The main picture and character of Brad Pitt
The main picture and character of Brad Pitt indicates that the budget of the film and just the mention of this actors name will attract a wide range of audience, especially from his well known films. This film is targeted at a mainstream audience. His stance suggests that he is a man ready to fight; he is in a very powerful stance ready to fight. It informs the audience of the protagonist’s characteristics and personality (brave, cunning, vengeful and someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously). The knife he is wielding is an exaggerated size and one which looks set to inflict a lot of damage and pain to anyone who gets in his way. He is in this stance to give an indication of to the genre of the film, which means it is most likely action or thriller and contains some degree of violence. The appearance of the character gives the impression of a battle hardened man from the evidence of the large scar which is seen visibly on his neck. His sense of fashion also gives the idea of that he is from the past, maybe set around 1940 -50’s, due to he is hairstyle and what would be in fashion moustache. The reference from the prestigious Quentin Tarantino, gives the magazine – and the film its advertising – a very professional feel, it also gives the audience a well recognised name and that they can expect the same type of film that Tarantino is known for, thereby appealing to a niche, audience as well as a large, spread out audience. Audiences are drawn to familiarity, this is done thought the mention of Quinton Tarantino. The colour scheme connotes blood due to the red and the grey. However, the grey also indicates that a rough metallic time and setting maybe based in a war or historical event? Here, the text is gritty, large and eroded to stand out and fit with the genre of the film and theme of violence. The exclamation mark shouts at the reader, demanding their attention. The hand in the pocket gives an informal look. The same look was present in the ‘Total Film’ magazine that I analysed. Barcode is on its side and is not positioned at the bottom of the page. This is to go against typical magazine conventions. This is a typical institutional convention of film magazines. There is a lot of layering going on here – the background, the ‘ 1001’ being the next layer, then ‘Empire’ and the image of Brad Pitt being on the front cover. The vast number of layers present on the cover give a busy look and feel without it looking over crowded. It is a positive thing as the audience feel it is a quality magazine packed with vital/ interesting information. The price and date of the magazine are situated here above the ‘M’ in ‘Empire, similar to ‘Total Film’. This suggests some sort of competitiveness if they are borrowing ideas from each other. The text here has been arranged so that it is not blocked by the image in front and remains readable. The lies used here to break up the text are a smart way to make the cover look busier than it really is. It also relates to the films theme of ultra violence. The images here in the top right-hand corner of the page have been positioned at the canted angle, have white boarders around them and are also accompanied by little captions to further explain what the magazine holds for the reader. They are slightly slanted in order to show the audience that this issue is related to the brutality and spontaneousness found in ‘Inglorious Bastards’ However the white boarders show that it is also contained and controlled within the extent of what is appropriate for the readers. Here, they have used blue, white and grey for the colour scheme of the banner at he bottom of the page. However, I don’t think it works particularly well because the blue is slightly hard to read against the grey. I that a drop shadow would solve this problem which is used at the top the page. The dirty, grimy, eroded grey background matches the colour scheme of the dark clothing that Brad Pitt is wearing and the knife he is wielding. Eye contact from the subject in the photo (Brad Pitt) engages the reader and draws them in, makes it feel persona, as if the magazine was tailored to their interests. The website is positioned under the masthead by itself instead of with the month like ‘Total Film’.
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