Textual Analysis Of Horror Movie Magazine

This font is Rue Morgue magazine which shows a close-up shot of the Asian model on a natural surrounding background of the photograph. She is looking down which could indicate the suspiciousness and dark side of the magazine. The high angle of the shot shows that the lady on the front cover/ model maybe vunerable or enclosed and the fact that she is not looking directly into the camera connotes she is reserved, shy or mysterious. However her facial expression is serene, distort and concerned. The main colours of the magazine is red and white which blend very well together and the colour red connotes blood, death, love, anger, revenge and hatred, this definitely reflects and denotes horror automatically. The photographed model looks as though she is naked and the paleness in her face conveys it is cold, I can see this because the photo has a natural back drop.

The image takes up nearly the whole page which shows that the designer wanted the image to the centre of attention, rather than the text, as the image is eye- catching and very intriguing. The model has needles inserted/ pierced through her gum, this indicates that she may have sowed somewhere together or she has done this to herself, because she does not look terrified enough for someone else to have caused this harm. The models red hair and strawberry blonde eyebrows again gives off the impression of strong, fierceness and remorselessness. On the right hand of the photograph is a medium sized font which reads ‘Murder Ballads’ this instantly connotes the articles published in this particular magazine is strictly about horror.

Additionally the word ballad added after murder suggests that murder is like or horror is like ‘music to the ears’. At the top if the right hand side underneath the title reads ‘ Takashi Miike on Masters Of Horror The Banned Episode’ note that they publish banned episodes. This immediately insinuates that the horror movies or shows that they advertise are extremely gruesome and terrifying for anyone to watch that it being banned from TV was the best solution. The name of the magazine suggests it is a French magazine, which is interesting because the text down the right side in is English meaning the designer of the magazine may be trying to target both English and French audiences. There are other cover stories which is related to a variety of other horror movies.

There are many different cover lines in the magazine which is advertised one being ‘Deadly Skate Decks’ which is written in white, this interesting because the words do not reflect the colours. Whereas the first set of cover line the ‘Blood’ text is red. White text suggests pureness.

Overall although there is not much text, the text that is displayed portrays a lot about what the magazine is about. Advertising ‘banned’ programmes and telling the audience why exactly this particular programme was banned, the public are usually fascinated to why movies and programmes are ‘banned’, so this will definitely be a eye-catching cover line. The Image is additionally eye-catching because the lighting aspect of the photo is pale and vivid.

Textual Analysis of movie poster- Final Destination

Film posters are usually presented and displayed on billboards, in magazines, commonly the side of buses, in the cinema and on bus shelters. The purpose of a film poster is to warn the potential target audience that the film will be released soon so ‘look out’; this is one of the main strategies that is used to persuade.


The main colours used in this movie poster are dark, gloomy, depressing colours, for instance different shades of greys, black and white. The uses of these colours are conventional for a horror movie poster because the main colours connote death, daunting and bloodcurdling. For example black connotes death in many ways as it is the colour for bereavement and the colour many people wear to attend a funeral etc. Where the colour white is used this could have been chosen to represent pureness or innocence as the white fades into the black background this could connote that the young girls innocence has been taken away from her via death.


The main image is of a woman who looks very frightened, with her mouth opened rather wide this connotes the lady is screaming, The image looks as if she has slowly decayed into an skeleton suggesting the whole idea of death and maybe torture the females Non Verbal communication denotes and supports this evidence.


The original photo has clearly being manipulated and has been represented graphically. The person /people who created this movie poster has obviously put a lot of time, dedication and thought into how and why they want the movie poster to look that particular way. The woman is looking into a shattered mirror, this could give the impression that the girl Is slowly decaying, and she can actually see herself rotting away as ‘death is getting closer’.


The image fills the poster and this is appealing because it automatically draws attention to the image, thus the shattered glass is eye catching because it does to some extent look 3D, as if the glass is coming at ‘you’. The messages the poster conveys are both visual and verbal. It is visual because the image has been manipulated and verbal because again her NVC connotes screaming.


The intended audience for this movie and other horror movies are 16-24 year olds, as the majority of movie posters target this age group. There are no particular conventional weapons used in this horror movie; however the shattered sharp mirror pieces can be used as a weapon of some sort. A critic saw the movie poster before actually going to analyse the movie and described it as ‘a very effective thriller. It had me sitting anxiously on the edge of my seat, knuckles whitened, not because of a gory death, but because of the suspenseful build up to one.’ – This critic’s attention was gained by the shock and surprise the trailer alone portrayed.
The use of gratification states that horror movies aim to satisfy people’s social and cognitive needs. An integrative framework is outlined that aims at a more systematic understanding of emotional gratifications, and their influence on media use.


The tagline for the movie and established on the movie poster is ‘Rest in Pieces’ this brings humour and pun to the movie because the usual saying is ‘Rest in Peace’, notice the difference in spelling. Rest in Pieces reveals the people in the movie will have a painful death maybe results in their body being dislocated or arms/legs chopped off in a horrific way, in relation to the main image. The tagline is three words which make it easy to remember and identify.


I personally think this is an effective movie poster because the image is eye-catching, and interesting to look at, it also allows the audience to use their imagination which is connecting the audience to the movie.

Textual Analysis of Teaser Trailer- Final Destination

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU625g_Lh_k&feature=related

Country:USA
Language:English
Release Date:28 August 2009 (UK)
Budget:$43,000,000 (estimated)

Lighting is an extremely complex aspect of mise en scene, as it can affect the whole atmosphere of a scene. In Final Destination 5’s teaser trailer Low key lighting was constantly used, colours such as black and dark blues, these colours may have been chosen to connote death, isolation or sadness.

The setting is an important part of creating meaning in a scene; the location can be used to give the impression to the audience that the scene is believable. There were various settings used in this teaser trailer for example a theme park was featured in the trailer starring a red roller coaster, essentially roller coasters are created to give people an adrenaline rush and a thrill. Roller coasters are usually the scariest rides in theme parks causing people to scream and shout from fear. The quick cut to the roller coaster and the loud screaming connotes that something is going to go wrong, however noting that this is the norm when one goes on a roller coaster: in addition the roller coaster being red can imply that someone is going to be seriously injured or involved in a fatal accident, involving blood. There was a small clip of racing cars on a racing track; fast cars are always the centre of attention on a track this contributes to the fact that a car crash may occur resulting in death, black skid marks on the track shows the audience that the cars are driving extremely fast which can connote danger or fearlessness whereas danger can connote blood, death, injury, pain and/ or agony. An important part of the car disconnected from the mains which then means the climax of the film is building up creating suspense for the viewers. It then cuts to a black screen with a deep male voiceover saying ‘Now you have to follow the signs’. This use of dialogue and text enables the viewers to use their imagination, allowing the viewers to use their imagination is called negotiated reading, this allows the viewers to interpret the text in their own way; this is an effective way of making the viewers feel involved. There is also a straight cut to a building which denotes a hospital a hospital denotes a serious injury may have taken place, death, pain agony.

The main character is a female who looked aged 18-21; she was wearing a black top which again connotes evilness, isolation, sorrow or mourning. More so she appears to be wearing a red jacket which signifies blood, anger and hatred all these words are initially associated with horror movies which are conventions. The Non- verbal communication of the main characters face looked disturbed; she was also looking directly into the camera this could help to trigger emotion from the intended audience. The other characters NVC were the total opposite of hers; they looked serious and shocked which could connote that she is the victim or the centre of the action. Subsequently the screen goes black then the shot fades into old clippings of newspaper articles which denotes death reading ‘ Youth dies in Grisly train accident’ alongside the picture of the young boy, this revealed that continuous deaths has occurred.

The silence used in the teaser trailer creates tension for the audience causing a buzz of excitement making the audience want to know more. Non- Diegetic music is added to direct the audience emotion (characters can’t hear). Towards the end of the trailer non- diegetic music was added the music was fast and adventurous this could have been simply to create excitement for the audience. The voiceover/ narration may have been added for the audience’s purpose only this can cause tension and anticipation. Also the use of design sound effects for example the rapid ticking of the clock denotes that time is running out this creates a sinister atmosphere and emphasises the content of the teaser trailer.

A low angle, medium close-up shot was used to exaggerate the importance of the subject when the main character is falling back, this connotes that the character has a low status and is being empowered by someone else. Another low angle shot was used when there is a man on the motor bike in-between two cars speedily rushing this again denotes that time is running out and something is going happen. A close up low angle shot of the man’s hand tightly clenched connotes strength and power. An eye level shot of the cars speeding on the track, the camera is positioned as though it is actually a human observing the scene and this angle causes the least discomfort for the viewers, plus the speed of tracking in, into the eyes of the characters was fast tracking, fast tracking as previously established causes thrill and adrenaline for the audience also drawing a closer relationship with the characters facial expression or emotion through the eyes. Quick cuts towards the end of the trailer created an exhilarating feeling for the target audience.

Introduction

Our group consist of three people I, Nashay, Teniola and Deborah. Collectively we are going to produce a 30-55 second Teaser Trailer, the genre will be Horror. We will also be creating and designing our very own horror movie poster and magazine front cover.

Both the magazine front cover and horror movie poster will help to distribute and create a 'buzz' around our horror movie. During the process we intend to keep you up to date with what exactly each group member is doing.

Additionally we will all contribute to blogger.

I will be the main actress in the teaser trailer alongside a friend of the group Mandy Lui, I will also be assistant director. The main designer of the poster and magazine will be all of us , with the help and support from each other.

Teniola will be the Cameraman, in charge of shooting the images and shot techniques as well as the editing process. Whilst Deborah will be the main photographer for the images on the movie poster and magazine.

We are all aiming high and have high intentions and we are also looking forward to the finishing result/ product of the horror teaser trailer, magazine and poster.