inception magazine cover deconstruction

   On this magazine cover Leonardo Dicaprio is looking away from the camera. This gives the impression that he is distracted. This is used because in the film Cobb (played by Leonardo) is tormented by the apparition of his dead wife. This way distraction is portrayed in this could very easily be applied to my magazine cover because the main character in my film will be distracted as well due to the femme fatale. The fact that he is not looking at the camera creates an enigma code where the audience want to see why Cobb is looking away and what he is looking at.

   The other stories on this front cover are in the same style as the main picture on the cover. This created synergy and makes the front cover flow together. This also makes the main article look the most important because all the other articles on the front cover are of the same style. In turn this makes the audience think this film is good because it makes all the other stories follow its lead. 

Quantum of solace magazine cover

  On this magazine cover the main character is centred in the image, this draws the reader’s attention.  By doing this they can use Daniel Craig the main actor in the film. The reason they do this is they can draw the reader’s attention with the actor and if the reader like Daniel Craig’s acting or the films he is in. by doing this the film company get someone to read the magazine and by doing this getting them interested in the film.

   In the cover Daniel Craig is holding a gun. The use of the gun shows genre, guns are associated with action films this showing of genre allows the target audience to identify that they would be interested in the contents of this magazine and therefor the film. And as I said in the last paragraph once they have read the article they would be more likely to go and see the magazine.

   On this magazine cover the picture of Daniel Craig is in front of the title “EMPIRE” this is because the magazine believes that Daniel Craig is more important than the magazine title this makes the reader trust the magazine more because it is implying that they are putting what the reader wants in front of what they want. This makes the reader more likely to buy it over another magazine because they think it is more trustworthy.

   I haven’t been able to find a film noir film magazine to analyse in order to get an understanding of what is expected in the magazine and the codes and conventions of it. However I will still be deconstructing film magazines of similar genres to film noir.

Poster deconstruction 2 : LA Confidential poster

Colour – there is lots of dark colours on this poster this signals the dark plots of the film, another result of the dark colours s it makes the red lettering and the woman’s dress stand out. The colour red stands out and gives out connotations of danger, the danger is associated with the woman due do the femme fatale figure in film noir, however the white dress subverts this because white has connotations of purity and peace two things not associated with femme fatales who use sex to get there ways and generally put people into danger.

Font – the font on this is similar to that of double indemnity and also reminiscent of most films around the 50s when the film is set. This shows the audience that the film is set in the past tense and also indicates that it is a film noir because film noirs are often associated with the 50s due to that being the golden era of film noir.

Image – the film poster focuses mainly on the femme fatale figure. It focuses on the femme fatale figure because it is an integral part of film noir. In the background of poster there is the iconic Hollywood sign this is because the location is a key part of the film and the poster displays this. In the background there is a sunset this shows the seedy underbelly of 1950s LA.

Layout – the proxemics of this poster show that the woman is in control of all the men. This is achieved by putting her in front of all the men in the poster. This goes along with connotations of film noir and femme fatales this make the target audience identify that it is a film noir.

Language – the writing on this poster is much the same as the brick poster where there are only reviews to shoe possible viewers that it is a good film that has been well received.

poster deconstruction 1: Brick poster

Colour – It uses colours to indicate the dark themes of the film. The poster only uses dark colours with an emphasis on the black. This is because the colour black has dark connotations of evil and crime. This use of black indicates to the audience the dark themes of the film; this therefore shows some of the codes and conventions of film noir posters.

Font – The font on this is minimalistic. This shows how the focuses mainly on the plot of the film and does not try to switch the focus onto big name actors or over the top explosions. This could be because it is an independent film as well as being a film noir. Because independent films are made with minimal budgets with no room for big special effects which I would not be able to achieve anyway however, this is also the same with film noirs which derived from being B films in the early 40’s after the success of “the Maltese falcon” and “double indemnity” studios found they could make these films cheaply due to their focusing on the plot and not special effects or big name actors.

Image – the image on this picture focuses on iconic film noir imagery. A key example of this is the use of smoke. Smoke is iconic in film noir this is because it was used as a metaphor for sex. In film noir because they weren’t allowed to show people having sex they would cut to two people smoking cigarettes. This links to the picture in the smoke where it’s two characters about to kiss.

Layout – the layout of this poster is such that it shows key areas of film noir, an example of this is the phone box. The phone box is a classic convention of film noir. The use of the phone box stems back from in the films where the character would not want people to trace his/or her calls. The use of this in the poster shows that it is a film noir film and tries to reach out to film noir fans

Language – there is not much writing on the poster other than a review, the use of this review shows people that the film has been well received encouraging people to go see it. It is very rare to see a film poster without a review once the film has been released because if there isn’t a review people might assume that it isn’t a good film and they will avoid it and go to see something else at the cinema.

Intro

   Hello my name is Michael Kinsella and this is my media blog for my A2 coursework. For this course work project I am required to create 3 media texts for a new film. The texts I am required to make are a film trailer, a poster and a magazine cover. These 3 texts are required to link up through the use of synergy. Synergy is when different media texts link up through the likes of text, image or a specific logo.

   For my coursework I will be making a film noir. This is because film noir is an iconic genre with classic films such as The Maltese falcon and Double indemnity and more recently films like LA Confidential and brick and to a certain extent fight club could be called a film noir as well because it has the conventions of starting with the end and having a femme fatale in Tyler Durden. Another good reason for doing film noir is because film noir used to be used as “B” films which gave a change to the ridiculous monster movies that dominated the category “B” movies where cheap and easy to make, this is ideal for me because I do not have a major budget to make a sci-fi or anything like that I can only really afford to get a couple of props if that.

   I will start my project by doing some secondary research by evaluating other film noir posters, magazine articles and trailers this will give me an idea of what is successful in the genre, and this would help me in deciding what could go into my work. After that is completed I will go in to do some primary research of my own where I will use a combination of qualitive and quantative questions to get my results so I will know directly what my audience want.
   i have decided to call my film "decommissioned" because it will be about a police officer who becomes decommissioned and has to enact vigilante justice and stop the drug baron known only as "chief".