Media Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real

media products? Film poster and magazine cover

The conventions of my magazine cover is that it stays within the theme of the film trailer as the colour and font matches the conventions of the film trailer as it represents isolation as the font can suggest the font is worn down, imprinted on the wall that is been there for a long duration. The three main colours used is green, black and white. Green symbolises the theme of Halloween and zombies as it connotes decomposing and mutation which is the theme with zombies. This instantly tells the audience that the genre is based on zombies. The colour white and black are binary opposites (Levi-Strauss) in which they symbolise life and death.

The colours also make the text stand out more and engage the audience even further. The colours can also symbolise isolation as the colour black envelops around the white text which can suggest darkness surrounding life and making life smaller and feel trapped which subliminally shows the audience the conventional theme of isolation and horror. The central image is of a zombie which is pale (similar to white) to match the three colour rule. The zombie instantly tells the audience that the film is based on zombies even further which appeals to the target audience and engages them even more within the text. The texts that are in white symbolises the main topics displayed and can also symbolise life in a metaphorical sense and the lack of white texts makes the topics stand out which can connote vulnerability and isolation within the film.

The magazine cover develops conventions of a normal film magazine as it uses a masthead which says “THE ISSUE OF THE YEAR!!!” the explanation marks helps the text to stand out more and shouts out to the audience more emphasising what it is saying. The masthead will also entice the audience to consume the text as it is glamourised and exaggerating the value of the magazine making the audience want to consume the text.

This convention is similar to the masthead of the magazine cover TOTAL FILM magazine which says “The issue of the decade!” which does the same function as the masthead I have done. The colours used is similar to the colours used within my magazine cover which is green, red and white which the colour green symbolises mutation and decomposition within the genre of zombies and the colour red is used to reinforce gore and danger which zombie films contain gore and danger.

The text of my magazine cover is all in upper case which stands out more to the audience and also slows the eye when reading the text, this helps sustain what is read within the reader/audience’s head which will engage the audience within the text. The same is done with the TOTAL FILM magazine cover as it performs the same function.

The text that displays “one of Jacque Pearce’s greatest creations yet!” will create hype and excitement for the audience as the it connotes that the film is going to be a masterpiece of its genre in which makes the audience want to read more facts and details about the film by consuming this product.

Other conventions used is other famous films displayed and stories/articles based upon them. This will attract new audiences to view this text and consume this text. All of the films and people mentioned on the text is white to make it stand out more to the audience and it also matches the theme of the magazine cover and reinforces the conventions of the trailer as white can symbolise life, innocence and hope which these words are isolated as they are surrounded by other words within the text that are green which symbolises zombies of decomposition and mutation which subliminally tells the audience the genre even more.

The text which displays “HALLOWEEN HAS BEGUN!” instantly tells the audience the main theme of the magazine and attracts the target audience that like horror which is supported alongside the main agenda of the magazine the film THE HUNTED which may attract a larger audience for the film as they will want to consume the product through hype and buzz being created for the film.

The text that displays “INSIDE: THE TOP 10 TIPS TO SURVIVE THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!” is used as it creates the curiosity for the audience to find what the main tips to survive the zombie apocalypse. This can also explain what the film may be about and will be intrigued to see if the film uses any of the tips mentioned within the magazine to help enable their survival. This also puts the audience in the protagonist’s shoes to what they would do in this situation (intellectual puzzles, Altman). This creates word of mouth as the audience who read this magazine will tell their friends and family what they would do in that situation. This process will keep the audience engaged within the text and also create even more hype for the upcoming film.

The sticker/circle on the magazine is of a different shade of green which helps it stand out more than the rest of the text which displays the text in white. This also reinforces the conventions mentioned earlier (the colour green symbolising mutation and decomposition of zombies surrounding the colour white which symbolises life, innocence, and hope being enveloped by the colour green which reinforces the conventional theme isolation).

The title of the film THE HUNTED is in similar font to the brand image of the film title to enable the audience to recognise and identify the same brand but on different platforms (synergy) which engages the audience even more within the text. The colour of the font of the film title is white to reinforce the convention of isolation of life even further as it is next to the central image of a zombie. The title is big to stand out to the audience to make it easier to see the film title displayed and identify what the main story/article will be about to the audience. Whereas the other magazine cover (TOTAL FILM) does not display the film title as this may be due to the fact that the magazine article is only aimed the target audience which the target audience will know what the film is just by looking at the main protagonist as it is well advertised across different platforms whereas the film The Hunted is new and is being advertised on different platforms.

The central image chosen for my magazine cover is of a zombie. The central image of the zombie is chosen as it instantly tells the audience what the film genre is and is best suited than displaying a central image of the film’s main protagonist as the target audience will not recognise the actor as the actor is not well known which is good as it creates more realism within the film and trailer as if it was real instead of using a famous actor that most of the audience will recognise which subliminally distracts them from the immersion of the film they are watching as it is slightly not believable.

Film posterThe film poster possesses conventions of a zombie apocalyptic film poster. the film poster reinforces conventions of the zombie apocalyptic genre as it displays arms of a zombie trying to grab the maim protagonist which creates the feel of a point of view aspect for the audience and at the same time it creates a subliminal message to the audience to grab the product which the grabbing arms creates more value for the product as it displays that it is in high demand.

Another convention used is the font colour being of red and of splash effect which reinforces the conventions of the zombie apocalyptic genre as it connotes blood, gore, evil and danger which are all elements identified within the genre.

Another convention that is used is the release date of the upcoming film which is emphasised in a big font of red which keeps to the theme of the genre but at the same time it stands out to the audience to notify them of the date which creates hype buzz and word of mouth/electronic word of mouth as the audience may tell others through social media which creates even more hype and the audience will want to find out more details about the upcoming film.

Another convention used is the billings block which is seen on all film posters and is the font colour of grey which symbolises death and lack of hope which are conventions within the genre of the zombie apocalypse.

Another convention used is the central image displaying the main protagonist as it creates synergy across all texts to allow the audience to identify that it is the same product/brand and the central image of the main protagonist helps describe the film best by the conventions displayed by the main protagonist. The iconography used is the mask, hood and sword which enables the audience to identify this distinctive unique character but the appearance creates excitement as it displays action and the conventional theme of mysteriousness.

Another convention used within the film poster is the slogan/rhetorical question which create a unique identity of the brand as the audience will associate the rhetorical question with the film as it is reinforced within the poster and the theatrical film trailer. The use of the rhetorical question creates intellectual puzzles (Altman) for the audience as they question what the slogan means and creates hype and excitement as the question sustains within the audience's mind which advertises the product after the audience has seen the stimulus (film poster, magazine cover and film trailer).

The convention of actors' names being displayed at the top of the poster in red font stands out to the audience to enable the audience to identify the actors names so when they see these actors names, it will remind them of the product and if the audience recognises these actors, it will create hype, excitement and word of mouth.

Another convention used is use of media convergence as there are details of the film's Facebook page which reinforces electronic word of mouth which helps spread hype and buzz about the film.