Poster Analysis: X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (2014)

The teaser posters for next year's 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' are interesting in their attempt to combine the faces of both actors for each of the characters of Professor X and Magneto. The general concept behind the new film is that it features the casts of both the original X-Men trilogy and the semi-prequel/reboot 'X-Men: First Class', and I believe that this series of posters demonstrates this well enough. The design of these posters has background of the image featuring the actor who plays the older version of the character (Patrick Stewart in the case of Prof. X and Ian McKellen with Magneto) in black and white with part of their faces obscured by the shape of an x that contains the face of the actor of the character's younger counterpart (James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, respectively). Applause must given to the designers of this poster who have clearly achieved a lot by combining the faces of actors who in real life only bear slight resemblance, yet in this poster all of their facial features match up - for instance their jaws, their lips and their hairlines (well not in the case of Patrick Stewart). Both characters are in close-up with their eyes aimed directly at the audience, with a slight feeling in this poster that they are 'recruiting' you to their cause by the way they are looking.

Each character is given a distinct colour scheme - Prof. X has a blue x, while Magneto's x is red - with the obvious difference being that each character represents a different side of the good and evil scale, even though the synopsis of this film suggests that a new threat unites both characters together, which is not something that the posters are suggesting with their use of colour. Other than the closeup images of the lead characters there is little to be found in the rest of this poster other than the year of release which is 2014 and the movie studio logos, in this case Marvel and 20th Century Fox. No cast or crew credits appear and, unless my eyes deceive me, there appears to be a Twitter hashtag containing the film's title. Similarly to previous posters I have analysed, the studio is aware of the growing popularity of social networking and so are capitalizing it by encouraging (albeit with a tiny font at the bottom) by suggesting audiences should tweet about the film. Director Bryan Singer is a known user of Twitter and in fact has been sharing with millions of Twitter followers the development of the film, from casting to production photos, who presumably will then share these to their own followers.

Magazine Analysis: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (2014)

While at first glance, and even more so after analysing it for the blog page, the cover for 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' edition of EMPIRE Magazine is somewhat hideous but it also full of things to talk about regarding layout, text and design. With a large image of Spider-Man slap bang in the centre of the poster with his iconic fingers raised in web-shooter fashion, EMPIRE are both attracting and deterring potential readers. A highly recognisable figure, people of all ages may be drawn to the vibrant colours of his costume. but his theatricality, and the manner in which it is displayed in this cover, may put off some people. In accordance with the Spider-Man theme, modification has be done to the title of the magazine in order for it to relate to the film's plot. The antagonistic character of Electro (who is not featured on the cover) has the power of controlling electricity and so it only seemed fitting for EMPIRE to change their logo to reflect this power and so it is styled as to look it has been created out of electricity. In my mind, however, it is a very cheesy effect and perhaps has not been designed as well as it could have been. This is also my opinion of the colour scheme of the poster. While the red and blue of Spidey's costume, and the various shades of blue found in the background and electric logo, are acceptable and to an extent effective, the use of bright green is unappealing to the eyes, and more than anything reminds me of the nineties show 'Goosebumps' and is too odd looking in relation to the rest of the cover.

The cover features a great deal more text than is usual for an EMPIRE Magazine cover, making it look rather cluttered and messy, further exacerbating the ugly state of affairs, but this is a success for the publisher as it means they can showcase a lot of information about what exactly is contained within the pages and so draw a much wider audience who individually would be interested in different films (and television shows as the cover points out). Five film titles appear in large, bold letters on either side of Spider-Man while two separate boxes beneath single out the sci-fi films 'Gravity' and 'All You Need Is Kill' with an image each and a short line that mentions their star and a use of alliteration to explain their role in the film, for instance 'Bullock does Speed in Space' which references lead actress Sandra Bullock's previous acting role and a (very weak, I must add) comparison between the film's two plots. 'Gravity' is very much unlike 'Speed', despite what EMPIRE suggest. Underneath the EMPIRE logo is another short line, promising '15 Electric Comic Con Exclusives' using the word 'electric' as an obvious allusion to the world of the film, while the top banner is unassociated with Spider-Man and instead focuses on the twentieth anniversary of the release of 'Jurassic Park', as well as its impending 3D theatrical re-release with 'Access All Dinosaurs' a play on the phrase 'access all areas' implying that the reader will discover some secret, unknown information about the film and its creation, while bold, yet painfully typical, words and phrases like 'First Look!', 'On Set!' and 'Inside!' are used at the bottom left of the cover to provide further insight into the magazine's contents. Overall, the EMPIRE Magazine cover is functionally acceptable but aesthetically speaking, it dissapoints and all fronts and so design is something I am going to take considerable care with developing my magazine cover.

Trailer Analysis: TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE (2014)

Coming off the heels of 'Django Unchained', director Steve McQueen's 'Twelve Years A Slave' looks to continue the trend of controversial yet critically acclaimed films that depict the harsh treatment of blacks during the time of the slave trade in pre-Civil War America. With a much more understated approach than the over the top, darkly comical one used by Quentin Tarantino, the trailer for this film establishes it as harrowing depiction of the atrocities of the time and specifically those inflicted upon the central character of Solomon Northup, who in the trailer, as a free man of social standing, is tricked then beaten, imprisoned and sold into slavery. With the use of Hans Zimmer's 'Time' theme from the film 'Inception', the opening of the trailer is almost peaceful (with the visuals of the house and surrounding fields highly reminiscent of the estate of the character Big Daddy in 'Django'). This brief scene showcases an exchange between Ejiofor's Solomon and the character played by Brad Pitt in which the latter expresses surprise at the supposed life-long slave's previous exploits. It is at this time that that the trailer flashes back to establish, with the aid of Solomon's narration, explain the series of events that led him to his terrible and tragic predicament that sees him torn away from his family and way of life, the key dialogue being "I was born a free man...till the day I was deceived" and given to a series of owners that vary in their treatment of him. A brief part of this sequence is scored with the same music that was used to great effect in the 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' trailer and here it has the same dark and ominous impact.

The mid section of the trailer begins with the voice of a black woman singing a folk song as various shots introduce what is presumably the setting for most of the film - the estate of the film's antagonist who's strict religion and violent tendencies are witnessed through various exchanges he has with other characters including Solomon. Our lead character explains his attempt to repair the disruption to the equilibrium of his life with the line "...but I don't want to survive, I want to live." This is a very dramatic piece of dialogue that shows the character's defiance against his master, in direct comparison with his fellow slaves who advice him to stay quiet and avoid trouble. Audiences love to see someone rebelling against the system, especially in order to reach the ones they love, and the remainder of the trailer also helps to cater to this desire, with Solomon's words of defiance reaching full effect. Another piece from Hans Zimmer's expansive repertoire, 'Journey to the Line' from the film 'The Thin Red Line' (which McQueen previously used in the trailer for his earlier film 'Shame' and clearly is a fan of) is used to score the end montage in which the film's long list of highly acclaimed actors, in addition to a number of newcomers, appear as title cards and brief shots to identify them. 

The most well edited part of the trailer is when Ejiofor delivers part of a rousing, epic speech  (which leads me to believe that he would make a fantastic Martin Luther King Jr. in a future biopic) and the music swells in accordance with the drama. It is interesting how actor Benedict Cumberbatch receives third billing, despite only appearing in a single one second shot in the entire trailer, suggesting that in the overall scheme of things his role is minor and his name is promoted more due to the fact of his recent A-list status, with roles in blockbusters such as 'Star Trek Into Darkness'. In addition, despite the accolades awarded to some of these actors there is no mention of them, or to think about it, the director's previous work (which has been universally acclaimed) so we can see the filmmakers have no need to rely on them to draw audiences but rather the strength of the storyline and the performances featured in the trailer. In conclusion, this trailer is a very strong use of footage and dialogue in order to successfully promote a film of such an important story. 'Twelve Years' is the definition of Oscar Bait if there ever was one - and not in a cringe-worthy way like Lee Daniel's 'The Butler', I must add -  and so will likely to be hugely successful with both critics and general audiences, so of course I am very interested to see the film when it is released here in the UK.

Poster Analysis: DON JON (2013)

The poster for 'Don Jon' makes every attempt to promote the fact that Joseph Gordon Levitt is not only the film's main star, but also its writer and director, with the very top of the poster stating it is 'The First Film Written and Directed by Joseph Gordon Levitt'. Much of the poster is comprised solely of his face, with a friendly a confident smile that suits the comedy's laid back and light hearted feel. The design of the poster is very clean and classy with a neat white border around the edge of the poster and a limited use of colour except in the colour of his skin and the red boxes around the reviews. Obviously the designers thought it would be appropriate to use quotes from professional movie critics to help promote the movie, and so the words 'Stellar', 'Hilarious', 'Genuine', 'Emotional', 'Edgy', 'Confident' appear successively along the left side of the poster, each suggesting a different thing about the film, importantly that it is a comedy but also a drama, and that it is a strong debut from the director. Of course each of these words could have been taken massively out of context but nonetheless it works to add some sophistication and guarantee that it is a well-regarded film. 

While only Gordon Levitt's face appears on the poster, credits for Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore, therefore part of the main cast, also appear above the film's title which is in large bold letters. Below the title is the film's tagline 'There's more to life than a happy ending' which is a humorous double entendre, referencing both the film's nature as a romantic comedy as well as the lead's obsession with porn which are otherwise non-apparent with the rest of the poster. The words 'This Fall' clearly suggest the poster has been designed for an American audience, while the hashtag beneath, much like what is seen with the poster for 'Filth', is a sign of the movie industry stepping away from official websites to a greater focus on cracking the social network market.

Trailer Analysis: TRUE GRIT (2011)

This trailer for 'True Grit', alongside those such as 'Clash of the Titans' and 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', is a sum of various parts that is, in some respects,  greater than the whole. It is very strong and evocative two minutes and thirty seconds that I feel, in a way, is let down by the final product (which to be fair is till a good film just not as great as the trailer promises). Anyway let's move on to the analysis. The trailer opens with a voice over and a series of shots that have, within seconds, established our lead's characters name and reputation, for being a badass one-eyed US Marshall with a large tally of men he has shot, and even killed. Following the studio logos, a steam train passes from right to left to reveal an establishing shot of a desert town, cementing the impression that this is set in the Old West, while the following dialogue introduces the character of Mattie Ross and her problem that only Cogburn can resolve. Her lines and the scenes that accompany them are an effective introduction to the plot and even the film's chief antagonist.

The trailer works so well due to the soundtrack choices, with the first half of the trailer accompanied by a dark, foreboding track with intense percussion and a Western feel that works brilliantly to set the stage for the second half that is scored by Johnny Cash's excellent rendition of 'God's Gonna Cut You Down', that is interrupted by a short series of scenes that introduce a major disruption to the equilibrium of the characters and Rooster Cogburn's oath to correct things, before throwing us straight in to a sequence of various clips from the film. The trailer climaxes with a brief epilogue in which an injured man pleads with Cogburn for mercy, before he replies "I can do nothing for you, son" and a gunshot marks the end of the trailer with the film's release date and the solitary word 'Retribution' acting as a tagline that guarantees that Cogburn will get his revenge. Overall, the trailer is successful in balancing a dark thriller vibe with a film set in the Old West, with a few moments of comedy scattered in. The emphasis on the accolades awarded to the film's cast and crew (with the distinct exception of relatively unknown, at least then, actress Hailee Steinfield - who would  actually go on to recieve an Academy Award Nomination for her role in this film) is a successful attempt to present this as a film of the highest caliber, deserving of the audience's time and money.