Firstly i will be analysing the visual image poster for the movie ''Pulp Fiction''. The layout of this design is done in a way that mimics the early 1990's design for magazine covers (such as the example shown above beside with the pulp fiction poster), this was inferred by the 10 cent price tag shown on the cover. The similarities are shown in the layout with the large title along with a picture of an iconic individual covering a majority of the cover. In this case, the main image design was made to focus on the character 'Mia' on the front cover, played by the actress Uma Thurman . This actress is very iconic as she is best known from some of her roles prior to pulp fiction in movies such as Mad Dog and Glory, Jennifer 8 and Henry and June. This is why she was placed purposely on the majority of the cover as iconic representation, this is to attract the audiences attention to the film as they resonate the good/bad actor with the film she is starring in, to determine if they wish to watch the film or not. The colour of the design is bright in some areas such as the large title, however, dark in others such as the hair and clothes of the icon below, this is to produce a contrasting image which captures the eye and really highlights what's being presented on the cover. The Typography used for the title is quite bold and the font colour is a bright yellow over a red, this is to make the title stand out, therefore attracting more attention toward the poster. There is not a form of address that i know of on this certain poster unfortunately, however you could say the
There are multiple props shown in the poster, however, the most intriguing prop would be the gun and it is what will draw the audience the most. This is because guns have many connotations , such as crime, violence and danger, all of which would be associated with a crime-thriller/ action film, giving the audience a clear indication of genre. Another prop would be the cigarette in the woman's hand. This would give connotations of this character being a fashion icon of sorts, firstly, because cigarettes at the time where more of a fashion accessory rather then a means of relieving stress. Additionally, the modelling magazine design also links to this same idea of this woman being a sex object in the film. Also, the woman's hair and clothing choice of black also gives connotations to the audience to this character being quite dangerous or troublesome rather then light-hearted and innocent, this is also shown through her stern and serious facial expression.
Below the poster title we have the words ''A Quentin Tarantino film'', this is clearly for the purpose of audience expectation and another example of iconography, as this director is well known and respected director for cult classic films for films prior to pulp fiction such as True Romance or Reservoir Dogs, this could also link to promise of pleasure as audiences expect Tarantino to produce another classic and enjoyable film, persuading them to watch it. Another important feature of this poster would be the star billing down the left side of the poster, this makes the audience aware to actors/actresses starring in the film which could determine if they wish to watch it or not based on their opinion on the choice of stars, so this could also be another form of iconography. Finally, at the very top of the poster is the expert criticism, which is ''Winner-best picture 1994 Cannes Film Festival'', this persuades the audience to watch the film as they take into consideration the criticism over the film being described as 'Best picture', this will assure fans of the directors films to see the new addition to his work, on the other hand this will also intrigue new audience members to gain a trust and interest in the film to eventually go watch it.
For my moving image, i have chosen the trailer for the film ''Star Wars The Last Jedi'' as seen above. In this trailer the technical codes such as the design could be described as mysterious and exiting, this is due to the trailer including scenes of conflict and also including scenes and reveals of iconic characters that will be starring in the film. The trailer primarily uses both lighter and dark tones such as the iconic colours blue and red which is shown multiple times throughout the trailer. This is for dramatic effect to show the audience a clear indication of the protagonist and the antagonist, due to the red lighting creating connotations of a evil and sinister tone whereas the blue light creates connotations of light and trust. This blue and red contrast throughout the star wars film could be regarded as audience expectations, as the colour scheme pays homage to the Sith which is represented with the colour red throughout the franchise to show their destructive intentions, whilst the Jedi are also shown with lighter tones to represent their peaceful intentions. The exact same ideas could be described with the Sith wearing primarily black, militarised clothes rather then the white, grey or , Furthermore, throughout the trailer many scenes of conflict are shown, this indicates that this is a action/thriller film which tells me the audience for this media could range from young children who gained a interest in the exiting franchise to seasoned fans of the franchise in their adult years.
The trailer itself expresses no sign of comedic relief but instead just pure tension and conflict, this is to indicate to the audience that this will be one of the most serious and important instalments in the franchise, persuading the audience to become eager to find out what is this tension leading too and what will be the climax, even the title itself ''The last Jedi'' also brings these same ideas of importance and build of of tension as the audience would also be intrigued to find out why only one Jedi remains and what happened to the rest, all this links to promise of pleasure as the audience expect to be shocked and thrilled by the outcome of the 8th instalment of the franchise. Star billing and iconography is also shown repeatedly throughout the trailer with the constant scenes of each iconic star wars character, this is to create interest and excitement for those that have watched the previous instalments or for those that would wish to watch it due to the cast of respected and popular actors actresses.
The visual codes such as camera shots used in this trailer are seen to be seen mainly Long shots and Establishing shots. The long shots allow the audience to gain more information about the characters and the situation, this is because the are shown the iconic characters and their surroundings to enhance the understanding and even excitement due to the eye-catching scenery shown. Furthermore, establishing shots are used throughout this trailer to rapidly advance the narrative of the trailer by showing the audience where the action is taking place this will give the audience expectations of what will happen next which enhances his pleasure, this is to the panning shots used in the trailer also, as when the camera moves across the scene, imparting information to the audience as its used to show location, also a down to up tilt shot was one of the first scenes which introduces the character ray, this is used to imply mystery when introducing a character by focusing first at the bottom then gradually moving toward the face which allows the audience to make assumptions about the character. Close-ups of different characters are also shown at certain points, this is for dramatic effect to present the audience with the chance to read the characters emotions and make them understand and predict what the narrative of the movie itself may be, making them even more intrigued in finding out the outcome. In the trailer there are multiple examples of editing and post-production due to all the fade transitions and cuts to create a dramatic effect and also to get the audience familiar with the characters.
The audio codes heard in the trailer consists of sound effects, music, dialogue and voice overs. Firstly the sound effects used consists of iconic sounds familiar to fans of the series such as a characters signature voice or sound effect, the trailer even starts with a tilt shot followed by the main character taking a deep breath, this is to add to the realism but also give a indication of genre such as in this trailer their are a lot of action codes such as explosions, conflict and gun-fire. Furthermore, throughout the trailer voice-overs and dialogue is heard at certain points, examples include ''breathe, just breathe, now reach out, what do you see? and another character responds with ''light...and darkness'', this dialogue gives the audience connotations that darkness is coming which is important audio as this dialogue has the purpose of imparting information to the audience to establish characters, relationship and even help understand the plot prior to the whole film being released. Another example of a voice-over is when a character simply says ''this is so much bigger'' this is non diegetic sound to serve information to the audience as this voice over is directly telling the audience that this film will be more bigger, and by that it tells us it will be more dramatic, exiting and eye-catching, persuading the audience to go watch the film further by giving them promise of pleasure. Lastly, the music heard throughout can be described as instrumental and dramatic due to the orchestra being used to produce the soundtrack. The music also becomes greater in sound the further in to the trailer you go and has certain parts where it pauses for dramatic effect, this certain sound track is to build tension and suspense in the audiences anticipation. Music is an important audio code as the specific song used will convey narrative information to the audience as music, as with other audio codes, suggest genre.
