Magazine Analysis: Empire

Magazine Analysis: Empire

What is the name of the magazine? Why do you think it is called that?

The name is 'Empire' and this word connotes power, control or domination. The magazine could be called this to establish itself as 'the next big thing' which it now is.

What can you say about the sell lines? 

As this is the 'crime edition' of the magazine all the sell lines are features on other gangster, heist and crime films including mentions of the Coen brother Fargo and No Country for Old Men, Scarface and Eastern Promises. 

What can you say about the layout design (fonts, colour scheme)?

The layout is slightly unconventional but all the components of the magazine are very conventional as Empire is known for changing the layout and look of their magazines for special feature issues. Instead of the sell lines being on the sides of the magazine framing the main image, the are centre bottom of the cover which leads your eyes to the sell lines after reading the headline in order to get the audience interested in this issue. 

Empire's general colour scheme is white, black and red but with this issue they used accents of gold taken from the actual image like the tan, but gold-looking, Russell Crowe is wearing as well as slight hints of gold from the background.

What genre of film does it cover?

This issue is a crime edition and therefore covers crime and the appropriate sub-genres under that.

Who is the target audience?

As Empire commonly features sic-fi, comic and sometimes dystopian films the target audience would be as follows especially with promotion of free posters inside from The Blade Runner and so on which is a futuristic, dystopian film. However, with this edition it would obviously be targeted at those with are fans or crime movies whether it be a thriller, gangster or heist through the main image story and sell lines. 

Who are the major competitors of the magazine?

It's competitors are the other monthly film magazine's such as Total Film and Uncut which received roughly the same circulation however Empire is steadfastly the top film magazine.

What is the magazine's mission statement or slogan?

The slogan is 'The World's Biggest Movie Magazine'. This with the title 'Empire' solidifies the magazine as a 'great power' within the movie magazine industry.

What sort of film stars or directors are featured?

The Coen brothers are mentioned who are Academy Award winning directors of Fargo and No Country for Old Men and Michael Man credited with such thrillers as Thief and Manhunter.

Poster Analysis: The Departed

Poster Analysis: Infernal Affairs

Trailer Analysis: The Long Good Friday

Poster Analysis: Casino

The Departed Film Trailer Analysis

Are the director/producer/stars name given to us? If so why or why not?
Martin Scorsese is given to us to let fans of his films and the audience know the style of movie if they are familiar with his work. Towards the end of the trailer the most familiar actors of the film such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg to, again, entice fans of these actors and attract them to go and see the movie in cinemas.

What can you say about the voice of the person delivering the voiceover?
The voice is only present in the first few seconds of the trailer and is given by presumably the head of the gang/mob. It sets the scene for the audience and let's us know that the cop doesn't act much different to a criminal when put in a particular situation. It let's us know the genre of the film of a police crime movie.

What can you say about the use of music?
The music in this trailer isn't consistent as different types of music and moods are set. The music towards the end of the trailer is a ballad over action scenes compared to the music towards the beginning which builds tension captures the audience.

What can be said about the editing and therefore the narrative?
There are continuously short, quick snippets of clips are rarely long takes however the shots selected manage to portray the narrative through dialogue and the voice over.

What dialogue from the film do we hear and why?
The genre of a police crime is recognised through the dialogue through phrases like "state police", "elite unit"and "special investigations unit". There is dialogue throughout to keep the audience engaged and help them understand the story as the short clips do not give much away.

Who is the film's target audience? Explain why?
Males 15+ who are interested in action and crime movie. It would mostly draw in fans of both the well known actors and director.

Does the film have a unique selling point?
The USP in this trailer is cop being the mole in a gang/mob and working from the inside instead of trying to take the gang/mob out through a private investigation. The cop falls too deep before he's given the chance to take them down with his life on the line.

Project X Movie Poster Analysis

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Film Trailer Analysis

Are the director/producer/stars name given to us? If so why or why not?
None are mentioned as the franchise is the star of the film therefore a list of actors are not needed.

What can you say about the voice of the person delivering the voiceover?
There isn't a voice over as, again, the franchise is well recognised therefore the story doesn't necessarily have to be told through a voice over but from the few pieces of dialogue. Lack of a voiceover also let's the actor concentrate on the scenes and putting together the narrative of the trailer.

What can you say about the use of music?
The music in this trailer is an essential way of setting the mood and translating the mood of the movie. The slow piano in the first roughly 30 seconds is quite tranquil however slightly eerie so the viewers know this is the 'calm before the storm'. As the trailer progresses, the music builds up to a crescendo and sets a sense of foreboding just as the war is mentioned.

What can be said about the editing and therefore the narrative?
Oddly, this trailer consists of mostly long shots and hardly any short takes. This could be because the trailer lacks much action and is solely used to bring across the story and tempt fans of the franchise to see the next movie or similarly to the voice over, it's letting the audience fully put together the small snippet of the movie that they are given.

What dialogue from the film do we hear and why?
Throughout the entirety of the trailer the apes have used words such as "together", "family" and "home". This suggests the apes have come to know the forest as home and have bonded over the tragedy they have faced. We hear buzz words such as "virus", "survivors" and "war" which lets the audience know this is a post-apoloclypic world and other words suggest its a war between humans and apes but do not give away why. This could be perhaps because fans of the franchise may already know and understand the hostility between the humans and the apes or not to give to much away in the trailer.

Who is the film's target audience? Explain why?
The target audience could be males from 13 onwards that enjoy action packed movies and are a fan of the franchise.

Does the film have a unique selling point?
That it is a post-apoloclypic word in which apes are anthropomorphised and in order to  live in harmony away from humans they must fight.