{Ancillary Research

Ellie Hickey

The masthead is in a large, bold font, which makes it stand out against the countertypically light background of the main image. This is countertypical to the genre of the film it is advertising (dramatic thriller) as the writing is a bright purple colour. This doesn’t seem to represent the genre as dark and mysterious, which is one of the main conventions of this particular genre. Also, the main image covers part of the title to show that it is the main focus of the article.

The main image is clearly showing the two main characters of the film. Both of the characters on the cover are played by very famous actors, which may have been done purposefully to attract the audience to want to go and see the film even more.

The main cover line simply displays the name of the film in a large, bold font, which, like the masthead, stands out against the background. However, the writing is black, which is more in tone with the dramatic thriller genre of the film.

Unlike the main cover line, the writing underneath it is smaller and not as easy to notice. This is because the font is white/yellow, which doesn’t stand out as much on the lighter background of the main image. This also lets the reader know that this magazine is mainly going to cover the film it is advertising.

The main image of the poster is very stereotypical to the conventions of this particular genre of film (thriller drama). This is because it includes the two main characters, played by two very well-known actors, in the middle of the poster. The image is also in black and white, which keeps within the conventions as it shows that the film is very dark and that it involves a mystery. The title of the film is

just underneath the main image, which is stereotypical in most film posters of this genre. Also, the font is large, bold and stands out against the black and white background, which catches the audience’s attention and may encourage them to watch the film.

The poster also has extra information at the top stating that the story is from a best-selling book, which may encourage both the existing fanbase and other people to go and see the film.

Gone Girl is advertised by the same magazine as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, so the features of the front cover are quite similar. However, the masthead of this cover seems to coincide well with the genre of the film as the colour scheme is very plain and simple, yet dark and mysterious at the same time. This will immediately notify the audience that the genre is a dramatic thriller as the whole front cover keeps in tone with the same creepy and twisted idea that the film creates, which is a convention of this particular genre.

The main image, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is of the two main characters of the film and are, again, played by recognisable actors. The masthead is overlapped by this image to show that the main article is going to be about the film, therefore attracting the audience’s attention. Also, the image clearly shows that the woman is dead, which adds to the emphasis of the mystery of the film, which is another convention of magazine front covers.

The main cover line is presented in a similar way to the masthead in the fact that it is a large, bold font that stands out against the colour scheme of the main image. Again, it is the title of the film so it is clear to the audience what the main article is going to be about. Also, the other cover lines are much smaller but still give some very brief information about what is in the magazine, which is another convention of magazine covers.

The position of the main title of this poster is quite different to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as it is in the middle instead of nearer the bottom of the poster. Also, the writing is quite big and bold but it doesn’t stand out as much, which could signify to the audience that there is an unsolved mystery and a twisted plotline included in the film, therefore engaging them straight away and encouraging them to go and see the film.

The main image also includes the main characters, but on a much smaller scale. It looks like the clouds in the image are covering the title to add to the mystery and also emphasise the main characters at the bottom and in the very faint picture of the eyes at the top.

There is also extra information about the film at the top, stating the other well-known films the director has made. Also, it includes the names of the main actors, who are also very famous, which will also help to grab the audience’s attention.

Although it follows all of the conventions, this magazine front cover is very different from the other two. The masthead is large, bold and brightly coloured to match the colour scheme of the whole front cover, which immediately attracts the attention from the audience. Unlike the others, this magazine has a sky line above the masthead that gives a very basic overview of what it is about, and as it is on the top it is the first thing the audience will see when they look at the pile of magazines, so they will know straight away what they are reading when they first look at it. This is conventional because it is a very easy way to attract the audience’s attention from the first look. However, the colour of the writing of the sky line does now stand out as much against the background as the masthead, therefore drawing more attention to the title of the magazine.

The main cover line is the same colour as the masthead, which automatically shows that it is the main piece of information as it also stands out from the colours of the main image.

There are lots of other smaller cover lines scattered around the page to show the other stories that are in the magazine other than the lead article that is the film it is advertising.

The main image, like the other covers, is of the main character, who is, again, played by a very famous actor, which is another thing to easily grab an audience’s attention. The colour scheme is very bright and clear, which keeps in tone with the conventions of sci-fi drama films, especially with the use of the white and blue colours.

The main image on this poster is quite plain and simple, yet very effective. The main character is in the centre and stands out against the background, despite the fact that his costume is the same colour as the background. However, this is conventional to the sci-fi drama film because it creates the effect of an adventure and also a mystery at the same time, which will grip the audience’s attention straight away.

This poster doesn’t include any extra information at the top, but instead shows the names of the actors who play the main characters of the film, most of which are very famous, which will attract an audience even more.

The main title of the film is displayed underneath the main image, and yet again stands out against the background colours, making it easier to see. However, the font is quite small and simple but an effect is used to emphasise it so that the audience will find it intriguing.

This magazine cover of the film Inception also follows the conventions of both magazine covers and sci-fi thriller films. For example, the masthead is in a very big and bold font, but doesn’t stand out as much due to the fact that it seems to blend in with the colour scheme of the main image. Also, there is a sky line which states in an eye-catching large, red font that it is ‘the mind blowing issue’, which immediately attracts the audience as they will want to see what is so ‘mind-blowing’ about the main article. The main image completely follows all the conventions of a sci-fi thriller film. This is because, as well as the use of the famous actor who plays the main character being shown in the middle, the colour scheme of the whole image is dark and gloomy, which coincides very well with the plot and the theme of the film.

The main cover line is the part that seems to stand out the most as the font is large, bold and uses the right colour to stand out over the image in the background. However, some of the letters are slightly darker than the rest so it adds in that extra effect of the genre of the film so the audience finds it more interesting and intriguing to look at.

Like the last magazine, this cover also uses lots of smaller, less obvious cover lines. This effect may have been used to fill up the page to make it come across as more eye-catching. It also includes a button, which talks about something completely different to the main article, but also attracts attention at the same time.

The main image of this poster is much more in depth and detailed as there is a lot more going on. Some of the lead characters are in the centre of the poster, making them the focus. However, it is different to other posters because it is stereotypically just the main character on the front instead of lots of other characters. But this technique is also very effective because it reveals a basic overview of the plot of the film.

The names of the top-billed cast are listed at the top in smaller, less clear writing but also in a colour that stands out just enough for it to be seen. However, the lead cast member’s name is above the rest, which shows he is the most important character in the film. Also, this has been done because Leonardo DiCaprio is a very famous actor with many fans who would want to see the film.

The main title stands out over the background completely as the red font used contrasts against the dark, gloomy looking colours of the main image, therefore catching the audience’s eye very easily and gripping them straight away.