The Hunger Games Total Film Magazine Cover

Jennifer Laurence ,the main character in The Hunger games, is dressed in a costume from the film rather than wearing her own clothes , this makes it clear that they are advertising the film rather than her as an actress. Jennifer is wearing a black rain jacket which connotes adventure , one of the main aspects of the storyline. Jennifer s character subverts stereotypes of girls , especially in this genre of film , by wearing a very masculine black costume this suggests that she rebels from acting like a traditional female. she also subverts stereotypes by having dark hair typically female characters are portrayed as blonde and ditsy. Apart from the costume its clear that she takes part in the adventure side of the film which is also suggested by the sensible choice of hair do, a plait. Although her eyes are facing towards us it actually looks like she is looking into the distance or thinking about something. 

The main photo is slap bang in the middle of the cover which makes in the main vocal point. Having the medium shot of her means that the audience are able to see most of her costume and work out what type of character she is. This is also useful because anchorage text , puffs and sell lines normally take up quite a lot of the room and with a close-up shot a lot of the main aspect will be covered. The way she is standing side on makes it look like she is about to go somewhere , this creates an enigma for the audience.

The flames in the background connote danger and anger this suggests that these are the main themes of the storyline. These are stereotypes which normally come with science-fiction adventure movies. Although its not very clear there is a bird in the flames this connotes peace , bravery and freedom.

The film title is in a very simple bold font , apart from the magazine name this text stands out the most, this is due to the position of the text , in the middle of the magazine. Simple fonts normally stand out more that a detailed , delicate and fancy font because they are bolder , larger and easier to read. Having the title in white means it stand out because her costume and background are very dark. Under the title of the film is anchorage text, having this text smaller than the title means it  doesn't take attention away from the main information. This text gives us a hint into what the magazine contains which will make people want to buy it. To the right of the photo they have used alliteration to describe the film this is eye catching and is a great way of giving hint about the film without giving anything away, this and a lot of puffs and other text is in yellow this has been done as  it goes with the colour used in the background and stands out.

Although the main point of this front cover is to advertise The Hunger Games they're unique selling point is that they are discussing other films in that issue , this brings a broader audience because they have chosen different genre film which bring in  female , male , young and old readers. The puff that goes across the bottom of the cover shows that the audience are able to use their phones to ' make the pages come alive.' this is a unique selling point and a new and fun way of getting the readers to interact with the magazine. Also in this puff the use of photo's means that text is not needed therefore its easier for the readers when seeing the cover from a distance this also means that readers will have to buy  the magazine if they want to know about these new films. In the circle puff on the left  hand side it says you 'need to see' this gives the audience the impression that what is inside the magazine is very special and exclusive.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Trailer Analysis

The first thing that the audience see in the trailer are 3 big distributors , Warner bros , Metro Goldwyn Mayer and New Line Cinemas, this shows that it’s a big budget film and therefore will probably be very successful. The transitions used to show the distributors was done very dramatically by moving slowly closer towards the audience also giving the 3D effect. The first character shown is Bilbo, those of who haven’t seen the rest of the films would assume naturally that he is the main character because the audience gets to meet him first. From what he is wearing it looks like the movie could be set in the past due to the dull colours and cloth looking material but if you look closer they have characteristics that humans do not have such as massive feet, this gives us the impression that he is a different creature and therefore may live in a different world. The next shot is a close-up of him with him saying ‘One day I’ll remember’ due to the close-up shot it seems like he is talking to the  audience which means the audience can straight away build a relationship with this character. The next shot is of a female this gives us the impression that she could be a love interest which subverts the stereotypes of the fantasy genre because normally the main interest of the storyline is to find or save something.

For the first 25 seconds of the trailer the non-diegetic music is very slow paced and soft this makes everything seem very dramatic and in some ways sad. Small pieces of footage are shown to give the audience an idea about the plot but also show them what type of place they live in. One of the shots consist of a dragon breathing fire all over the town the diegetic sound is played over the music showing the dragons full potential of power .This then cuts to a long shot of a mountain range with dialogue from Bilbo making it seem very personal. The location looks very similar to earth which means that there is only a slight barrier between fiction and reality meaning that the audience can fill connected to the characters. A title then appears with a soft transition stating ‘THIS DECEMBER’ in golden letters and dark green background, the gold letters are used throughout the Lord of the Rings saga and continues in The Hobbit making them recognizable to fans of the movies.  The colour gold represents wealth but also fantasy and the dark background mirrors the mood of the film.

Titles appear throughout the trailer but not in full sentence which creates suspense for what they will say next. One title states that it’s the same director as the Lord of the Rings saga , this a unique selling point and proves that the  film will be very successful.Junxtaposion is used is between the clips and the music, the music is very calm but the clips show anger and pain this emphasises the sadness of what the film portrays. Although the era is unknown from the clothes they are wearing which includes fur, armour and men with long hair this gives us the impression that it could be set in 19^th century. The film conveys to most stereo-types such as fight scenes, mythical creatures and an adventure to find something.  The last shot of the trailer is the date the film comes out; having it at the end means the audience are more likely to remember.

The Avengers Film Poster

Apart from the characters the background straight away stand out , this would be because its New York City , a city recognised worldwide. This means that although the film is in the super hero genre, therefore non-fiction , the audience can still connect with the story. The dark background gives the audience the impression that the city is in danger and could of been destroyed by the characters shown in the poster. The fire and bombs conform to the stereo-types of super hero films. from the rest of the background it seems that the colour grey mirrors the danger and depression of the storyline.

At the top of the poster there are eight names of actors and actresses , this shows the audience who will be in the film a gives the film a unique selling point which includes some of the worlds most famous actors and actress'. These pieces of texts don't match up to where the actors are placed on the poster, this means that the audience have to focus on the poster for longer, therefore the audience are more likely to remember the film. The names are in a white with a simple font.The white against the grey background stands out enough for it to be noticeable but not enough to take away attention from other parts in the poster. The name of the film is very large compared to the scale of the characters , this makes it stand out massively. The font chosen is used throughout the marvel comics and films this means that it's recognisable by many people also making it stand out. The colour of the font looks metallic looking also conforming to the conventions of danger in marvel films.

The more well-known actors and characters are at the front of the poster this is done to grab the attention of people that don't usually enjoy this genre of film. Each character is very individual and is  holding their own weapon giving them their own identity thus most people in an audience will find a character they enjoy and identify with. The majority of the characters are wearing a black costume making them come across as slick and powerful.

Sunshine on Leith Movie Trailer analysis

From the name of the film ‘Sunshine on Leith’ you would assume the film was very happy and cheerful , however the first shot that we are shown is of an army truck in Afghanistan, to the audience this would appear to mean the film was based on a war tragedy. The next shots show close-ups of two men which signifies they’re the main characters and that we are supposed to identify with them. These two men are both wearing an army uniform which also makes the audience sympathy with them . The diegetic sounds are of the truck moving and the sounds of radios, the non-diegetic sound played over this is a slow paced drum; this makes the scene come across as intense. A Scottish man then asks ‘What’s going on?’ this gives us the idea that the two other characters we are introduced to could be Scottish too , giving the audience an idea of what type of people they could be and what the story could be about. Suddenly there is a flash of light with the sound of a bomb this connotes danger and a vulnerability towards the characters.

The next shot is introduced with an establishing shot of the sea and a city , this comes along with positive sounding non-diegetic music giving the audience the impression of a happy story like they may of expected initially. Over the establishing shot there are voices of two Scottish people this signifies that the film is set in Scotland. The next shot is of the two characters we were introduced to before but rather than looking frightened and tense they were smiling and jumping around.

The name of the film is shown to us with a yellow background representing joy and sunshine. The white text stands out over the yellow background. Another title appears saying ‘For Ally and Davy’ this means we get to know the two characters representing them as the main characters.Shots switch between 2 women and 2 men this could mean that their connected with each other this is a convention of Rom-com. Stereo-types of Scottish people are used throughout the trailer such as not liking English people. The unique selling point of this film is that it is based on a hit musical this shows that it’s already been successful.

For the last quarter of the trailer there are quick paced shots giving the audience a sneak into the plot of the film and introducing other character, this is played over non-diegetic music of 500 Miles a popular song known all over the country. Over the period of the trailer there have been around 4 different song changes this means that the audience don’t get bored whilst watching it. The variation in characters means that all ages can identify with at least one person due the range in ages. Lastly we are told that the producer has also been involved in other successful small budget films giving the audience the hope for another good film.

Feedback of posts so far

Well done Charlotte your posts are very detailed using key terminology and you analyse the effects of several conventions.

Targets: consider analysing the different codes

Enigma codes - puzzles teasing the audience, questions left unanswered

You mention the music used in the film trailers but perhaps you could include the term verbal codes and then explain the different types of sound used

Technical codes - camera shots used on the magazine cover and its effect on the audience

Symbolic codes - are there any recognisable symbols on the magazine cover or film poster?  What are the connotations and effect of these symbols on the audience?

The Horsemen poster analysis

The font used for the title of the film, actors name and release date is very simple which is stereotypical for the thriller genre because usually they use sophisticated fonts. The colour of the font makes it less boring but also could link to the film seeing as red connotes danger and generally thriller films include some frightening or strange scenes. If you look carefully you can notice that the any text in red has a distressed look to it, this suggest that the film could be based over a long period of time. Although the title isn't very large it works well with the big scale picture in the background. The famous people starring in the film are in quite large text, this is because they are a unique selling point and will help to attract a larger audience.

Because the man in the photo is so taking so much room on the poster it suggest that he takes a big role in the film. You can see a collar suggesting that he has a professional job, this gives the audience an idea of what type of character he is. On top of the cloth it says " 4 SERIAL KILLERS", again this will create enigma codes, who is the killer? is he a victim? is he the killer? why is someone killing people?. from the poster it doesn't particularly suggest that he is the killer because it looks like the thing covering his eyes is some kind of torture, plus most murderers would be more hidden.

The background of the poster is mostly taken up by the picture of the man, this makes the poster stand out and eye catching therefore creating attention from a wide audience. The man in the picture looks pretty normal apart from the fact that he has a cloth covering his eyes. This suggest that the movie is likely to be a thriller over a horror movie because it doesn't come across as supernatural. Having the genre obvious to the audience is good because it means you are more likely to attract an audience because they have more of an idea about what the film could be like. The cloth covering his eyes creates enigma codes for the audience, why is he covering his eyes, what's behind it? this will make the audience intrigued therefore they are more likely to go and see it at the cinema.

Target Checklist

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RESEARCH
Uploaded YouTube videos of 15 trailers – analysed Key Terms: genre conventions, mise-en-scene, camera shots, sound, editing, unique selling points (USP), target audience, verbal codes, technical codes, symbolic codes, enigma codes.	NEEED TO BE UPLOADED
Posters analysed – 5 Picture, costumes, font, captions, text, colours, target audience, symbolic codes, enigma codes.	NEED TO BE UPLOADED
Magazine Covers – analysed - 5 Key Terms:  font, layout, picture, target audience, verbal codes, technical codes, symbolic codes, enigma codes. Typography • What font styles are used? • What are the connotations of the font (what do they suggest)? Layout • What effect does this have? Why is the page laid out like this? Colour •What do the colours connote? Images • What shot types and angles were used? • What is the effect of the shot type and/or angle? • What effect does the mise-en-scene have? • Why were the props, costumes, locations, etc. used? • What do they signify? Mode of Address • How does the magazine ‘speak’ to its audience? • What language is used? • What impression do the fonts, colours, etc. have?	NEED TO BE UPLOADED
Reflection of Year 12
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