Scream
The main focus pull of this magazine cover is obviously the main
image of the antagonist from the serial horror franchise 'Scream'. This is the
main focus pull as the image is directly in the centre of the cover and the
colours used contrast from the background colour, therefore standing out
clearly and boldly. The image creates an enigma as the audience does not know
the identity of this antagonist, which would make them intrigued. The close up shot of the main image makes the antagonist very daunting and horrifying, which
would the audience feel as though this person is watching you; this would definitely
appeal to the target audience, horror fans. Using the mask for an antagonist
follows the conventions of a horror film, which automatically tells the
audience that the genre of the film is horror. The use of mise en scene of the
black cloak furthermore hides the identity but very similar to what the 'Grand
Reaper' wears, which symbolises that this antagonist is playing as God,
deciding who dies and who survives (symbolic code). The blackness of the cloak connotes to
death, murder, sadness and despair, which all describe the antagonist within
the cover. The lighting used in this image illuminates the figure therefore
making the main image stand out even more. Other magazines sometimes have other
images on the cover so it would attract other audience's to purchase the
magazine. In contrast, this magazine only has one character, which emphasises
that this magazine is aiming at the horror fans due to the mise en scene of the
iconic mask and cloak. The unique selling point (USP) of the magazine is the
iconic mask, as this would make all horror fans (target audience) want to
purchase and watch the film. This magazine does have its limitations, due to
having one image, as it narrows down who buys the magazine as it is only
appeals to the horror fans and to a certain extent a few action thriller fans.
This means that there is a vast majority of the public would not buy this
magazine as there is nothing else which will entice them into buying it as it
is mainly aimed at these audiences. The pink stars disrupts the atmosphere and
the colour scheme of the magazine. This poor use of editing makes the magazine
look tacky and even childlike, which totally contradicts the main image being
an antagonist of a horror film. The colour scheme of the magazine is fairly
dark due to the use of reds blacks and whites. This creates an unnerving
atmosphere which follows the conventions what a horror film likes to create and
achieve. However due to these pink girly stars, this atmosphere is disrupted
and therefore making the magazine seem very unappealing.
The mast head of the magazine is near the
top of the cover, 'Entertainment Weekly'. Having the placement and the colour
of the font being white, allows the masthead to stand out boldly therefore
making it easy to read for the audience. Due to the colour scheme, this makes
the mast head stand out. The typography is very bold and solid and furthermore
emphasising the boldness and importunacy of the title.
Above the mast head is the skyline, which,
as you can see, has many stories within it. In this certain skyline, they are
advertising other products such as a 'new book' or 'smartphones', which I think
also disrupts the theme of the cover. This is because it doesn't link with the
film in the main image and doesn't link with anything to do with films, which I
believe the advertisement should. On the other hand, it may provide a larger
audience as this advertisement may appeal to them. The font used is reasonable
small in contrast with the other, which would make the audience pick up the magazine
to see what they say. The white colouring also allows the skyline to stand out
from the background.
The anchorage text which gives a further
insight of the film is located at the bottom right of the cover. This allows
the main image to be the main focal point. This text allows the audience to
become intrigued as they give a little more information about the film, which
would make them want to read more about it. The use of using very famous actors
names, such as, 'Courtney Cox' and 'Drew Barrymore’ is a very clever USP as
they are very professional actors which would draw in an audience to read about
them and even to watch the film (technical code).
This cover has an absence of the puffs,
which in my opinion is good as the anchorage text provides enough curiosity for
the audience to purchase the magazine.
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