Ancillary task- Magazine cover

As i have chosen to do a magazine front cover, to promote my horror film trailer, i have decided to use Empire magazine to be the host of this. To make sure it is clear to my audience that i am doing a cover for this magazine, i will need to stick to some precise conventions. For example- The red, white, and black colours to be dominating, as well as the master head.

Magazine covers' analysis

This is the front cover for the film magazine 'Empire'. their typical colours scheme is predominately simple and traditional colours of the tabloid world- white,black, and a bold red. The master head is in a simple font, with bold, capital red lettering to stand out, even if other wording and imaging is placed over it. The two main pieces of writing, being
the masthead and the subheading of 'Inception' (the film being promoted) are in the eye catching red colour, dominating the cover and indicating towards their importance over the other texts. The backing image of this i found very effective, it being a slightly faded and transparent photo of a birds eye view of a city. The texts on the page are all at an angle, giving them an almost 3D effect, as if they are coming out of the page, which sets this magazine apart from others making it really stand out. The main focal
point,however, is the character dominating the cover. he is in a sleek suit, holding a gun, with a concerned look on his face. He gives a classy and sophisticated feel to the cover. Also, his high status of celebrity in the acting world makes a selling point for the magazine.





The magazine contrasts the previous. it doesn't stick to the conventional schemes and ways of empire magazine, but changes to fit the film it is promoting. the cover inst full of text to crowd the page, but it kept clean with just a few important subheadings and extras, to keep the main focal on the image. i like the minimalist vibe it gives off, it leave the cover looking fresh and sophisticated.

The dominating image is really eye catching. the metallic reds and golds stand out against the darker background and contrast with the electric, illuminating blues. the way the robot is stood very strongly, with an almost sinister look on its face, makes the whole cover seem very bold and forceful on the audiences eye.

In my opinion, i find the master head to be the most striking on the cover. the electric blue is so eye grabbing and i like how it has been editing to look like lightening.

Effective Horror Trailers

This trailer set a completely different feel to the previous one. The main different is the setting and era the trailer is based in. The Victorian era is commonly associated with ghosts and ghostly fashions, this alone sets an eerie tone. The first clip is a close up of an old child's doll, with dirt on its face and cobwebs surrounding it. This alone has the power to creep an audience out. The music track then starts to come in- the sound similar to the high keys of a piano, played in an off beat tone. With this, the voice over of a young girl begins to tell the story of a scary house everyone stays away from. The concept of a haunted house is a tradition fear factor but doesn't at all seem cliché. The voice of a young girl, normally associated with innocence and kindness, contrasts well with the words she is say, the picture and the music. we are presented with very old, black and white photos of family's with they eyes picked out of the photo which is mysterious and disturbing. We are also shown quite a few establishing shots of the haunted house, which is presented in a dark gloomy light. the indoors appears to be all blacked and the house is show to be old with lots of cobwebs and dust.
When the trailer reaches it's climax, the clips quickly cut from one to another, of scenes of thunder storms, fire and ghostly happenings. I thought this part was effective and quite stereotypical of the horror genre. the pace them slows right down and the music stops. However the trailer finishes which a shot of a man standing in the shadows looking out of a window, when a mysterious figure suddenly appears. I liked this and though it would be effective to use myself yo finish off the climax with a bad, leaving the audience wonder, 'who was that?'.

Effective Horror Trailers

I thought this trailer for the film 'The Strangers' was particularly effective in the contrast of tones from begging to end. the trailer starts with clips of homely and friendly houses in a slide show style, along with an ambient sound to compliment this, an old fashioned song.but then quickly deteriorates in to something much darker and sinister. along with this 'homely feel' the trailer gives out, there is also the topic of love and two young vulnerable characters alone together. the tone changes with a whisper and the pace quickens along, using the slide show style with clips and images of the scary events. i found the shutter sound added effect to the mood of horror, and the editing of the picture, in dark tones with sepia and reds standing out and appearing as they are old photos from the past. I think the slide show, shutter style would be an effective quality to apply to my own teaser trailer.

Horror Film's Poster Analysis

I find this poster to be quite successful in drawing in the audience, as well as being clear as to what genre the film is, it is effective in its choice of colours- a piercing bright ring against a dark eerie back ground. The poster does give much away as to what the film is about, but it entices you with its mystery and makes you know horror is involved. i also like the slogan used, it's short snappy and scary. i think it would be a good idea to think up i slogan of my own for the movie poster i will produce.











I like the imagery used in this poster. the woman's face looks scared as if she is bracing herself for something and the orange glow of lighting brings a creepy vibe to it. unlike The Ring's poster, this one included the name of an actress quite largely pasted across the front. This shows she must be quite an established actress, and be one of the selling point of the film. The post for ' The Others' also has quotes from newspapers reviews from established companies- New York Observer, and Rolling Stones magazine. This shows that the film is well noted by the media, and further convinces its audience to watch it. similarities with the previous poster is the wording in a luminous white colours, as well as a ghostly slogan, 'Sooner or later they will find you'. its sparks questions as to who 'they' are, brings a ghostly feel to the whole thing.







I find this poster much more chilling compared to the other two. the colourless, gloomy soundings creates a ghostly feel, and the dark, shadowy figure bring mystery and suspense to the poster. the way the figure is looking into a closed door is a creepy indication that they are an intruder. i like the way that the title and other wording is written as if drawn onto a steamed up window, however i think the film title shold be larger and possibly higher up, as it is drowned by the other wording around it. a sligan seems to be a common feature of horror film posters, however again i feel this should be placed on a different area of the poster as it blends in too much with the small print.

Course work- Horror Collage

I have Created a mixture of eerie, scary and creepy pictures for inspiration towards the horror film trailer i will be producing. I included classic horror film traits such as a scary house and misty woods, that are very familiar to the genre of horror.

Media Coursework A2

The option I have chosen to do for my Media Studies A2 Course work, is a promotional package for a new film, including a teaser trailer and the two following options I have decided one to accompany the is a film magazine front cover, and a poster for the film.


I chose this option because I think it will be good to learn new skills in video editing and well as camera work and filming, a change from magazines last year. I also take a strong interest in films so this will help me be more imaginative with my ideas.

I think I will also do the genre of 'Horror' for my teaer trailer. im my opinion, horror is an interesting trailer to emulate, and does well in inticing and drawing in an audience. A lot of the time horror trailers lerave us wanting more becuase of their sense of mystery; they generally end in a bag, leaving the audience filled with suspense, wanting to know what is going to happen and why.