convince people to go see the movie, especially if it is a good review like this. The tagline of the movie reads its not the house that is haunted which helps the audience to understand the story without giving too much of the plot away. Like all other posters it has its production and distribution details really small at the bottom.