Codes and Conventions of a Film Magazine Front Cover

The conventions of a magazine front cover are almost the same for every type. The conventions of film magazines will be similar to women's magazines or sports magazines. This is so that the readers know just at a glance what it is they are looking at. However, there are slight differences between each type so that the reader knows at a glance what they're looking for.

Masthead - This is basically the title of the magazine. Dominant and striking, mastheads of film magazines tend to continue the masculine colour scheme of the front cover, or reflect the main feature article. The name itself tends to have strong connotations with the film industry (e.g. SFX), is a buzz word (see below for definition) (e.g. Empire), or a combination of the two (e.g. Total Film).

Buzzwords and punctuation - Punctuation such as exclamation points and buzz words such as "new" and "awesome" are used to excite the reader about article or features of the magazine. 

Symbols - This aspect is commonly used on magazines that are aimed towards males. It is scientifically proven that men respond better to symbols in regards to taking in information and paying attention. Lots of plus signs and arrows are used and other positive icons to show the reader where to look.

Strapline - Featured above the masthead, this is a sentence that can detail an important feature article, a deal in regards to the price of the magazine or something free that comes with the product such as posters or competitions.

Dateline - Generally written in small type beneath the masthead, this is a line of informaiton detailing, the issue number or month of release, the website of the magazien and possible the price.

Main image - This is the primary focus of the magazine front cover. Generally the element that draws in the audience, the image on a film magazine is usually of a famous actor that features in the main article. Depending on how many models the magazine has on the front cover, the tops of their heads may cover the title to emphasise the importance of them or their character. Also, the image of the film character is often the one used on the movie's poster and this creates a symbiotic link between the two pieces of media and makes it more recognisable for the audience. The image contrasts those found on lifestyle magazines as it usually features the model in a much more dominant pose that shows the strength of the character. The model will also be dressed to coincide with their movie, rather than just for fashion, and will be placed on a background of sorts, such as part of the setting of the film or in an action style shot, as opposed to a plain background used in lifestyle magazines as seen above to the left and right.

Feature article photographs - These images are designed to be the secondary attraction after the main image and shows the articles featured within visually.

Main sell-line - Placed centrally, below the main image, this short phrase either sums up an article in a witty fashion, or is simply the name of the actor or film in the main article.

Puff – This element is the circular, square or other shaped bubble placed atop the main image, usually towards the right of the page and at the top, to highlight a special feature of the magazine, be it an article, a competition or something of the like.

List of movies included - This is to attract the audience further to the magazine and establishes the type of magazine that it is and to what demographic they aim towards (e.g. mainly action movies aim towards a typically masculine audience). If the reader doesn't like the main article, they may like one or more of the other films featured and therefore still want to purchase the product.

Banner - This may be a strip of colour placed across the main image to highlight the main sell-line, or it may be, or may also be, featured at the base of the page as a way to show the images of feature articles.

Layout - The layout of the text, puffs and banners of a magazine is intended to frame the main image to make it seem more important.

Text - Generally in the left hand third of the page, the text is usually  between three and four fonts and three and four  separate colours so as to not confuse the reader and to not let the cover look too cluttered. The colours used in the text can also reflect the main image and sell line by reflecting a character (e.g. red, white, and blue for a cover with Captain America on it). The text usually follows a masculine colour to appeal to the primarily male target audience.

Codes and Conventions of a Horror Movie Trailer

Common equilibrium of a happy family - Whilst this convention has evolved with the times, there is generally some form of equilibrium with a happy family at the beginning of the film or trailer. The evolution has come as divorce and single parenting has become more commonplace, and so the beginning of the narrative may have a family in either situation.

Disruption - The disruption generally comes in the form of an object in supernatural/paranormal films. This object can be small, or it can be a house, but it is usually cursed with an evil being. For example, in "The Possession", the disruption is the purchasing of the Dibbuk Box, whereas "A Haunting in Connecticut"'s disruption is moving into a cursed house.

Quick cut montage - This editing technique is to increase the heart, fear and tension of a trailer to attract the audience. This technique is usually combined with emphasised diegetic sound or a quickening soundtrack to increase the audience's heart rate.

Cut to black - This is used generally in tandem with a stab of sound to shock the audience.

Title and release date - Crucial information, this is generally featured at the end of a trailer before the sting so that the audience is left with the name of the film and a scary excerpt to remember it by.

Sting - This is a small clip of the movie featured at the very end of a trailer after the title, tagline and institutional informtation with a stab of sound intended to scare the audience and leave them with a memorable image of the movie.

Stabs of sound - Usually with silence beforehand, a stab of sound is used to scare the audience and make a scene scarier.

Contrapuntal sound - This technique is when a usually innocent sound, such as a lullaby, is placed over a scary scene to create horror out of innocence and destroy the safety that is usually connotated with it.

Diegetic sounds emphasised - Heavy breathing, heart beat or other quiet sounds are commonly used for this effect and it is used to emphasise the silence of a scene. For example, if a character is hiding in a closet and the antagonist is approaching, the breathing or heartbeat of the protagonist would seem louder, and the footsteps of the antogonist would as well. This is to enhance the fear of a scene.

Lighting -Within a trailer, the lighting tends to get darker as the trailer continues to increase the sinister feel to a story. Also, flashing lights may be used to disorientate the audience and make them scared. Other lighting techniques used are profile, under lighting, and back lighting to make the protagonist seem more menacing.

Dark washes over film - This also creates a more sinister feel in a scene and increases fear: no-one knows who's in the darkness.

Other types of non-diegetic sounds - Eerie music is played over the scene to help build tension, or 'other-wordly' sounds such as ghostly moans and talking is used to show that there is a supernatural presence.

Screams - Obviously, this is to enhance the horror in a scene by showing the pain and fear of a character that scares the audience.

Camera shtos - High angle shots of buildings are used to give them an imposing feel, and this may be used as an establishing shot of a scene. Aerial shots are also used as establishing shots, like in "Devil Inside", to show an entire town and make it seem so small and hard to escape from.There are also low angle shots of the protagonist to make them seem small and vulnerable and contrasting high angle shots of the antagonist to make them seem threatening.

Codes and Conventions of a Horror Movie Poster

There are a variety of codes and conventions that are tied to media publications that define them and differentiate them from each other, and even more specific within the horror genre. Magazine front covers, film posters and film trailers are included in this, and the following are tied to each.

A dark, dull colour scheme - This is to reflect the dark nature of an evil spirit and the act of taking the life out of someone when they are possessed. This lack of colour can also be connotated with death and fear as can be seen in the "Possession" poster below.

Distorted text - This reenforces the possessed or cursed element of a supernatural/paranormal film. It reflects the idea of something normal being destroyed and eroded, just as the serif font is being. The font is legible, but the destruction of it is clear, as can be seen above.

An image that fills the entire frame - This is to attract the attention of the target audience. Were it to be a small image, it wouldn't be as appealing and they may look over it. But, if the image fills the frame or looks abnormal, the attention is immediately caught.

A title -  Generally towards the bottom of the page, the title is made of one or two main words, and is in a simple font that is usually uppercase. The few words means that it stays in the audiences mind and is easy to remember. Most films have "the" and then a word, but in conversation, the "the" is usually cut off because the single word following it is more memorable. The simple font is commonly a serif font and it is classic and widely used, and it is in uppercase to attract attention.

A release date - A vital piece of information, the creator can place the date towards the base of the poster, usually in the same font as the title, to tell the audience when it is released. If a release date has not yet been decided or announced, then "coming soon" will be used to create intrigue. The audience will then be checking regularly as to when the film comes out in cinemas.

Institutional information - When featured, this section of information details the information of who is starring, or worked on the film and is shown inconspicuously at the very bottom of the page. This convention isn't always followed because the audience doesn't find it that interesting or useful. Whilst it can be used to see who is in the movie, horror movies tend to use actors that aren't famous so they wouldn't recognise the name anyway. Were the name of a writer, director, producer or actor to be classed as important, then they would place it somewhere else on the poster to attract attention. 

Main image - This will always reflect something that is significant to the narrative, be it the antagonist, protagonist, location, or weapon. The image generally features some form of horrific imagery, which may be obvious or subtle, so signify the genre of film that it belongs to. The main image also fills up the entire frame, and when there is an exception, the black space emphasises the main feature of the image.

Tagline - Short and simple, this sentence, or collection of sentences, creates intrigue for the audience, enhances their fear slightly and perhaps their understanding of the film making them want to go and see it whilst anchoring the meaning of the image and connecting it to the title.