Textual Analysis - Magazine Covers

As Part of My project i shall design a magazine cover for my movie, to do this i shall invest in some primary research on other magazines which provide promotional images for movies. for this research I looked upon different movie magazine in the market and one of the top being Empire Magazine. Here are the 3 Empire magazine with different months issue, I am going to write down the similarities and differences in the magazine so that i can use it when making my own.

Similarities :

• bar code at the bottom


• The main image - eyes looking at you- grabs more readers attention.


• Masthead big and bold, not always same font but has the same colour.


• at most three colour combination been use

Differences :

• Different effects and fonts in masthead - depending on type of movie.


• writing sometimes covered - because people known its that magazine makes audiences feel more involved.


• no second image or have just one second image on the page - gives more attention to the main picture.

now I am going to look at another film magazine 'Film' and compare them with 'Empire' and spot out the similarities and differences.

Similarities:

• Both the magazine have bold front cover


• Both the magazine have image look straight at you - more attention


• both have bar code at the bottom of the magazine


• both seem to have yellow circle which grabs readers eyes.


• not necessarily have second image.

Difference:

• 'Film' magazine have movie names mostly bold and in centre of the page, so it is clear for their targeted audiences.

Textual Analysis - Trailers - Kidulthood

The representation of Kidulthood about the lives of several teenagersgrowing up in the deprived areas of West London; the way in which the trailer is represented by this is that we see what kind of environment these kids are brought up in and some of the temptations that surround them.

Due to the portrayal of teenagers within this film, it seems that a lot of people who watch this trailer may be able to develop their own opinions of what they think teenagers in today's society are like based on the language in which they speak. There seems to be a lot of "ghetto" language used within the trailer, Kidulthood is filled with a lot of modern slang which greatly characterizes today's youth. The target audience for this film is mainly aimed at people aged between 15-24, the film itself attempts to represent a serious number of issues of what some teenagers growing up in today's society have to go through; this explains why so many people who are in this age group may watch it. There is also a very realistic approach within this film as most of the actors and actresses are within this age group and therefore know what others their age go through. The mood of the film is set within the trailer based on the music played. Throughout the trailer, the music is very upbeat which keeps the audience engaged and focused, added to the music are sound effects which also keep the audience engaged as it not only shows the level of violence within the film but also a view into what the film is about and what kind of film it is.

A variety of shots are used within the trailer; close up camera shots are used to provide a dramatic emphasis, highlighting characters' expressions which gives a sense into what will happen within the film based on their emotions and how they are feeling. Long range shots have been used to show viewers the environment and surroundings of which the characters are brought up in In a way, Kidulthood is able to educate those who watch it as it gives the audience an understanding into what people who live this lifestyle have to go through on a daily basis. The audience gets an inside look into how peer pressure can affect teenagers and how some can be persuaded into living a dangerous lifestyle; this is represented by the crimes they commit and the things they get up to. By viewing the trailer, the overall message that it is able to give the audience is that you should not be a follower or maybe even a leader but that you should choose your own path into how you wish to live your life.

Textual Analysis - Trailers - Devil

In this trailer, there is a fair representation of both male and female and of nationality and different range of ages this is exentuated by the clothing of the characters as they are clearly defined to their own archetypal roles; business women in a suit tight suit old lady in dress and flannel cardigan. The audience are also aware that this is taking place in an office as the environment is clearly defined in some opening establishing shots...

These establishing shots show a city, in a traditional pan-landscape view but sub-verses the usual by flipping this upside down and showing text placed within the city dimensions (between office blocks) establishing the mood. This flip contradicts the text being shown "on any ordinary day" this flip effect distinguishes this as not an "ordinary day" as something extra-ordinary is going to happen, this is aligned with the suggestive imagery of a flipped city. Within this city the focus is upon the office blocks, and the business that is done within them, this gives the ideal of the archetypal 'ordinary day' the daily grind of work, and the almost clockwork mechanism of the fluidity of a working city, this all aims to set up the biggest contradiction to the extra-ordinary happening.

The use of the word Devil and the Hispanic man trading Catholicism's denotes that this movies audience is not just one of the thriller genre but that of the religious satanic, the questioning of the purity of religion has been rife in 21st century cinema, including such films as The Da Vinci Code etc.

The main bulk of the trailer suggests that the film will be focused upon a single location (An elevator) the use of the mirrored walls in the trailer help to give the film more depth as with other movies with singular locations (Phone booth) there needs to be as many depth effects as possible so as not to give the audience member a claustrophobic effect, this is helped by cut scenes to other locations in the trailer.

Textual Analysis - Trailers - Black Swan

The first thing we're introduced to is a black room with a spotlight of a dancer just off the centre of the screen with the voice over stating "I had a dream last night about a girl who was turned into a swan, and her prince falls for the wrong girl, and she kills herself" - That is the story summed up. But we don't particularly notice this, because the close up of feet and intricate moves she makes brings us more focused on the picture than the voice. Now a more threatening pipe song comes into focus bringing a sense of hype to the making of this film. An establishing shot of the ballet room the film places much emphasis on gives us an idea of where the film is based, with lots of very talented dancers practising together in a dark room - Notice the walls and floor are all black. This colour is of key focus to the cinematography. We hear "The only person standing in the way is you" with her reflection not following her, but having a world of it's own - Double personality signifier. The music has this wind like noise matching to the movement of reflection, almost paranormal like. And the screen goes black giving vulnerability. The pace of the music drives the tension of the trailer up until the final 'curtain' as the anguish of the character comes to a dramatic and tense end at the close of the trailer. The use of colouring is key to the effect of this trailer as it dictates the thriller genre and also the lack of hope and happiness, usually signified by colour.

Textual Analysis - Trailers - Signs

The diagetic sound of the wind charm and the dog barking builds tension as the trepedation of something going wrong. The use of the television tells the audience about the background to the film, this is a useful tool as it provides a background to the film without breaking the realism of it (aka with a non diagetic voice over) while showing the television makes it seem like it could exist, this effect is used in several trailers such as 'I Am Legend' and other disaster movies.

The use of music troughout t trailer makes the audience more thrilled and anxious, and instills horror to the surrounding environment, the general fright ofthe 'unknown' is a tool that deeply effects audiences in the horror/thriller genre, look at the most famous examples 'Jaws', 'Paranormal Activity' and 'Cloverfield' do not show the antogonist untill the very end, this build up of the unknown is what drives the essential root of fear.

The target audience for this movie is based for educated audiences, probably a little over the age rating of the film (15) and ABC1 and JICNAR because of the farm and semi-delapidated houe shown in the trailer, the main appeal of this movie is to people who followed the 'Crop circle' incedents and perhaps the 'Nazca Lines'.

The Language used in this 'Its happening' pairs with the realism of the use of realistic set design and use of tv to explain the backstory in the trailer, to almost make it seem disconected from the fictional world and instead in place in our own.

Textual Analysis - Trailers - Vampires Suck

Vampires Suck is a spoof film on the Twilight movies and comes from directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer who have been behind many films in the spoof genres, such as the Scary Movie Franchise.

The trailer starts serious with non-diagetic choir music with a long distance shot of a car driving through a forest, alone on a long and winding road, this is filmed in the same colour tone as the twilight films (dark, washed out and pale). Text appears on cut shots to a black screen with smoke billowing in the background interspersed with cut scenes of sunsets and forests, this writing is pale and is again in the theme of the colouring and tone of the previous shots.

The trailer then shifts theme around 30 seconds in, the music changes from choir to upbeat happier music, this is triggered by a pause in the non diagetic music and a diagetic doorbell sound. The text between scenes goes from being white text on a black background to red writing on a white background (a staple of comedy presentation) and the trailer starts to show clearer scene clips with dialogue showing some of the scenes, jokes and obvious comparisons to the Twilight movies. Text Such as 'Bites the big one', 'Bites' is an obvious comparison to the theme of vampires in Twilight and 'Big one' refers to the pop culture position of the movie it is spoofing.

Textual Analysis 5 Trailers Introduction

In the next 5 posts I shall examine 5 Movie Trailers and draw from them styles of film-making, trailer convention and media device s.

The 5 Trailers i shall examine are range of genres so I can identify as many varying techniques as possible, although i have focused somewhat on the thriller genre as their Trailers appeal personally to me.

- Vampires Suck -

- Signs -

- Black Swan -

- Devil -

- Kidulthood -