Billy: Textual Analysis of Horror Magazine (Empire)



Magazine cover textual analysis

The main image for this edition of empire magazine has been taken from the film ‘Hannibal’ the photo is in sepia but has had some photo enhancement done on the eye to make it red these effects make the photo seem unnerving as the red eyes connote evil or something demonic and the colour red connotes blood the sepia also connotes a sense of tradition as it is like an old fashioned photo this suggests that the Hannibal franchise has tradition within horror genre, what makes this photo more unnerving is the way its half lit and his facial slightly smiling expression  and his way of looking directly at the reader this suggests he is evil and makes the reader feel he is ‘sizing you up’ as a next victim, the shadowing of his face suggests he is lurking and connotes evil.

The masthead that reads ‘Empire’ is fairly straight forward it is the magazine logo un- altered with a shadow and highlight effect the fond is similar to 40s and 50s theatre signs

which cotes tradition along with the name ‘Empire’. The mastheads colour matches the colour of the mans eye in the photo and so certain subheadings and bullet points do too, this creates a sleek, simple and together design that pleases and dose not confuse the eye. The main tagline is “what’s cooking?” this is paced large on the left hand side of the page so as not to interfere with the picture the tagline is a quote as if the character on the front is asking you the question this is more or less a type of direct address, the quote is also a hint towards the content of the film Hannibal as it is primarily about a cannibal as the franchise is well known many readers will ‘get’ this joke and therefore be entertained and interested, the quote is written in a serif font which stands out amongst the rest of the text which is mainly sans serif, this I think has been used to suit the voice of the character of Hannibal who is around 50 and is very academic and intelligent I believe the use of a serif font helps to link the quote to the character.

The first cover story links to the quote sub head in bold red writing to catch the potential buyers eye and establish it as a starting point and the main story it reads ‘Hannibal’ which is the title of the film featured on the cover. The use of informal language such as heads up helps engage the reader in a way that makes them feel comfortable, they also call this particular edition of empire magazine a ‘bloody valentine special’ this informs the reader that this issue is particularly focused on horror, this theme continues with more use of word play ‘gore blimey’ this pun is intended to entertain the potential buyer and again inform the reader it is primarily focused on the horror genre, this subheading is followed buy a number of bullet points the first being “the most shocking scenes ever” the use of superlative and exaggerations such as “most” and “ever” are designed to intrigue the reader and create a certain buzz around the content of that article, the second reads “are you a psycho?” the use of this rhetorical question leaves the reader  wanting to know more, the third bullet point reads “catering for cannibals” this is a good use of  alliteration and humour to entertain the reader as the idea of catering a cannibal denotes death and gore this links to the main feature film ‘Hannibal’. The fourth and last bullet point reads “exclusive interviews and a whole lot more” claiming exclusivity gives potential buyers more reason to choose there publication over others along with the non-specific promise of a whole lot more. There is also a small page feature that is not as relevant to the theme of the issue but still a relevant selling point so is there for a lot smaller and positioned in the corner which simply lists famous actor’s and actress’s names. This is a way of using ‘star power’ to sell there publication the list doesn’t mention how or what they are saying about these celebrities but simply using there names alone to sell the magazine. Lastly there is a small banner at the top of the page above the masthead featuring a yellow segment, which stands out from the rest of the cover that reads in bold righting “ every new film reviewed the use of an all-inclusive adjective such as “every” is being deployed much in the same way as the superlative “most” by claming a lot more than is ever possible. The banner also features a photo of actress ‘Minnie Driver’ along with an ambiguous statement “body snatcher: why Minnie Driver stole a human heart this is an example of a scandal being used to sell a publication whether she actually stole a heart or it’s a slight trick on the reader it still intrigues the reader.

I think despite a few bold claims and cleaver marketing tricks which all forms of media use this is a well put together and effective magazine cover.

Billy waterworth

Tamika : Texual Analysis of Horror Magazine (Fangoria)

The following is an example of a textual analysis of a magazine cover.

Denotation: The magazine cover consists of a coloured photograph of a man looking directly at the camera. It is a medium close up showing his shoulder and head. The background of the photograph is a dark grey, and the photograph covers the whole of the magazine cover. In front of the man is the Fangoria Masthead, and in front of the man are nine separate coverlines in white, black, purple and yellow. The man photographed on the cover’s name is in white in small font.

There is a white box in the left hand corner of the magazine, a bar code is not visible in the bottom left corner.

Masthead: The Fangoria masthead name is very unique- it is purple with a black outline. The font used is a san serif font, all the letters are in capital letters and are close together. The font stands out because instead of putting the font on the background which will make it a little dual and not stand out they placed a yellow box behind it.

The Cover photograph is of Tom Savini. He is dressed and made up like Freddy in ‘a nightmare on elm street 2’ his pose is quite scary looking directly into the camera and showing a hand looking like a claw his skin looks like he has veins all over his face or his whole body on his skin and it looks like he has been burnt this shows the audience that the man is a scary guy and that you should be afraid. His clothing is not shown much but I can see that he is wearing a black and red striped jumper so the clothing is casual.

The main coverline that relates to his photograph says: “Are you ready for freddy? Nightmare on elm street 2! This is making a reference to the film ‘A nightmare on elm street the film and is saying that there is going to be number 2. The different coverlines tell us that this magazine doesn’t concentrate on just one genre of films, and doesn’t only focus on films either. Actors mentioned on the coverlines include Tom Savini, Clu gulager, Angelo rossitto and john Saul’s.

The only person who is mentioned who isn’t an American actor is John Saul, who is an author of suspense and horror novels. The way the coverlines are written reveals that this magazine also focuses on current films that are out e.g. “Twilight zone terrors, John Saul’s paperback evils!”. All of the coverlines use a serif font, which is a connoting tradition. It suggests that fangoria magazine chose to follow the media conventions.

When I consider all of these points, I would suggest that the most likely target audience would be people male and female, but more likely to be atracted to males who would be aged 18-25+, and they would have an interest in horror films.

Tamika Nwokolo-Gentles

Beatrice : Textual Analysis of Horror Magazine (Fangoria)

Denotation: The magazine front cover has a photograph of a man carrying a chainsaw wearing a discoloured top and apron. The man is wearing a face mask but it is mask made out of ‘human skin’ and the character wearing it is names ‘Leatheface’ who is a murderer and cannibal. It is a medium long shot which shows his face, arms and waist. The background can not be seen properly; however we can tell he is in some sort of dark enclosed room as there is no sort of light. The photograph doesn’t however cover the whole magazine as on the left hand side of the paper there is a separate section.
On top of the page is the magazine title which has been placed behind him and the letters are sans serif font and there are various coverlines throughout the magazine. The name of the magazine is directly positioned next to the man and is one of the only text in the magazine that is in serif font. On the left hand side of the magazine there is a visible barcode.
Masthead: the ‘Fangoria’ masthead is very distinctive as it is very visible in a deep red with a white outlining. The colour of this resembles the colour of the blood on the chainsaw and connotes a sense of horror and that the magazine will be very ‘bloody’ which correlates with the fact that it is a horror magazine.
The cover photograph is of ‘Leatherface’ who is posed in a very aggressive way with a chainsaw in his hand. This position suggests that he is actually hacking at something which we can not see and this makes us very intrigued and wanting to find out more. His clothing is stained by blood and both of his arms are also covered in blood. His hair is very greasy and connotes that he doesn’t regularly bath and lives a dirty lifestyle. The mask he is wearing also adds to this effect and also gives a sense of mystery as we don’t know his full identity. All of these factors have been specifically chosen to appeal to its audience which is a male audience.
The main coverline relating to the photograph says:
“HOW THE BUZZ BEGAN”
This is making reference to the fact that this film is a sequel to the original ’Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (released in 1974). The original movie stirred a lot of controversy and was banned in many counties including the United Kingdom, Brazil and Sweden and so the remake released in 2006 was the newest sequel. The writing is very comic and is very similar to the writing on the front cover of the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre Comics’ which connotes a sense of un-realness. The coverline suggests that the buzz had died beforehand which could be referring to the fact that the original was made 32 years ago.
On the left hand side of the page there are various pictures which include a bloodshot eye and a persons pale face with its mouth sowed partly together. Both of these images are fairly daunting and connote a sense of unrealism but depending on how it is portrayed inside the magazine, it can be believable. There are various coverlines in an array of colours with the ones on the top half in serif font and the only one on the bottom being in sans serif font.
On the left hand side of the page there are various pictures which include a bloodshot eye and a persons pale face with its mouth sowed partly together. Both of these images are fairly daunting and connote a sense of unrealism but depending on how it is portrayed inside the magazine, it can be believable. There are various coverlines in an array of colours with the ones on the top half in sans serif font and the only one on the bottom being in serif font. With most of the coverlines being in sans serif font this connotes that the magazine is a modern one and doesn’t follow any traditions.
When I consider all of these points, I would say that the target audience for this magazine is a male audience of 18-25 year olds who are interested in films, especially horror. They would also not be faint hearted or disturbed easily by graphic images or detailed stories

By Beatrice Adong-Otim

Daniela : Textual Analysis of Horror Magazine (Fangoria)

Denotation: The horror magazine front cover consists of a coloured image of Michael  Meyers from the horror movie ‘Halloween’. In this medium close up shot we can see that Michael  Meyers is looking away from the camera; in this shot we see that he is wearing a leather/suede jacket, his hair is brushed back and that he has sustained some gruesome injuries to his face. The front cover is very colorful as it has a variety of colours, from to bright to dark; graphology has been explored, as there are a range of fonts, sizes and styles.

Above Michael  Meyers’ head is the Masthead ‘FANGORIA’, followed by many different coverlines and a main coverline which are situated around the frightening fictional character. A barcode is visible on the right hand corner, which is used for identification; alongside ‘FANGORIA #225’ issue number positioned on upper right hand corner of the magazine. The magazine website is written in small print underneath the barcode, for people that would like to visit the website.

Masthead: the ‘FANGORIA’ masthead is very distinctive and artistic, as the name was adapted from a set of teeth that is associated with vampires and used as a magazine the name. The masthead and the style of the font is very consistent as the writing is sharp and the two letters ‘F and A’ are extended at the end to create this image of a vampires fangs. The masthead is bold and is written in capital letters (sans serif) that are tinted red to symbolize blood; primarily what vampires like to drink. Above the masthead is a cover line ‘TrueBlood’s new blood: 2nd season secrets’, which explains why the masthead was written in the styles that it is in, as ‘True Blood’ is a TV drama series based on Vampires.

True Blood is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, and details the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional small LouisianaSookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepathic waitress at a bar, who falls in love with vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). We see that ‘TrueBlood’ is written in two different colours; ‘True’ is written in white who represents purity, cleanliness and innocence. This is quickly juxtaposed by red which is used for ‘Blood’, who connotes fire, blood, war, danger, strength, power as well as passion, desire, sexuality and love. Both the different connotations for each of the colours mentioned above are some of the themes presented in this TV drama series.

The coverline of ‘THE FINAL DESTINATION’ is written in black capital letters and written in a serif typeface; in addition to this coverline underneath it says in red writing ‘Death Strikes in 3-D’. Immediately we become aware that this horror film is going to come out in cinemas in 3-D, which creates a vivid image as we visualize the victims in this film dying right in front of our eyes, which is the effect created by the three dimensional motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception. Underneath this coverline is another coverline which talks about another film ‘OrpHAN’. The font style in which this coverline has been written in is very unusual; it looks like it has been written by a child, which is very creative. This 2009 horror film is based on an orphan girl called Esther who is adopted by the Coleman family who are unaware that the child they have accepted into the family is actually a 33 year old woman (Leena Klammer) with hypopituitarism who kills. Below this coverline it says ‘Adopting terror’ where ‘terror’ is personified to give a rhetoric effect, which makes the audiences want to go and watch the film.

The coverline of ‘ZOMBIELAND’ is written in black bold capital letters (non-serif). This 2009 zombie comedy film is set in a post apocalyptic America; two months after a mutated strain of mad cow disease turns nearly all humans into zombies. Below this is coverline is an additional coverline about another zombie comedy film ‘DEAD SNOW’. This 2009 is a Norwegian comedy horror film about a woman, Sara (Ane Dahl Torp) who is being chased through the snows of Norway. She is ultimately cornered and eaten by zombies in World War II SS uniforms. Underneath this coverline it says ‘Nazi Zombies’ which gives the audience and idea that this film will be based on Nazi Zombies. Both these comedy zombie horror films are sub-genres of horror; the fact that they have been placed on the left hand side of the magazine is actually quite intelligent as it has been done to distinguish the different horror genres.

The photography in this magazine front cover uses high key lighting considering that Michael  Meyers is a horror character. I believe that this was done on purpose and the connotations of the use of the high key lighting, suggests that the victims should be aware of Michael  Meyers. Michael  Meyers in horror films usually doesn’t hide, he always shows himself, and he wants to be seen by his victims. His bloody jackets shows that he has just killed someone, the injuries on his face illustrates that the victim put up a fight and was able to seriously injure him, but the fact that Michael  Meyers is still standing connotes that he is indestructible. From this picture we can see that Michael  Meyers is of a big build and the fact that we cannot see his eyes, makes him come across as intimidating, which is an understatement. Looking at the background I would say that he is possibly in a house or possibly in a hospital ward. At the bottom of the magazine there is the main coverline ‘ROB ZOMBIE’s H2/ EXCLUSIVE SET VISIT’. Halloween II is a 2009 American horror film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a reboot to Zombie's 2007 remake of Halloween (1978), and the tenth film in the Halloween film series. ‘H2’ is written in big bold capital letters (non-serif typeface), the orange coloring connotes Halloween, energy, enthusiasm, fire and activity which is just some of the themes present in this film and characteristics of Michael  Meyers.

All different colours and font styles and sizes used throughout this magazine front cover, makes this magazine eye catching as it has various connotations. When I consider all of these points, I would say that the most likely target audience would be people that range from 18-24+, mainly males and people who enjoy watching horror films and the sub-genres of horror.

Daniela Tome'

Daniela : Textual Analysis of Horror Movie Poster

The following is a textual analysis of a horror film poster 

Denotation: This horror film poster consists of a coloured image of what appears to be a man holding a mobile phone to his ear and smiling. In this shot (close up) we can see that the man is directly looking into the camera. As the audience we see that his eyes are made up of two opened up mouths, which are sitting diagonally above his nose.

On top of the photograph of the man we can see that there is block writing in red asking the question “WHAT WILL IT SOUND LIKE WHEN YOU DIE?” Underneath the image in capital bold writing is the title of the film (Masthead). Underneath the Masthead are various coverlines which provides the audience with information such as, who the film was directed by and actor/actresses who are starred in the movie. A date of when the movie is coming out on cinema is also shown in capital red letters “JANUARY 4^th”

 Masthead: “ONE MISSED CALL” masthead stands out as it’s the largest writing on the poster and as it’s bold and in white. The font style used is in Serif form, to possibly make the film stand out to an older audience. The fact that the masthead is in white makes it stand out and more clear to see as the background colour is black. 

The cover photograph is eye catching and yet frightening as the first thing that we are drawn to is his upper face that consists of two mouths which replace the eyes; a sense of confusion is created as we (the audience) are left wondering why this has been done. The fact that the man is holding a phone (prop), the title is “One Missed Call” and the rhetorical questions ask “what will you sound like when you die?” makes the poster consistent. The rhetorical question asked is very effective as it gets the audience actually asking themselves this question, which is quite bizarre: the fact that it is written in red connotes danger, death and creates and image of blood. The smile on the man’s face suggests that he is happy, content or satisfied, but also has this mysterious and evil twist. Because the lighting of this photograph is low key, it gives the poster that effect of darkness, suspense and evil.

This poster is very creative but yet simple and unpredictable. The simplicity and unpredictability of this poster makes the audience eager to know what the film is about, therefore making the audience want to go and invest some time to watch it when it comes out in cinemas. Looking at this poster I would say that the target audience for this film would be people that range from 18-24+ and who also enjoy watching horror films.              

Daniela Tome

Beatrice: Textual Analysis of Horror Movie Poster

Denotation: This horror poster has a colour photograph of a young, beautiful high school girl sitting on top of a table which is evidently crushing a hand which can just about be seen. She is looking directly at the camera whilst at an angle on the table-because of this angle, her skirt just about covers her thighs and making her look very seductive. However, because she is wearing a school uniform she also comes across as innocent-the books she is holding dramatically adds to this effect.

The shot used is a long shot which shows the full length of her body on top of the table including her legs which are dangling off. In the background there is a chalkboard hung up on the wall with the words ‘HELL YES!’ drawn onto them. The chalkboard its self is dark grey whilst the wall is a very dirty cream colour, the floor is also a dark grey with discoloured patches especially directly under the table.

Beneath the woman is the film title-‘Jenifer’s Body’. All the letters are in serif and are all capital letters in bright red with an outer deep red highlight. Even though the letters don’t jump up and combine with each other, they do have ‘curls’ at the end of each letter. Because the mixture of the red used go together very well it reminds me of ‘blood’ which connotes that the movie is going to involve a lot of blood and be a horror. The character is wearing a top which is also red. Her cleavage can also be seen which would deeply appeal to a male audience as this combination connotes that she is very seductive and gives the hint that she is going to play an evil school girl. She is also wearing red high heels and red nail varnish which adds to this seductive effect and intensifies it.

The cover line which relates to her says

‘She’s evil… And not just High School Evil.”

This straight away takes away the image that we had of her being a ‘sweetheart’ or a ‘model student’ as it really reveals her character. Even though there are just a few words this connotes that she herself isn’t going to be the one that’s end up dead, but will be committing the crimes. This is true because in the movie she a teenage serial killer who kills her fellow male classmates. We get the impression that she is a sexist because the hand that she is sitting on does not have nail varnish so connotes that she only kills males and this correlates with our impression.

When I have considered all of the points, I would suggest that the most likely target audience would be male and female teenagers who would have an interest in horror movies with a twist and soft side to it. They would also be interested in the generic American stereotypes that the ‘most popular’ people were the ‘most beautiful’ people.

By Beatrice Adong-Otim

Billy: Textual Analysis of Horror Movie Poster





[.REC]

Poster textual analysis

This is the poser for 2007 film [.REC]. The main photo is that of a woman the miese en scene suggests she is in distress and is running away from something this links to the tag line which I will explain later, her body language suggests she needs help as her hands are palm up and extended towards the camera this helps put the viewer in the image the lighting is harsh and directly in her face witch ultimately looks amateur, which adds to is authenticity it also means the background is almost completely obscured so you can only make out a few blurry objects in the background we also cannot see what she is running away from giving the film some mystery her costume is a white vest which seems to be covered in blood this suggests there is a real physical threat and that she’s In mortal dander the over all colour scheme for this poster is mainly black which connotes darkness and fear but the colours that stand out such as the red in the mast head and text suggests danger and also goes with the idea of recording which make sense as the film is called [.REC]  there is also a slight haze of green over the photo in the background and picked out in the mast head this to me suggests the digital camera aspect green to me hints at coding (such as the Matrix) digital cameras sometimes tint things green in low light. the photo also seems to be in a low resolution it has lines as if it is a still from a film, this all ties into the title of the film. I think these aesthetics are very clever and hinting at what the film is going to be like I also think the image is a nod towards ‘The Blair Witch Project’ poster such as the lighting.



The tag line translates as “run away … but never stop recording” which completely ties in with the miese en scene of the image which the woman apparently running away from something unseen and the effects used on it to make it look like a still. Even the text font and styling for the tagline suggests its taken from a low resolution screen such as a held camera as it is blurry around the edges and has a green tint.

The main mast head is taken directly from the universal symbol for record as seen on a camera display this is also blurry, there can also be seen a static ‘ghost’ of the text this also suggests hand recording and motion as effects like that only happen when a camera is jogged such as running which ties into the tagline. The rest of the text is the necessary dates and credits in the traditional poster layout I think this poster has been cleverly designed and has many subtle details to suggest the style and theme of the film, is also fit well with the teaser trailer and has lots of continuity features in design.

Billy Waterworth

Tamika : Textual Analysis of Horror Movie Poster

This is a textual analysis of a horror movie poster

Denotation: This horror film poster consists of black and orange and red colours showing a silhouette of a woman and a man standing behind her. The image appears to be a mid shot of the woman from her head to her waist, in the photograph we see that the rest of her body is cut off looking like her body is sinking into the ground.

She is giving full eye contact with a scared look on her face even though it is not that clear to see the picture uses low key lighting and there is little lighting which is only shining on one side of her face. The man standing behind her is also a silhouette of him wearing preferably a jacket and jeans, hat and has sharp nails on his right hand, which show the audience that he is out to kill and is a dangerous (evil) man.

His head is slightly tilted down probably looking down at the woman. It is a long shot showing his whole body. At the bottom of the photograph in front of the woman we can see that there is capital writing in white (serif font) which is the coverline saying “HE KNOWS WHERE YOU SLEEP”. The background of the photograph uses low key lighting, and the photographs are the main focus on this poster.

Underneath the masthead is the date of when the movie is coming out in cinemas its in white writing and its big, bold and very clear for people to see. The masthead “A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET” it stands out as it’s the largest writing on the poster and as it’s bold and in red. The front style used is in serif font. The fact that the masthead is in red, you can associate the colour red with blood and danger which is what horror films are about. The fact that the masthead is in red makes it stand out and is clear to see as the background colour is black and orange.

The cover photograph is eye catching but yet frightening as the first thing that we see is the woman and the man behind her. It is quite clever what the person did with the two, he made the photographs into silhouettes so that we couldn’t see there faces. This makes it quite mischievous and creates suspense. This will want to make people come and watch it in cinemas.

I would suggest that the most likely target audience would be males and females aged 18-25+ who like watching horror films. This poster is very creative but yet simple because when you look at the poster you think that you know what it could be about and I think what gives it away is the coverline “He knows where you sleep” that gives the audience a sense of knowledge that maybe he come to get you when you’re asleep. 

Tamika Nwokolo-Gentles

Introduction

For our A2 Media, as a group we have come together to complete our Coursework which involves making a teaser trailer as well as a Horror Movie Magazine and Horror Movie Poster
This group complies of:
Beatrice Adong-Otim
Tamika Nwokolo-Gentles
Daniella Tome
Billy Livings Waterworth