Main film magazines in the UK

Film magazines give in depth and detailed reviews on films which allow audiences to get an understanding and a rating of a film before they decide to go and watch it or not. Film critics can make or break a films marketing campaign as many people read their unbiased reviews and make a judgement on that based on what they have read. There are a number of global and UK based film magazines, all of which serve the same purpose; to review newly emerged films. However these magazines will differ in layout, style content and even the way they address the audience. This is because different magazines will have different target audiences and will therefore look to appeal to their target audience through the conventions included within the magazine. A magazine aimed at an older audience would tend to have quite a plain font and the layout will generally be set out in columns, with generally a more formal and sophisticated look about it, for example 'Sight and Sound'. Even the language and content will differ based on the target audience. A magazine aimed at a younger target audience would have a less droning layout and be more engaging for a younger audience as it will include extra information such as breakout boxes. The typography will also be generally more fun and of a bigger size than that of magazines aimed at an older audience which generally look quite tedious to read.

Sight and Sound
This is monthly Brithish film magazine which is published by the British Film Institute(BMI). It was first publisghed in 1932, however was taken over by the BFI in 1934. The magazine reviews all films films each month, including those with a narrow art house release (independent films) as opposed to the more mainstream focus of its compitition. This is beneficial for the magazine as it appeals to a range of people, not only those interested in the mainstream films. Sight and Sound differs from most of its competitors however, in the layout and the tone of address. The tradition of the magazine keeps in touch with its formal tone and in depth analysis. For a younger audience this might seem tedious and boring however people who like reading about films in great depth prefer this magazine. It also offers a full cast and crew credit list for each film reviewed. They also offer different breakout sections such as a synopsis, cast and review on themes etc, which demonstrates the depth of analysis. Sight and Sound is also seen as a specialist magazine for those interested in art house films, which audiences are unable to get from other film magazines. The magazine also compiles a list of the top ten films of all time every year with top film professionals across t5he world giving their opinion. The magazine has however come into critsism in the past for elitism, puritanism and upper- middle class snobbery.

Total Film

This is a Brithish magazine published 13 times a year (every 4 weeks) by Feature Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and blue ray news, revies and features. It has an average circulation of 85,000 (as of 2008). The magazine has an appealing and glossy look which appeals to a younger audience who will often 'judge a book by its cover'. The magazine is similar to Empire in its appeal and target audience, as it has a younger target audience it goes with a more informal appeal and has more features than that of 'Sight and Sound'. It differs from'SightandSound' as it does not include features on art house or independent films, it tends to focus on mainstream films and well known orup and coming actors. Its manner of address alsotakesupamuch more informal tone which appeals to a younger audience. The readers of thismagazine are more interested in finding out whether the film isworth watching or not, wheras the readers of 'Sight and Sound' look for a much more formal and in depth review on a film, therefore the tone in this magazine is much more laidback.

Empire

Empire is a British film magazine published by Bauer Consumer Media. It has been incirculation since July 1989 and is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain consistantly outselling its nearest market rival 'Total Film' by over two to one and is also published in Austrailia, Turkey, Russia and Portugal. Like 'Total Film' it features news and reviews on mainstream and Hollywood films as well as featuring future realeses. In common with most British film magazines, Empire is populist in both approach and coverage unlike less irreverent and more 'serious' magazines such as 'Sight and Sound'. It reviews both mainstream and art house films, however feature articles only focus on mainstream films. It also includes a unique feature called 'Classic Scene' in which theypick out themost iconic scene from each film they review. The magazine focuses on a male audience as it was found that three quarters 'Empire's audience are male, hence the informal address and the features included such as games etc. Empire also has an online subscription to which the audiencecan read news and reviews online. Also like 'Total Fim' magazinefeatures a glossy effect and a powerful front cover with large font which coneys the powerful and masculine tone of the magazine.

What is the purpose of a magazine film review?

The purpose a magazine film review is to give the audience an unbiased opinion of a film, which you would not get from a film poster.  Magazine reviews are written from the account of an unbiased source which means the audience will be getting an honest overview of the film plus a star rating.  Star ratings are the most common type of rating within magazine reviews and will give the film a rating out of 5.  Many films chose to include this within their poster should they get a star rating of 4 or above in order to entice the audience and demonstrate the good reviews they have received.  They may also include a positive line from the review to make the film look better, as seen on the right.  Magazine reviews will also often give a description of the actors' performance within the film which you would also not get from a film poster.  Upon reading a magazine review audience's will be able to pick up on things mentioned within the review, eg. they will take more notice of an actors performance if he is given a wide range of applause in different reviews.  A great example of this is Heath Ledger's performance in 'Dark Knight' which was given a wide range of great reviews.  Although Ledger died during the production of this film he is widely acclaimed as the best 'Joker' there has been and he has been regarded as a great actor in many people's opinions due to the acclaim he received for his performance.  After reading the reviews I was encouraged to go and watch the film, which i would not have done had i not have read the review, which shows the influence magazine reviews have on audiences and the popularity of films.  

Just as magazine reviews can boost the ratings of a film, it can also greatly affect and damage the ratings of a film as well as the reputation of an actor, as seen with the 2004 film 'Catwoman' starring Halle Berry.  The cinematic Catwoman has superpowers, unlike in the comics, and leaps from rooftop to rooftop in stiletto heels. The character's signature lycra catsuit was replaced with slashed leather trousers and matching bra, and a mask that also acts as a hat. As the movie character differs so widely from her comic book source, the character, as portrayed in this film, has been cited as "Catwoman In Name Only" The film was the result of various rewrites by a total of 28 different screenwriters, though only four were credited after arbitration with the WGA. It has a 10% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and was declared "arguably the worst superhero film ever made" by the Orlando Sentinel. Jean Lowerison of the San Diego Metropolitan said in her review that Catwoman "Goes on my 'worst' list for the year, and quite possibly for all time." The Village Voice summed up reviews of the film under the title "Me-Ouch."  These negative reviews had a massive effect on the popularity of the film and demonstrates the negative effect film reviews can have on films.  Film reviews are important in a film's marketing campaign as it acts a free publicity and promotion however film reviews can be risky for a film if negative reviews are received.  Furthermore, audiences can be easily influenced by reviews as they trust the critics to give them a good overview of the film as they have professional experience in reviewing many different works.

How are semiotics used in relation to a Film Review?

'The Road' - The main picture takes up the top third of the page that shows they are in a road in connection with the title. The caption given is a humorous one as it plays on the words ‘muddy’ and ‘Glastonbury’ – “After another muddy year, they vowed it would be their last Glastonbury”. This caption in combination with the fact that there are only two columns show that this is a mainstream magazine which could be Total Film as they are known for using every opportunity to make a joke, expressing there funny mode of address. The fact that there are only two columns in combination with the two breakout boxes makes it more visually easy on the eye and easier to read. This shows what kind of audience they are aiming at: a younger audience who are looking for a short article to read. The image that is selected is a screenshot from the movie which is used to give anchorage to the article. The dull beige and red colours show the hardship that these two characters have been through on their journey. The breakout box is in relation to other films that are like this one in the review, and is not used to go in depth about the actor or director of the film because unlike for instance; a Sight and Sound magazine it doesn’t want to give a detailed review of each aspect of the film, director, actor performance etc as it doesn’t see Film as an art. The typography of this article is quite a large font, with big spacing between the lines to create the illusion that the article is full when in fact there is only minimal information placed there. There are quite a lot of graphics, to make the article more appealing and taking up space, showing that the audience reading this is a young one. 

'A time to love and time to die' - Unlike ‘The Road’ article, this article consists of six columns which instantly convey to the audience that this is an article that will include a lot of detail. The typography is a small size of writing and little spacing between the lines, showing the full amount of detail that is in this article. This, like the Total Film review, shows what kind of audience it has, as it’s clear that what is included in this article will be in-depth, intellectual descriptions/discussions. In comparison to the breakout box in ‘The Road’ this breakout box is used as another chance to get an in-depth insight into the director, his ideas and thoughts on the issues looked at within the article. Even the picture used in the breakout box shows the sophistication of the magazine as it is a very serious picture of the director, as he looks into the eyes looking very refined with the iconography of the glasses. The dark lighting in the picture shows how serious the actor is, and how serious the article will be. Unlike the Total Film review of ‘The Road’ in this article there are barely any graphics, the only graphics seen is the blue bar at the top. This shows how plain the article is as it focuses more on the written part of the article. The main picture is quite big and in comparison to ‘The Road’ caption, this caption gives a full explanation of what is going on, to give anchorage to the picture. The actual picture looks fun and light hearted to tie in with the ‘A time to Love’ bit of the title and could also be used as a contrast to the serious tone of the article.

How does mode of address affect the audience?

Written Codes:

Written codes are the way the magazine uses language to communicate to the reader. In a publication the main written code will be its ‘mode of address’ which is the way the article speaks to the audience, is It formal, informal, simple, chatty etc? There are many different ways the article can speak to the reader and it simply depends on what kind of magazine it is and what kind of audience they are trying to appeal to, for example a magazine that was trying to appeal to affluent women would most likely have a formal mode of addresses. The type of words and styles selected, in combination with the complexity of the sentences are how a reader will be able to identify what kind of ‘mode of address’ a particular magazine has.

“A time to love and a time to die”: This particular article has a detailed, formal and academic mode of address. The intended audience are a homosexual minority, intellectual and mature middle class people who have a ‘high culture’ as they would need to know a lot about the art side of films. The magazine assumes that the reader is very knowledgable about french cinema/culture and language – “omewhat against veristimilitude”. The article is very detailed and structured, giving a breif summary of the plot & introduction into the characters. The first part of the article introudces the film via refrences to other films, that the magazine suggests the reader knows. The second part gives a full synopsis of the film. The third part discusses the narrative structure and style of the film. The fourth part, begins to criticse some aspects of the film balance the comments out from the earlier positive feedback given. The fifth part gives academic refrences to things like important books. The sixth part gives contextual information about the issues that were present around that time, while lastly the seventh part sums up the article and gives closure, revealing something significant about the plot. This particular magazine article is obviously from ‘Sight and Sound’ because of the sophisticated ‘mode of address’ that is present. The article is not used to attract an audience, and tells you so much of the film that when you see it your understanding will be very advanced which shows that the magazine assumes that your not watching it for entertainment purposes but because your culturally active in the cinematic subject of film as an art.

“Did you hear about the Morgans?” – This film review is a complete contrast to the one seen above. It has a light-hearted and chatty mode of address, while the intended audience are for people who watch films to entertain themselves, plain cinema goers. This is evident as it is part of the “Pre-vue” magazine which is an inhouse magazine that would be placed in mainstream cinemas such as VUE. The magazine assumes that the readers like romcoms and show a great interest in film linked to A-list stars as the article focuses more on the two actors than the characters themselves. Even the breakout box is more information about the two main actors as that is how VUE are trying to attract people to see the film, considering they are very famous and well-known actors : Hugh Grant, and Sarah Jessica Parker. The magazine suggests that the reader loves A-list stars, using an abbreviation of SJP to refer to Sarah Jessica Parker, and the reader is assumed to instantly know what the abbreviation stands for, this is part of the casual mode of address. Unlike the film review above, there are no spoilers as the magazine wants to intruige the reader so they can spend money at their cinema to watch the movie. In this article there is no balance and it is a biased film review. This is because this article would be distributed in cinemas, so they need to attract the reader so they will go to their cinema and generate more ticket sales for them.

What are the main conventions of a magazine page layout?

Technical Codes:

The technical codes of a magazine are presented through the layout. The common conventions that a magazine review page will contain are:

1. Graphics and Logos: These are used to highlight certain areas of the text or break up the page to be visually appealing. 
2. Section title: Simply shows which section of the magazine that this article is in as there are several sections to a film magazine, such as the ‘film review section’, ‘new film releases’ etc.
3. Pictures: The type, amount and where the photographs are placed will have an immediate effect on the way the article is read by someone. When looking through magazines our eyes are readily drawn to the right-hand page so an eye-catching image which is placed on the right hand side page will immediately catch the readers attention and they will start to read the text from the left hand page down.
4. Headline: Can either be a phrase/word chosen by the writer of the article or the title of the film being reviewed. Normally if it is in capitals it immediately attracts attention and shows a matter of importance. If it is in block capitals, it adds urgency and if it is in lower case writing with the first letter of each word capitalised, then that is reduced. 
5. Introduction: The introduction gives a brief start to the article, sets it up.
6. Subheadings/breakout paragraphs: They are used to break up longer bits of the article to make it more digestible. Breakout paragraphs are used to pick out a particular feature of the story in the main body of the article and takes up space, catching the reader’s attention, drawing them into the important aspects of the article.
7. Captions: Used to explain what is going on in the picture and gives anchorage to the understanding of the picture.
8. Breakout boxes: Used as extra information which links in with an idea or main subject of the article, used to take up space.
9. Strap lines: Used either above or below the main headline, adding more detail and giving an insight into the article. 
10. Call to action: A bit of information that takes the reader further than this article to something that is linked to the specific article, or the magazine content/main subject.
11. Columns: All pages are broken up into columns and the number of columns on the page will vary with the different type of magazine it is. The main text will be within single columns unless a breakout paragraph or an introduction may be spread along two or more. 
12. By-line: Used to give kudos to the person who has written the article. 
13. Font and Typography: Font is the actual text style of the word, e.g – Times New Roman; the font can suggest whether the article is serious or fun. While the typography is the way the text is laid out on the page in terms of size, spacing line length etc. An article will normally use more than one font and typography to highlight the importance of different parts of the article. The typography will follow the set formula of the ‘house style’ of that particular magazine, e.g. all headlines will be in the same font and size in all articles. ‘House style’ explains how each page should look like – the grammar, language, and context that appears on the page, it shows what is appropriate and what isn’t. 
14. Issue info: Gives information about the article, e.g. page number.

How Semiotics work as part of the Film Posters

Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. Film posters are full of them meaning that the audience can take in alot of information and remember them with or without knowing or being aware that they are doing this. They are remembering the symbols and signs through their visual memory allowing them to refer back to them therefore leading them to remember the film making them want to watch it. All posters are full of semiotics as its very important that they include as many images as possible with bright colours, large font and a dramatic memorable layout. The semiotics of a film poster and if theyre effective effects how many people will go and see the film or want to see it.

Examples of the use of semiotics in Film Posters...

ONE MISSED CALL

This film poster is very dramatic, shocking and thrills the audience due to the main image in the middle of the poster. The visual imagery of a face and two mouths screaming as eyes is very disturbing, scary and mysterious. The title 'one missed call' is something that is very regular and happens in day to day life that people wonder who it was or what they want but thats about it. This title with the image in the middle makes people look at that missed call in a very different and scary way thinking that in this film, that one missed call could lead to a whole load of scary, trilling and dramatic events. The typography of the title of the film stands out from the black background and is blurred at the bottom giving it a very mysterious and fading effect implying that something strange and unexplainable will happen. Its a very simple title that everyone can relate to but when shown in this way with the image of the person above it gives it a complete new meaning and gives a audience a bone-chilling reaction. The image on its own is also very strange and mysterious as it has some of the features of a human however has screaming mouths as eyes showing its not human and it gives the audience a shock factor making them remember the image therefore leading them to remember the film.

The tag-line 'What will it sound like when you die?' contrasts to the title of the film as its completely different and is very forwardly scary unlike the title which is simpler and mysterious. The tagline however links in with the mouth's as eyes on the central image as they are obviously screaming making the audience question what noise them mouths are making. The colour of the tagline is red symbolizing blood and death and the fact its also in capitals shows the death of whoever dies is dramatic and involves physically killing them with the result of screaming and blood. Having the image in the middle of the poster makes the audience remember the film more as its so shocking and different to any other poster that people would tend to come across making them remember the film more leading them to researching the synopsis and reviews.

THE RUM DIARY

This is a very interesting film poster and the semiotics of it is very different to other film posters. With such a big star Johnny Depp starring in the film it is odd that there isn't an image of him in the center of the poster as film posters tend to feature a large photo of the main star attracting fans to watch the film and make people remember the film because of the huge star. The title of the film The Rum Diary is made up of bottles of rum which is also very artistic, creative and different making it stand out to the audience therefore helping them to remember the film leading to go and watch it which will increase profit and viewers. Because the bottles are all different shapes and sizes, this makes it more artistic and different instead of the same bottle throughout which would make it boring and simplistic. The fact the poster looks like a book cover also links in with the title of the film 'The Rum Diary' as a diary is a book.

There is a very catchy tagline 'one part outrage. One part Justice. Three parts Rum. Mix well' This tagline is in the style of a recipe as its telling people what to mix and how much in order to make the final product. This links in with the film and the idea of making something eg rum. The fact the tagline is also split up throughout the poster also makes people have to look at the whole thing in order to read the name and get the idea of the poster. Johnny Depp's name is written in capitals on the top of the film poster showing that hes the main star and the only important actor that is worth mentioning in the film. There are not very many listings of the production and cast on the poster making it more simple and less packed like most posters.

LIMITLESS

The visual imagery in this poster is very powerful, dramatic and different to any normal film poster. The semiotics are very powerful how the background image stands out and is blurred to give it a fast, quick moving effect with the central image of the two main character's standing out with a more clear, crisp image. The two main characters are of very big hollywood star encouraging fans of these actors to go and watch the film increasing the profit and views of the film. The title of the film is in upper case and stands out as its in white font and is very large and clear, standing out on the poster this makes the audience remember the poster, and therefore remembering the film making them more willing to watch the film. The tag-line 'Everything is possible when you open your mind' is also in capital letters and gives the audience an idea and indication of what the film is about and the synopsis it has. At the top of the poster are the names of the main actors informing people who stars in the film and the fact that they are in capitals, clear and at the top of the page shows their importance and how they are not unknown actors and are fairly big, respected and well known in the industry. The background image of New York blurred is very striking and memorable for anyone who comes across this poster as the visual effects are very different to any other film. 

Examples of Magazine Film Reviews

GLAMOUR magazine

On the left is a scanned in example of the film section in Glamour magazine showing under the heading 'Gamreels' to the left of the page are three short, quick film reviews and images including star ratings on each of the films. This is the only section of the whole magazine mentioning and talking about films showing that the audience of this magazine are not very interested in the art of films and going into detail on reviews of films. Also, all three of the films reviewed here are very feminine also showing the gender the magazine is targeted at as women would rather read about films on love then action, si-fi films that would be more targeted at men. The strapline underneath 'Glamreels' says 'Obsession, lust, betrayal... these movies have it covered' This shows what type of films the readers are more attracted and interested in which are very feminine themes of a film. The short reviews next to the small images of clips of the films only inform the reader on the synopsis of the film and not a critics analysis of the films making it not an opinionated review allowing the reader to make their own mind on what they think of the story-line and if they are interested in seeing it without someone highlighting the positive and negative parts of the films. The only way the readers can identify if Glamour think its a good film is by the star ratings the magazine has given the films as the more stars given, the better they think the film is. The only review that gives an opinion on this page is the second one of 'The Devils Double' where is states 'Terrifying and gripping' This would encourage the reader to go and watch this film as its presented in a positive and exciting way.

SIGHT & SOUND magazine

This magazine is known as 'The International Film Magazine' and goes into great depth and detail on all the films they review as they look at films more as a piece of art than a type of leasure or pleasure that they watch on a night out for fun. To the left is an image of the front cover of the magazine and also a scan of an inside article that goes into great detail and analysis of 'Across the Universe' directed by Julie Taymor. The first impressions of the magazine 'Sight & Sound' shows that its not an easy quick read magazine and that it would go into a great amount of detail in all of its articles as there it looks very academic and arty with the large image of an old mans face as the centre and a cartoon background which do not interlink and are such a big contrast. Also, the films reviewed inside aren't great big hollywood blockbusters e.g. Sex and The City are are more intellectual and academic looking at the art of the film and not so much who stars in it or the storyline. You wouldn't find a magazine of this nature and style in any normal newsagents or supermarket as it wouldn't attract the mass market and more a smaller audience that would go out of their way to order it or look for it. This type of audience would see film as an art and are interested in the historical background and how the film was put together and why.

The article on the right which is from 'Sight & Sound' is about a film called 'Across The Universe' and is a motion picture of the year 2007 showing it was a very respected and good film that was very successful and done well allowing it to win this award. This review goes into great detail from the music to the actors in different scenes and parts of the film. The first paragraph solely talks only about what songs are related to the movie 'with its boldly anachronistic mash-up of songs pinched from here, there and everywhere' This shows that music plays a very important role in the art of this film. There is also language and words that are extremely academic and intellectual eg 'the sub-genres premature ne plus ultra'. Throughout the article is refers to other films eg Moulin Rouge and Mamma Mia! showing that the film is being compared to them and that it needs to live upto or beyond the standard of those films. The article goes into such great detail that it lists all of the credits and cast of the production showing how they are significant and all of them people is what made the film. The synopsis is also not included in the main article as there is a break-out box describing the synopsis of the film to the reader; this shows the amount of detail and comparisons the main article has. There is also a screenshot of the film included at the bottom of the article showing the feel and type of film it is how it is different and more dramatic then most hollywood feature length films. To conclude, this article is very academic and intellectual going into a significant amount of detail on the film directed to those that look at films as an art and not something to do or watch when bored.

TOTAL FILM magazine

The article on the left is on a film called Brothers starring unknown and not very famous actors. Its a very short, simple review of the film that is not very negative whilst also not being positive about the film. It is a very mellow and neutral review allowing the audience to make their own opinion on the film once they've watched it. There is a screen shot of the film above the review which is the main image in the article showing two men which the readers will assume are the 'Brothers'. The critic Neil Smith has only rated the film as three stars showing that its not a film that stands out and that there is also room for improvement in the film. The article provides information e.g. when the film is out ('out 22 January') and some of the main credits of the film e.g. director, screenplay etc. On the left hand side of the article is a break-out box which suggests other films the reader should read if they like and are interested in this film they are reviewing. Also, there is a box with a graph at the bottom left hand side of the article showing the Predicted Interest Curve of the film and other films showing how interesting and thrilling the film is to watch. The article also includes a small sentence summary of the film for those who are just flicking through the magazine and read it briefly to see if its interesting enough and catches their eye enough for them to go and watch the film or read the rest of the article to find out more on what its about. At the bottom of the page states 'totalfilm.com for more of the world's best movie reviews' This shows that this magazine doesn't only review and cover english and american films but films all over the world from different and diverse cultures and backgrounds making them more interesting and different to watch then the typical hollywood feature film. It also provides information for the reader if they want to watch this film or find listings on when and where its on then they know where to look to find out.

The purpose of a Magazine Film Review

The purpose of a magazine film review is so the audience can get a professional opinion and view on a film. A magazine film review also provides information on the film to the reader eg the main stars and the synopsis. The reader can get a third party professional view of the film helping them decide if its worth watching and why. It gives the reader an informal decision if they will enjoy the film or not and why this is. Unlike posters which advertise a film, a magazine film review is unbiased and is very truthful not making the film look better or worse than it is. A film review plays a very important role in the film industry as people will not go and watch a film after reading a very negative review on it making it very important that the film has good reviews in order for it to do well and make alot of money.

Film reviews can however also encourage people to

go and watch a film especially if the critic enjoys the film and thinks very highly of it then they are more likely to write a very positive and good review on the film as they are very passionate that the film is good and worth watching. Different magazines have different types of film reviews depending on the target market of the magazine and the academic levels the target market has. An example is the Guardianwould go into great detail and the style of writing would be very intellectual and academic whereas OK! magazine would write a very simple and easy to read film review as the readers don't tend to read all of the articles in full as they tend to just skim read a magazine. A review like the Guardian would look at a film like a piece of art and analyze it in very deep detail whereas a magazine like OK! would use very basic english and would look at the film as a pleasure not looking deeply into it like a piece of art.

If a film is starring very big, popular stars then it encourages fans to read an article on the film they are starring in to find out if they are impressing the critic or performing porly in their upcoming feature film as fans of actors tend to enjoy reading what other people think about the actor they likes work and this could also lead to them being put off watching them perform or changing their mind about the actor they like.

A film review can be good publicity for a film or can also kill a film and rip it to pieces which is very risky for film and how well it is publicized. If it is a good review then this could act as free advertisement and publicity for the film however if the review is bad then this could lead to a loss in profit and a bad reputation for the actors and director. The critics aren't paid by the producers of the film to make the review good meaning that the critics have no influences or meaning to lie to the readers encouraging them to tell the truth on their opinion even more as its only the films well-being thats at risk and not the critics.

An example of a very negative article by Wesley Morris on http://articles.boston.com shows how a critic can really influence an audience to watch the film or not. 'Drew on the other hand, remaind frustratingly inert. Bloom may be formidable actor, but in movie after movie, he looks misplaces. Crowe leaves Drew in a funk for so long that by the time the fog lifts we've stopped believing. The character lacks a philosophy. He's also missing a soul' This review of the actors is very negative and analyses the main stars work in a very poor and down tone putting people off watching their work.

Many magazines are made in order to promote films for example cinema magazines eg Vue. They are made to write about a film in the most positive way possible and encourage people to go and watch the film. These magazines are only available in places where they can watch the film straight away eg the cinema. On the front of these types of magazines will be a large image of the main type of film they want to promote and the biggest film that is out at the moment for example the image on the right of the Odeon magazine has a large image of Robert Pattison and Kristin Stuart as they are the main stars of the newest film out at the time Twilight. This magazine will only represent and discus the films in a very positive way with no negative context of the film.

How does Semiotics work as part of film posters?

Semiotics- Semiotics are the study of signs and symbols, and the messages we read in them. Film posters are full of semiotics and audiences are able to quickly process a lot of information just from the visual imagery contained in them. In other words from just looking at a film poster the audience will be able to identify the genre of the film by the signs and symbols they see, including:-
- Images
- Colours
- Titles and fonts
- Layout

American Beauty

The visual imagery in this film poster conotes a lot about the issues that the film is trying to tackle. Beauty appears to be the key theme in this film and this emphasied in the title, as the word 'beauty' is written in bold writting ('American Beauty'). Although the word 'American' bears an importance to the title we can see how 'beauty' is key and more important. The visual image of the background is unique and striking, and once again links to t

he theme of beauty within the film. The background is unique as is uncommon in a film poster as the background image is the iconic and leading image for the film. Although this leaves the poster looking somewhat bare, it bears a great significance for the audience. Added with the tagline the audience can make a number of co

nnotations about the film. The phrase 'look closer' over the background image of a woman's bare stomach suggests that one of the messages behind this film is that beauty is skin deep, and that beauty is not always about what you see at first glance. Furthermore the motif of the rose leaves the audience open to interpretatioin as it could suggest the themes of love, romance and lust. However it could also suggest that this film contains some form of hurt as she is holding the rose close to her skin, and roses have painful thorns.

Bruce Almighty

The visual imagery in this poster suggests a lot about the film's genre and theme. The image of Bruce stretching his hand to touch someones finger is iconic as is replicates the work of Michaelangelo and suggests that the film carries a strong religious tone. However the way in which this is portrayed is quite comical, through the performance of the actor Jim Carey who audiences will recognise as a top actor in the comedy genre. From this the audience should be able to conote that 'Bruce' comes in touch with God, and through the use of written codes such as the title and tagline, we can depict that Bruce is given almighty powers by God.

Goodfellas

The semiotics of this poster follow that of a traditional gangster film , similar to that of 'The Godfather' in style and format.  We see the three main characters standing in an intimidating stance with a strong italian american appeal, (slick black hair, sharp suits) instantly suggesting the mafia theme to the audience.  This is supported by the dark background which adds suspense and mystery complemented by the dark low key lighting over the characters faces.  Furthermore the dead body underneath the eery subway adds more suspense and a dark mobster undertone to the film which can be understood from the semiotics of the poster.  This is a technique which has been often replicated among gangster films as seen below. 

How do written codes work in term of film posters?

• WRITTEN CODES

Written codes are the range of contexts in which words are used in the text itself, ie the actual words creating the film title, tagline etc. These are important to a film poster as the language in the title and taglines will have an effect on the audience.

• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

This film poster is unique as it contains two taglines, which both give the audience a clue to the genre and themes of the film. 'Leasure Rules' instantly alerts the audience that the film is going to be a comedy and possibly a teen one of that, due to the colloqiual language in the term 'leasure rules'. The genre and theme of this film is further hinted at by the secong tagline which reads 'One mans struggle to take it easy'. This is a clever tagline as the use of irony ('struggle to take it easy') makes the line catchy and easy to remember. Furthermore added to the title 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' the audience are able to denote that this must be a comedy about a young boy and his ongoings throughout his day off. All this can be deonoted by just the written codes, as in this case the semiotics are less of an insight into the theme and genre.

• I Am Legend (2007)

The bold title of this film adds an uplifted importance on the main protagonists shoulders as we are expecting him to be brave and couragous through the words 'I am legend'. Furthermore the film is dramatised by the use of a paradox and contrast in the tagline 'The last man on earth is not alone', which also leaves the audience and curious by this contradicting sentence, which is likely to make them more enticed by the film. Moreover the tagline of this film is important as it implies the main theme of this film which the title itself does not portray. Through the tagline the audience understand the film has a judgement day theme to it. Also the main actors name is written in bold across the top of the poster in order to entice the audience who may only take attention to the film due to the high profile actor starring in it.

• Robocop (1987)

'Part Man. Part Machine. All Cop. The future of law enforcement'. This powerful statement emphasises the themes and genre of this film. From the tagline alone we can denote that the themes are police, sci- fi and action. Furthermore the short sharp sentences at the beginning of the tagline, and the repitition of the word 'part' add drama to the film and emphasise the fact that the main protagonist is part man and part machine, which is an important feature. The title itself and the font it is written in also suggest the genre of sci-fi and the genre of a futuristic time.

What are the main film magazines in the UK?

It is clear, that film magazines are very important in giving; unbiased opinions for potential audiences, to further attract people and promote the films by giving trustworthy opinions from people of high standing. There are many film magazines around the world that review the different aspects of up-coming films, but there are three main magazines in the UK which are: Total Film, Sight & Sound and Empire Magazine. They are all very different in the way they approach writing film reviews and each magazine differ in style, layout, content and mode of address. The fact that they differ means that they have different audiences for the different magazines. There are also art house magazines available, which do reviews on more independent movies, and a popular magazine for that type of film is: White Lies. . Besides these magazines there are also ‘In house’ magazines available, which are free magazines which the audience can read in the actual cinema. They can be found in the key chain cinemas like: VUE, Cineworld, and Odeon. Total Film and Empire are almost on the same level, in competition with each other as they have a lot in similar with each other.

Empire - Empire is a British film magazine published monthly, by Bauer Consumer Media. Empire is described as the 'UK's premier movie destination'. Empire features the news, does reviews on mainstream Hollywood films and features new upcoming releases of films. They are a male affluent ABC1 (upper, middle and lower-middle class) magazine which reviews and promotes mainstream, Hollywood films. Alternatively, all these features can also be found online as well as on print, to reach out to the widest audience possible. The fact that they have an audience of ABC1 males mean that they are the top of the social class system and can afford to subscribe to magazines. The C2, D and E are obviously the less affluent and Empire is not a magazine that would attract that sort of audience. The cover itself has a glossy effect, with a large dominant font used for the title, to convey the powerful film reviews that will be found inside the magazine. The layout of the magazine goes for the bright and eye-catching effect so things “jump at you” from the page. As it appeals to a large scale of people, there are no art house or independent film reviews found inside. 76 % of the audience that read Empire are males and that is why the magazine offers things like free games and that is why the mode of address of the magazine is quite humorous and lacking serious content.  

Total Film - Similar to Empire, Total Film is a British magazine published every four weeks by Future Publishing. It provides mainstream reviews of Hollywood films and has a range of features such as: DVD/Blue Ray news, interviews and previews with famous actors/aspiring actors and a range of opinions from different actors about films. Like Empire it has a glossy effect with bright colours, fonts and images that jump out of the page at the reader. No art house or independent reviews would be found in this magazine as it is all for a mainstream audience. Unlike Empire, it would focus a bit more on established/aspiring actors and directors, including in depth talks with them and their work. Like Empire, the mode of address is quite informal and chatty which is for a younger audience. Total Film’s audience are not people who want to read because they look at film as a cultural art, but people who want to read the reviews for entertainment purposes. This magazines audience have a more casual approach towards film, and are just plain cinema goers. 

Sight and Sound –  Sight and Sound is a British monthly film magazine, published by the British Film Institute. It provides in-depth interviews with well-known film makers, informed and independent film news and comments (Unlike Empire/Total Film), traditional articles which bring film history to life and new cinema releases. Sight and Sound is very different in comparison to Total Film & Empire as it has more of a niche audience, because of the more formal mode of address, style and content. Sight and Sound write reviews to promote the directors/actors, giving a more educated opinion about their style etc. This magazine is more detailed than the first two and has a simple layout because of their different target audience. The mode of address, assumes that the people reading it are interested in art house films, and like films as a cultural art. The layout and style is detailed, with many segments to the actual article like a synopsis, commentary on themes, introduction etc. Sight and Sound is quite a Specialist magazine that uses extravagant language, to given an educated perspective to its niche audience. 


 

Little White Lies – This is also another well known magazine, but is just for independent cinemas and not as well known as the other three. It focuses on Films cinematic subject matter, which is great contrast to all the other magazines. The magazine surrounds independent reviews, commenting on the art aspect of film and cinema. Compared to Empire or Total Film, the mode of address is formal but at times directly talks to the audience and can be slightly informal. It keeps to the general conventions of a magazine layout, but clearly has a niche audience because of the general unique style of the magazine. The articles found inside, are intelligent, informative and intellectual discussions about the love of film and cinema.

In House magazines are similar to the mainstream magazines such as Empire and Total film but are only brief so are a size of A5. They don’t look glossy or have several features because they are simply about giving reviews on the films. Compared to the other film magazines they are quite un-biased because they are placed in an actual cinema, and need to generate more profit, so it would be silly to give bad reviews as that would make people not watch the films in the cinema. Unlike the other magazine reviews In house magazines main focus is on the stars, the actors/actresses and use that to attract people to see the film. The mode of address is chatty and informal to keep the positive tone of the film review, as they want to promote the audience to come to the cinema again.

How does semiotics work as part of the film posters?

Semiotics: Semiotics is to do with signs and symbols embedded within the media text itself, and how we as readers/viewers interpret them. Film Posters are full of semiotics (visual codes), and as audiences are sometimes known as passive, audiences can process a lot of information, consciously or sub-consciously, just through the visual imagery of the film poster. It is important when making a film poster that the choice of Images, colours, titles & fonts and layout are taking into great account, because they all affect the way in which the audience reads semiotics and will determine how attracted the audience are to the film poster.

American Beauty - The title of 'America Beauty' is a contradiction to what the film poster and film is trying to convey, as when you think of American beauty you think of dolled up women/girls in a beauty pageant, plastered in make up, which is the exact opposite of what this film poster is conveying. The title is in bold, to emphasise the true meaning of beauty and make the audience think about what their own definition of beauty is, making them want to see how beauty is conveyed in this film. Something unique about this film poster is that there isn’t a background image and then main image/iconic image, instead the film poster in itself is just a background image. The background image consists of a naked body (showing a naked stomach), of a person who is holding a rose, this visual code connotes a message of the film poster/film, that: beauty is skin deep. The fact that the film poster has been stripped to a bare background image promotes the message that people should do the same, stripping back anything unnecessary and show their true beauty. It is clear that this is a woman's body and this could convey that there a moments of sexual encounters in the film, shown through the presentation of a naked body. The rose that is being held could represent natural beauty, as a rose is something natural that grows but is also very beautiful, again promoting the idea that natural beauty is the best beauty. The rose could also connote the theme of romance, as it is an iconographic image of love and romance. The fact that the only prop used in the picture is a rose signifies the importance of it, and suggests it might be a running motif within the film. The rose could also connote danger though, as it is red and because as you know, roses also have thorns. The rose could represent how people could get hurt if they don’t let them see their natural beauty, and that even close, loving relationships can end up in great danger.

The Godfather - This poster is very simple yet so striking because of the contrasting colours of black and white which create sinister imagery for the audience. The daunting figure of ‘Don Corleone’ emerging from the black depths, with shadowed eyes which don’t allow you to actually see his eyes leave a grave and eerie image in the viewers mind. The very serious facial expression conveys the stern and serious attributes of the mafia, which it is clear that he is in, denoted by his tuxedo suit. The suit that he is wearing, in combination with the red rose on the suit (which in this case connotes the danger [thorns] that people land themselves in if they mess with him), looks as if he is attending a funeral which could be sending a message that people are certifying their death if they choose to challenge or mess around with him. The fact that the whole poster is black and white and the only bright coloured thing is the rose which shows its importance and could signify the blood shed in this film, or the theme of family union that is shown through the mafia in the film. The effect on this particular film poster is an artistic one which makes the film poster look more aged and old-fashioned, to link with the title, as he is someone old and respected. There is no background image, as the background is just black, to put emphasis on the big bold title which is in white. The puppet strings attached to the title shows that he is at the top of the hierarchy; it shows his great importance as the “Godfather”, as he pulls all the strings and has a great role of importance and fear he holds in the mafia. The fact that he is called the “Godfather” shows him as a high figure within the mafia, as when you’re “God”, you’re the highest of all high and no one is above you. Although the film poster gives a lot of visual connotations on what the themes may surround it gives little information on the actual narrative which creates a mystery for the audience, attracting them further to find out what the narrative of the film is. Lastly, the fact that the main character is stroking a cat again connotes his evil nature as a cat is famous iconography used to immediately convey the sinister characteristic of a person.