Ancillary Product Analysis

Film Poster and Magazine Cover

Film Poster

Typography: In the poster the fonts used are sans-serif. The title has the largest font size which makes it stand out, this is conventional for the genre. The fonts are all in block capitals which makes it bold and stand out to the audience.

Image: On the poster there is only the single picture of the antagonist, this is conventional for horror films. The use of low key lighting makes you feel more fear of the character and makes him look darker. He is wearing a mask which adds mystery to the character and encourages the audience to watch the film to find out. The expression on the character is a creepy smile which adds fear amongst the audience of the character.

Colours: There is limited colours used. The fonts are either white or grey, the more important fonts are in white because it stands out more than the grey. The use of low key lighting means you can only really see black or white colours, this is effective and conventional as it makes it look dark and mysterious. With black being the main image colour you can see the white font clearly and this is key to showing the audience the information.

Layout: The route of the eye is used in the poster and grabs the attention of the audience. The information concerning the producers is on the top left then as we move through the middle of the poster we have the title and image. Both are conventional as the audience will relate to the producers and the main image will encourage them to watch. We also can see the release date and slogan which are elements that help the film to stick into the audiences mind.Conventions: The poster has used some key conventions such as an structured layout. They also

have made the title and image the centre point of the poster which will grab audiences attention and is conventional to the genre. The dark colours and low key lighting allow the poster to signify darkness and mystery which is conventional to horror films. By using a larger font for the title the audience will remember the name easier , this is conventional as it is one of the most important features of a horror poster

Magazine Cover

Typography: The masthead of the magazine is in sans-serif font which makes it stand out to the audience. The coverlines uses sans-serif font with a dark red colour to show the conventions of horror. With the magazine being a film magazine and not just horror they have used different sizes and fonts to match films to genre, with horror being bold, faded and red.

Image: There are 4 images on the front cover of the magazine with the main image dominating the cover. They have used a long short to show the character alongside the location which adds mystery to the character. The character is holding a gun which connotes danger and fear amongst the audience.

Colour: A number of colours have been used, however, the main colour is blue, this shows mystery especially with the foggy blue look. The coverlines are in blood red, this signifies danger and violence which is conventional to the horror genre. White is used on both the masthead and coverlines which creates a consistent house style throughout.

Layout: The route of the eye is used in the front cover, this helps the audience to see everything on the page. The main image is in the middle of the page and is the centre of initial attention. To follow the route of the eye, the masthead is in the top centre of the magazine moving from right to left, this is conventional. The whole layout is easy on the eye which is key.

Conventions: Due to the variety of genres present on the cover they have used different fonts and colours to suit each genre and differentiate. The route of the eye is conventional and professional. The use of sans-serif font makes the cover easy on the eye for the audience member. The image is conventional as it is the centre of the cover and grabs the audiences attention