Existing media research (magazines)

The masthead for ‘Fangoria’ is bold, curved and a bright red reminiscent of the colour of blood. The name itself sounds similar to not just the word ‘fan’ as in fanatics of horror films but also the word ‘gore’ which is an adjective often used to describe horror films and more specifically murder, bloodshed and violence. Both the words fan and gore relate directly to the magazine’s demographic – huge enthusiasts of horror films.

Underneath the ‘Fangoria’ masthead the buzzwords Monsters, Aliens, Bizarre Creatures have specifically been used to draw in the demographic whom this magazine is specifically aimed at. Fangoria’s audience would be considered niche as it is aimed at a lot of horror fans in their teens, 20s and 30s.

‘Fangoria’ does not usually feature blockbusters or major films so using a Stanley Kubrick film as a cover story is something unusual for them. More unusual is the lack of clutter on the cover as normally there are buzzwords and feature stories scattered on the cover but the editor in this case obviously realised that the name Jack Nicholson itself would be enough to draw in intrigue and potential purchasers of this issue.

Like most magazines there is a main image that relates to the cover story. In this case it is Jack Nicholson who is the main character in ‘The Shining’. He is glaring at the camera in a threatening manner in what seems to be a shot from the film. Main images used on ‘Fangoria’ covers are almost always shots from films in which the image has something to represent gore and horror. ‘The Shining’ typography is the one from the film posters themselves which shows that ‘Fangoria’ is more about brand loyalty and giving fans details about the films rather than just making a profit. It is also a convention of this magazine to use the film’s branded typography.

There is also a film reel going down the left side of the page which is used on all of ‘Fangoria’s’ issues to further reinforce that this is a genre specific film magazine and will have content specific to horror films.

The use of the colours red and yellow clash quite distinctly in the design of this cover. The red is a stereotypical horror film colour used to represent bloodshed and violence whilst the yellow is an unusual choice for a magazine mainly about the horror film genre. The most likely explanation is that the two colours that seem somewhat tasteless and inelegant indicative of the infamous video nasty era in which films with extreme amounts of gore and violence were banned as they were believed to have the power to deprave and corrupt the masses.

The barcode on the magazine is in the bottom left hand corner of the page which is a convention of all magazines, not just film or genre specific ones.

The use of supplementary images is a technique used by most magazines as it shows what else to expect from within the magazine. Supplementary images are common characteristics of most magazines but the use of them within the film reel is something exclusive to only ‘Fangoria’. It is a part of their brand identity and a use of iconography. Also, the banner going across the top of the page with various features lets us know what else to expect. These act as methods of enticement to draw in people who may not be fans of the main image but see something of interest to them mentioned in the supplementary images or in the banners.

This is a typically formulaic magazine front cover as it has a cover story, main image as well as cover stories and supplementary images. There is a typically positioned barcode and the use of buzzwords is a characteristic of most standard magazine covers. The masthead is the important thing on the page and accordingly is the biggest piece of text. Most magazines follow this formula in their layout but I am going to go on and examine a more subversive text for my next magazine analysis.

The ‘Little White Lies’ magazine does not use a conventional layout for its cover. It also is not of a conventional shape – It is more square than rectangle and is different in the same way the niche audience who read ‘Little White Lies’ are different from the mainstream audience. The position of the white circles, masthead, barcode and other details never chance position making it easier for fans to identify that this is ‘Little White Lies’ magazine; The main image is generally a minimalist themed hand drawn close up.

The masthead is positioned at the top of the page and as it is the easiest way to identify the magazine it should be in the biggest font but is of a similar size or even slightly smaller than the ‘Let the right one in’ typography insinuating that rather than indorsing their own brand they want the audience’s attention to fall directly to the film they are promoting on their cover. There are no cover stories or supplementary images which is atypical as magazines normally use them to show the audience what else to expect from within the magazine and entice them with more than just a main image and cover story which is what ‘Little White Lies’ does in all of its issues. There are also no smaller images meaning that someone buying this issue would not know what else to expect other than information about the ‘Let The Right One In’ film.Even the barcode, date, issue number and price are positioned unusually as it is right above the masthead instead of thecommon position in one of the two bottom corners. As ‘Little White Lies’ cover a range of independent and major films the only way to gather any sense of narrative or genre from their cover is from the typography and image. The red and white colour of the typography are well used colours in the horror genre and through common use have come to represent bloodshed and violence. Also, the almost handwritten rough writing is almost chilling and eerie. Other than this, the main and sole image of the page screams horror. The use of blood on the close up of Eli from the film brings a sense of danger and carnage to the magazine confirming that ‘Let the right one in’ is in facts a horror film although just from the cover we cannot easily identify its specific genre.This is a little girl who is representative of innocence and purity covered in blood which is a key use of anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary opposites which reveal the structure of media texts. Without the red it is doubtful that any sense of genre would be successfully conveyed. The use of the black hair/background is also effective in that it makes Eli seem like she is standing in the dark, surrounded by the unknown. Facing and exploring the unknown is a common trait in horror films particularly Slashers where the villain sometimes wears a mask to hide their identify and to force the audience to contemplate their own fears and what would truly frighten them most once the mask is removed.

The main image for almost all magazines is normally photographed and photo shopped yet ‘Little White Lies’ choose to use a drawn image in all their issues probably to reinforce the fact that this is magazine is aimed at a niche audience who do not follow the crowd and may have eclectic and different taste from their peers. Also, the use of a hand drawn image is reminiscent of the time when film posters and magazine covers were hand drawn a reference most probably understood and appreciated by this demographic who are most likely mature young adults who enjoy the informative, detailed aspect of films rather than the celebrity and gossip dimensions.

Despite being a mainstream movie magazine, ‘Empire’ does successfully use some conventions of horror movie magazines in its layout, typography, colours, style etc.

‘Empire’ magazine has more of a formulaic layout. The distinct masthead spans the top of the page, blocked slightly by the top of the main image indicating that it is a high status publication that is recognisable even with a slight obscurity blocking its masthead.

There are no supplementary images which is not too unusual as most very well-known magazines such as the ‘NME’ do not use smaller images, instead they will have a lot of text hinting at what else to expect from within the magazine. The cover stories are written in various texts and colours which makes the cover aesthetically pleasing and generally eye catching suggesting a wide range of content. The writing going across the page is written is such a way to appear as though it has been etched into something like a wall for example. The combination of the text and typography have a chilling effect on the reader. The typography used for the words ‘Meet the Joker’ is reminiscent of newspaper cuttings which are used by criminals when they want to send something written without any risk of being incriminated. This reinforces that the Joker is a criminal and someone who cannot be trusted within ‘The Dark Knight’ film.

The person posing for the main image is normally only shot with a close up or a medium close up but for this particular cover it seems they chose to use a full shot of ‘The Joker’. This could be because he is such an imposing character and they wanted to display him in a fully threatening manner. Also, the mise en scene of the cover is attempting to portray a certain sense of narrative. The joker is positioned in front of what seem to be cages indicating that he is isolated and inside the cage or is outside and has trapped someone (Batman). There are shadows of people behind him which are not particularly clear representative of the notion that there is going to a lot of intrigue, mystery and commotion within the film as a whole.

The side line above the ‘Empire’ masthead has been specifically picked to entice fans of ‘The Dark Knight’ film. As ‘The Batman’ franchise is widely popular, ‘Empire’ magazine has ensured sales given that hard core Batman enthusiasts would surely buy this issue. Also, the use of the ‘Batman’ logo is attempting to draw in the fans as well.

‘Empire’ attracts mainstream audiences as they always feature blockbuster films with big budgets and big audiences.

By including the name of their website ‘Empire’ magazine are attempting to have a multi-platform approach to promoting their magazine; They are using web 2.0 to expand their brand. This is also an example of synergy in which the audience who read the magazine will visit the website and those who interact on the website will be inclined to read the magazine. This is a smart approach to marketing a brand as audiences are now fragmented and so having some form of brand promotion on multiple platforms would reach even niche audiences.

After analysing these three different texts I have learnt that they have all used certain conventions coded differently as well as different modes of address to appeal to their own demographics. As my target audience are teenagers I do not need to create as subversive a front cover as ‘Little White Lies’ but instead I will attempt to recreate a ‘Fangoria’ front cover which uses more colour and supplementary articles to entice its audience. Also, ‘Fangoria’ is more likely than ‘Little White Lies’ or ‘Empire’ to feature a low budget British independent film.

Existing Media Research (posters)

The film poster for 'Scream is quite a simple one. We have a young teenage girl frozen in an expression of horror. She has a hand covering her mouth which could either be construed as her own hand placed over her mouth in shock or someone else grabbing her in order to silence her. The word 'scream' itself means to utter a loud, sharp piercing cry alluding to the violence and horror that can be expected within the full film. This image subverts the Slasher genre's own codes and conventions as there is no weapon, blood or noticeable violence featured and neither is there any indication of narrative or story apart from that this is a horror film.

The caption at the top is already promising an element of violence, brutality and death. It provides a clearer indication of that narrative as we can intimate from the two lines that there will be someone (the killer) possibly terrorising the typical group of teenagers and most of the film will comprise of them trying to figure out who this mysterious villain is before it is too late. This is an example of Roland Barthes' enigma code in which there is a set up of a mystery, its development and its resolution. This will propel the narrative forward and means the film will probably end with the central enigma being solved proving that Pam Cooke's idea of films having to end with a 'high degree of narrative closure' is very accurate. The caption also gives us a clearer view of what the disruption phase of the narrative (according to Tzvetan Todorov's classic narrative pattern) will consist of. The audience will go to the cinema expectant of a stereotypically masked and male character who will pursue the conventional group of teenagers who in a Slasher film normally consist of at least a final girl, sexually promiscuous girl and jock.

As to Todorov's theory of classic narrative pattern, the caption gives more away regarding the disruption. We know there will be a character (stereotypically masked and male) who will pursue a group of teenagers featuring this girl.

This girl has been captured with the male gaze in mind. She has pretty, startling blue eyes and is clearly wearing make-up.

We are reminded of her femininity and sexuality as a woman by this. The face is so generic that it is representative of the standard female protagonist in most horror films; she is not necessarily 'Scream's final girl but is merely an emblem for the characterisation of all final girls.

The black and white colour scheme is quite simple in that there is no conventional red used to represent blood but rather various shades of grey used to brighten the main image and darken the edges. This is a characteristic commonly used in the film noir genre in which characters in the centre of the shot were decipherable yet the edges were shrouded in darkness increasing the fear factor as the audience never know what is lurking within the unknown (the darkness).

The typography of the title is simple, bold and blocked. The shape of the 'M' could almost be conceived as phallic. Or it could be considered knife like and a sign of the fear and danger to be expected in the film.

'Scream' is a very post-modern horror film that uses the codes and conventions of its genre to drive the narrative. The use of a final girl and a mysterious killer whose identity remains hidden until the climax of the film are key features of Slasher films.

The names of the principle cast and crew at the bottom of the poster is a conventions all film posters follow. Any stars names are normally in bold so as to attract fans of their previous work and entice them to see this film.

The first thing the viewer notices when they look at this poster is Jack Nicholson’s mad face peering through the cracks of a door. His expression is quite animalistic and manic, almost as though he is enjoying the hunt and the violence. Instantly, we can understand that he is ‘after’ the female figure and is probably going to be chasing her for some of the film. Behind Nicholson’s face the background is quite murky and dark compared to the white around the women which depicts her as the victim and him the villain. This supports Claude Levi-Strauss' theory of binary opposites in which he believed that rather than characters and plot it was mainly thematic structure that carries the text. Here the obvious opposites are good vs. evil or the known vs. the unknown.

Generally we read from left to right which helps us understand that Nicholson will be chasing the woman. Also, as he is at the forefront of the poster we can tell that he is more powerful and in control of the situation. This also emphasizes the dominant ideology used in most media texts that men are superior and dominant whilst woman are submissive and thus must play a more subjugating position.

Between the two faces, there is a certain juxtaposition of their facial expressions. Both of their mouths are open, yet in different expressions: his in enjoyment and hers in sheer terror (which is another example of binary opposites in this case they are pleasure and horror). Also, the fact that Nicholson’s face is quite close to the axe proves that he is probably stronger and more dangerous. The female character does have a knife yet she seems to be holding it more in self-defence rather than in an attacking manner supporting Barbara Creed's hypothesis that within films (Slasher films especially) women are normally portrayed as empowering or as enforcers of misogynistic stereotypes. At the start of 'The Shining', Wendy is portrayed as a typical maternal figure but then transforms into a somewhat monstrous form as she attempts to protect herself and her son against the vicious attack from her husband. This is further reinforced by Wendy holding the knife which is a phallic image normally used by killers in Slasher films to represent the symbolic raping of the victim he thrusts his weapon into. By having possession of the knife - Wendy has assumed a now monstrous role.

The typography is quite basic. The title is in a bold, red font – which has connotations of violence and bloodshed. Also, there have been minimum details added such as director and actors so as not to take attention away from the image above it. Also the use of the names Stanley Kubrick and Jack Nicholson are very effective on their own; they are famous people and fans of their previous work will be enticed into seeing this new film just by the names on this poster.

If we think in terms of Todorov’s classic narrative pattern we can easily identify that this is the scene of disruption - the axe almost a symbol of this destruction. Wendy's victory over her demented husband is likely to be the resolution phase of the film.

In regards to Propp, there is not much to understand other than that Nicholson is the villain. Wendy appears to be the protagonist and ultimately the leading heroine within the plot.

There is also the presence of Roland Barthes’ symbolic code where semiotics are used to represent larger themes and ideas within a narrative. This is done by the use of the axe and knife. The axe represents his blood thirst and violent tendencies, not to mention that this film will contain a lot of bloody scenes full of violence.

Qualitative Audience Research

For my qualitative audience research I used focus groups of 17-19 year olds (my target demographic) and asked them to study three magazine templates and three film poster templates. I questioned them extensively to figure what my audience liked and disliked so that I had a firm grasp on what I needed to create in order to successfully market my film.

In terms of magazine, I chose to use the brand 'Fangoria' as it normally covers independent, low budget films and is a well known name in the horror industry; This meant that the 'Fangoria' masthead had to be used on all templates.

This is the first template I showed my focus group. They all seemed keen on the main image holding a knife as this helped them to understand that the film is a Slasher rather than any other genre of horror. The position and colour of the cover lines were appealing as they found that without them the page looked bare and almost boring. The red colour again indicated blood and violence - tempting them to pick up this issue. The name and typography of my horror film 'Knife, Camera, Action' is the same on all the templates as it was something that my group and I all favoured unanimously. My focus group also felt that the sharp points on letters such as 'K', 'A', 'M' etc. helped to heavily advertise the horror aspect of our film as did the letter 'O' which looks like a camera attempting to focus. The use of the film reel in the design of the page was something I had seen in a lot of previous 'Fangoria' issues and was commonly placed vertically on the left side of the page. I try that on another template but I also wanted to try something different and see if the film reel in any other position was more aesthetically appealing. This was treated with indifference by my focus group so is something I would consider changing. I would use supplementary images as well in order to tempt other readers who are not particularly attracted by the main image to buy this issue too.

This second template differed quite a bit from the first. I had moved the film reel to the left side typical of 'Fangoria' and my whole focus group agreed that it looked better than the previous placement. The one thing they were unsure of was the movement of my cover lines to the left side and the fact that they were now all black. The red had appealed to them a lot so it was decided I would alternate colours by doing the first cover line red, the second black and the third red again. They all felt that there was too much spare space around the main image but after some discussion it was decided that this could be dealt with by having two people as the main image as well as the knife so that the cover seemed busier without looking cluttered. This was the preferred template and the one I will base half of my ancillary task on.

This was the least liked template. Apart from the main image, masthead and film title nothing was received particularly well by my focus group. They felt that the cut up film reel made the page appear too cluttered and it did not make sense to them to have it split into three pieces. Also the yellow colour I had chosen for the cover lines was deemed as eye catching yet was seen as inappropriate for a horror film magazine.

In conclusion the second template was the most preferred by my focus group as they felt it was aesthetically pleasing and portrayed the horror element of my film best.

In regards to film poster I wanted to accurately portray that in my film the use of a camera is highly prevalent and a key aspect of the narrative. Also, I had done something different with the masthead by having a red recording button place inside the 'O' of 'action. This was received well by my focus group who also felt that it looked like the target of a gun trained on its victims alluding to violence.

This is the first template I showed my group. They all liked the positioning of the test and image but felt that even with the main image in colour this would not be a particularly gripping poster. It was also decided that this could not help to identify 'Knife Camera Action' as a Slasher film. In light of this I decided to keep my text positions the same but just alter the main image.

This main image was thought to definitely be more dramatic than the premise for the previous template but my focus group claimed to have found it confusing. The idea I was trying to portray was that this girl (the final girl) was trapped in a camera lens. However, this was not completely understood and even though it seemed to represent the horror genre, this poster was not fully getting across the whole camera element that I was keen for the audience to understand.

This final film poster template was exactly what my focus group were looking for. They loved the use of the camera on the tripod and the violent scene that could be seen through the screen. So it was decided that this was the form my film poster would take.