Most post-apocalyptic films feature one main character so when it comes to the magazine covers that promote the film- there is usually only one person on the cover. However, our post-apocalypse film featured at least four main characters, so when it came to looking for ideas of the magazine cover we had to look more broadly in terms of action/thriller/adventure films (to which post-apocalypse is a sub-genre).
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
This cover features a bare minimum colour scheme. The majority of the cover is in varying shades of black and grey, the only other colours being red and blue, this is to get across the fact that it is a new Captain America film (red and blue being colours on the American flag). The colours are muted and dark, because although this is a comic-book/superhero movie it is trying to give off a more sinister and serious feeling. The only bright colour on the front cover is the red of the Masthead "EMPIRE". The main character (Captain America) gives the audience direct address to make them feel more immersed and gives the hero an assertive quality. However, Black Widow (on the right) has her back to the audience and is looking at Captain America. This suggests she is on hid side and is watching his back against any enemies, however her posture could also be attributed to the Male Gaze- a common feature of comic books and superhero films. The men (main audience members) are attracted to the film due to the attractive women with in it. The magazine cover advertises that Black Widow is in this film. The man on the left is the villain of the film (can be seen on the trailer). He gives the audience direct address as well- he too is assertive. Where Captain America holds the shield in front of him it suggests that he is a protector, the villain is holding his gun out which suggests his violence and threat. The villains head is also at the same height as Captain America (whereas Black Widow's is not) this suggests that they are evenly matched in their battle.
Django Unchained
All of the characters are giving direct address. But the camera seems to be at a slightly lower angle which makes the characters seem even more powerful and superior. The colour scheme matches the genre of western. The greens, greys and sandy colours. But there is a smear of blood effect under the anchorage text which suggests that this will be a lot more violent and gory than usual western films, along with the drops of blood visible in the background. The blood effect is complimented by the masthead and some of the strapline. Despite the violent look of the cover, the character in the centre has his gun raised so he can shoot easily but he does not want to, this is reaffirmed by his outstretched hand which suggests he wants to pull the audience into the film. There are no puffs or inset images on this cover so the audience is immediately drawn to the three characters, it means that the main image can be more tightly framed without the fear of puffs covering the characters at the sides.
This is another super-hero comic book film. We wanted to look at covers with groups on and as related to the Thriller/action/sci-fi genre that encompasses our teen apocalypse. We liked that this is much more sinister looking for a super-hero cover, the characters are wearing very dark colours and holding unconventional weapons such as guns. The use of the gritty purple wall in the background contrasts well with the clean-cut yellow on the skyline and anchorage text (and some text in sell-lines and puffs). But the bloodstain on the anchorage text again reminds the audience this is not going to be a super-hero film aimed at children. It's hard to tell who is villain and who is a hero by the appearances of the characters, this relates to the film, the lines between are blurred, so in that way the cover works well to compliment the film. But on our own cover we wanted to make it clear to the audience who the heroes and the villains are to match our trailer. I feel that this cover has too many bright colours featuring in it, it makes the characters seem darker but at the same time the yellow skyline is hard to read with the peeling purple wall in the background, the blue is unnecessary and takes away from the contrasting colours as well.
X-Men: First Class
This magazine cover has a limited colour scheme of grey/blue and a contrasting orange for the inset images, skyline and anchorage text. The characters are all giving direct address to the readers of the magazine but it is a slightly lower angle suggesting they are more superior or powerful (possibly due to their powers). The main character Charles is at the very front, slightly overlapped is Raven behind him, Eric is at the back in between Charles and Raven which suggests he will come between them. Emma is coming out on the right at the back, she looks very different to the others on the front, she is wearing all white and due to also having blonde hair makes her look like she doesn't belong with them. This is fitting because Emma is a villain from start to end whereas Eric and Raven start off on the side of the X-Men but join forces with Emma at the end of the film, this is probably why she is also on the cover. I like that the cover tightly frames the characters together but I think that the anchorage text should be lower down as it covers quite a lot of the main image. Due to it being tightly framed the background is a simple grey colour with the beginnings of an 'X' for X-men visible at the top, if we were going to have less tightly-framed main image then we would have to have an interesting backdrop for our main image.
Sucker Punch
The main image ties in very closely with the posters that were made to distribute the film. The main character is very obvious as she is a the forefront of the and the rest of the characters are staggered backwards, they are all giving direct address, following the convention. The characters are mainly wearing dark greys and black and the background is some sci-fi war landscape with a colour scheme of green and orange suggesting fire and explosion, this coupled with the title suggests it is a very action based film, but although it features sci-fi and action these are actually part of an elaborate plot of a psychological thriller. The way the characters are dressed could be partly to do with the male gaze but also suggest a link with one of the fantasies in the film, that the girls are trapped into working in a brothel. I like the straight inset images in the strapline but I dislike how the sell lines are below the strapline, it makes it strange seeing just the feet in the main image at the bottom.
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