Wednesday, 10 September 2014

Empire magazine analysis- Inception

Inception 
The main focal points of this magazine cover is obviously the title of the film and the well-known actor Leonardo DiCaprio which is standing in the centre. Having one of the main focal points Leonardo would attract a large audience who likes the films he is in so they would buy the magazine, therefore a unique selling point. Having him also on the front cover shows that he will be the main character of the film due to him being the only one on the cover but the way he is dominatingly standing as if he is more superior as a slightly high angled shot is used. The use of miser end scene in which the character is wearing and holding tell us that the genre of the film is action so the target audience is mainly action fans. The use of the gun and in a smart black and white tuxedo, reflects that this is an action film. The suit also goes with the colour scheme in the main image, the man and the background. This black and white sombre effect creates an eerie and dreamlike atmosphere which could symbolise what the film is about. In the background of the main image is an uneven pattern of high to low towers or blocks of some sort, which could indicate the location of the film.
In the centre of the cover is what we believe to be the name of the film, 'Inception'. We believe this due to the placement of it as it is in front of the tall slender figure. The title 'Inception', suggests danger and urgency which is emphasised by the boldness and connotation of the colour red. The background pattern is also on the font which suggests that this may be an important factor of the film as it is repeated. The font is the same colour as the masthead of the magazine which suggests that it is as important as the masthead, indicating that this is one of the biggest blockbuster films out, therefore intriguing the audience to learn more about it. The masthead 'Empire', is in its traditional same font, which is used in previous magazine covers I have researched, which suggests that this font is associated with this masthead, therefore iconic. The font is also placed behind Leonardo suggesting he is a very overpowering character or film, which is taking over this magazine. Therefore to a certain extent lots of information about this film inside.
The slogan of the film ' The Matrix meets 007 "on steroids!"' promotes the film especially to the target audience. Comparing the film to one of the greatest film 'The Matrix', promises the audience that this is no film to miss, which is a unique selling point as they this would attract the audience to watch it. Also comparing the film to '007', one of the most iconic figure around, James Bond' furthermore emphasis the greatness of the film and would not only attract 'The Matrix' fans, but would also attract the 'Bond' fans too. The use of having the slogan in white font allows it to stand out from the background and therefore emphasising itself.
There are many sell lines on the cover, which are advertising numerous other films, 'Batman 3', Toy Story 3', 'Let Me In', 'Thor' etc. Having these present on the film magazine allows the audience to see the other contents within it, therefore attracting all these audiences' to buy this product. The title of the sell lines are in large, black, bold font, which allows them to stand out from the background but also not allowing the title of the film to dominant the whole cover. These sell lines are edited at an angle, which creates an film the all of them are attracting to the figure in the centre of the cover, which further emphasis the dominance this film may have. This placement also provides depth to the cover making all the elements on the cover stand out and become eye-catching. This cover is very factual compared to 'The Hulk' cover I analysed earlier as that had very minimal information on it. Underneath the sell lines is anchorage text, which gives more information about each film. This automatically gives a little more insight of the films, therefore attracting them even more. 
The skyline of this magazine is 'The Dark Knight Returns...’ which advertises a different film to the main image. Using this as the skyline suggests that this is another huge film. All the film names on the cover are all of the same genre suggesting that this film magazine is mainly aiming at the action fan audience. This tells me that within my magazine cover, if we mention other films they should be of similar genre, so it does not disrupt the colour scheme or atmosphere of the cover. 
The circle on the main image, however, disrupts the magazine cover due to the colour being gold. This is a silly design which, in my opinion, disturbs the main focal point. Having it gold suggests that it is important and precious information as these are what connotes this colour. In my opinion this should it be in white or black font so it would complement with the colour scheme of the rest of the cover, rather than disrupting it. What I also feel is that the puff located at the bottom lefty corner disrupts the magazine cover as the font is not the same or similar to the rest. Having this makes the writing out of place, which is a poor design the editors used. One more negative about the cover is that the email address of the magazine and the phrase 'The world’s biggest movie magazine'. As it is in white you can barely see it, which is disappointing as this cover is very impressive except from these few negatives. This phrase should be in black and bolder font so that the audience would know it’s one of the best film magazine around. This could have been a unique selling point as the audience would buy if they were interested in films, as it is the biggest one around. 


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