Sunday, 28 March 2010

Critical Evaluation of Foundation Portfolio

The brief for my advanced portfolio task was; A promotion package for a new film to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following.

  • A website for the film
  • A film magazine front cover promoting my film
  • A movie poster for my film

This task required me to produce three different media texts. The first text which i produced was the film trailer. I was required to plan, develop and construct my media products using the new knowledge and skills which i have acquired during my A2 media studies.

Before i could even begin to think about producing the film trailer i had to carry out extensive research on other media products in order for me to note the codes and conventions of film trailers. During this process i also had to think about the different conventions which go with the different genres of film, in order to help me define the conventions which my trailer would require for the genre of my film and also i had to think about how i would make my product reach the target audience which i had invisioned.

I began this process by reseaching into the film industry as a whole as i believe this gave me a greater insight into the whole process which goes into the film production industry, from pre-production to post-production and finally release and distribution. Although this information wasnt going to impact directly on my products, i believe it helped me to undertstand the processes involved more clearly, whilst also introducing me to the many different film production companies that are established and the types of films which they produce. I based my research for this around firstly the film industry as a whole, however then i targeted the main film production companies such as;

  • Paramount Pictures Corportation
  • Warner Bros
  • Walt Disney
  • 20th Century Fox
  • Sony Pictures

I researched into the backgrounds of these main organisations looking into who founded them, how long the companies have been established, what their net worth is, along with the companies profit margins, the type of films which they produce and also the subsidiary companies linked with them. After conducting all of this preliminary research on the film industry i feel it gave me a wider knowledge of the film industry and this knowledge influenced some of the ways in which i produced some of my media products.

Using this research as a basis, i then began to extend my knowledge of my first medium of film trailers. Firstly be watching a variation of different genre film trailers in order to research into the different conventions used for the different film genre. For example action film trailers such as 'Bad Boys 2' tend to have shots shown in fast sucession with short snippets of the film being shown each time, giving the trailer a fast and dramatic pace which has the effect of drawing the audience into the film and exciting them. Action film trailers also showed more explosion shots, with fast cars, guns being fired and CU fighting shots, whereas Romantic films where completely different to this approach, with the camera shots being long containing lots of dialogue, they also tended to use fades and slow cuts from scene to scene in order to convey the calm and tranquil atmosphere with the movie has. The location also tend to be more awe inspiring and beautiful.

This however was only the base from which i had to build on in order to learn more and more about film trailers in order for me to create the best possible product which i could.

  • Researched typical length of film trailers
  • researched shot types and familiarised myself with camera angles and shots again (From AS)
  • Researched into different film directing styles - Quentin Tarrantino

Using this extensive research i then decided to begin planning my main medium, the teaser trailer for my film. The first step i took was to begin to gather many different ideas for the type of film which i wanted to produce. During these planning stages i came up with many different ideas some of which where;

  • A horror film. The idea i had for this genre was to show a student coming back from college/university after just finishing his exams and graduating with a degree in Law. Many years ago his twin brother had been murdered and the killer had never been found. He wants to become a detective so he can investigate and find his brothers killer. However during his party where he invites all of his friends, exactly 5 years ago to the day that his brother disappeared the clock strikes midnight and the killer returns
  • However i ended up going with the idea of 'Truth or Dare', a thriller about a US marine who uncovers a secret weapon which America are keeping quiet. A lot of people do not want this information getting out and soon the soldier who fought for his country finds his country have turned on him and the hunter becomes the hunted. Jack Johnson is attacked by a professional government assassin and he must use all of his skills to stay alive and tell the news of America's weapons which could cause world wide devestation. In the end Jack johnson manages to evade being captured or killed by the assassin and releases the secret with the world.

During the idea stage of my planning i had to continuously visualise how i thought the idea would look and the type of camera shots and scene which i would like to show to my audience. I decided to storyboard a select few of these different scenes to try and visualise how they would look on screen to see if the shots would convey my story through to the audience.

  • During this stage i had to take some time to research into who the audiences where for the different genres of film and who i wanted to direct my film towards. To begin this researching process i began to research audience types on the internet. During this, i discovered the different codes and conventions of the different genres which are typically associated with this genre. (For example; for horror films people generally expect to see some form of killer of evil horror, the locations tend to be remote, run down and dark and dingy locations with a spooky sound track, whereas for an action film people expect to typically see; fast car chases, fighting combat scenes, weapons - gun shooting, explosions, etc. I also discovered that Horror films and Action films are generally associated as having a typically larger male audience, with females tending to watch more romance films 'Chick Flicks' or family and fantasy films. Whilst undertaking this research i decided to look at the audience for a range of film genres and try and discover what people expected to see from the varying genres. In order for me to gather a more reliable source of information i produced a questionnaire (AS SHOWN BELOW) to try and discover what types of scenes, locations, storylines, characters, props etc which people often associate with the different genres of film.

Using this information helped me in order to firm up my idea of the type of film which i was producing. In the final decision stages i decided to opt for my thriller film as i encountered a few problems which would occur with the filming of my horror movie. For example i would have liked to have filmed most of my scenes in the dark, however this created many problems as in doing this the quality of my filming was significantly reduced and when trying to film it in normal daylight and put a dark gel screen over the top during the editing process to darken the shot still didnt produce the natural effect of darkness which i wanted my scenes to have.

With this decision in mind i had my chosen idea of Truth or Dare, which after i had the full narrative of the story in place i decided would fit the genre of thriller/drama and Action, with it being a mixture of genres. I then decided that if i wanted to incorporate all of these genres in my film than it would mean i had the task of including the typical conventions of each genre into my production. Although this seemed like a tricky task i decided to try and begin planning how i could input all of these different ideas from the different genres into my film. I also had to think about my target audience. In the end i decided that being as i was making the film using my friends and i could identify with the younger age group myself, i decided that i would target my audience at young males aged between 15-40. Now that i had an age range to focus my attention on, i began adapting my general idea to delve into the story with more detail whilst also drafting some initial ideas for possible locations and possible snippets of speech which i could show.

After this initial planning stage i had a firm idea of my story which i wanted to tell and began work on creating my synopsis, script, shooting scrip and storyboard. Before producing any of these elements i again went back to researching into the codes and conventions of all of these media texts. For example i looked into the formatting set up of a professional shooting film script and set my script out following these guidlines. I also researched into what type of information is included in a film synopsis which is the main selling point of a film. This introduced me to the concept of writing a small amount whilst still encapsulating the narrative of the film whilst also making it sound as exciting and dramatic to engage my target audience. After first producing the synopsis for Truth or Dare i then began to work on my script after researching a range of sample scripts from action films and thrillers such as; 'Terminator 2' and 'Bad Boys 2' in order to discover how the action sequences are written in the script whilst still keeping the same level of excitement and action on the page as it would look on the screen. I then began writing my script, however i decided on including some dialogue between the characters but, due to the fact that i wanted to have a dramatic and powerful song playing over the top with lots of dramatic scenes i decided that it would work better if i included a voice over in my trailer to inform my target audience on what is happening whilst not straying away from the action which is going to excite my audience and draw them into my film.

Before i began work on the storyboard i decided to go and have a look for some possible locations for my film. Using my research for this type of film i discovered that dark and dingy places, desolate urban places and dangerous looking rough areas would have the best look for my film. With this in mind i went to look for possible locations, taking my script with me so that i could visualise some of the scenes happening in the possible locations. After choosing my various locations such as the abandoned warehouses near some docks, a wooded area and an underpass i then began to use the idea of these possible locations to begin to construct my storyboard. During this process i looked at some established movie storyboards from films such as Jaws in order for me to get an idea of how a storyboard should look.

After producing these elements towards my main medium i used this to help me during the shooting of my film. I used the skills which i had acquired at the end of my AS course when i was given three weeks to produce a the begining of a film. The shooting process allowed me to be creative in the way in which i shot particular scenes and shoot in different styles in order to try and recreate what i had visualised that my film would look like. Continually, during the film process i had to keep in mind that i was telling a story to my target audience of young people and therefore that impacted on the way in which i shot my film. For example my target audience influenced the types of locations where i shot such as a graffitied underpass with gang tags which is stereotypically associated with young people and so young people would be able to associate with the location. I also choose to include a prop machine gun for the filming as young people tend to be more interested in action films with weapons and shootouts between the good guys and the baddies, a good example of this being the James Bond movies. Using the knowedge i had collected from my AS media studies on camera shots and angles i made the decision to film most of my film CU as i discovered that this was more of an 'in your face' style of shooting which engaged directly with the audience and forced them to pay attention to what they where seeing, drawing them into the action on screen and keeping hold of their attention.

After i had completed the filming i advanced onto the editing stage of the process of creating my main medium. I went into this process with some limited knowledge of the editing process and some of the basic effects which you can create whilst editing your film, as this was included at the end of my AS course. However before i began to start editing my film at A2 i fimiliarised myself with the different tools and software. Having previously already had initial ideas for editing my film during the planning stages of my product i came into the process with some already developed ideas of how i visualised my film to look on screen. The initial ideas which i took into this process where that i wanted my film to have a fast and grittty look to add to the realism of my product and to try and create a verisimilitude between my film and reality. After my first complete edit of my product, after careful consideration i decided that the trailer didnt have the effect which i had envisioned. The trailer progressed too slowly and lacked the dramatic effect which i wanted it to have. Therefore i decided to remould my film, cutting the scenes shorter and adding more shots with simple straight cuts or cross cuts in order to create a fast and exciting pace to my trailer which is the typical conventions of action and thriller film trailers.

After i had structured my film and shaped the way into what i wanted it to look like i then experimented with the speed of some of my scenes and the edits from one scene to advance onto the next. During this i learnt some new skills; for example i discovered how to speed up a scene or how to slow down a scene to have it in slow motion. I used the slow motion effect, placing it over the scene where i am showing the main character walking with a CCTV effect. The slow motion helps to create a mood of panic and stress whilst also giving the effect that my main character is being followed by the camera. I also added a green gell over this scene to give the scene an effect of night vision to create the effect that my character is being followed at night as i believe it gave it an element of danger. I also learnt more new skills in the way off light orbs, which i placed in some scenes to reflect the sunny day, as one of the main effects which i always wanted during the filming of my product was for it to look and feel realistic without it being too unrealistic. During the editing process i also learnt how to add music and sound effects over the film and how to experiment with the sound by making it louder or quieter or by dissolving one scene into another, i found this process initially difficult, however though trial and error and by keeping experimenting and constantly discovering new effects i soon became more and more confident with the editing process and now feel comfortable using the editing software as i feel it has developed my skills vastly.

Throughout the whole production of my film i interlinked many different conventions from the thiller/drama and action genres. The conventions which i input into my product was the fast-paced editing with straight cuts to create pase and adrenaline pumping action, i also took the typical location types from the thiller genre such as desolate and dangerous looking 'rough' areas, i also choose to have the stereotypical heroic figure for my film of the dominant male figure of Jack Johnson who is prepared to fight for what he believes in. I also took typical conventions from the drama genre by intertwining some really fast scenes with a really slow dramatic scene of my main character talking or carrying out an activity. I also tried to use juxaposition by having a sunny scene with my character walking along and immediately cutting to the scene next to it where my character is running through a dark and dangerous looking underpass. Although dialogue is a common convention to any film trailer i decided to omit this as too much dialogue was taking away the fast paced continuous action look which i wanted my film to endear to. Instead i have included a few dialogue scenes with some important dialogue being exchanged between the main characters and then choose to have a voice over running over some scenes to provide the audience with snippits of the story whilst not giving too much away or straying from the action on screen. I believe my product follows the same conventions of sucessful films such as bad boys 2 or just recently the film Green Zone, which are films of the same nature as mine.

After i'd completed the production of the film i began research for my two ancilliary texts which where a movie poster and a film magazine with my film being on the front cover. Having previously produced a magazine as part of my AS media course i was fimiliar with computer software such as Microsoft Publisher and Adobe Photoshop C32 which are the two pieces of software which i used in order to create both my magazine and my film poster. Again before i began to think about production or even draft ideas i began to research into the industry of film magazines such as Empire and Total Film which are the two biggest movie magazines at the moment. I researched into their ideologies and target audiences and discovered that both magazines tended to be aged at young people aged between about 16-30 as, after researching into the cinema and age groups i discovered that typically the younger age groups attend the cinema more regularly than the older age ranges. I then went on to critically analyse three well-known front covers from both of the institutions, which gave me a wider knowledge of the typical conventions of film magazines such as the type of images which they include, the amount of text on the front cover or even small things such as where the price and barcode tend to be placecd. After critically analysing these front covers and using the knowledge i had gained on target audiences and the ideologies of well established film magazines i began to draft some of my own ideas constantly changing the content on the page and placing things in different areas of the magazine to try and create an effect which i felt looked good enough to look like a professional movie magazine front cover. I then posted all of these ideas on my blog and asked people to decide which of my designs they liked, using these results i then began work on the choosen design. Firstly, i took a digital camera and tried to recreate some of the picture designs which i had had. I used a blue room and used various lighting techniques in order to experiment with different effects which the lighting could create, the effect which i was trying to achieve was quite a dramatic and heroic warrior. After editing my image on photoshop C32 i inputted it into my movie magazine. I then began to design my magazine around my image, i also used the reseach i had gathered and choose to add a picture of a apocalyptic and war torn scene to signify to the audience some elements which are included in my film. I also felt this made the image of my main character standing in front of this scene look more heroic which is the effect which i had been wanting to create.

For the main title of my magazine and some of the sub-headings i used a website called http://www.dafont.com/ to download some possible fonts for my magazine front cover. I then collected a range of fonts and even found some Hollywood fonts which i could input into my front cover to make it seem more interesting and more creative than just using simple word art. Using all of the codes and conventions i arranged to content around the page to create my movie magazine front cover, choosing a MS image of my films hero standing facing out to the audience, holding a prop weapon signifying the action element of my film to the audience whilst the apocalyptic background also indicates the dramatic and thriller end of the world idea which is a feature in my production. After finishing my first design i decided that i would also try to create some of my other designs in order for me to see what they all looked like after they had been properly produced so that i could get an idea of which cover i felt looked best and also appealed more to my target audience of young people. Therefore in order to try and achieve this i asked a select few young people aged between 16-21 to look at all of the possible covers now that they had been produced and asked them which they would be more influenced to purchase, which cover they thought looked best, which cover they thought was the most eye-catching and stood out and also i had got the right amount of text in relation with the images on my front cover. I believed that the best way to check if i was hitting my target audience would be to go directly to my target audience and ask them for their views. I found this information really helpful and after making some changes i had my produced final magazine front cover. Although, having done this as part of my AS media course, i did generally find the whole process easier as i already had previous experience in producing movie magazine front covers and went into the project with already knowledge on the typical codes and conventions of magazines, however i still felt that there where certain challenges for example finding the right compnents such as font and picture to get the to look good on the page. I feel that my magazine worked well, not only due to the fact that i had previous experience, but also due to the research of existing media products such as Total Film magazine and Empire magazine i tried to model my magazine around these two well-established and highly sucessful products, especially Empire which has been producing magazines since July 1989. As empire have been producing magazines for twenty years it is clear that they have a regular audience and are obviously selling magazines to their target audience which is turn generating their income so it is obvious that by the fact that they are still producing magazines and are the biggest movie magazine around at the moment that they are obviously successful and therefore researching into their institution was vital for me in order to learn more of how they have achieved their high levels of success.

Also after researching in the magazine and print industry as part of this years course, whilst also having previous knowledge from researching into this industry as part of my AS media course i discovered that there are only two established magazines in the industry directed at the film industry whilst there are many magazines targeted towards music, health and fitness and womens interest magazines. This means that there is a gap in the market for another film magazine which means that my magazine wouldnt be pushed out by lots of other magazines which means my product would fit in the market as currently their is only a small market for magazines on film. And also during my research i discovered that their prices where around £4 which seems quite expensive and could indicate that these two institutions are targeting maybe a wealthier class of people who have got more money to continually go to the cinemas, this could be an area in which my magazine could compete with the other two already established magazines by lowering prices to compete with them for sales.

After completeing both my main medium of the film trailer and then the first of my ancilliary texts of a film magazine front cover advertising my film i came onto the final ancilliary text which was to produce a film poster advertising my film. Due to the fact that all of my products needed to be in some way interlinked with each other this meant that i made the decision to use the same picture and the same background to make the link between all of my media texts easily distinguishable. I followed the same process making the poster as i had done with my previous media texts, firstly by researching into movie posters and critically analysing some well known film posters to discover their codes and conventions and also to find out what makes an effective and eye-catching movie poster and the sort of things which dont need to be included. Again i used photoshop C32 and Microsoft Publisher to construct this product editing my pictures before designing my poster on micrsoft publisher. Again i also referred to the website http://www.dafont.com/ in order for me to again create more interesting and creative fonts as my movie poster needed to look attractive and appealing as again it the is main form of advertising my film. I also researched into the different sizes of movie posters such as a poster in a bus stop compared with movie posters on the sides of buses or posters on billboard or even posters contained in magazines or newspapers.

For all of my three productions it enabled me to use some of the skills i had previously acquired from AS level for example photo editing, how to take good quality photo's using light and props to create varying effects, how to critically analyse existing media texts and draw information out of them. However, during my A2 practical productions i have gathered many more skills which have contributed to the making of my media products. For example i have gained a greater understanding of the whole filming process and how something may appear natural on the screen, however it has been shot in that certain way in order to convey that specific message to the audiences. I have learnt how to use the editing software Premier Pro Tools and learnt how to apply different effects on my productions such as apply gels to turn the scene a different colour, add times and clocks, add text over a scene, play two scenes on top of each other, alter the music and sound effects and finally how to razor scenes and cut scenes so that you can move them around and structure them in any order. I also learnt more of the film and magazine and print industries which helped enable me to produce my three media texts.

In conclusion i thoroughly enjoyed the task of producing my three mediums which where a film trailer, a movie poster and a movie magazine front cover. I now feel comfortable using computer software such as Photoshop c32 and Premier Pro Tools editing software. I feel that i was able to be more flexible and creative with these projects; unlike with the AS course when i was told what medium i had to produce and what the media text had to be based upon. This years production has given me control over my own learning and enabled me to explore the areas of the media which appeal to me and interest me the most. Through doing this i have gained a vast knowledge of two areas of the media; film and the print and magazine industry. I also felt my creativity was allowed to be demonstrated more as i was allowed to produce and design my own ideas and develop them without being controlled to make a specific product.

Friday, 26 March 2010

FINAL - MAIN TEXT - PROMOTIONAL FILM TRAILER




This is my final main product; a promotional trailer for a new film. My new film is names Truth or Dare and is a story about a US Marine named Jack Johnson who uncovers a top secret document stating weapons of mass destruction and the possibilty of America starting a nuclear war. With this information threatening the lives of others, his family, his friends, his brothers not to mention thousands, millions of mothers, children, wives, husbands and fathers who will be innocently killed in the name of politics. Johnson's struggles with his conscience when coonfronted with a life changing decision; stay and fight with your country, for your country and slaughter many millions of innocent people or fight your country. Johnson soon learns that the country who he's loyally fought for, risked his life to protect are not so loyal in return. Soon Johnson realises that there was no choice and the government where not going to let him walk around with that sort of information, soon the hunter becomes the hunted as Johnson is pursued by a merciless killer working for the US government. Johnson must use all of his skills to stay alive as he is hunted by the same people he used to work for, whom he used to call his brothers.


When producing my film trailer i made the decision that i wanted my film trailer to be a hybrid between the Horror, Action and Thriller film genres, taking the different conventions and characterisitics of these genres and mixing them all together to create my final product.
I made the decision before the filming of this trailer that i wanted it to challenge the conventions of film trailers in the way that i wanted to the trailer to go backwards in sequence to the end to the beginning. After researching many different filming ideas and directoral ideas i came across 'Reservoir Dogs' which tells the narrative from the end and then shows the audience how they arrived at this point. I decided that i would like to interpret this idea to an extent in my production. I therefore had to decide how i could make a link between the beginning of my film trailer and the ending. Therefore i decided that i would use the sound effect of the gunshot in order for me to do this and mark to the audience the complete circle which my trailer has travelled in to get back to the beginning. Therefore i thought about my narrative and storyboard and made the decision to begin my film trailer after my main character has effectively being shot. This links in with the ending of my film trailer as i leave it just as my character is running and then there is the sound of a gunshot and my trailer ends. Highlighting to the audience that my narrative has come full circle and they ahve been taken back to how the trailer began which is effectively the end of my film trailer. I then made the decision, as in reservoir dogs to go back and show the audience how my main characters have arrived at this point.
Therefore i start my film trailer with a blurry effect of the characters eyes opening and the sunlight blinding him, the shot pulses in and out of focus suggesting the characters eyes are slowly adapting to the his surroundings, the bluriness then becomes a bright white light and fades out, giving a possible indication to my chosen audience of the idea that when a person is close to death they see the bright white light, therefore i tried to make a reference to this to suggest to my audience that possibly my character has been shot and is in fact close to death, this has the effect of sparking my audiences interest as they want to know what has happened to the character and whether or not he has been killed and the assassin has achieved his goal. By including these sort of scenes in a film trailer is effective as the audience need to know what has happened and if the character has been killed or if he survives and so they are encouraged to go and watch the film as they need to find out.
My film trailer then switches to a shot of my main character Jack Johnson running through a wooded area, when thinking of possible locations i also had to take into account that my film was going to be a hybrid and therefore i had to chose my locations carefully in order to make sure i incorporated all of the different genre types. Therefore i decided that a wooded shot would be effective at the moment as it is an isolated location with the character being in the middle of nowhere, creating a feeling of isolation and of being trapped with the main character which is an idea which is featured typically in horror films, the location is a typical setting for horror film trailers as the danger could be lurking anywhere and the character has no sense of direction as to where he is, he has no idea where the danger is and is therefore in a state of being trapped and lost whilst being hunted which fits in with the horror genre incorporating the excitement and tension that is associated with these typical horror genre scenes. The scene then switches to a shot of Johnson sitting at a table looking distractedly towards some files lying in front of him on the table. I made the decision to chose to show Johnson dressed in his US army uniform in this scene in order to convey to the audiences of my main hero's career and indicate how he has got hold of these top secret government files, i also feel the fact that my character is wearing his uniform in this scene before he has read the top secret documents and then wears them no more highlights the change in my character and shows that he has made his decision and given the army up to do what he believes is right.
For the next scene which is the church scene with my character walking down the aisle of the church, i decided that i wanted to bring to the audiences attention the tough situation my character is placed in and his personality in the way that he turns to religion to point him in the right direction. I believe the image of the church is a symbol of right and wrong and suggests to the audience that Johnson is struggling with his own conscience and has gone to the church, highlighting to the audience that Johnson is a man of religion which i feel also adds reality to my film as after researching into the american history and the US marines i discovered that many American men are very religious and strong christians so i believe it also adds depth and verisimilitude to my production as well as symbolising the right and wrong aspect that my character is struggling with. I also feel this scene adds an element of drama into my trailer as it brings questions of what is the right thing to do and the whole idea of my character wrestling with his conscience.
Further on in my film trailer is the sequence of shots showing my character walking from his home whilst being followed by security camera's. I have chosen to edit these scenes and place a green fill over the scenes in order to create an effect of night vision cameras to display to the audience that this is happening late at night, by showing that my character is being followed constantly by security cameras again suggests a feeling of my character being trapped as he is being watched and followed wherever he goes, whilst is also adds an element of technology and relates to the issue that the government is always watching every move he makes, suggesting that Johnson who used to fight for his country is now targeting him and hunting him like he is the enemie. Again highlighting to my audience the role reversals as my character is no longer fighting for his country but is fighting against them.
The next few chasing sequences i edited in order so that they move at a fast pace and in quick sucession in order to convey to my audience the speed at which these events are taking place, highlighting the turmoil that Johnsons life has been completely turned upside down in a really short space of time. After researching into the thriller film genre and the action genre i also discovered that the idea of fast and short shots are commonly used in order to create a fast, tense and exciting film sequence which has the effect of exciting the readers and keeping them hooked to the non-stop action which is happening in screen. Therefore i decide to include this device into my production, with the shots of the running feet, and the chasing scene between the assassin and Johnson through an abandoned docks. In my original production i hadn't shot the footage at the docks, but due to me looking back at my footage and thinking that it lacked some important footage i then had to rethink what it was missing and came up with the idea of conducting some film at the abandoned docks.
Taking into account my research on the conventions of my chosen genres which i wanted to try and incorporate i decided that abandoned and run down areas are a common feature of the horror and thriller genres so i decided to mix these locational conventions with the chasing and fighting scenes to also add the element of action, in order for me to include all of the most exciting and appealing effects from all of the genres and inject them all into my media construct.
Thus creating fast paced and exciting chase scenes though a run down area with crumbling and abandoned buildings and the sea to the characters left, this excites the reader as it looks as if the character is running into a dead end with no where else to turn, also the area itself looks run down and dangerous again adding more elements of danger and excitement into my production which will hopefully have the effect of exciting my audience and keeping them interested in my production. Also the imagery of the abandoned building symbolises destructions and the end of old things which have serves their purpose and then just being left to fall apart which symbolises the narrative at what is happening with Johnson, he is not needed anymore and has served his purpose and now he is being left to rot.
This is also the same of the scenes in the underpass, i didnt initially plan on using this location, however whilst on the way to film at another location i discovered this underpass. The graffitit and the darkness which are contained in this location immediately gives off a dangerous atmosphere to the location, i decided that this would provide an ideal location for a scene to show Johnson being watched secretly and followed by the assassin as i felt this location itself being dark conveyed a sense of danger and the unknown as again my character is trapped in the small space of the underpass with lots of dark areas suggesting anyone could be hiding and about to attack him, as the audience can see the assassin watching Johnson and therefore i have used dramatic irony again here as the audience know something is about to happen to my character which he is unaware of.
I have also chosen to add a CU shot at 1:47 into my film trailer to show both my films hero and main protagonist meeting face to face for the very first time in the film trailer. I believe the use of a CU works well here as it enables the audience to see the look of determination, focus and fighting spirit which is conveyed through both characters facial expressions. By showing this CU shot i believe it suggests to my audience that these two characters have being building up to this moment and that the film is reaching it's climax which has the effect of again exciting and immediately snatching my audiences attention as they are aware due to the films conventional format that something is about to happen here which is going to be dangerous and exciting and could be the pivotal moment in the whole film which alters the course of the films narrative.
I have then complied with the action genre once again at 1:54 by showing the quick succession of short sequenced shots of the two characters fighting. This firstly shows the audience that their suspiscions where correct and that this is going to be an episode of exciting and dangerous conflict in the film which excites them as they want to know how this conflict is going to end. During this moment i have chosen to have shaky camera effects again due to the fact that i wanted my film to have a nitty and gritty feel that makes the audience feel that these aren't some elaborate stunts on a hollywood set, i wanted to create a feeling of tense and exciting realism that hopefully my target audience of young people could relate to - for example by some of my location shots of dark and dangerous places - also young people, especially young males tend to favour the action genre and after conducting my audience research my initial suspicion was proved correct as most of the teenage males i asked favoured the action genre because they enjoyed the tense scenes of fighting and violence as it made the film more exciting and interesting to watch, therefore i feel my film trailer has reached my target audience in this aspect. I also feel that the use of the shaky scenes before the viewers see the fists come down, shows the violent struggle between the two characters and again adds to the fast-paced realistic effect which has been some of the ideology behind my product.
The Mid shot contained at 1:58 into my film trailer of the assassin bringing his fists down directly towards the camera i think is again effective here, as it highlights the movement through a still shot showing that the struggle is over and that as the assassin is on top and continuing to throw punches suggests to the audience that he has won this confrontation, by showing that the protagonist has won it provides panic and excitement in my audience as the hero has lost the battle and leaves the wanting to know what is going to happen to him now. The fists also have the effect of appearing as if they are going to come out of the screen directly at the audience which again involves them in the film and it also shows the assassins hand blocking the audiences view from the action; it appears as if the assassin is knowingly directly puching the audiences view out of the scene whilst also it indicate that the scene is being watched through the eyes of Johnson which suggests the hero has been beaten.
This is then followed by another scene of confrontation with the hero punching the assassin who is collapsed against the tree bringing to the attention the change in dominance. Johnson then shouts "Why are you doing this", to which the assassin replies, "If you knew you'd want me to kill you". This was a pivotal piece of speech that i wanted to bring to my audience attention in order to suggest that the information which Johnson thinks he knows is just the beginning and that there is in fact a lot more information that he doesn't know of. This is suggested to my audience by the way in which the assassin says "If you knew you'd want me to kill you". Although the assassin knows that Johnson knows something this indicates to the audience that the assassin has more knowledge about these events that are taking place than Johnson does.
The trailer then switches back to a scene in a wooded area with the sound of heavy breathing playing over the top. I chose to include this as, i showed a part of this shot during the beginning of my film trailer so i wanted to begin to make the trailer flow into the circle and head back towards the beginning of my trailer to show to my audience - following the same style which i had reasearched into the the Quentin Tarantino gangster film Reservoir Dogs. Again the location creates a feeling of the unknown and of being isolated and trapped, playing up to the horror conventions again to hype up my audience towards the end of my trailer and build up their excitement for the impending climax. The effect of the heavy breathing is also relevant here as i wanted it to suggest two things to my audience and leave it up for them to decide; Firstly it is the heavy breathing of my character as he has been running for a while suggesting the dramatic chases and fights and short but violent and hectic journey he has been taken on, although it could possibly be interpreted as this, it's initial intention was to symbolise the heavy breathing and suggest that somebody is watching Johnson, this was intended to be the heavy breathing of the assassin as he is watching Johnson through the scope of a sniper rifle some distance away. The voice then says "There is no Jack Johnson!" This has the effect of confusing the audience however due to the destructive tone to how the assassin speaks it suggests that he is going to make sure that Jack Johnson does not exist. This idea is reinforced by the loud echoing gun shot which symbolises to my audience that Jack Johnson has been shot, however although it doesnt confirm whether he has actually been shot, or whether or not he is dead or alive.
I have followed the typical conventions expected of all film trailers in the way that i have firstly included caption cards saying 'Would you risk everything'.......'for the'.........'Truth'. This is effective as it splits up the action on screen giving the audience the action in short and sharp bursts which excites them and draws them into the film whilst also by displaying the text is prompts the audience to think and suggests that the film is about somebody taking a risk that is going to cost them everything. It also indicates a possible structure to the narrative and suggests to the audience a possible storyline.
I have chosen to include a voice over, however i have challenged the typical conventions. I didnt want my voice over to just contain a brief outline of the story which is the conventional norm to film trailers, instead i decided it would be creative and would challenge the typical conventions if my voice over was of a conversation taking place between two characters. Therefore i displayed a conversation between an unknown male giving orders to the assassin to find and kill Jack Johnson, this still provides the audience with an insight into the storyline however does it in an interesting way which challenges the typical conventions of a voice over just telling the story and by doing it differently it also has the effect of interesting the reader that a new style has been used. My film trailer also follows the conventions in the way that it includes the name of the film, the release date and the production details at the end such as who is starring in it, produced it and directed it, this provides my audience with the important details of my film. Some films chose to include the name of the film half-way through the trailer however i opted again this idea and decided to place it at the end, as the audience may forget the films name it if is placed half-way through and some more exciting footage could distract their attention away from the title, therefore by placing these relevant details at the end it helps the audience to remember what the film is called and when it is going to be released to cinemas.
I have chosen to place a dramatic and powerful sound track over the top of my film in order for the music to contribute to my audiences excitement. The powerful music adds thrills and excitement to the trailer and gets louder and dramatic which has the effect of thrilling the audience.
I have used a select few props in the filming of this trailer for example, by displaying to the audience the machine gun which the assassin has, it highlights that this man knows how to work these pieces of weaponry which highlights to the audience that he is comfortable with a weapon suggesting he is used to using them. Throughout the trailer i decided not to show Johnson with a weapon as i wanted to display to the audience that the assassin has access to more things and is at an advantage whereas Johnson does not have these things, i also wanted to suggest to my audience that Johnson is a skilled and trained fighter and does not necessarily need a weapon.
I also produced some 'Top Secret' documents for Johnson to look through, by adding the official logo's of the FBI and the american flag it highlights to the audience that the document looks official which again suggests to my audience that Johnson has got hold of these papers that he clearly shouldnt have suggesting this is where the conflict of the plot is going to stem from.
Throughout the trailer i have chosen to use straight cuts and cross cutting in order to keep the action moving fast and tight so that it creates a tense and exciting atmosphere and keeps my audiences entertained, whilst also keeping their attention on the film. This effect also creates the idea that all of these events are taking place in quick sucession in a really short space of time.
Teaser Trailer

After the completion of my film trailer i decided to begin work on producing a 30 second teaser trailer which could possibly be shown on the television in an advert between popular television programmes in order to further advertise my film trailer. Therefore i had to decide what scenes i thought would be effective to create an insight into my story and the conventions of the genres and keep the audience excited and their interest and expectations in my film high. Therefore i also made the decision to cut a lot of my scenes even further down in length so that the teaser was made up of lots of really short snippets of my film showing in quick sucession in order for me to convey to the audience a sense of my film in a really short space of time, therefore i chose a lot of the action scenes and altered the order in which they where shown so that my audience got a teaser of what my film is going to be about without giving too much away. After chosing the scenes and putting them in the sequence which i wanted them to be shown i decided to use the sound track from the Excorcist to play over the top. Although this piece of music is traditionally associated with the horror film genre i decided that it created a tense and exciting atmosphere and felt it would do the same to my target audience and encourage them to view my film.



FINAL - ANCILLIARY TEXTS - MOVIE POSTER AND FRONT COVER OF FILM MAGAZINE



Front Cover of Film Magazine - Critical Analysis and Evaluation of my own media construct.


This is my final magazine front cover which i have produced as one of my ancilliary texts. After researching the magazine and print indiustry and researching into the codes and conventions of magazines i then inputted this research to form a basis of which to build my product around.

Whilst producing this cover, i had to think of the codes and conventions of magazines and follow them in order to make my magazine meet the standard format whilst also making decisions in order for me to ensure that my magazine front cover would meet my target audience of younger people.

My first concern with the construction of my film magazine front cover was the main image, knowing that this had to be a big and bold, interesting image which would attract my audiences attention and stand out off the page. Therefore my first main task was to search through the range of images which i had taken in order for me to decide which image i thought would look best. It is the above image which i feel had the effect of standing out off the page and immediately drawing in my audiences attention to the image. For this image i adopted a dominant pose as i wanted my films hero to appear strong and fearless as he looks out directly towards the audience. I chose to interpret this in my magazines main image as i discovered that this is a regular feature in film magazines main images, i also felt that this type of image was adopted mostly in images suggesting action heroes therfore i felt it would work well in my main image as my main character is the typical action heroic stereotype which i wanted to display to the audience so that they can see the main image and instantly know the genre of my film and certain things which it is safe to assume they can expect to see from this genre.

There where other certain decision which i had to make when creating this particular image. For instance, i had to decide whether i wanted to portray my character wearing the army clothes or not. In the end, i decided against this idea and decide to display my character in his normal clothes which he is wearing most of the film. I opted for this decision as i believed it was more important for my audience to see just a normal and average man which is what my character is now, i wanted my audience to clearly see the decision which my main character has chosen in chosing the truth and his beliefs over his loyalty to his country and his army. I also felt that the hat and the jacket looked like normal, everday clothes suggesting that my character is no special super hero or world class warrior and that in fact he is actually just an average and normal man.

I wanted to create a relaxed image to my character whilst also show determination and strength therefore i decided his stance and posture would create the strength aspect as he is standing tall and not backing down highlighting to my audience that my character is not afraid and is prepared to fight for what he believes in, this is also highlighted by my characters hard faced and determined expression staring out directly towards the audience again suggesting the strength and focus of my character. I believe i achieved the relaxed image of my character due to the way in which he has got his weapon slung over his shoulder. This highlights to the audience that the character does not believe there to be any enemies nearby or that he isnt afraid of the prospect that there are enemies nearby which highlights his relaxed attitude as he shows no fear, which also adds the heroic imagery to my characters personality.

Due to the fact that i have chosen my character to be holding a machine gun just slung weightlessly over his shoulder again whilst also sugesting the strength of my character, it also shows that he means business and due to the choice of showing him holding a machine gun instead of a pistol it highlights to my audience that the character knows how to handle weaponry like this and has a destructive side to his personality due to his powerful weapon choice.

After creating the main image and feeling happy that my character has the powerful, strong and heroic imagery that i had visulised i decided to get to work on my background. I decided that i wanted to go for an interesting image of possibly a war-ravaged or desolate place. My final decision was to go for an apocalyptic style background as i wanted to show the audience what my film suggested. By showing a desolate and virtually empty landscape i thought it had the effective of highlighting to the audience what is at stake in my film and provides them with a brief insight in what could be the possible outcome and in my film whilst also providing some of the narrative by showing my audience that the idea of destruction is going to be a key feature in the film which again highlights the films genre in my magazine.

I believe the background image of the road surrounded by a sparse surroundings and with churning thick black clouds overhead created an image of darkness and evil, suggesting to my audiences that the level of devestation which is possible, the colour black, having connotations with death and nothingness works well here as it symbolises to my audience that as the image is dark that death is going to be an issue as well as the idea of the propsect of nothingness and the result of everything being destroyed which also suggests the idea of some kind of bomb or weapon which has caused these levels of devestation which again provides my audience with an insight into my film. The background image and the main image both appear interesting and have the effect of appealing to my character and prompting them to pick up my magazine as they are attracted to my image an want to know what the image is about.

I decided to then create my main headline - after my research i discovered that these tend to be bold, bright and have the effect of standing out to the audience, they are also usually placed close to the centre of magazine. Knowing that my title had to stand out and be attractive to my audience i firstly had to make the decision of the type face and font which i was going to use. Having only a limited and plain range on software such as Word Art i decided to try elsewhere and ended up creating my font on the website http://www.dafont.com/. When deciding the text to use i kept in mind that i wanted it to appeal to the younger age range which are my target audience.

I decided to put my font against a white background and then include a black border running along the top and bottom of my text, i made this decision as i felt it had the effect of drawing more attention of my magazines main headline with the two contrasting colours of black and white standing out against each other resulting in my headline being eye-catching and drawing my audiences attention in. This was important as after my research i discovered that the headline could be one of the most influential selling points of my magazine therefore it has to stand out to my audience. I then placed the headline 'Truth or Dare' the title of my film over the main image so that my audience can make the connection between the two. By drawing my audiences attention to the title of my film could also have the effect of influencing them to pick up the magazine if they have heard about the film or seen a teaser trailer etc and are encouraged about finding out more about it.

My magazines title i decided to create in another font created on the dafont website. I decided i wanted to create a symbolic title which would be created in exactly the same style with each issue, as seen with 'Empire' magazines iconic title. I chose this font due to the reasons that it had the effect of being bold and standing out against the background, whilst i also believed that this font had a rock and stone sort of strong effect which i felt fit in nicely with my 'Action' issue and the action hero type image of my main character, therefore this helps the audience to make the association that this issue of 'Premiere' magazine was an action issue and instantly tells the audience of what they can expect to see featured in this issue.

I have also made the decision to provide some other feature around the cover of my magazine in order to show the audience other exciting and appealing features that are going to be included in this issue of the magazine. I have also chosen to display these in my magazines 'PLUS' section running along the bottom of my magazine. I made the choice to include these other feature elements as it has the effect of encouraging the audience to purchase the magazine, for example if the magazine only shows the audience the one main feature and no more, the audience may not be particularly interested in this feature and therefore not attracted to the magazine and so therefore they pass at the chance of purchasing it, however the advantage of included more features reinforces to the audience that the magazine also contains other features which are included which could appeal to a wide range of audiences and therefore encourage a wider range of people into purchasing the magazine. I also had to make the decision on where to place these addition features, during research i discovered that these are sometimes placed over the main image of the magazine or down a column down the right hand side of the magazine, however i opted against both of these ideas as i didnt want to take the emphasis and draw the audiences attention away from my main image. I also decided that most of the main features included in magazines boast about other big issues which the magazine has included such as interviews with top film stars or other big blockbuster named films. Therefore i interpreted these ideas in my own product and mentioned names such as 'Will Smith', 'Johnny Depp', 'T2' and 'Transformers'.
The well-known names of these top hollywood film stars are well known to my target audience as well as popular films such as Transformers and T2 - Using the filming jargon as i assume my audience which are film fans would know that 'T2' stands for terminator 2, however i have placed the text 'Judgement day' to add reinforcement to the text so that my audience know the film which i am referring to. These well known elements have the effect of interesting and exciting the readers as they are all well-known films and stars which will target a wide audience and encourage them to purchase the magazine as they want to read about these features.

I have also incuded text such as 'On-set exclusive' and 'World Exclusive', this has the effect of promoting the feature as being exclusive to this magazine and makes the audience think they are recieving something special and has the effect of making them feel lucky and privledged with this exclusive information with the magazine is sharing with them. It also has the effect of hyping up my magazines main feature by saying things such as world exclusive it creates a feeling amongst the audience that the film is going to be a huge blockbuster hit across the world and everyone is eagerly-awaiting its release but this magazine is treating its special audience with an exclusive feature on it which encourages them to purchase the magazine as they want to find out more about this hyped up film.

I have chosen to place the tagline to my film 'Would you risk everything for the truth?' running across the top of the magazine, this is effective as it is contained on my film posters and on the film trailer so it is a well-known tagline which accompanies my film. By placing the tagline running across the top of my magazine it stands out and is still visible if the magazine is stacked in a shelf were the main image may be covered up. This allows people to make the link between the tagline and what film my magazine is focusing on, by situating this text near the text 'World Exclusive' also excites the readers as they are constantly told that the film which is being featured in the magazine is a world exclusive film which people are eagerly anticipating to be a good film.

I have also incuded the typical elements which are seen in every magazine such as the barcode, price, date and issue number. However i have challenged the typical conventions expected as i made the decision of keeping all of these elements together, my reasoning behind this was due to the fact that i decided that these are the formal sort of business aspect of the magazine front cover and although not very important to the reader, it is important that they can easily spot where the price of the magazine and details of the magazine are and by placing them in the same position every issue tells the audiences where they can look to find out this information.


Film Poster - Analysis.


This is the final film poster which i produced as the other ancilliary text.

Before i began the production of this media text, i decided that i wanted to have a link between all of my products, therefore i had to make the decision on what features i could incorporate into both of my magazine and film poster.

Initially my idea was to include the same image from the magazine onto the film poster, however i decided against this idea due to the fact that i had a chosen photograph which i wanted to use for my poster production. Although both of the images where similar in what they suggested to the audience such as power and relaxed image of the character showing that he has no fear, this image was a low angle shot which had the effect of making my character appear dominant and powerful, i also like the overall appearance of this image and believe it is effective and looks attractive in the way that it suggests my characters personality whilst again the inclusion of the gun suggests the theme of violence to my audience, again as it is a machine gun and not a handgun it suggests the violent and destructive nature of my character which again indicates the genre of my film to the audience.

Therefore, as i decided i wanted to include this new image, i had to decide of another way to interlink my ancilliary media constructs. Therefore i made the decision to take the headline text and font along with the background image and interpret this also in my film poster. Therefore this provided an interlink between the media products and made it clear for my audience to see that the media products are connected to each other.


The background again works well here as it is again interesting and a dramatic image bringing to the audiences attention of what could happen in the film as the sparse surroundings and black and churning clouds suggest a dramatic view of total destruction and has connotations of death and a feeling of nothingness which suggests to the audience that the film is going to have a storyline surrounding something major happening which threatens the future of the world and threatens devestation on a huge scale.

The title also works in the same way as it did in the magazine, having the effect of appearing bright and bold against the the dark and threatening looking background to the film poster, which catches the audiences attention and complies with the typical conventions as the films title is the most vital piece of information contained in a film poster so therefore it is important that this piece of text stands out and brings the title of the film to the audiences attention.

I have chosen to place the names of the film stars above the title of the film in a bold and big font so that the audience can see the stars in the film, this is important as if they are big named film stars it can have the effect of influencing people to see the film because of the big named stars who are starring in it which encourages the audience that this must be a good film, whilst also likewise if the audience like the film they can easily see the stars names who where in the film which they can remember if they liked their perfomances and watch out for them in other productions.

I have chosen to include the tagline of my film running towards the centre of my poster so that it has the effect of standing out for the audience to clearly see, the tagline is important as it can encourage the audience into wanting to see the film as they like the sound of the films tagline and it sparks an interest and excitement in them of the film. 'Would you risk everything for the truth?' I believe this works well as it sums up the whole narrative of my film which is about a man taking the biggest risk of his life to ensure that the world knows the truth about what is happening. The tagline also provokes though in the audience and interests them in the film.

I have chosen to place the pugs at the bottom of my film poster as this is where they are typically placed, i also didnt want this text to clutter up my main image or the background of the poster which is attractive and eye-catching to the audience so therefore i made the decision to place them at the bottom of the poster.

Underneath this i decided to place the release date for my film as after researching into film posters i discovered that they are frequenntly placed here, therefore i am relying on the knowledge that my audience will typically know where this information is placed on the film poster and will be able to find the film release date easily. I have also chosen to create this information in a white and bold font so that it stands out against the dark background and attracts my audiences attention which has the effect of directing them to the second most important piece of text on the whole movie poster as this tells my audience when my film is going to be showing in cinemas so that they can make a not of this date and go and see the film if they have been encouraged about the film through the film poster.

Dimensions for my Film Poster

Another consideration which i had to take into account during the production of my film poster was where my poster was going to be situated to best attract the audiences; for example whether i was going to design my poster following the dimensions and format of a bus poster or if i was going to produce it in the format of a billboard poster or bus stop poster.

I decided that i was going to produce my film poster to the standards of a bus stop poster, or a poster to be situated and displayed in cinemas as i decided this was a good size to attract the audiences attention, as after researching into film posters i discovered that they need to be big and bright to catch the attention of the audience and provoke their interest into the film.

I also decided that bus stop posters were continually in the publics view meaning that they where more likely to be seen and therefore more people will notice the movie poster and want to go and see the film. Also as people are traditionally waiting around at bus stops it means that they generally are stood around waiting and their attention will inevitably be drawn in by the colourful and bright movie poster, also due to the audience being waiting around they will have more time to take in the film poster and look at its effects and be encouraged to go and see the film.

Also as bus stops are situated by roads, they generally have the same affects as billboards as they are big and stand out and attract the drivers attention as they are passing, it also advertises the film to people sitting waiting on the bus whose attention will again be drawn to the image and the bright text will jump out and attract the audiences attention having the affect of the films name sticking in the audiences mind.


Other Film Poster Dimensions I Could Have Used:

































Bus Side Posters








Billboard Posters











Audience Feedback - Post Production
















































































































































I conducted this audience research after the completion of my three media constructs which where the main medium of the film trailer alongside the two ancilliary products which where the film poster and the front cover of a film magazine advertising my film.

In order to discover what my target audience thought about my products i decided to produce a questionnaire and hand it out to a range of people to collect their results and feedback. I produced a questionnaire on all three of my products asking my target audience what they liked, what they didnt like and if they felt my design worked as a product. Above are just a sample of some of the results which where returned; i asked a total of fifteen people from both male and female. Although the dominant age category was 16-19 year olds i also got four responses from the age group of 20-25 years olds and two responses from the 25+ category. Below are the results which i found out;

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Film Trailer;
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Sound :
  • The average result for the sound quality of my film trailer was between 6 and 7 and this was the area which most of the people suggested areas for improvement on. (Due to the lack of equipment made available to me such as microphones etc, it made recording the sound difficult as the video camera wouldnt pick up the sound from a distance which meant the actors had to be close to the camera for the sound to be picked up.

Narrative:
  • The average score for the narrative / dialogue of my film was 7 with nine votes and 6 people voted for a rating of 6. This could be partly due to the reason that recording sound proved difficult and i was limited to the amount of sound that i could input into my film trailer.

Locations:
  • This was the category which my film trailer did the best on, scoring an average rating of 11 of the audience rating my use of locations at 10 whilst another 2 people voted 9, with the remainder voting 8.


Editing:
  • The average score which my film trailer achieved in the area of editing was 8. A lot of the audience i asked picked out the CCTV effect scene as one of their favourite effects from the trailer, whilst others made comments about the fast paced editing of straight cuts and cross cutting which creates a fast and tense atmosphere which my audience liked.

Variation of Shot Types:
  • The average score which i achieved in this category was a 7 from 8 of the people i asked. However i did get a variation of votes in this category ranging from 8 to 6.


Acting:
  • This was another category in which my film trailer did really well. 12 out of the 15 people whom i asked rated the acting at 9 whilst the other three rated it a score of 10 making this one of my film trailers strongest elements.

Overall:
  • The overall appearance and effectiveness of my film trailer recieved a wide variety of scores, however the average number of people scored the Overall appearance and structure of my film trailer at an 8, with four people opting to score it a 10 and two people voting it a 7.

Film Magazine;

Main image:

  • The main image of my film magazine scored an average rating with nine votes of 9, one person scored it with a 10 whilst a further two people rated it at a score of 8.

The title of my magazine 'Premiere':

  • The title seemed to have been effective with my target audience as all out of the fifteen people whom i asked to rate the effectiveness of my magazine title scored it at a 9.

Attractiveness of front cover:

  • The average score for the attractiveness of my front cover scored a result of 8, recieving 11 of the votes. The remainder scored the attractiveness of my front cover at a score of 7.

Structure of Magazine front cover:

  • This recieved similar votes to that of the attractiveness of my magazine scoring an average rating of an 8 with eight votes, six people opted for a score of 7 whilst one person rated the structure of my front cover at a score of 9.

Overall:

  • My magazine recieved an overall score of an 8 with 13 people scoring it at this, the other two people rated my magazine at a 7.

Film Poster:

Image :

  • The main image of my film poster proved to be effective and widely liked scoring an average rating of 10 from fourteen out of the fifteen people with the remaining one person scoring the image at 9. A lot of the people also mentioned that this was one of their favourite aspects out of both of my ancilliary texts.

Background image:

  • The background image of my film poster was also another liked factor as seen from my audience feedback. Nine people out of the 15 asked scored it at 9, my background image also recieved two votes of 8 and four votes of 7.

Layout of Film Poster:

  • The overall layout and structure of my magazine recieved an average score of 8.

Overall:

  • Overall, according the results of my audience feedback, my film poster proved to be effective as it recieved a total of thirteen votes scoring the overall production of my film poster at a 9.

Analysis of film Posters

Terminator Salvation

This film poster from the recent film from the popular and well-known terminator franchise displays some of the conventional elements which are common of every film poster, as these posters are one of the main ways in which to advertise and promote the film to their target audience, therefore it is important just as it is for the front cover of a film magazine, that the image is big, bright and interesting in order for the poster to stand out and catch the eye of the audiences.

The main image of this poster is straight away complying to the conventions expected from film posters with the main image which is a close up shot of a terminator machine. Due to the success of the previous films people instantly are able to recognise the terminator machines and know that this image is taken from the terminator films suggesting that this is the next film in the franchise.

However for audiences who do not know of the terminator films, the image provides enough information to indicate to the audience what the genre and possible storyline to this film will be. For example, the close up image of the terminator on the front is quite big (in your face) and intimidating. This is also displayed through the use of the image being a low angle shot which has the effect of the image of the machine looking bigger and more imposing and dominant suggesting it's power and strength, having the effect of indicating to the audience that this film is possibly about a machine/robot who appears to the audience as being strong, powerful and intimidating with it's towering and dominant presence in the image, which conotes this.

The image of the Terminator's eyes is also a symbolic indication of the Terminator films. The bright red lights almost pierce through the image and again make the image appear intimidating, the bright red colour of the eyes attracts the audiences attention and stands out almost as if the figure is staring out at the audience which again makes a connection between the audience and the film poster main image, creating a feeling of intimidation. The colour red also has connotations with death, blood and destruction symbolising this is what the machine is seeing. Again the red eyes also reinforces to the audience that this figure isnt human and is a machine highlighting the indication of the seperation between the humans and the machines. The red eyes also have the effect of an image of laser sights suggesting that this is the machines target red dot sight like seen on some weapons and that he is currently searching for a target to destroy again suggesting to the audience that this machine is an intimidating and powerful machine.

The head of the machine is made to look exactly like a human skull made of metal, which provides the audience with a possible indication that the machines share the same features as humans suggesting that they are adapted like to appear like humans again indicating to the audience the possibility that due to the machine holding a huge machine gun weapon and due to its imposing and intimidating presence on the poster, it suggests that science has created these man-made machines which have the same structure as humans, however the weapons suggest that these machines are out of control and are now taking over, providing the audience with some plot possibilites of science possibly going to far in creating man-made killing machines. Previously in the prequel films in the terminator franchise, fans of the film, or even people who know of the film, will know that the terminators are machines trained to kill which are made to look like humans so that they can fit into the world. The poster designers are relying in their target audience; which would be fans of the previous films or films fans to know this. By showing the metal structure of the terminator instead of the human tissue it shows the audience that this is the inner destructive machine inside of the human tissue which is programmed to kill and destroy again highlighting the idea of machines killing humans whilst also highlighting the machines power and intimidating appearance to the audience, as the intimidation has the effect of exciting the audience which in turn excites them about the film and encourages them to go and see it.

The huge mini-gun which is being held by the machine displays the strength and dominance of the machines compared to the humans. By showing the machines holding mini-gun turrets instead of having just ordinary handguns and machine guns suggests the dominance and superior strength of the machines as they having bigger and more powerful weapons, it also suggests the destructive nature of the machines, as by displaying them as having simple weapons such as a handgun would create them in an image of being soldiers and fighters , whereas the inclusion of the big mechanical turret gun indicates to the audience their higher level of weaponry and strength along with their higher levels of destruction and violence again highlighting the machines dominance compared to the humans.

The background of the poster contains the colours brown, gold, yellow and orange, all of these colours are bright and sharp and are eye-catching to the audience, making it stand out and look interesting and appealing to encourage the audience to look at the poster and also encourage them to go and view the film. Firsty, the background image could be of sparks and flames coming from an explosive background suggesting to the audience the idea of war and fighting and destruction, again reinforcing the genre of the film to the audience whilst also indicating possible storylines of violence and fighting. However the sparks in the background could also possibly show sparks which are caused during the steel making process, with the gold and yellow colours indicating the intense heat during the steal making process. This suggests to the audience that these machines are not human and have effectively been produced by man, whilst also highlighting to the audience that these machines are made out of pure steel indicating their strength and power whilst also highlighting the fact that these machines feel no emotion and are destructive man-made killers.

The title of the film is published in a bold and silver font which has small scracthes along the text, again linking in with the idea of powerful metal, making the link with the terminators powerful steel frame along with the films title 'Terminator Salvation' which is also produced to look like the terminators steel and powerful image. The title is in a bright font and is fairly bold and big in order for it to stand out against the dark background and attract the audiences attention as the films title is the most important piece of information on the poster as if people do not know the name of the film then they cannot go and see it, therefore it is vital that the films title is bright and bold and easy to see so that the audiences know what the film is called and if excited and encouraged by the film poster can go and view it.

Directly underneath this is the films tagline. 'The end begins'. This is again in the same bold and powerful metallic looking font again suggesting imagery of the films main protagonists that are the terminators. The end begins is a play on words and suggests to the audience that this film is the beginning not only of civilisation and humanity but it is also the beginning of the end of the battle between the humans and the machines, this creates an excitement in the audience as the tagline suggests impending wars, battles, violence and more destruction which appeals to the audience. The tagline also gives a sense of time running out which creates a sense of panic and again excitement which fuels the audiences adrenaline and excites them into wanting to see the film as the tagline sounds dramatic and suggests a lot of action.

Directly underneath the tagline of the film is the numbers '05.21' This is the release date of the film to cinemas and is therefore produced in a bold and bright font in order to it to stand out again alongside the title as both are produced in the same colour and font so that the audience can easily make the connection between the films title and the other piece of text which has been produced in the same style which attracts their attention which is the release date, which is the second most important piece of information contained on the poster as it tells people when they can go and see the film. They way it has been written also symbolises a modern way to convey the date instead of saying '21st May 2010' the numbers are a modern and direct way to display the release date to the viewers who can instantly spot this device, again all of the text has been produced in a metallic type font suggesting the machines and all the time providing the audience with an insight into what the film is about.

The stars names are placed above the title of the film in order for the audience to be able to see the film title and then notice the stars who are in the film. This is important as some people can be influenced into seeing a film if it has a good actor or their favourite actor in it, therefore the stars names are important as it suggests to the audience that this film is going to be good as big stars are associated with it and has the effect of making audiences think that these stars wouldn't be involved in the film if it wasnt going to be good. This text is placed in a smaller font however as it is not a vitally important piece of information as the posters main advertising and promotional features are the main image and the tagline which are intended to provoke interest and excitement in the audience.

Towards the bottom of the magazine the films website is printed in a small font, which is split up into different colours in order for this text, although small and not vitally important to still capture the audiences attention, this also gives audience an area where they can go to find out more about the film and watch more trailers and shots from the scene in a further attempt to encourage the audiences to come and watch the film.


Bad Boys 2 Film Poster Contextual Analysis

The film poster of bad boys 2 again uses the conventions which are common of film poster.

However in this case, the poster designers have challenged the typical comventions of film posters in the way that the main images contained on the posters tend to be close up images that are bold and powerful and 'in the face' of the audience in order to demand their attention and influence them to go and see the film which it is advertising, however in this case the image that has been chosen is a long shot, however i believe that the image works well and look effective for a film poster. Firstly; the two male characters in the image are presented as being the stereotypical cool, good-looking, hard men, heroic action figures which is typical of images associated with the action genre.

By firstly showing the characters wearing shirts and expensive looking shoes and trousers suggests that the two characters take pride in their appearance and like to look stylish. By showing Will Smith as wearing sunglasses it highlights to the audience that his character is cool and stylish and possibly cares about how he looks suggesting that he could be a ladies man as he is concerned about his image and looking good. However by showing Smith's character as having a ripped shirt also suggests that he has been involved in some kind of violence and confrontation suggesting to the audience that the character is involved in scenes of violence which again provide the audience with more information into the character as it also suggests that he is a 'hard man' who gets involved in fights and obviously walks out alright as he is walking up to the audience with his stylosh glasses on whilst appearing calm and cool. Sunglasses are also associated as making a character appear cool whilst it also has the effect of creating mystery about the character.

In this image both characters are walking forward facing the audience head on suggesting they have no fear and are not intimidated again reinforcing their tough guy images. Another area for analysis would be the idea that Smith's character is walking forward with his gun in his hand but pointing it down towards the ground, whereas his partner in this case Martin Lawrence is walking whilst aiming his gun forward, possibly suggesting that from the destruction of whats just happened behind them, he's being cautious that there may still be some enemies, or could be related to the fact that this character feels unsafe and is constantly keeping his gun out checking for enemies, whereas it highlights to the audience that Smith's character possibly has a more carefree and relaxed attitude and does not feel threatened or even phased by the destruction which the audience can see has just happened, possibly also indicating further to the audience that Smith's character is used to violence and trouble and is relaxed and calm in a dangerous situation.

Smith's character generally also comes across as more dominant and powerful than Lawrence in the main image. This is shown by the way in which Smith again has his gun down, is striding forward with his arms dropped by their sides conveying a relaxed and calm image, whereas Lawrence appears to be hunched up and clutching hold of his weapon suggesting his fear and insecurity. Smith is also portrayed as being taller than Lawrence and broader with larger muscles suggesting that Smith is a strong and powerful character who is sure of himself and feels relaxed highlighting Lawrences smaller and less powerful physique suggesting the reason why Lawrences characters appears more cautious.

Both characters have american police badges, smith has one clipped to his belt whilst Lawrence's character has his on a chain around his neck. This displays to the audience that these two men obviously work for the police and due to them being in plain clothes they obviously work as plain clothes detectives or some other job such as that, highlighting to the audience the tough and violent scenes which they confront at their work as being in the police. As their police badges are shown it suggests to the audience that the film is going to be following the two main characters through their employment, indicating where the storyline is going to develop from.

As both of the characters have handguns it suggests to the audience that these two men are constantly involved in violent and dangerous situations where the use of firearms is needed again suggesting the characters dangerous lives and profession and giving the audience an insight into where the action of the film is going to come from.

The background to this image of the cars upturned onto their bonnets and on fire suggests the high levels of destruction and violence which has possibly been caused by these two characters who are now walking away from the destruction victorious suggesting again to the audience that they are very good at what they do and are obviously trained and experienced in dealing with dangerous situations. The palm trees in the background and the sand floor also creates the impression of the characters causing this devestation in a exotic location.

The title of this poster 'Bad Boys 2' is produced in a bold and white font so that it stands out against the background of the magazine again having the effect of catching the audiences attention and standing out so that after the image which has had the effect if interesting and exciting the reader to see the film they can then immediately see what the film is called and remember the title so that they can go and see it. Again, a typical convention which i have noticed is structured like this in a lot of movie posters is the film stars names just above the title of the magazine. In this case it is 'Martin Lawrence and Will Smith', both of these are big named, well-known stars and therefore is a big selling point for the magazine as big named stars like these attract hthe audience to their film; as they like the actors and their work and also have the belief that a huge star like this wouldnt be appeaing in this film if it wasn't good so therefore this encourages them to go and see the film. The names are produced in a bold and white font similarily to the title in order to attract the audiences attention to the big named stars in order to excite them that hige stars like these are in this film and influence them to watch the film, however it is produced in a smaller font to the title as the producers do not want the emphasis taken away from the title of the film which they want their audience to remember.

Towards the bottom of the magazine is the pugs. These are details of the main people who where involved in the making of the film, from the directors and producers to the actors, writers and sound producers. This information is again produced in a bold white dont towards the bottom of the poster so as not to distract the audiences attention away from the main image and title of the poster, which are the main elements towards advertising the poster and encouraging people to come and see the film. Although by placing them towards the bottom people interest can still read the pugs to see who produced and directed the film if they have a particular favourite director etc which could encourage them to go and see the film because they have enjoyed their previous work.

Directly at the bottom of the magazine is the date of release for the film. 'JULY 18' this is produced in a bold white font similar with the rest of the text in order for it to again stand out as this piece of information is again vital for the audience to see as this tells them when they film is out so that they can go and see it which is the whole purpose of the film poster and so this information must be visible and clear for the audience to see and by producing it in a bright white font it has the effect of being eye-catching and easy to see.


Pulp Fiction Film Poster Contextual Analysis

I chose to analyse this film poster as it is an old and well-known film poster which i feel has been produced quite creatively and wanted to explore and analyse.

Firstly the main image is a close up of a young woman lying on a bed. After conducting much research on what makes effective film posters i discovered that it is important for the main image of the magazine to be interesting in order for it to hold the audiences attention. This is why i believe this poster works well as it suggests a lot of different things to the audience which keeps them interested.

Firstly, for example, the image of the woman lying on the bed is a very seductive and sexual image. This is suggested to the audience by the bright red lipstick which the woman is wearing - the colour red having connotations with love, passion and seduction. This is also shown through the way in which the woman is positioned on the bed, she has her arms relaxed and laid down on the bed by her side, with her other hand holding her cigarette nonchalantly, she appears relaxed and comfortable with showing her body to the audience again indicating the seductive imagery being created by the woman as she isnt trying to cover herself up or hide away, she appears relaxed and confident almost as if she is used to this seductive behaviour suggesting to the audience that the woman its attractive and she knows it and in knowing so she constantly flirts and seduces men. There is also a redish and pink tint over this photograph which again makes the image appear more seductive and sexual as it casts a glow over the womans attractive features (also they have chosen a woman without any spots or freckles or wrinkles) to highlight to the audience why this woman would be seen as being attractive, whilst it also gives the image a warm feeling, all of these features make the image appear sexual and seductive possibly indicating to the audience that the woman is waiting for her boyfriend or husband in order to seduce him.

The fact that the woman is smoking also has connotation with sex, as smoking is sometimes associated as an activity which couples do after sex, the woman smoking also makes a reference with drugs which could provide the audience with a possible indication that drugs could be an element which is featured in the film, this could also be true of the image of the gun which the woman has placed resting on the pillow directly in front of her, the gun is almost propped fully up as if the woman has position it carefully so that she can grab it at the moments notice, suggesting that she is maybe expecting some trouble or violence, however due to the womans cool and calm composure she doesn't appear to be frightened or intimidated at this prospect which could indicate to the audience that she is used to dealing with violence and is a tough woman who is experienced and calm and knows how to handle the dangerous situations, or, on the other hand, it could also be an indication that she has it merely as a precaution in case somebody does try and get her, this could indicate that maybe as she is an attractive woman she is fearful of being attacked, it could also indicate that she is a lady of the night and carries a gun around with her for protection, or it could also suggest that she has been given the weapon from her boyfriend in order to keep herself safe, which then suggests that her husband is involved with a dangerous business.

The image of the weapon also suggests crime and violence as themes which may well be featured in the film, reinforcing the genre and some possible features of the film to the audience, providing them with teasing bits of information as to what could be included in order to encourage them to want to go and see the film. Also the image on the bed is a creative way of using intertextuality in order to make a reference to the cartoon magazine of pulp fiction, the womans hand has been creatively placed on the magazine to bring it to the attention of the audience. Also women are stereotypically known as having the 'necessities' in their handbags or somewhere on their person such as; lipstick, make-up, hairbrush, mirror and the 'girlie' associated products, whereas the women is shown with only a gun and a packet of cigarettes, straight away incinuating to the audience that this woman isnt a 'girlie' girl, she has the same necessaties of a criminal male figure suggesting that this woman is tough and knows how to handle herself whilst it also suggests that she feels confident with her image.

I like this film poster in the way that it has also creatively used the conventions of a magazine and interpreted this alternative media structure into their construction of the film poster. This is seen by the way in which they have followed the typical conventions of the main image, with the magazine title running across the top, with the advertisements running down the sides, which in this case is the film stars names which are placed down the left hand side in a list almost like film credits, the pugs running along the bottom is almost like the 'PLUS' section in magazines where they list more features included in the magazines, the text also running across the top saying 'winner - best picture 1994 Cannes Film Festival is like the text which is placed along the top of magazines summing up what is featured in the magazine. The advertisement in the circle which is done exactly the same in the magazine telling the audience the price is 10 cents, all of these features give the film poster the imagery of a magazine which is creative and has an interesting effect on the audience as at first they are unsure if this is a magazine or a film poster and therefore the poster works with this effect as it captures the audiences attention and provokes their interest which involves them taking time to look at the poster and inevitably find out about the film, again the poster is using these devices to lure the audience in and influence them to go and see the film.

There are two main relevant pieces of text which the producer has chosen to highlight and bring out for the audiences attention. This are the title 'PULP FICTION' and the stars names which run down the left hand side of the poster. The magazine has chosen to produce these in bold, block capitals in a bright yellow font in order for them to appear bright, colourful and eye-catching to grab the audiences attention and focus their attention onto these particular areas. Therefore the producers are chosing to reinforce the title to their audience to try and keep the title in their minds so that they remember it which has the effect of them thinking about going to see it, also by drawing attention to the film stars names the poster is appealing to the audience that the film has some bog movie stars in it and is using their names to try and advertise and promote their film as people will be enouraged to see it due to the big named hollywood stars who are appearing in it.

The text running along the top of the film poster which says 'Winner - Best Picture 1994 Cannes Film Festival' is displayed in a big, bold and black coloured font in order for it to stand out against the red background and again have the effect of standing out and appeals for the audiences attention. This has been highlighted by the poster as the film winning an award for best picture at an awards ceremony as well known and prestigious as Cannes will boost the films recognition highly and will also encourage the audience to go and see the film as it has won such a big acolade and therefore must be good. Therefore it is vital for this to stand out and attract the audiences attention as this is one of the main luring elements for the audiences.

As is typical with most film posters, this one being no exception, is that the pugs are generally placed towards the bottom of the poster, along with the film companies and production companies logo's, this has been created in a simple white and smaller font to the rest of the text as it is not vitally important to the rest of the influential elements to the film poster, however as mentioned previously it allows the audience to view who produced and directed a film and if fans of their work the may feel encouraged to see this film, likewise, if the audience enjoyed this film they may be interested to know who produced it and directed it in order for them to watch out for more of their films coming out.

The film poster has also made a reference to the films director Quentin Tarantino, who is a well-known director whose films are popular therefore the indication of his name will encourage audiences and make them feel safe about the fact they will enjoy this film as it is by the same director whose films they have seen previously and liked, it also has the effect of letting people see, as mention earlier, who directed the film, as if they enjoyed it they may be interested in further films by this director. In this situation however Quentin Tarantino is also a big named star alongside the actors and therefore his name on the film will encourage audiences that if he is behind the film and directing it then the film will be good and therefore encourages them to go and see it.

This film poster has interestingly however, challenged film poster conventions by not displaying a release date, thereby leaving the audiences not knowing when the film is going to be showing so that they can go and see it. The poster has done its ultimate job of promoting the film and interesting the audiences, encouraging them to want to see the film, however the poster has then failed to put a release date, meaning that some of the audiences may lose interest in the film.



This poster is like my final movie poster design in the way that it has a dark and threatening looking background, the churning black clouds, darkness of the image, and the image of the long road littered with abandoned cars suggests a sense of danger and mystery as it prompts the audience to wonder why the cars have just been abandoned and what has happened.

The images and background are interesting and provoking the audiences interest in the film as they want to know what has happened.

Challenges conventions in the way that there is no main image contained in the poster but it is dominated by the background image. The sky is brighter in the distance suggesting that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that there is a chance of hope and life in the distance that the characters must move towards in order to survive, it also suggests an aspect of humanity in the distance as the background image suggests no sign of life to the audience, suggesting possibly a disaster has happened.

The title is created in a bright font which stands out against the background of the film poster. Along with the name of the films director and producer and writer, who is the famour M. Night Shyamalan. As he is a famous and well known writer, the poster is advertising their film by attracting the audience to his name which has been produced in a bold and bright text as people know some of his old works and if like some of his other films will be encouraged to see this film.




This historic poster is an example of challenging some of the conventions. Such as they have chosen to place the pugs running down the right hand side of the poster in a bold font to bring the cast names and producer and director etc to the audiences attention.

The poster also challenges the typical expectations of a film poster in the way in which it provides the audience with a small synopsis of what the film is about running down the left hand side in a white font against the black background so that it stands out and attracts the audiences attention. The poster is split into two halves with one half being black and the other white which possibly suggests good and bad, the image is a man seen holding a gun dressed in a smart suit and tie suggesting he is a wealthy man possibly indicating he is a porfessional man, the symbol of the gun suggests that the man is violent and dangerous and knows how to use a weapon, suggesting that he is possibly a criminal. The poster uses a simple red and bold font for both the films title which is seen at the top of the poster and the release date of the film which is placed directly at the bottom of the magazine, as these two pieces of text are created in the same style and font it enables the audience to make the connection between both pieces of text which are the two most important pieces of text on the poster.



This is another well-known and effective film poster. The poster main image has the appearance of a black and white photograph has been put in the centre of the poster so that the audiences eyes are straight away attracted to this image, the effect of this image being in black and white suggests the idea of age and possibly has suggestions that these men are old time gangsters.
As all of the men are wearing suits and sunglasses it is an indication of their wealth and professionalism and the sunglasses creates a sense of mystery about the characters. The two characters who aren't wearing suits towards the back of the image suggests these men are possibly in charge and have authority over the other men as they dictate what they have to wear, where they can wear the clothes they chose. The setting in the photograph is an urban location highlighting the films location to the audience. As there are a group of men it suggests that they are all main characters, who are working together again making references to the fact that they are in a gang and due to the suits and hard men imagery of them it suggests that these men are gangsters.

The dominant colour of this film poster is red which has connotations with blood and death which suggests this is going to be a key feature in this film, the black and white image could also be a link to death as the colour has been drained from the image suggesting the idea that when a person dies the colour on the world drains away.

The title of the film is produced in a black, big and bold font which stands out against the red background. Title Dog's suggests these men are animals in their behaviour signifies to the audience that these men are nasty and violent which again reinforces to the audience that these men are gangsters.

The pugs have been placed typically at the bottom in a white and bold font, stands out against the red background so the audience are attracted to it and can see who is behind the making of the film. This poster challenges the conventions of film posters as it doesnt include a release date to inform their audience when the film is going to be showing at the cinemas.



This film poster has opted for a CU shot of the characters face. Straight away the character is displayed to the audience as looking focused and determined, as he is looking straight to the audience it highlights the character is not intimidated or scared and is looking straight in front of him towards the danger where his is pointing his arrow. The blood on the characters face suggests that he has suffered an injury and is involved in scenes of violence and danger highlighting that the character is a tough man who is involved in dangerous confrontations, however as he is seen here now, it highlights to the audience that this heroic action figure usually comes out on top again leading to the suggestion that the man is talented and skilled and knows how to fight, i.e. he knows how to fire a bow and arrow.

The bow and arrow and the characters clothing suggest a time period of the film to the audience.

References to the bow and arrow and the forest seen in the background all make suggestions and links with the story of Robin Hood indicating to that audience just by the image that this is robin hood.

Robin Hood title is produced in a bright yellow font which has the effect of standing out to the audience and is eye-catching immediately telling the audience the name of the film, the font is also produced in a style iconographic of the time period again suggesting the time in which the film is set to the audience. The actors names are placed above the title in a bright and attractive white font bringing to the audiences attention the films stars who are in this film, 'Russel Crowe is a well known film star so by placing his name at the top it stands out more than the one underneath as he is the bigger star and is obviously going to have the effect of encouraging more audience members to see the film. The pugs are also again placed at the bottom of the magazine in a white font so that it stands out and is clear for the audience to read, highlighting to them the main people who where involved of the production of this film.



This film poster is effective due to its sharp and bright colours which are instantly attractive to the audience and draws their attention in. The LS is quite a dramatic image of choppy seas leaping up towards a character who is stood on a rock wearing red robes - red has connotations suggesting danger therefore straight away this could be a link to the audience suggesting the danger and warning element of the film. The choppy seas and bright blue skies are attractive to the audience. The tagline 'we were warned' however suggests an alternative view to the bright image being presented to the audience which suggests that something bad is about to happened as when a person is warned it is about something they are going to do that will result in a bad outcome or that something bad is going to happen. The choppy seas indicates to the audience that possibly this bad thing is staring t0 happen as the sea is rough and choppy and looks as if it is recedeing suggesting a possible link to a tsunami. The title of the film is in a bold and bright font which attracts the audiences attention. The director of the films name is shown again for the purpose of advertising his work whilst using his name to promote the film. The pugs are again placed in a bright font so it is clear for the audience to read and have again been placed at the bottom of the film poster.


This film poster is effective as it is bright and straight away catches the audiences attention. The wobbly and twisted effect of the image as it creates an idea of a parallel universe. Blue colours suggests calm and peace which judging by the terrified look of the characters all huddled together keeping each other calm is a contrasting idea. The protective male is seen holding his wife and child stereotyping him as being strong and brave and protecting his family. No other people in street just these three characters suggests that they are experiencing some other world. Title is bright and eye catching drawing the audiences attention to the name of the film. The pugs are again placed at the bottom of the poster, however this poster challenges the typical conventions as it doesnt include a release date for the film.





CU image of character again looking directly at the audience. Character wearing a bullet proof vest with a microphone suggests he is some sort of police officer or involved in an occupation where danger is rife ang is therefore wearing protection which suggests he is in dangerous locations indicating a possible storyline and film genre to the audience. Again the title is bold and bright which stands out and catches the audiences attention. The poster also says the film stars name in a bold and bright font whilst also mentioning another two films which the film star has been in so if the audience liked any of these films they may be encouraged to go and see this one, also this would encourage the audience if they liked the actors performance in the other two films. The poster then includes the pugs at the bottom of the poster.





Bright background - has the effect of being eye-catching and attractive to the audience. The almost transparent image of the figures in the sky suggests that these characters have died as they are displayed in a spirit like image, this is also reinforced in the way that they are placed in the sky smbolising spirits in heaven. As these are directly above the black and mysterious image of a lone soldier walking forward on his own suggesting possibly that he could be responsible for their deaths, or that they could be watching over him as they where his friends from his army troop who have lost their lives and that the figure below is the only one to have survived.

Again the title is produced brightly and stands out as too is the film stars names so that they stand out to the audience. The pugs are again placed at the bottom of the magazine.




Bright background which has the effect of attracting the audiences attention. The title is produced in a similar colour as the background behind it, stands out due to the titles boldness and big size. It is clear and easy to see as it is placed at the top of the magazine.

Image of the world breaking apart and falling into the choppy seas, suggests the world is falling apart and highlights the idea of world disasters indicating the storyline of the film to the audience. The films tagline we where warned is again displayed in a bright white font which stands out and suggests bad things are going to happen which the audience can connect with the destructive and threatening image of the world collapsing and falling into the sea. The release date is also included at the bottom of the film in a bright font saying 'November'. So it stands out for the audience to see informing them of when the film is going to be released and when they can see it.


This poster is packed full of bright colours in order to attract the audiences attention. The range of characters included on the front cover have all adopted different comical poses suggesting the humour in the film and the films genre as being a comedy. They are all seated as if they are in a cinema watching the film themselves with horrified but comical expressions on their faces suggesting the sarcastic fear which the film is playing on. The intertextual reference to the space ship from signs is clearly seen behind all of the characters.

The pugs are again produced in a white and small, easy to read font for the audience to see and easily read.







Dark background has connotations with death and mystery. The image of the woman all holding hands which represents the shape of a skull which again has suggestions with death. Straight away this highlights the films genre to the audience. The woman at the top is screaming and looks as if she is in pain which again highlights the propsect of pain and suffering which is going to be an element to this horror film. The bright white light shining through creates a firery image which possibly suggests firery spirits. The whole image appears threatening and scary which excites and interests the reader and encourages them to want to go and see the film.

The title of the film is created in a big, bold white font so that it stands out against the dark background and catches the audiences attention. This is also seen in the films tagline 'Scream your last breath.' This straight away excites the audience at the prospect of screaming your last breath which suggests to the audience the people are in terrible fear and pain just before they die, this excites the audience and although it sparks a fear within them, the lovers of these films tend to like being scared and so are encouraged to go and view this film.


Includes a lot of main images of the different characters in the film, the different poses suggests each of the characters different personalities for example character no 4 appears to the audience as being the stereotypical 'nerdy' character whereas this is hugely contrasted with character no 5 who appears to be the violent and drug taking young character. The title is again displayed in a bright and bold font so that it stands out against the orange background and the audience can clearly see it as it is big and takes up a big amount of the film poster. The pugs are again placed at the bottom of the poster in a clear and easy to read font for the audience.