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'
No comments:
Post a Comment