Ancillary Task: Convention Research

I will continue with my production on Thursday 20^th November but for the time being I have decided to focus on my two ancillary tasks.

Conventions of a film poster

• It has to be eye catching and captivating to the audience
• Generally there is a focal image that will catch the audience’s attention
• The title is displayed in a large, eye-catching font
• Clearly defined the film’s genre
• Should be designed to attract the largest audience possible
• Usually an indication of when the films is going to be released (e.g. a date or ‘Coming Soon’)
• Information on the directors and production company, this is usually presented at the bottom of the poster
• There can be reviews/ ratings from critics or there can be titles of other films the production company has also made

Conventions of a magazine front cover

The main function of a magazine front cover is to sell the whole magazine

è  They are the first thing the audience will see therefore it has to be eye-catching, interesting and brightly coloured in order for it to stand out

è  It has to be appropriate for the targeted audience

The masthead

Usually at the top of the page (this can be either a logo/ header that will be instantly recognisable to the audience)

Slogan

Many magazines use slogans – usually placed under the header to explain the magazines content or to make it stand out from their rivals

Fonts

They tend to use a variety of fonts – this is usually to make it interesting. However, some magazines use the same font throughout the magazine

è  For example: Q magazine 

Tag lines

This is the main text on the cover – they advertise the articles the magazine contain to entice the readers

The main image

Model/ star

Photographed in a close up (usually a head and shoulder shot) or medium shot

Music stars/ band

Generally photographed in a studio and establishing shot to show all group members

This main image can give the audience a basic idea of what content is included within the magazine. For example: the image below looks as though she is gazing at the reader and is giving a very persuasive look, this can be seen as being non-verbal communication. This will instantly draw the audience in.

The use of the model/ star(s) looking directly into the camera is very common however some magazines do break this rule. 

Colour palette

This generally makes the magazine recognisable to the audience

Many magazines will include the price in a larger text or sometimes include a free gift to lure the audience in.

Date/ barcode

This is usually alongside a web address to the magazine’s official website

The articles cover line

Always bigger than the rest of the text and dominates the page

Conventions of a DVD front cover

• Some feature a quote from a critic, for example ‘The Sun’ and usually these critics are praising the film. This makes the audiences expectations increase and want to see the film more than what they possibly already wanted to
• All DVD’s feature a blurb at the back, this is to inform the audience about the general storyline
• Some feature a ‘special features’ box at the back to let the audience know what else the DVD has to offer/ includes
• All conventional DVD covers include a barcode, credits, the certificate and any additional details the producers may want to include (for example the running time)
• All DVD covers have the films production company and financial partners