Mad Max Front Cover Analysis- Empire Mag

The first thing we see on this magazine is a banner across the centre of the front cover saying "2015 Preview" this is positioned on top of a black scratched background, this helps make the quote more noticeable for the reader.
On the top of the front cover "The 21 films to see this yer" is written across the top, this helps indicate that this movie, Mad Max Fury Road is one of the 21 films.
The main character of Mad Max, Mel Gibson, is positioned in the center of the magazine with a mid-shot of him, this is Empire sticking to their convention as they usually do this with main characters, this makes them the main focus and also since Mel Gibson is a very popular actor, it will make the reader more willing to watch the movie and to also read the article based on Mad Max.

Interestingly, the face of Mel Gibson is placed on top of the 'P' in Empire, this could be purposely done so that when its placed on display, the face of Mel Gibson is visable, and this will attract the reader to pick up the magazine and read it.

When its placed on display, the face of  Mel Gibson is visable, and this will attract the reader to pick up the magazine and read it.

 In this front cover the main colours used are red, white and black, all of the colours used all have their own significance.
For instance the colour white is usually associated with light, goodness and innocence, black is associated with power, death, mystery and formality and lastly red is associated with rage, anger, danger and courage - all of these colours represent key themes to expect within the movie for instance there is a lot of anger and death associated within this movie, so these all link very well with one another.
Most text in this front cover are 'colour coded' for instance the important information is in white whereas the others are black, since white is a colour that stands out for instance, even though Mad Max is not positioned in a place where it would appear to be recognisable and dominant, it is in white, so it shows some sort of importance, also below 'Mad Max' it says 'Tom Hardy reboots the carmagedoon!' this will show to the readers that this movie is part of a franchise.

There is a use of iconography which all links to the movie, for instance the use of guns and cars, this all gives the audience an insight or what the genre could possibly be.
The background of this picture is set in a relatively dark dessert, and notice how there is a small section of light, this can be seen as dualism, the contrast between dark an light, and we can see there is more darkness than light, the connection between this duality and the movie link very well, so it could show how someone/people are coming to over shine the darkness.

On the total film front cover a two shot image is used with the two main characters from the'Mad Max:Fury Road' film. The way Max is positioned portrays to the audience that he is the dominant character as he is standing in front of the female main character conveying patriarchy.Max is also looking directly into the camera for a direct mode of address to the audience. However the male main characters body language and facial expression is conforming to the stereotype that men are aways dominant. hence why the female main character is standing behind the male main character, implying he is in front to protect her.The woman is looking away from the camera - looking at her surroundings this could imply to the audience that she is unsure of where she is and is looking around for anything suspicious however the man is confident and is looking straight into the camera.The use of a mid-shot on this front cover is to make it able for the audience to see the characters facial expression but also to see the background and the setting they are in to help reveal the theme of the movie as well as the costumes and iconography.
The mise-en-scene of this front cover insinuates to the audience that the genre of this movie is a dystopian genre. the setting of the image gives this away as there is smoke in the air and trucks and cranes that can destroy things indicating to the audience that here is a theme of destruction. There is a gun in the male main character , which also relates to the theme of destruction as guns kill and damage. The female main character also has a mechanical arm which relates to the theme of destruction and the dystopian genre. the characters are wearing protective clothing such as shoulder pads and bullet proof vests,which shows the audience that there is danger included in this film which is why they need to be protected. the colours used on this front cover are Red, Black and white which symbolises danger, death, mystery, purity and innocence.These contrasts of colours imply to the audience that these themes are included in this film, also these colours contrast well together on the page.
The placement of the masthead behind the male main character 'Tom Hardy' is a good selling point for the magazine. When magazines are placed on the shelves in stores , the masthead is one of the first things you see. Because Tom's head is over the masthead, that means that it will be spotted when stacked on the shelves and due to his very good career and popularity, people will pick up the magazine because they recognise him and his work, they then would be interested in watching this movie because he is starring in it.The placement of the title of the movie (in the middle) is also a god choice of placement. Once someone from the targeted audience picks up the magazine with Tom's head , they will instantly know the name of the movie as it is the first thing you notice, due to its big, red font. The language used on this front cover is very persuasive for example, "epic", "exclusive", "ultimate", these verbs are all superlatives which makes the audience feel like it is a must to purchase this magazine as it has these "epic"contents inside. The title of the magazine "Total Film" is in a white font with brown dirt like effect seeping in. This can insinuate to the audience that these two main characters are going to influence the majority which is the "MAD" people - and take over the majority.

Mad Max Film Market Campaign Analysis

Film Posters: 

Comparisons Between Both Posters:

Conventions: Both Mad Max film posters conform to the typical conventions of posters having the main film title, credits, image of models, a slogan, release date, production company logo and movie rating. The first film poster is portrait whereas the second film poster is landscape. Despite the film posters being different sizes, widths and at different directions, this doesn’t affect the conventions that a typical film poster has. The first film poster does however subvert away from the usual mid-shot positioning of the models. Instead of placing the models at the centre of the film poster in a mid-shot or long shot, the models are placed in the top left hand corner. In addition to this, the film poster has a Dutch tilt, which is an unconventional rule for a film poster as models tend to be positioned in mid shots or long shots. However the models on the poster subvert away from this rule by being crammed into the corner. The second film poster conforms to text being placed on the film poster, however it subverts away from the convention of text being a not fairly largely size (titles are usually of a decent, medium size placed anywhere on the film poster) as the film title takes up the entire length of the billboard poster. This isn’t a typical convention you see on film posters today.

Shots & Models: Both film posters feature the same models. These are the main characters of the film and they are given the most attention by not being alongside any other cast members, only each other. In the first film poster the main male character is driving some kind of vehicle so he is placed below the main female. ON the other hand, in the second film poster, the male is standing above the females as she kneels down on one knees but both of them are pointing weapons in the opposite direction and defending each other from incoming enemies. The man being in front and the woman behind him in the first film poster could portray him as the protector, fighting off enemies for her. It could also illustrate the theory of patriarchy and how males dominate modern society. However, this could also be seen in a different way – the woman is the one overlooking observing and directing the man on who to fight off and how to save people. She might actually be the leader of the team. Whereas in the second film poster, the man standing above the woman could suggest the higher status that he has and his higher role in the film. She is more of a sidekick/assistant, someone who can help him during the battle fighting, however he is still the one in charge. In the first film poster, we are aware of the main characters being placed into a corner in a Dutch tilt. Whereas on the second film poster, we see the conformity of models placed in a long shot, as the characters are placed in the centre of a longshot. It enables the audience to see their surrounding location alongside with them and almost make them feel part of the action.

Text & Logos: Both film posters feature text. They both include the name of the film, the slogan, the credits, the release date, a social media hashtag, production company logos and rating of the film. The posters including the slogan of the film shows the connection being spread across the two film posters. Both of the posters are from the same film, just designed and presented differently. The audience are able to recognise this, not just from the film title, but the film slogan also. The film title on both posters are in the same font and colour, the only difference on the second poster is the size. The second film poster has the film title as the largest element on the poster and it runs across the whole width. The credits on both film posters subvert away from the typical credits you usually see on posters. On posters, the credits are usually full with names of actors, actresses, writers, producers and writers. However on the two film posters, there’s only the two names of the characters placed on the poster. It shows how their faces are the ones that are selling the film and they are of more importance than anyone else involved or behind the film. We also see a release date on both covers, telling the audience of when the film is to be released, possibly sparking interest and excitement amongst those who wish to see it. The production company logos have been included at the bottom of the posters, the typical placement of production company logos. It lets the audience be aware of the production companies behind the film. Furthermore, the film posters include a social media hashtag of the film name Mad Max. This is something that frequent users of social media will be able to recognise and know that they can tweet or Instagram about the film using this hashtag.

Colours: The main colours on the film posters are yellow, orange, blue and green. The use of the yellow bold text for the film title and credits enables the target audience to have a main focal point as soon as they lay eyes on the poster. It intrigues them and grabs their attention, the main agenda of a film poster. In addition to this, the colours of the location background where both posters are set (in a desert) are a dark blue, light blue and greenish colour. These colours create a sense of mystery, confusion and chaos all mixed into one. The fact these colours have been combined together to create a background could represent the craziness that will take place in the film and how two different worlds will be forced to battle it out against one another until one prevails.  

Mad Max Film Market Campaign Analysis  By Josephine Abosede