Tuesday 14 June 2016

Analysis Of Magazine Dobule Page Spread


Analysis of double page spread (page 18 and 19)

The Magnificent Seven


  • In the middle of the double page there is a gutter, this is where the magazine folds to create the singular pages. Editors have to be careful about this, because they have to make sure that no text overlaps the gutter, as it would create distortion and it would make the text unclear and difficult to read. The large image spreads across the gutter, however it is edited so that the image is still clear.
  • The Image in the double page spread is of one of the main actors, Chris Pratt. I believe this actor was chosen, most likely because he is one of the most well known actors, because of this the double page would attract more readers, as more people know who he is. In the Image the actor is holding a very old fashioned pistol, which is very western-style, and is wearing clothes of an old fashion. The mise en scene of this image imply that this is a film of the western or cowboy genre. The target audience of this double page spread, is fans of the western or cowboy genre, or possibly fans of classic films, such as the Magnificent Seven. (The double page spread is about a premiere of a film based on the magnificent seven)
  • The photo taken is a mid-shot of the actor, we can clearly see the serious, and focused facial expression of the actor, and the gun pointing forwards implies he does have a target, conveying violence and danger.
  • At the bottom of the page there are 3 smaller images of several different actors, and the middle image is from behind the scenes.
  • The article has been titles "SEVEN UP" this relates to the title of the film "The Magnificent Seven" The word up suggests a lot of things, such as: the film is and upgrade to it's predocessors, or that the ratings are "up there".
  • Below the title there is a subtitle giving more information about the article.
  • In the main text there are multiple pill quotes, from the actors and producers of the film, these are accounts from the creators of the film makers themselves, so we get a lot more information from them.
  • At the start of the text drop capitals have been used, the reason they have been used is so that it is very clear where the article starts.
  • The font is very small, and it is in sans serif. This makes the text look a lot more old fashioned, matching the time this film takes place in, which is a more old fashioned time (the wild west)
  • The colour scheme of the page is predominately white, this makes the magazine seem more high class, and more organized, Empire is a magazine for people who are heavily invested in films, and care a lot for the genre, they do not look at a magazine for any fancy colours or presentation, they prioritise the information provided by the magazine. This colour scheme stays consistent throughout the magazine, is it very rare that a page does not match this colour scheme.

Monday 22 February 2016

Coke Zero and Diet Coke

Coke Zero

Coca Cola Zero is the second edition to the famous coca cola brand. It claims to be a low calorie variation of the famous Coca Cola drink, however still maintaining the taste of a regular coca cola drink.. It is a controversial product, as the true healthiness of the drink has been questioned. This is due to the rumors that the 'great taste' of coca cola zero comes from a high amount of sweeteners, which are even more unhealthy than sugar. It was distributed 22nd years since coca cola's first release. From multiple adverts we can imply that this variation is supposed to be aimed at men. This is because of multiple reasons. Firstly, the color scheme of the brand's designs is more masculine, with the black background, and the dark red font for the well known coca cola text. As well as that, the adverts are typically suggesting that coca cola zero can be an advantage to men in certain situations. This does not mean that coca cola zero can only be drunk by men, but the adverts suggest this. An example of this is:

Coca Cola Diet

Coca cola diet is the first coca cola brand since coca cola's (original) initial release. Coca Cola Diet was unveiled on July 8 1892, and it was introduced in the United States at a later date. Instead of using sugar, the drink was sweetened with aspartame, and artificial sweetener that was recently released in the united states. After this, multiple variations of diet coke were released, this included mostly new brands of coca cola such as: Coca Cola Cherry and Coca Cola Vanilla, however just a diet version. This product is more inclined towards the female audience. These are for the same reasons as coca cola zero, however they apply to women  instead.This sort of thing is very appealing to women, therefore incline many women towards this product, at least more women than men, although once again this product isn't made just for women. An example of this is a particular advert where a group of women see a shirtless man drinking a can of Diet Coke. This advert has actually been remade, with a more modern version:



Wednesday 10 February 2016

Uses Of Maslow's Theory In Print Adverts

Physiological

This is an example of an advert that goes under the physiological section of Maslow's hierarchy. This is because the product the advert is advertising is a basic human need: water. This is because humans cannot survive without water. If we don't have water (a basic need) we can't focus on any other need that is above this on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, because we haven't met the requirements for our basic human needs.




Safety


This is an example of an advert that goes under the Safety section of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. This is because the advert is advertising insurance. The purpose of insurance it to make sure specific things are kept safe, if something wrong happens. This advert is advertising home insurance, meaning that it'll keep your house safe for you, in case anything happens, therefore you can still pay for other necessary things, without the worry of what will happen, if something goes wrong with your home.




Social

This advert goes under the social section of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Despite the fact coca cola is a drink, the aim of coca cola is for people not to drink it to survive, they want to make you believe that drinking coca cola will make you popular and you will gain a lot of friends. This is shown by the fact the advert shows a woman and 2 men together happily, drinking coca cola, implying the drink is what brought them together.


Esteem



This is an example of an advert that goes under the esteem section of Maslow's hierarchy. This is because the advert conveys the product as being the "biggest thing to happen". This would make people think of themselves as bigger and better, because they have ownership of this new technology. This occurs a lot with apple products, as apple is normally thought of being the best pieces of technology, due to their highly technological products.


Self-Actualisation

This advert goes under the Self-Actualisation section of Maslow's hierarchy, because this adverts says that joining the army will make you be the best, and that you can reach your full potential. This is different to esteem, as esteem makes you feel good about yourself, self actualisation goes beyond that, as it means that you will be the best.


Monday 7 December 2015

Superhero Conventions in Batman Begins

      Batman Begins contains a large number of superhero movie conventions! One of these is the includance of a superhero costumer. However, the interesting thing about this, is that Batman's costume doesn't completely follow the convention. Usually, we would expect a bright, out of the ordinary, and very noticable suit, like Superman's or Spiderman's. Although, Batman's is almost the opposite of this. Almost ninety-nine percent of Batman's costume is black, however this doesn't meant it doesn't follow the superhero costume convention. As well as that, we can imply this characters personality through the colour as being very dark and sinister, as the colour black usually implicates.


   The special abilities convetion is very strange in this film, as Batman doesn't actually obtain any 'super' powers. However, you could argue that his imaginative and extensive use of gadgets and wealth is his power; as well as his 7 year long training, in combat. These powers aren't as flashy, and noticable as those of the like as, The Flash, for example, although you could still argue that these are out of the ordianary and very heroic.


   Every Superhero film needs a villain, and Batman Begins is no exception with 2 villains. Despite the fact people argue Scarecrow isn't the villain as he is only included in a few scenes, and is rarely scene in comabt with Batman, there are still momements where he is coveyed as a threat, and is shown to have the capabilities to defeat Batman. However, the main villain is Ras-Ah-Ghul, the leader of the league of shadows, a group once joined by Bruce Wayne who he soon betrayed, as his mentor, Ras-Ah-Ghul does appear as a massive threat to the theory, showing the capabilites to defeat Batman, which is how a supervillain should appear.

   Ecspecially with trilogies, it is important to provide the viewer with an origin story(an anectode of how the story went from the equilibrium to the disruption and the recognition etc.) Basically, this whole film fits this convetion as the title of the fillm state: this film is all about the beginning of Batman, and how he became the hero of Gotham. Usually, trilogies do this witth their first film, as it sets a path for the sequels, because they can jump straight into the action right at the start, without being concerned with having to provide the viewers with so much information.







Monday 23 November 2015

Superhero Conventions in Spiderman(2002)

     Many films within the superhero genre contain many conventions, that are associated with the superhero genre specifically. Even if the film is a parody, or a skit of a certain film, they can still contain conventions from the superhero genre. The film Spiderman(2002) is no exception. 
    First of all, a convention that spiderman contains, (and probably one of the most important ones) is the costume. Every superhero needs a costume, which identifies themselves as the superhero. This can be for many reasons. The main is to hide that hero's identity. The character usual reasoning for consuming their identity, is to protect those that he loves. This is what Peter decides to do. He produces a bright red and blue costume, with the Spiderman logo on the chest. The logo is also another convention for superhero films. A logo's purpose is to make us remember this superhero. We should be able to identify a superhero, just by looking at their logo. For example: in Spiderman(2002), Spiderman's logo, is the top-down spider. As soon as we see the spider logo, the viewer instantly thinks of Spiderman. Every good superhero film must have a villain. Someone who isn't invincible, but someone who does appear a threat to the main hero, and conveys to the audience as a strong challenger to the hero. In this case, the Green Goblin (Spiderman's nemesis) is the villain. His helmet scares the viewer, with it's feral and sharp looks. Also, the film contains many fight sequences where the Green Goblin does manage to defeat Spiderman, and the Green Goblin does manage to hurt the ones he loves, after his discovery of Spiderman's true identity, only moments after a recent duel they had in a burning building. Without a villain, like the Green Goblin, there would be nothing the Superhero could fight against. Despite the fact the hero could just fight crime, the viewer, will be a lot more interested in watching, a super villain with interesting powers or super abilities. On most occasions, the hero has a love interest. This is someone the hero is very close with, and who is prioritised by the hero. Spiderman's love-interest is Mary-Jane-Watson; a girl who grew up with Peter throughout childhood. Of course, the villain finds a way to threaten and confront Spiderman by threatening him with her life. A lot of superhero films do this. Almost all superhero films, are hybrid genre's/ As a lot of them are also members of the Action genre. Superhero films wouldn't be as appealing to audiences, if the action factor of the film wasn't present. Mostly, the action is provided by using explosions, gunshots, police chases, criminals etc. Spiderman contains all of these factors that have just been listed. A superhero film would not be appealing without this. Spiderman is set in New York, which is an extremely large city. This is the conventional setting for superhero films, The reason this is, is because a large city means a high chance of disaster. The large buildings can be used for many opportunities for destruction, which make for great action sequences and great special effects. Finally, a superhero wouldn't be super without special abilities(according to the definition) Spiderman's abilities is to shoot out organic webs from his hands, which he uses for swinging from building, disarming enemies, and pacifying enemies. He can also climb, and has a spider sense, which is useful in many situations.

      These conventions, imply that Spiderman(2002) is defenitely a film from the Supergero genre.

Monday 16 November 2015

Marvel And DC Comics

Marvel

      Ever since 1939, Marvel or Marvel Comics have taken  it's place as one of the worlds most famous industries, creating content such as: comics, films, books, merchandise and much more. From the beginning, where it was originally called Timely Productions, to the 1950s where it's name had changed to Atlas Comics, and finally  to present day where it has taken over the film industry under the ownership of Disney. Originally, Marvel Comics was firstly found by Martin Goodman, until Stan Lee took control after his success within his published comic books. Stan Lee created many comics such as: Iron Man, Captain America, and the Hulk. He also created Spider-Man, which publisher believed would be extremely unpopular due to the fact a lot of people dislike spiders, therefore they won't like spider man. However, Spider-Man turned out to be Marvels most important asset. Although, nothing could compare to the popularity of the Marvel Films, which have been released recently, including more to come. This includes one of the worlds most popular films, Avengers: Age Of Ultron which earned Marvel $1,405,035,767 worldwide. This is Marvels most famous film, and acts as Marvels IP(intellectual property) meaning this is Marvels main asset. The difference Marvel compared to DC, is that Marvel sets there story lines, in real places, for example: the most used setting is New York city, which is the setting for many popular superheroes such as: Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the Avengers. Since the start of Marvels film industry, starting with Iron Man 1(2008), Marvel has spread their audience, to a much older age group, due to the fact, recently in their films they have inserted gags, swear words, innuendos, and mature violence. As well as all this, Marvel has multiple TV shows: Marvel: Agents Of Shield, and Agent Carter. Despite the fact, these aren't as popular as the films and comics, they both have still attracted a significant amount of people to the franchise. Overall, Marvel is a worldwide phenomenon, and remains as one of the worlds most powerful industries, with still more films to come, including 'Phase Three' of the Marvel Film Universe.

DC Comics

     Dc Comics is an American company which specializes in the Superhero genre, as well as Marvel. It was founded in the late 1939 by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. DC has created many comic books, films, and TV shows. Recently, DC Comics is probably at it's highest point, as films such as: Batman vs. Superman, Suicide Squad are soon to be released, as well as the currently running TV-Shows, on the CW Network: Arrow(Season 4) and The Flash(Season 2), and Supergirl(Season 1).  DC Comics is a company owned by Warner Bros, which itself was owned by Time Warner. DC's most intellectual property, is most likely Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, including: Batman Begins(2005), The Dark Knight(2008), and The Dark Knight Rises(2012). These 3 films are DC's most popular films, especially The Dark Knight(2008) which has a reputation for being one of the greatest films of all time. DC is an industry mainly aimed at older audiences, considering there is a lot more mature violence, mature language, and a lot more darker and sinister characters(The Joker, Two Face). As well as that, there aren't as many heroes in the DC Universe, who don't actually have super powers, and therefore are vigilantes, this includes: Batman and The Green Arrow. This is also the same for the villains. Unlike Marvel, DC story lines are set in fictional places: Gotham, Metropolis, Central and Starling City. DC still remains as a strong industry with great films, and superior TV shows.

Sunday 1 November 2015

Star Wars The Force Awakens Trailer #3: Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Sound

Definitons


Diegetic Sound: This is when the source of the sound is visible on the screen, or is implied to be present by the action of the film. Examples of this form of sound include: voices of characters, and sounds made by the objects in the scene.

Non-Diegetic Sound: This is when the source of the sound is not visible in the scene or the sound has not been implied to be present in the action. This can include: the narrators commentary, sound effects which have been added for dramatic effect, or any music, theme tune, or orchestra that has been added, while the movie is in the editing process.





Examples Of Diegetic Sound

Example 1
Throughout the trailer, there are multiple previews of an undergoing spaceships battle. In these small scenes, we hear the memorable sound of what is referred to as a 'star wars blaster'. This sounds creates an atmosphere of violence, and also tells us that there is a violent battle going on in this scene. The rapid pace the single note is being played, creates a sense of hectic and panic, as the it sounds like the weapons are being fired aimlessly.


                                                                                     Example 2
 For a small part of the trailer, we see a lightsaber clash with something on the ground, the diegetic sound is that the lightsaber makes when the lightsaber makes impact with whatever its aiming at. When we hear this sound, we instantly think of a lightsaber, as it is a recognisable a memorable sound. As soon as we here this sound, we think of danger, violence and death. This automatically creates an atmosphere                                                                                       of violence and death,


Example 3
Another example of Diegetic sound is when the sith-lord says 'I will finish what he started' This creates a very dramatic atmosphere, and makes the viewer think, what is he finishing, how is he going to finish it, and what did the predecessor start?






Examples Of Non-Diegetic Sound

Example 1
At the start of the trailer, the music is just a single piano note, changing pitch whenever a different camera shot or angle is used. This creates tension, as the continuously pitch-changing note, adds suspense to the scene, which makes the viewer ask questions such as: who is the masked figure and what is he/she looking for?

Example 2
 Coming to the end of the trailer, the music massively picks up, and become a lot more dramatic, and related to star wars, which is a lot of action, and a very fast paced feeling. It makes us feel excited, and adds to the anticipation of the film. 

Example 3
 Throughout the first part of the trailer, the narrator (who presumably is the main character) is discussing what he is trying to do, what is he aiming for. We are able to understand what his views are, and that he has been trained to do only one thing, however he wants to change his ways, and help the universe.