Final Storyboard

Practise Shots

After deciding on the general layout and genre of our film, I went out and took some practice shots of places where we could possibly use for shooting. I took some pictures that could represent the drawing of our storyboard and some general pictures of places that you might see in horror films that help to create a mysterious and possibly eerie mood.

This is the window from where the possessed girl would jump from, but the modern window frames could pose a  problem to authenticity of the time period.

These were all pictures of places where the older sister is running through to find her younger sister. I think it looks really good and would sets a scary mood because of all the overgrowth. It makes the places look untended and abandoned./ deserted.

I also took some practise images of what the magazine cover's main images might look like and experimented a bit using Photoshop to get a better picture of how the whole piece would look like with the other magazine cover elements. I'm glad I did this because in the practise images the models were too close to the camera so when shooting the final images the positioning of the models would have to be reworked to leave space for all the elements that would be placed on the cover.

These sort of poses I found were common amongst film magazine covers that had more than one  model. One model would stand behind the other, which I thought would work well for the cover because it would make it seem like the older sister is protecting the younger sister.

Initial Storyboard

This is the initial storyboard me and my partner have created as an early idea of what our trailer could look like. It was drawn out to just give us an idea of what kinds of shots we might use and any props or costumes we might need.

Annotations will be included in the final version of our storyboard.

Director Case Study

M. night shyalaman from rybas002

Font Ideas

These are the fonts that we were thinking of using on our media pieces. Out of all of them, we liked ‘Evanscent’ the most, so we made another version of the film’s title to see if we could alter the appearance a bit. We liked the crosses, but thought the circle did not fit in, so we removed it and decided that this was going to be out film’s title font.

We didn't choose the ‘Ringbearer’ font because we thought it looked too gothic and would suit a gothic horror film more. We also liked the ‘Creator’ font, but thought that the effects that come with the title’s characters would make the overall appearance a bit messy and too distracting. 

Focus Group

We decided to do a focus group in order to find out, in more detail, what made trailers appealing to out target audience. We showed them a supernatural horror trailer and proceeded to ask questions about what they liked/ disliked and why.

Trailer Overview

I have looked at a range of horror film trailers in order to find any reoccurring features or common conventions throughout them. I made sure to watch trailers that liked in with my chosen supernatural horror genre.

After watching them, I noticed how clearly they presented themselves as supernatural horror films. All of the trailers had very dark lighting that helped to cast shadows, which sometimes helped keep certain things hidden and create fear of the unknown. They all feature horrific imagery like blood, creepy masks or deformed parts of the human body, but they also feature thing that sometimes can’t be explained e.g. moving shadows or things/people that are seen one moment and gone the next. In addition, the trailers all have sounds that have been amped-up to create tension, like whispers or the sound of a heart beating. These are all conventions that occur in horror films and can usually be seen in their trailers as well.

The trailers show patterns in themselves with things like strap lines that show up in between shots. Furthermore, they all seem to follow a similar structure with longer shots and softer editing at the beginning and as they approach the end the shots become much shorter and the editing speeds up. At the beginning, the first shots are usually the establishing shots followed by the film company credits. Some of them also have a sting at the end of the trailer. It either gets placed right before the film’s details are shown, or right after as a last ‘injection’ of horror.

All of the trailer will show the film’s protagonist, which usually tends to be a woman. This is because people find the film more realistic if it’s a female trying to overcome the trials in the film, since women in films are seen as the weaker sex are the ones that always need protection. The trailer will also usually show the antagonist, but only allow quick glimpses so that the audience is left wondering what they saw or they even saw anything. We also see other characters from the film; however their roles are usually less important.

All of the trailers use very dark colours. Typically, at the start of the trailer, we would see lighter and warmer colours and as the trailer plays, the colours turn much colder and become almost unpleasant, as if the characters are entering an evil and dark world. This may be done to show a contrast between the equilibrium and the disturbance. The dark colours also help to create more shadows which make it harder for the audience to see what exactly is going on. This could mean that they will want to watch the trailer again out of curiosity of what they saw of failed to see.

The most common colours that occur in trailers are dark blues. These colours make the trailer look cold and desolate. It gives of a feeling of loneliness and isolation. Dark reds are the next most common because they make the audience feel as though all of the horror is happening in hell itself. The reds can be a foreshadowing of blood and pain, and the colour red’s connotation is usually anger and rage.

Text is used in a few ways in the trailers. At the beginning we see the film company name which may also include their logo. Throughout the trailer, we see strap lines e.g. “He wants to be born now” – The Unborn, that are meant to give the audience extra information about the film. These strap lines start appearing after the definite change in music and sometimes during the fast editing montage at the end. It’s not uncommon for the strap lines to have the same font as the name of the film. Finally, at the end of the trailer, we have the film’s credits where we see the name of the film and usually some sort of realise date. This will give all of the basic information they may need to consider weather to find out more about the film and to watch it. Other optional pieces of text are also used like extra information about production staff, reviews or star ratings and the film’s website URL.

Common camera shots in trailers are point of view shots. This let’s us see what the character sees, which makes us temporarily feel as thought we have taken on the role of the character. This also makes us feel more vulnerable, as thought we are exposed to the world in the film. Close-up shots are also very common because it let’s us see the character’s facial expression and we are able to tell how their feeling.

The trailers use mise-en-scene to help them bring across the horror and sub-genre of horror the film is promoting. The most common technique used is religious iconography and things associated with religion, like exorcisms, cults and cult symbols or practices, churches, a priest character or something of the equivalent, demons and spirits. Possessed children are also a regular feature in supernatural horrors and will often appear in the trailers. The trailers might also include blood or bladed weapons to remind the audience of the film’s genre.

Sound is used in the trailers to create tension. At the beginning of the trailer, there is either no music or it is quite light and faded into the background. Then there is a sudden drop of low base and the audience knows something is wrong or that something bad is going to happen. Then the music becomes darker and more noticeable. It coincides with the fast montage of shots to help create tension. Then everything may go quiet, or how other trailers insert the sound of a heart beat. This leaves all the tension pent-up inside the audience’s body’s and raises their anxiety. We then may hear a sharp loud sound that scares us more because of the fear we have inside us. If they trailer has a sting, then at the end there may little noise that lulls the audience into a false sense of security which makes the sting that much worse.

The editing in these trailers is mostly made up of cuts. All of the trailers will have cuts during the fast editing montage because it helps to create the tension. Other common edits include fade to black. This edit may be used because once the screen has faded to black, the audience don’t know what their going to see next. This wouldn't be possible with just quick cuts. Dissolves may also be used at the beginning of the trailer because their much softer and fit in well with the feel of the equilibrium.

In conclusion all of these trailers follow the conventions of horror and the conventions of horror trailers to at least some extent. This is why they have been able to successfully promote their films through the use of things like tension, cliff-hangers or grotesque imagery.

Film Trailer Analysis

Sinister

This is the trailer for the supernatural horror ‘Sinister’. I will analyse different aspects of the trailer, to find out if it does a good job appealing the target audience and promoting the film. I will also see how well they follow the conventions of a horror film trailer.

At the beginning of the trailer we see the green preview screen that appears at the start of all film trailers. The screen cuts to black and the film company’s logo comes up in the style of an old film reel starting up, on a background that looks like a cracking grey wall. We see this style wall on the film’s poster, so there is already a symbiotic link being created between the two media texts. We hear a low lone drum beat as soon as the logo comes up, so maybe this indicates the start of something that will make our hearts drop.

The screen then fades to black and as the next shot fades in, we see the establishing shot of what looks like big house. The house completely fills up the frame from side to side, so we have no idea of what sort of location the house might be in which makes it look isolated. The shot seems to use some soft lighting which helps us make out the house, be keeping the light to a minimum to indicate that it’s night time. Night time is when people believe strange and unexplainable things happen, and is a time when people are most vulnerable. The light is still able to cast dark shadows, which is a general horror convention and indicates that the film will be of some kind of horror nature.

There is a sudden flash of colour and a strange symbol, however, the flash was so quick that the audience would not have been expecting it and wouldn’t have been able to register what they just saw. This flash was accompanied by a screeching noise. The sound sounded slightly digital but it could have also been trying to mimic a human screech.

The establishing shot then slowly starts to zoom in and we hear the non-digetic sound of a news report about a murder of a family. Since the camera is still fixed to the house whilst this report is being read out, we assume there is a connection between the murder and this house.

We then have another flash of the same symbol, then a photo of a family which we again assume are the murder victims. The news report carries on throughout these family shots. We see more cuts and dissolves of a murder scene and disturbing child like scribbles of people hanging. This makes the audience think about disturbed or possessed children because children are normally portrayed as good and innocent beings. This may also start to hint that the film is a supernatural horror because possessed children are a common convention of this sub-genre.

Then the camera returns to the establishing shot as the news report finishes. After that, we cut to a black screen with text that reads “9 months later” to signify a passage of time, and then a shot of the same house fades in. This time it’s daytime, so the house look more normal and less creepy. We can see a moving van next to the house that tells us that new people are moving in. This is followed by several shots of the new family unpacking and settling in. The lighting has had a massive change with much more ambient and natural light. This could be signifying that this family is not yet tainted with darkness, as seen in the long group shot of the family eating dinner. Everything around them is shrouded in shadows and the camera is shaking a bit which makes it look like someone is watching them from the shadows, but they are illuminated by the key lighting from the lamp which makes them look pure. However, it could also be said that it’s as if the darkness is surrounding and consuming them. We see shots of the father with his daughter which makes him appear to care for his family. However, when we see the shot of his daughter drawing on the wall, she doesn’t look happy and her drawings remind us of the disturbing scribbles. So maybe there is something going on with the child that the father hasn’t noticed.

Dialogue wise, we find out that they moved because of financial problems and because of work. As we see the family together and find out a bit about them, the audience will start to care for the characters and want their situation to improve.

Then we are shown a close-up shot of the daughter in her bed, surrounded by toys and drawing equipment. These props help to show the daughter’s childishness and purity as well as the key lighting that brightens her face. Then we see the parents in their bed showing their affection and illuminated by the same kind of key lighting in the previous shot to show they have the same kind of purity. All of this is done to show the audience the family’s equilibrium.

Up to this point, most of the shots have been fairly long and editing has consisted of mostly cuts and some dissolves to show that this is the narrative’s equilibrium. But all along, we can hear a low pitch sound that almost becomes like a hum in the background; as if something is lingering in the house and is observing everything that’s going on.

We then get the long shot of the father entering the dimly lit attic and the humming suddenly stops, as if to suggest that there is evil lurking near by, or that this is the source of the humming. This sudden silence will create tension because we know that this is the part where the equilibrium starts deteriorating. We are taken to a shot of a lone black box in the middle of the attic. This immediately strikes the audience as weird because it’s placed in such a way as if was meant to be found. The silence is now replaced with a kind of chanting sound. This kind of sound can be related to the kind of chanting we would expect to hear when dealing with cults, so the film again hints at the supernatural sub-genre.

Then you see the first strap line which reads “From the producers of Paranormal Activity and Insidious”. People who liked these other films might become interested in seeing this one because of the same producer. The text is written in the same kind of font and the same king of background as on the poster, which maintains the symbiotic link.

Then there are shots of the father looking at the film reels inside the box and setting up the projector. The shots here a quite quick and they maintain their darkness as if to show that the content of the dark box will bring darkness to your life.

As soon as the projector is turned on, all of the sound stops to build more tension and all we can hear is the projector running. Then we see shots of a happy family spending time together from the projector. This in a may mimics the current family’s relations. The father states that the family in the videos is the same family that lived in their house and were murdered. The two families resemble each other, so the audience could be thinking that what happened to the last family will happen to the current family.

The video then makes a loud screeching noise similar to the one you hear at the start. During this, the video shows morbid images of people (who we assume are the family) kicking whilst hanging from a tree. This is the kind of horrifying imagery you expect to see in a horror trailer.

The father is taken aback by what he saw, possibly trying to mimic the reaction of the audience. After he turns off the projector, we hear another loan drum beat to signify that the equilibrium has been disturbed and the disturbance has been acknowledged.

The next part of the trailer is the film’s protagonist trying to find out more about the antagonist entity by looking through all of the film reels of disturbing imagery and searching for clues about the murders. He also seeks help from the police, cult experts after finding a strange symbol reoccurring in all of the films. This clearly establishes the sub-genre of the film as supernatural, as cults and religious symbols are a common narrative choice and convention in this sub-genre. This is a common convention in both trailers and the films to have an interval of research or exploration. It’s also how the character delves deeper into the dark world and the audience begin to fear for his life.

We find out that the symbol belongs to a child soul consuming demon, which makes the audience worry about the safety of the father’s children. Then we cut to the father looking at another film of a boy jumping into a pool, but unlike the before, the shots are longer and there is some sharp musing building up tension. Then again we hear silence, and as we cut from the father’s face back to the projector screen in a point of view shot, we see a strange figure in the water that is not the same boy we just saw. The figure looks like it’s cloaked in black and is wearing a white mask. Since the cult expert informed us about a demon, the audience assumes that it is the demon.  This silence is accompanied by a heavy feeling because the audience sees the figure but not clearly enough to make it out because of the water, so they are stuck wanting to see it again more clearly out of curiosity, but also not wanting to see it again out of fear. This mask looks a lot like the face on the ‘Sinister’ poster that was dripping with blood. This reinforces the symbiotic link between the media texts.

Another strap-line comes up that sais “Once you see him”. The audience know that this is only part the strap-line, but they will want to see the other part because they have already seen the figure; to find out what awaits them. This also creates nervousness that stays with the audience.

We then see more shots of the father researching the ordeal and the audience get more glimpses of the demon. The lighting has become very dark in almost every shot, with parts of the protagonist in shadow to indicate that the darkness is closing in on him.

The next big scare happens when the father is holding the picture of the demon peeking through some bushes. When the picture is removed from the frame, we are able to see out of the window with the demon standing in the exact same position as he did in the picture. This informs the both the audience and the character that the evil has made its way into their world and that they are no longer safe. These shot were accompanied by more non-digetic screeching noises, but these sounded more human like, possibly foreshadowing the pain and fear the demon will bring now that he is here.

Then we hear more from the cult expert who sais the demon lives in the images and the audience realise that the father has been looking at many images of the demon, which means he’s been putting himself in danger. We can next see the father looking at another image of the demon and while he’s looking away, the demon inside the image turns towards him. This image however, was a close up, so the more images the father has seen, the closer the demon has been getting to him. This also makes the audience fear in seeing the demon again, because at the next strap-line states, one you see the demon “Nothing can save you”. So whatever the father is doing will interest the audience, because they feel as though they are all in the same boat.

Next are shots of the daughter looking at the films, just when the expert says that is especially worse. One shot of her shows her standing in the laundry room in her pyjamas. There is very little light and it is quite dim which casts many shadows on her once bright face, pointing out that she is succumbing to the demon’s darkness and is loosing her purity. We then find out that she has been talking to the deceased little girl of the previous family and even drew her on the door. The camera then shows the audience the drawing that brings about an eerie disposition.

Some of the cuts are now starting to look like old fashioned film reels when their closing in on the end of a reel. This could be a way of telling to audience that this section of the trailer is the beginning of the end.

We then see the father looking for his son who comes out of a box and looks like he’s being possessed, which makes the audience worry because they know that now if the father doesn’t do anything, everyone will be in danger.

The next shot is of the father burning the film reels, which may bring some kind of hope or relief to the audience that the father is finally taking action. But with more fast shots of the cult symbol in their house and the family rushing in a panic, the audience is wondering if he was too late and maybe even wondering if they will survive the ordeal at all.

All of the shots become quick which builds up the tension and the audience feel as though something big is coming up, but then all the sounds fade and all we can hear is the film reel turning after it finished. Interestingly, the sound the projector was making, imitated the sound of a heart beat. In between the ‘heart beats’ we see shots of the father and of the family in vulnerable situations. This again makes the audience doubt if the family will live till the end.

At the end, we see the father looking into the attic where it all began and his point of view shot of children sitting around a running projector, indicating him to be quiet. Then we go back to the father, who looks back at the children covered in sweat, telling us that he is scared and/or tired making him appear as a realistic person would in his situation.

The final shot is of the children and the demon is on the projector screen. As the demon on the film moves to the right, the demon himself appears right in front of the shot. There is a bright flash of light and a horrible screeching sound to increase the intensity of this. The shot is also so quick that the audience will have the chilling sinister face in their memory as the last thing they see.

The next shot is of the film’s name that fades in on the wall. This way the chilling face will make them remember the film’s name and vice versa.

Then wee see a quick flash of someone’s silhouette before getting the film’s website URL and a Facebook URL. 

Overall, I believe that this is a good trailer and does well in promoting its film and makes good use of a cliff-hanger to leave the audience guessing what happens next. It makes it clear that it’s a supernatural horror with an interesting narrative and follows conventions of horror films and trailers well.

The Unborn

The trailer starts with an establishing shot. It’s a long shot of a house surrounded by woods. This shows that this is an isolated area which tells the audience, if something bad happens, whoever resides in the house will have to fend for them selves. There is clear use of key lighting which is causing the trees surrounding the house to cast dark shadows onto the house. This makes the house look like it is being engulfed by the shadows. We can clearly see it is night time, which is when people are more vulnerable and the darkness can create fear of the unknown in your own home. These are some of the conventions of horror films, so the audience will have an idea of the film’s genre.

In the background, we can hear a faint sound of a high pitched hum. This sounds like a feeling of suspended tension. The dialogue indicates that the girl we see in the next shot is alone because she is talking to another woman about what the children are doing, indicating that she is a babysitter which means the parents are not at home. This will make her seem more vulnerable to the audience because she is a young female adult alone in a secluded house.

She seems to be sitting casually on the sofa, reading a magazine and has the TV on. The lighting is also softer than on the outside, making the inside feel safer and more comfortable. This and the longer shots shows that this is the equilibrium of the trailer.

The humming then becomes more noticeable and we hear muffled sound of something bumping. This bump is immediately followed by a point of view shot of the girl looking at a baby monitor because she is hearing strange whispers, but are not clear enough to make out. This is were the trailer hints at the sub-genre of the film because these child whispers are giving off a chilling feeling, which leads to the thought of disturbed children and how they are a convention of the supernatural horror.

The screen then fades to black with the character saying “Hang on”. This could be indicating that the protagonist has acknowledged that something isn’t right. The next shot that fades in is of an over the shoulder shot of a child’s/baby’s room as indicated by the rocking horse and crib. We hear the same whisper coming from the young boy but more clearly. The boy is wearing his pyjamas which make him look childlike and innocent, but the things that he is whispering sound strange and spiritual and not like something a child would ever talk about.

In the next frame we see a medium shot of the child and girl trying to comfort him, when the boy suddenly hits the girl with a piece of glass. This would shock the audience as you don’t think of children as violent or hostile beings. This shot was accompanied by a quick sound stab that replaced the lingering anxious hum to help create a bigger impact. Then you get a point of view shot of the girl looking at the boy, and the boy has a close-up of his face. This close up let’s us see that he has a black expression on his face, showing no guilt for hurting the girl, and when he speaks his expression makes him sound almost demonic, assuring the audience that this trailer is for a supernatural horror with the narrative of possessed children.

At this point the music changes and we see a few quick shots of another boy before the film company credits come up. This leaves the audience wondering who was the other boy and what is his significance. He didn’t look normal because his skin was unnaturally pale and a solemn expression on his face which made him look creepy.

 When the next shot fades in, we get an extreme long shot of a city, probably where the characters reside, then shots of the girl running through the woods. We can tell it’s winter because of the snow, so seeing her run through such a remote area, makes it seem as though she is cut off and trying to run away from this cold place. Eerie piano music plays in the background to set an almost mysterious mood. All of the edits here are dissolves, which makes the entire sequence look almost like a dream.

Then we see a medium shot of her in a communal shower possibly to show her skin as a way if signifying that she is fragile and at risk. We then see her a locker room where her friend indicates that something is wrong with her eye which may cause the audience to speculate weather she had not noticed it before or if the issue became more because of strange happenings.

Next shots are of her at the doctors discussing the possibility that she may have been a twin, which she denies. This again intrigues the audience into wanting to find out more about the girl and her background.

Then we have another point of view shot of her looking at the same boy we saw flashes of, but as someone walks past, we can se him disappear, which confirms that the boy is no longer human, so we assume he might me the girl’s twin. Another sound that we can hear during the piano music is what sounds almost like heavy breathing that adds to the chilling feel of the trailer so far. The edits also include many fade outs to black, then fade ins. Unlike cuts which you don’t notice as much, these face ins and outs are noticeable and make the audience wonder what will they witness next.

The next sequence of shots are of the girl actively seeking out clues and answers on if she may have had a twin. We fond out that she did, but the twin died before it was born, which can confuse the audience and peak their curiosity about the ghost boy. If he is not her deceased twin, then who is he?

Some dialogue states that because she was born, the twin wasn’t able to. This signifies that she is in danger of the ghost because she is still alive and the audience begins to fear for the protagonist’s safety because of this.

As she watches a film reel, we see her get startled, but we’re not sure of what. This is proceeded by more glimpses of the boy, who because of the change of expression and light, starts looking even more demonic. The music here becomes almost screechy, as if you could almost hear people’s voices.

Then we get a shot of what we think if her in bed, but as the camera rotates we see that she is looking down on herself like in some kind of nightmare. The music stops and is replaced with the sound of a heart beat. We see her thrashing about as if she is trying to wake up. Then when we see the boy next to her sleeping self, there is a sudden ear piercing scream. This could mean that the boy is the nightmare itself. Then we get a sudden stab sound in the next shot when she opens her eyes and we see the discoloration. Since the eyes are said to be the windows to our souls. This could mean that her soul is tainted.

We get out first strap line which is the name of the producer. Fans of his other works could be tempted to see this film as well.

Then we see another point of view shot of her looking out of the window and seeing the ghost boy again. Then as she seeks comfort in her friend, she mentions being haunted, with haunting being a convention of the supernatural sub-genre.

The shots start to speed up and we see more graphic and scary imagery. This creates tension and causes the audience to become more anxious. The is a steady beat in the background that sounds like a faster heart beat which could be trying to mimic the audience’s heart beats. The lighting at this point has become much colder and darker, showing that the evil is getting nearer.

We then see a sequence of shots that of another common supernatural horror convention, an exorcism, and a character that plays the role of the person who will be helping to get rid of the evil, in this case, a priest. This character is a common reoccurrence in this sub-genre.

As the music reaches it’s climax and the shots speed up, the shot suddenly lights up and the music is replaced by a high pitched noise, indicating that there may be hope and luring the audience into a false sense of security. When suddenly the darkness returns and the speed of the shots returns to fast to show that it’s not over yet. We see more scary imagery and another strap line that says “He wants to be born now”, which is what the little boy said at the beginning. This repetition could mean that the evil spirit won’t stop until he enters our world, even if it costs people their lives. This is supported by the shots where the girl’s friend is crawling up the stairs and is being followed by a childlike figure wielding a knife. We can’t see his face which makes him appear as if he has lost his humanity.

Finally, as the shot length and music reach their climax again, the shots we see look as though everything is falling into chaos and that makes the audience doubt if everyone will survive. Then we get a bright screen, and the title of the film looks as though it has been burned in. The audience may think it is over, but then we see the girl walking by herself through hallways she saw on the film reel to a steady heart beat in the background to build tension for the last time. We see a lone figure sitting in the middle of an empty dark room. The girl inquires if that is her mother, but with no response she leans in to check. The figure is wearing a hospital gown, which could mean she was hospitalized or is mentally disturbed. As the girl leans in, we hear another blood curdling stab sound which almost harmonises with the scream the figure gives out. We see her silhouette is not of a normal person but of a monster, and the girl screams in terror. The next frame is of the film credits, which leaves the audience hanging and not knowing what will happen to the girl. This cliff hanger could help people remember the name of the film and may tempt people into seeing the movie

In conclusion, I think that this trailer does well in promoting the film and does a good job in establishing the sub-genre of horror. It also follows conventions of a typical horror film trailer. However, I think this trailer may give away a bit too much by just summarising the entire plot.

Silent Hill

The trailer starts with a long shot of a mother and her daughter under a tree in the middle of a field. The scenery looks calm and almost like a nice heavenly place. The lighting is made up mostly ambient natural light from the sun. This adds a kind of warm glow to the scenery. You can hear soft piano music playing in the background, that’s carrying a hint of melancholy.

We then get a dissolve to the next shot and see a medium shot of them lying under the tree together. The sunlight is hitting the back of the daughter’s head, making her look like she is glowing and her innocence and purity stands out. The mother tells the daughter that she sometimes sleepwalks and sleep talks about a place. The daughter then says she doesn’t remember in a very soft and small voice. All of this makes the audience believe that whatever will be going on, it’s not the little girl’s fault and creates a feeling of wanting to protect her. In the next shot we see the pair walking from the field to a parked car. We can that it’s sunset which might signify that sun’s warm, safe glow will end here and the dark and unforgiving night will come.

Then you get the company’s film credits. Through these credits the mother said that they will go to this place she has been sleep talking about and as the credit’s dissolve into the next shot we see a drastic change in lighting to almost pitch black. This may signify that wherever their going is holding some king of darkness or secrets and is a massive contrast to the bright field. This may be a subtle hint of the film’s genre.

We then get to see an extreme long shot of them driving down an empty road in the middle of the forest to show that wherever their going, it’s secluded and their all by themselves. Then we see a shot of the forest with text that reads out the general area of where the film is set. This makes it seem more realistic as though the events that occurred in the film are a real life possibility.

After another dissolve, we can see the daughter sleeping in the car with a serene expression and then cut to the mother’s face who looks slightly tired.

The piano music then gets drowned out by the digetic sound of loud static coming from the radio. Then there is a non-digetic low drum sound to indicate that this is where the equilibrium ends. The static can also be a way that the mother is being warned that she is getting closer to her destination, but she just becomes confused.

Whilst distracted by the radio, we cut to a shot of a female figure walking in the middle of the road. We cannot see who it is because she is shrouded in shadows and as the mother tries to swivel out of the way, we see the car practically go past the figure like she wasn’t even there. This is where the film shows you that this is a supernatural horror, by showing what looked like a glowing spirit of a girl. We then have more shots of the mother struggling to get control of the car, when we see her veer off and hear the sound of a crash. The shot fades to black and as the next shot fades in, we see the mother regaining consciousness. The lighting looks a lot brighter now, possibly to show the passing of time and the audience might think it’s safe again.

Then we dissolve to a bird’s eye view of the car, showing that it hasn’t hit anything and also showing that it’s snowing. There is an eerie silence and the only sound we can hear is the wind. We can also see a layer of fog lingering in the air which could represent cloudiness of the mind. In the next shot we see the mother realising that her daughter has disappeared and as we see in the next shot, the fog is much thicker leading us to believe the daughter got lost in it.

The mother shouts the daughter’s name and it echoes as the screen fades to black to show that she is all alone. The entire scenery looks vary washed out, as though nothing has been moved in a long time and time here has just been standing still.

We next see the mother running through the fog looking for help. As she wipes the snow off her face, we discover that the martial isn’t snow but something like ash. This isn’t a natural occurrence, so the audience might think that it is this place that is causing such strange things to happen. In the next shoe, the mother is standing, looking at road sign. As the camera pans and pulls into the sign, we see it is a welcome sign to a town called “Silent Hill”. The sign looks worn and the shot suddenly goes black, leaving just the sign with the words

“Welcome to Silent Hill”. This creates a feeling as though once you enter this town, something bad is going to happen.

In the next few shots, we see the mother continue to look for her daughter and exploring the unnaturally quiet and empty town. The buildings and shops look derelict and there are abandoned cars in the street. This shows that this was once an active town, but the audience don’t know what happened to it to be left like this. The fog is so thick that you can’t quite tell what’s up ahead, which creates the fear in the unknown.

Then we see the mother calling her husband for help and we see pictures of the once happy family together. The audience are able to see what life was once like. Then we see the first strap-line which looks as if it is emerging from the fog as if to show that there are many secrets in the fog, but there is also the truth.

We then see shots of the father researching the town to find out more about it’s history. When we suddenly get a loud stab sound and shots of what appears to be a cult gathering or ritual. This shows that the film is a supernatural because religious orders are a common convention is this sub-genre. These shots may have been a way to tell the audience that part of the town has some kind of darker secrets that you will find if you go meddling too much. Secrets that you do not want to uncover. The shots also look as though they have been filmed by an old fashioned projector to signify how long ago these malicious things have been happening.

In the next strap line, it states that the town “Has been transformed by evil”. This evil may be referring to the malevolence of the cult and that the people might have brought the evil upon themselves. We see sightings of the daughter, but she appears to be acting in a strange manner, as though she doesn’t want to be found. We keep seeing close-up shots of the mother’s face in order to be able to see her worried facial expression for her missing daughter. This let’s us know that she is trying her best to get her back.

We see shots of the protagonist with a police woman asking for help. Then we find out that all the roads out of town are missing, so the mother is completely cut off from the real world and that no one will come for help. This could induce a claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in an unknown place.

Then we hear a mysterious figure say that the “dark one” controls who goes in and out of the town, telling us that even if the mother finds her daughter, leaving will not be straight forward since some other being is controlling everything from behind the shadows.

Later we see shots of someone who looks just like the daughter, but she looks like she has been living rough for a while with messed up hair and dirty clothes. She also has a pale face and a strange expression, part of which is fear and another part as if she knows something, but will not tell.

We hear the mother inquire about this but we do not hear an answer, leaving the audience hanging on her true identity.

In the next shot, we can see the mother descending some stairs as an air siren begins to sound off. Air sirens are meant to warn you when danger is approaching, so may be trying to warn the mother that the evil that is plaguing the town is closing in. We then see shots of people running into a church, another convention of the supernatural genre. The church may be acting as some kind of sanctuary, and the police woman is warning the mother that the evil is near, but in the next shot, we can see the mother has already descended the stairs and into the darkness as the screen fade’s to black.

The low humming noise that has been playing the background cease. We can see the mother turning on a flashlight which is the only source of light. The silence in the darkness around her is very unnerving and makes you feel as though something is going to jump out at you any second. We can see in the next shot how the entire reality is being altered around her and everything seems to be deteriorating. We start seeing really grotesque monsters and graphic imagery to show that the nightmare and all of its wickedness has arrived. The lighting has become very dark again, and the primary colours used are reds for blood and dark browns for rust and dirt. This makes the scenery look very dirty and unpleasant, making the viewer and the character seek escape.

We then see a shot of the mother looking at something with a disgusted and shocked face. Behind her we can see a monster approaching but she can’t see it, which makes us fear for the mother’s safety.

The strap-line we see after this has also changed in style to look more like this new nightmare world, and states that once you enter this world, you can’t go back. Another character says that if the mother wants to find her daughter, she will have to face the darkness of hell. This is an accurate description of the places we see her walking through. We see more graphic scenes with blood running all over the walls and monsters that look as though they were once human.

During a shot where the mother is walking past nurses, one of them swings a scalpel at her and she barely doges it, all the while the music in the background has been getting louder and more harsh, to show she is getting close to the end. The shots have gotten quicker as well to help build up the tension.

When the music reaches the climax, it completely stops and all there is in place of it is a heart beat. In between the hear beats and screens of black, we see the mother battling through the hellish world. As she flicks on her lighter and turns around, there is a last injection of fear with a cut to a shot of more grotesque monsters coming at her. This is accompanied by a horrible screaming and screeching sound to intensify the impact. Then we cut back to her horrified face before we cut straight to the film’s credits. The name of the film lights up and we hear eerie shamisen music that creates an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Finally, we get the release date and the film website’s URL in the next frames.

I think that this trailer does a good job in promoting the film. It clearly puts across the sub-genre and follows codes and conventions of horror trailers and horror itself. It does a good job in making the audience root for the protagonist and hope that she achieves her goal, which will drive the audience to watch the film to find out if that will be the case.

Magazine Cover Overview

These 8 magazine front covers are promoting either horror films, or films that have some conventions of horror narratives like shadows or jumpy moments. Whilst I was researching magazine front covers, I noticed that there was a severe lack of front covers that promote horror films. I found some but not enough, so instead I had to find covers that have similar conventions to the horror film covers.

I have looked at a number of front covers and will explore the features these covers have in common decide what kind of repeated patterns they all feature.

All eight of these front covers look like typical magazine front covers, and all display magazine front cover conventions. For example the masthead is the largest and most predominant text on the cover and is always placed at the top of the frame. In some cases e.g. ‘Empire’, the masthead is tweaked, so that is could suit the theme of the issue, as shown in the cover for ‘Hellboy 2’ where the letters have a flame effect on them and ‘The Dark Knight’ where the letters have green outlines to match the ‘Jokers’ hair. The main image dominates most of the cover which is usually of a main character from the film the magazine is promoting. For example, the ‘Empire’s’ ‘The Dark Knight’ front cover features the main villain ‘The Joker’ and the other ‘Empire’ front cover features Daniel Radcliffe who plays the leading role as ‘Harry Potter’.

The cover has a main strap line that usually mentions the name of the film e.g. ‘The Shining’ cover has the film’s name in the style it is seen on the poster; and smaller sell-lines that tell the readership about the other content in the magazine. Many of them also have smaller images on the cover that relate to articles that can be found inside the magazine, for example, the ‘Shutter Island’ cover has images from the film ‘Avatar’ that tie in with one of the sell-lines that mention a possible review of the film. They also have barcodes on the front which is a convention seen on most types of magazines and many have strap lines that serve as the magazine’s slogan and appears on every cover.

Since all the covers are promoting horror films, or films with horror elements, they all try to create a creepy feel using the images. However, they do this in different ways. For example, the ‘Fangoria’ cover of ‘The Shining’ has the main character Jack, looking straight at the reader with his head slightly down. This causes his eyes to appear almost completely white which makes him look almost possessed. His mouth is open but his teeth are clenched and his hair is messed up. His fist is also clenched which makes him look like he has bottled up anger and is about to break. However, the other ‘Fangoria’ cover featuring ‘Insidious’ has the character’s eyes blacked out. This makes her look less human and the reader becomes drawn to the eyes in a tense gaze, expecting to see something. The ‘Empire’ cover with ‘The Joker’ Also has a similar affect like ‘The Shining’ cover. The main character is staring at the reader in a similar way, except he has a sly grin which makes him look malevolent.

The magazines also use a contrast between light and shadows, which is a convention of horror, to give the covers a more chilling effect. As shown on the ‘Harry Potter’ and the ‘Shutter Island’ cover uses shadows to convey mystery and the fact that the narrative has something dark about it. All of the posters use dark colours to show that there will be horror elements in the promoted films e.g. How the background of ‘Hellboy 2’ is all black, which makes the main character stand out because of his bright red skin, leading us to believe that the film will feature blood. Or how the Jonny Depp cover uses dark clothes, hair and grey background to create a cold and distant feeling.

The layout for most of the covers is quite similar, with the main character being in the centre of the frame and we see a close up shot of their face. We see this in the ‘Entertainment Weekly’ cover of Johnny Depp. The close up lets us see his facial expression in detail, which makes him look stern or almost angry. His pale face and messy hair creates a grim feeling. Or how the big close-up of the ‘Joker’s’ face makes it take up the whole frame, leaving no place for the eyes to wonder except to the sell-lines. This is an exception for the ‘Shutter Island’ cover, where a medium-long shot was chosen in order to show the misty scenery. This would not have worked with a medium or a close-up shot.

All of the text in the frame is pushed to the sides, letting the main image dominate the centre. But they still manage to grab the reader’s attention with sell-lines the mention words like ‘Sex’ on the ‘Hellboy 2’ cover, and phrases like ‘Massive Preview Special’, that make the magazine seem one of a kind.

I think these magazine cover do a good job in promoting their respected films and all follow the conventions of a typical magazine front cover. Looking at all of these front covers has given me many ideas on possible front cover main images and sell-lines for my own magazine front cover.

Magazine Cover Analysis

Fangoria

This is a front cover of ‘Fangoria’ magazine featuring ‘Insidious’. The main image is of one of the characters from the film, which also relates to the main sell line right below the main image. It is of an old lady dressed in a black dress and a black veil over her head whilst holding a candle in from of her. She has a kind of smile that makes her shadowy face look ‘insidious’, which can refer to both the main sell-line and the title of the film.

The image makes it look like the candle is being enveloped by the darkness of the woman. This could signify that that the narrative of the film will feature something pure and innocent (the light from the candle) will be surrounded by darkness and evil.

The veil and darkness could also mean that there is some kind of secret or mystery hidden behind the narrative.

When compared to the film poster, we can see that these two pieces of media text are linked because of the dark shadows surrounding the main character and the main colour in both being dark blue. The title of the poster also has the letters ‘s’ and ‘i’ in red, whilst the rest of the title is in  white. The ‘Insidious’ sell-line applies the same colours and style of font. This creates a strong symbiotic link between the poster and the magazine cover.

The image is a close up-shot, which is usually used so that we can get a detailed look at the character’s facial expression. However, because the only source of light in the image is the spot light, this creates a lot of shadows which makes the face almost unreadable. But we still try to read the face, so we end up being drawn into the image. This attracts the target audience because they want to find out why this woman’s face can’t be seen clearly, and the mystery of the image peaks their interests to find out more about what role this strange character might play in the narrative or just the plot of the film in general.

The magazine is called ‘Fangoria’. This name looks like it is a mash-up of the words ‘fang’ or ‘fan’ and ‘goria’. It could mean that this magazine celebrates traditional horror, or that this magazine is for fans of gore and blood. Either way, the title makes it clear that this magazine is for a horror fan and that this magazine’s focus is on the horror genre. The masthead, like on all magazine covers, is the largest text on the frame. It is in poster bold font that has been stylized so that the first and last letters create spikes that remind you of vampire fangs. The letters are white with a red outline, possibly to resemble bloodstained vampire fangs and maybe even refer to the pun ‘sink your teeth into’, which could be saying the magazine is a must read. This theme also makes the masthead suitable for a horror film magazine.

The target audience is mostly men and are described as “horror loving weirdoes”, and they would find the masthead appealing, because when you read it, you know straight away that the aim of the magazine is to promote horror films. However, the masthead doesn’t reflect the target audience very well, besides from the fact that both the masthead and the fans are quite unusual. But even though it is a quite clever masthead, its bright colours almost make it look like it doesn’t belong in the frame and it a bit cheesy. The masthead almost makes the cover look like a comic, so it would only attract a very specific niche of people.

The sell-lines aren’t very clear in what they are meant to be promoting, and the font they are written in is not very clear, making it hard to distinguish certain letters. The main sell-line makes it clears the ‘Insidious’ will be the focus of the current issue, having the largest sell-line text and being placed rite below the main image. The sell-line at the top uses a lot of exclamation marks, which makes it look a bit childish and gives it a feeling of over exaggeration.

The content of the sell-lines indicate that the target audience like finding out about new horror films, horror directors and horrors actors, and comparing horror from different parts of the world.

The target audience is lured in by the sell-lines, because they don’t give very much away. They only mention the name of the film e.g. ‘Scream 4’ and the name of an actress e.g. ‘Sybil Danning’, but not whether there will be an article about them, an interview or a review. If the target audience want to find out more, they would have to buy the magazine. There is also a puff shaped like a blood stain, which draws the target audience in by giving them cover mount, e.g. “Giant fold out poster inside!”

Because the sell-lines give hardly any information and are so direct, little can be said about the mode of address, except that the target audience may like it when the sell-lines go straight to the point and like them, are direct when it comes to information. The colours of the sell-lines mimic the colours of the main sell-line (title of ‘Insidious’) with having red text in between white text. This may lead the audience to thinking that the sell-lines all have something to do with the main feature, so they have to read all the other sell-lines. In turn they find out about the other features in the issue. The red text scattered throughout the frame, along with the puff, makes it look like scattered blood. This makes you think of slashers more than supernatural horrors, so in context of the cover, it is not doing a very good job of informing the audience of what genre of horror it is promoting. The rest of the cover is quite dark, except for the masthead and the images at the bottom. Colours are introduced in unusual ways, like the yellows, which might attract the target audience to look at the cover more closely; however it makes the entire piece look less professional.

The text to image ratio on this cover is about 1:1. Both text and image take up a similar amount of space. The layout is set up in a way that moves all the text out of the centre, so that when the target audience look at the cover, the first thing they will look at is the old woman’s face. The main sell-line is also placed in a similar position as in the poster, so there could be a symbiotic link between the two pieces. The smaller images were placed at bottom and have a line separating them from the main image in order to make it look like a film reel. However, the images are so different in style and genre, they seem to lose their intended purpose and appear to be randomly placed there as space fillers. I would say the layout of the cover, even though it follows magazine cover conventions, looks very distracting. The smaller images look very out of place and the white text and masthead appear too bright for the darker main image.

In conclusion, I think this magazine does okay in trying to promote the film, however it does so in a very tacky manner. The whole cover looks very amateurish. All of the conventions were used, yet it makes the cover look a bit overcrowded. Overall, this is not the best example of a film magazine featuring horror, but there are not many examples to choose from, so maybe it is this lack of such covers that leads to poorer examples.

Empire

This is a cover for ‘Empire’ magazine which features films of all genre. It’s featuring ‘Batman: The Dark Knight’ and even though it is not a horror film, both the film and the magazine cover feature elements of a horror film.

The main image of this cover is of the main villain in the film, ‘The Joker’. This way it directly relates to the main sell-line below the masthead as the core antagonist. This image clearly shows us that this character will be a massive part of the narrative. This image does not really inform of the film’s genre, it does however hint that the narrative might have darkness and will leave the audience feeling disturbed. This can be seen in the way the camera closes-up on the character’s face, revealing the sinister looking smirk. All the makeup on the person’s face has been smudged and is cracking, possibly like the person’s mental state. The red makeup on his mouth also kind of looks like blood, so we can assume that this person is unstable and that he is capable of harm. The green hair just adds to the character’s craziness and matches the colours of the sell-lines. This film has a few posters, and this character appears on half of them by himself, demonstrating his importance and linking the cover to the film posters and film. We can see that he is wearing what looks like a purple suit, which could be indicating that he thinks highly of himself like some sort of authority figure. Compared to his face, his clothes look quite normal, which just emphasises the contrast between the two. Like someone who was once normal had gone mad.

Most of his clothes are hidden in shadow, which makes the white makeup on his face become even brighter. The black patches on his eye therefore look even darker, like giant holes in a mask. And as in slashers, where most villains are masked, it is done to make them appear less human. The makeup therefore, is his mask, which helps him look less human and makes his facial expressions harder to read.

The name of the magazine is ‘Empire’, which could suggest that the magazine is itself an empire. Empires are always created by having the best of everything, which means that the magazines it realises are worthy of becoming part of this empire.

The masthead uses bold san-serif font, which is the largest text on the cover. Sometimes the masthead’s text is customised in order to suit the main image on the cover. As shown on this cover, the black text is surrounded by a green outline to match the character’s green hair. These colours make the masthead look like it is surrounded by the evil miasma coming from the character.

This masthead reflects the target audience because just like the magazine, the readers will want the best and this magazine is able to provide them with it. The word “empire” makes the magazine sound more professional and as thought is a reliable source of information, which tells us that the target audience will not buy just any magazine and like the information to be reliable. This masthead remains in the same style on all issues, with occasional tweaking for special occasions. This constant style creates a brand identity and a familiarity for the target audience.

The sell-lines are placed in a quite unusual way on this cover. The main sell-line has the biggest text and is placed right under the masthead, to indicate this issue has a special emphasis on the film is it promoting. The main sell-line just states the name of the film, but since the featured villain is so well known, more information about what the feature will include is not necessary because of the famous franchise. The second main sell-line is placed in the middle left because the western human eye reads from left to right.

The last few sell-lines are placed at the bottom of the frame and include information on what else the magazine has in this issue. This way, the reader would have had to have read the main sell-lines in order to reach the others.

The sell-lines mention ‘Clint Eastwood’, which is an older actor from the 1960’s. This shows that the target audience likes new and fresh material, but at the same time enjoy retuning to the past and revisiting iconic actors and films. One of the sell-lines says, “The real Jaws onboard the U.S.S. Indianapolis”, which could show that even though the target audience enjoys make-believe, they also like to find out about the truth behind the creation of the narrative. Or how the issue states it is a collectable can show the reader enjoys reading these magazines often enough to build up collections.

The fact that the cover is a collectable can entice the audience to buy the next issue to complete their collection, even if the material inside might not interest them as much. Another big way the magazine tries to lure in its target audience is with the last three sell-lines at the bottom. They mention things like Will Smith who is a well known actor with a phenomenal film career and his fans will want to read the piece on him. The sell-lines also mention ‘The Hobbit’, which is a long awaited film trilogy by the massive ‘Lord of The Rings’ fan-base, so people who enjoy this franchise will want to find out more about what the article has to offer. These sell-lines appeal to a wide range of film fans, so this would attract a wider target audience.

All of the sell-lines use the same font as the masthead which emphasises its name, because an empire will branch out, just like it did with its font. All the sell-lines feature the green colour of the character’s hair; that could imply that this malicious looking character is trying to re-create the cover to his liking.

All of the colours of the text, return to the fact that there are imitating the character’s green hair. This creates a feeling as though this character has taken over the cover and made it his own. The colour green can have the connotation of being safe, however when you look at the creepy image, it is as though the green was there to lure you in, make you drop your guard and fall into a trap. Green can also sometimes be thought of as the colour of being ill, so perhaps it is pointing out that the narrative might have some kind of “sick” plot or twist. There is a green shape in the bottom left-hand corner. Its purpose it not quite clear, however, it provides a nice way of separating the other sell-lines. Or perhaps it could look like a gun’s shooting target, as though someone is perusing this character and wants him dead. This could interest the target audience in finding out more about this character which will lead to a purchase.

There is about a fifty-fifty amount of image and text. The cover does well in positioning the sell-lines in a way that they all get read and leave plenty of space for the main image.  The same goes for the price which is placed in the dent of the masthead’s “M”. The most distinctive thing about the layout is that the main sell-line is placed in such a way that it looks like it is part of the title. But I think this just helps the cover to promote the film. Besides from this, the cover follows the other conventions of a magazine from cover.

I think that this cover does well in promoting the film and implementing the codes and conventions. It looks professional and achieves in creating tenseness when the reader looks at the character’s dark eyes.

Total Film

This is the cover for ‘Total Film’ magazine, featuring ‘Shutter Island’. The main image is the film’s main character emerging from fog clutching a gun. The main sell-line is stating the name of the film and has the largest sell-line font. It is also the only sell-line that appears to move over the main image. It’s because of this we know that this sell-line and the main image are related. That image suggests that the narrative will involve mystery and dark secrets. We know this because the main character it surrounded by fog. The fog could be the things that is hiding the truth or referring to the expression of having a foggy mind and not being able to think clearly. We also know that mystery will feature heavily in the narrative because of the main character’s facial expression. His face is covered in many dark shadows, and shadows can be associated with darkness and the unknown. So in a way it makes him look like he himself looks and feels in the dark. He has an expression that can be described as intense, as though he is deep in thought. This expression also makes him look like he is concentration and fighting some kind of inner battle with himself. This adds to the mystery as we now want to find out what is troubling him so much that he has to focus so much. Behind him, we can see what looks like an island surrounded by fog. This refers back to the title of the film and the image is probably showing the main location of the film. In the top right corner of the frame, we can see a lighthouse that is connected to the main island. This sets even more mystery because while the rest of the island looks to be almost abandoned, the lighthouse is turned on, which implies that someone inside and could be acting at a beacon of light for the confused character who is shrouded in the dark.

Even though this film is not of a horror genre, it still features elements of horror like jumpy moments. The cover also helps to show the chilling side of the film by covering much of the image in either fog or shadows. It is this mysteriousness that can lead the audience to have fear of the unknown.

When compared to the film’s poster, you can clearly see there is a link between it and the cover. The film title on the poster and the magazine are both in bold red san-serif font and have a similar scratched style to them. Both of the pieces have the same character on them with both of their faces being half covered in profile lighting, as well as the island where the film is set. All of these images help to create a connection between the two pieces of media.

The character is holding a gun and has a police badge on his belt. This shows that he is a figure with authority and power, however, his facial expression looks at though he doubts his own judgement  Him being an officer means that there is something that needs solving and that he’s not sure if he will be able to find the truth, or if he wants to find it at all.

The name of the magazine is ‘Total Film’. The magazine is suggesting that it places all of its focus in promoting and providing information on all sorts of films. The masthead uses quite simple bold white poster san-serif font. However, it is laid out in a very strange manner. The ‘Total’ is placed inside the ‘F’ of ‘Film’ and is the same colour at the background of the main image. The magazine dose this for most of its cover. This is stating that whatever the magazine is focusing on, it pulls out all the stops and finds out the complete “total” of information about the topic. The masthead is white, but is placed behind the main image so that it doesn't take away from the mysterious mood it is trying to create. It is also common for more successful magazines to cover up parts of its masthead because devoted readers will still be able to tell it’s their favourite magazine. People will immediately know it is a film magazine because it has the word “film” in the masthead.

I think that this masthead does okay in reflecting its target audience. Just like the reader, the magazine gets to the point, which might also be why it appeals to the audience. The word “Film” is the largest word on the frame, as though it is showing off its film knowledge or to perhaps show it is for all film fans i.e. the target audience.

The masthead helps to establish the magazine’s brand identity by nearly always being in white letters and having the word total in the same space inside the ‘F’ of ‘Film’.

The sell lines tend to flow towards the left side of the page. This is because western eyes read from left to right. That is why the bottom right corner is empty, because our eyes would look at that section last. The sell-lines use about 4 types of font and are either in red or white throughout. The sell-lines not only mention different kinds of films but also reviews and behind the scenes bonuses e.g. “Greatest move art ever”. This tells us that the target audience enjoy finding out about upcoming films and their details, but they also like to get information about the production side of the films and the ideas and concepts that lead to their favourite films.

The sell-lines attract the audience by mentioning many eagerly awaited films e.g. ‘Avatar’, ‘Transformers 3’, ‘Iron Man 2’. The audience will see that this magazine will have a feature on all of the films they could be interested in whist another magazine might not include them all. The sell-line “Top film makers show us their sketchbooks” will lure in readers because they might want to compare how much the concept designs were different from the final product or just sea how the directors envisioned their films. The final sell-line mentions at the end “…And Are you a robot?”. Since this is the last piece of text on the frame and is such a vague statement, the audience will want to find out what does it mean by it, so will be tempted to purchase the magazine out of curiosity.

Some of the sell-lines are red or encased in red boxes. The red looks like it has been scratched and smudged, which could suggest that the issue might feature more horror or that horror features heavily in the main feature of the issue. The other sell-lines use serif font which could be to show a bit more professionalism or someone’s opinions. The different fonts could be trying to be as diverse as the films the magazine might feature, or have certain parts emphasized e.g. ‘Iron Man 2’. This will attract audience’s eyes to certain parts where the magazine wants them to look and get enticed by the information it gives which will hopefully result in them buying the magazine. The word ‘exclusive’ is also used which makes it sound like what this magazine has to offer no other magazine can, so it will result in another purchase.

The mode or address is quite friendly and informal. It addresses its audience in a casual way like a friend.  This way the magazine becomes part of the audience’s life and they will continue to buy the magazine. It uses exclamation marks as thought the magazine is excited and question marks as though the magazine is trying to have a conversation with the reader.

The main colours used for the cover are blues and reds. Blue is quite a cold colour and can be thought of as a cold person with no emotion, whilst the red can be a connotation of blood which can mean the film being promotes might involve the detached person harming or killing someone. However, the lighthouse has a sort o green light coming from it, where green may be thought of as something right and safe. These colours and their meanings follow the narrative of the film, so they can be a premonition of what is to come for the readers.

The blues are quite dull, which makes the red stand out and the thing that stands out the most is the title of the film. ‘Shutter Island’ is an interesting title, so when the audience reads it, they would want to find out more about the film. The dark blues which help to create this chilling feeling will help to attract the target audience because horror fans seek to be scared, and if the cover looks chilling enough, the correct target audience will notice the magazine.

There is about the same amount of text are there are images. The layout is set up in a way the moves the text to the left to let the reader real all the sell-lines conveniently, and the image is allowed to take up the entire middle of the cover from top to bottom. This let’s us see all of the fog in the background, which would not have worked if it was a close up shot. The cover follows the conventions of magazine front cover and does well in promoting the film as a mystery thriller with aspects of horror.