EXPLORING CONVENTIONS, MEANINGS AND LAYOUTS USED.

FILM POSTER & MAGAZINE RESEARCH

PROMOTION

I found this when I took a visit to the V&A arts exhibition. This shows us how long promotion has been around for and why it important to promote anything well. Before you think about launching product (in our case a film) you have to think of a way to get your audience interested. Looking at this information on the left it shows how technology has advanced and made it easier for us to reach our audience. From times you had to go out with banners and handbills to now where you can reach people in their comforts of their own homes through the internet. Trailers, posters, flyers and magazines are now used in this generation however they originated from the olden days.

The last paragraph here shows how people took opportunities as they came by advertising after the shows that related to a similar product. Making the audience feel special and privileged by giving them souvenirs etc. Audience interaction is a key part of promotion as you give them the opportunity to get involved. When the hobbit launched they had online quests and games to get the audience involved etc.

ANALYSIS

FILM POSTERS

THE IMPORTANCE OF POSTERS

• Posters can be there yet consumed for different purposes. Firstly and most importantly their for grabbing the audiences attention and promoting a chosen product. On the other hand posters can be artistic and in the sense that one may purchase a film poster just to hang on their wall. This is where having an artistic approach to the construction of one may come in hand. Having a poster with a high aesthetic value means you could put them up in places like a box office or cinema amongst a lot of other posters and it will stand out and grab the viewers attention.

SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVEMECHANIC

This is a poster for the film ‘The Mechanic’ by Simon west. This film falls under the Action, Crime, Thriller genre. You can tell this by just looking at the image centred in this poster.

The designer decided to put the two main actors names right at the top. It helps balance out the poster because the two actor are well known in the crime/ action genre. Especially Jason Stratham which is why it doesn't surprise me that the gun is pointing at his name.

Such a simple tagline to support the whole idea of the mechanic. Its pretty much a “it does what it says on the tin” type of statement.

A gun made out of guns, this image suggests that this film is full of violence and a lot of shoot outs which will attract a lot of the male audience as their into violent shoot outs with heavy artillery. The weapons shown in this poster suggest this film goes past your average western film as the machinery used here looks like the military type.

The designer also decided to add the website for the film on this poster right at the bottom in small font. Usually you wouldn’t you don’t want the website any bigger than it tis because of the relevancy of it. You wouldn’t want that to be the first thing that captures the audiences eye.

I like the main font used on the title of the film. Its bold and in block capitals which makes the poster have a proportionate layout. When you look at the poster straight away you notice the name of the film. I also like what they done with the word the , it fits in well with the poster .

Another thing that they managed to do was make the most important bit of information stand out which is the Release date of the film. There are four things I would say and audience would ask themselves when looking at a film poster. Name of the film? What’s it about ? Who’s in it? When is it ? These things are simply and effectively answered for the audience In this poster .

Another thing that posters don’t miss are the production logos

COMPLEX BUT ALSO EFFECTIVE -INCEPTION

If you look up the synonyms for the word inception you would get : Beginning, start, foundation, Launch, origins. This along side the tag line carefully placed here on this street which states ‘Your mind is the scene of the crime 'suggests that this film is about someone or a group of people starting a dangerous plot. This is further reflected by the colour of the title, which is red, a colour used to

represent trouble.

You are then given Leonardo Dicaprio’s name right at the top above everyone to suggest that he is leading this team or group of individuals causing trouble. Having his name up there will also work as a promotional tool as he has been in quite a lot of films and he is a good actor.

Weapons suggest violence in the film

They used a well known film which was a good success to promote this film as it states the fact that the same directors produced this film.

The way the city is flipped on it side reflects a bit about the film. The film is based on a surreal reality. The alteration of life as we know it.

Good choice of words to intrigue the viewer , instead of watch in cinemas they put experience which gives the viewer the sense of interest.

FEMME FATALE COLOMBIANA

Tag line at the top that suggests that it’s a thriller and the was they have a female holding a gun also supports the film being a mixed hybrid. It shows that this is also a femme fatale action packed film

The colour scheme also suggests a spaghetti western feel to it. It seems as if there is an confined explosion of anger inside of her as there is a vignette around her.

I like the way the city is layered inside her body because in the trailer her dad always says “don’t ever forget where you came from”.

The title of the film is typically placed at the bottom with the actors name written above it. This is simple and straight forward reflecting the seriousness if the film and the actors intentions.

Different language suggests the setting of the film might be different as the director of the film was born in France and some scenes where shot in France. This could attract the audience as it wont be like your typical Hollywood film. It is also set in Mexico , in the ghetto this is reflected by the image of the ghetto behind her and a picture of the city in front of her. Which brings me back ti the statement said by her dad in the trailer don’t forget where you came from meaning the past.

ANALYSIS

MAGAZINE COVER

NATIONAL READERSHIP SURVEY

• The national readership survey is a survey conducted all through out the year 7days a week and it is given to random individuals around the country to find out what magazines, newspapers or online resources they read. This information helps you target your audience as you will know the statistics on your audiences behaviour. Knowing this information will help you target your audience and get your advertisement out to them in order to reach your maximum profit margin.

TOTAL FILM MAGAZINE

The name of the to star of the film is written in a bold white font which stands out and if you’re a fan you would be intrigued to purchase the magazine. Also in a bright

The use of a weapon in the image suggests that this film is action packed and the clenched fist shows that this film I going to be full of violence.

These are mentions of other films designed to interest the reader into buying the magazine

The main star Tom Cruise has an interview about the character he plays Jack Reacher

Also they have nicely added this quote , probably from the film to intrigue the audience.

Makes the magazine seem like it better that anything else in the same category as they have mentioned the WORLD’S best movie reviews, it’s the persuasive language text that makes the reader what to buy the magazine.

Here they mention a bunch of actors, actresses and directions that make any film fan just want to pick u the magazine and fin our more , it’s the colours language and layout that really makes this magazine interesting and attractive to the consumer.

EMPIRE MAGAZINE

There is the title of the magazine right at the top so that the reader can see what magazine it is also they have incorporated a blue glow around the text to make it stand out on the black background.

The designer used a direct mode of address to engage the audience as the character is staring right at the audience to draw their attention. This helps o build up a personal relationship with the audience , which they enjoy because they feel as if they can connect with the hyperrealism reality.

They have carefully placed the date and price of the magazine in a small font here which is relevant information however there wouldn’t be any need to have it any bigger than it is.

The film is called the dark night so they decided to make the background black to reflect this. Having done so they then used the blue colour to show that he is a superhero and the audience can feel calm as blue is a cool cold colour, where as if they had changed it to red it would have given the audience a sense of danger or trouble.

They have mentioned other films and stories in the magazine to get the audience’s interest and this is important because if the audience are interested in this film they will be also interested in knowing about these films as they are similar.