Preliminary Task: Textual Analysis of a College/Educational Magazine Front Cover

Denotation and Connotation

Looking at the front cover we see quite a feminine young girl with her results. It is clear that she has done well as her reaction is positive, and she looks happy. The connotations of this would be that those who go to Carmel College are often successful and this image may symbolise achievement. It also suggests that the students of Carmel College aspire to be successful in their exams and that education is important to them. By focusing on only one girl from the college, it is clear that she has been deliberately chosen to represent all students.

Mise-en-scene

This is communicated further through each element in the image. From her costume, we get quite a feminine feel and we can see that the dress code at Carmel is casual which could connotate to us a relaxed and comfortable environment. The only props in the picture is her results as well as another student's. This shows that the pupils at the college are content - if not, very happy - with their results as they are not afraid to show them to each other. This shows that students are confident and prepared to embrace their success at Carmel College. The setting in the image is obscure, as we are not shown a significant amount of background. There is no scene of the college building or a classroom in the background, only students and teachers. This could connote that the college are more satisfied with flaunting their students rather than showing off their campus. This could be a good thing as it lets the students and readers know that the students at the college matter more to the school than their facilities and that they are not afraid to let their students represent the school. In addition to that, the lighting in the image is high key emphasising the positive atmosphere. Lastly, the reader is immediately drawn to the non-verbal communication shown by the girl in the main image. There is an element of surprise as well as happiness. She looks as if she is gasping and smiling and the way her results are held up reinforces the idea of her being proud of her results. Her surprised facial expression also communicates a sense of disbelief which shows that she did not expect to get the results that she got, suggesting that she is genuine and not over-confident. Perhaps this is why the magazine has carefully chosen her to represent all students.

Anchorage

The magazine uses sans serif fonts, showing that the college is quite modern and new, and focuses on how education is now. By making the font look modern rather than old-fashioned or posh, the magazine successfully looks more friendly to young adults - such as those who attend the college - and communicates to the reader that the school is not bound by any traditions but are open to new things and are very aware of how things are in modern times. There is a theme in the font of the colour pink, showing that the magazine is feminine and more for girls than it is for boys. This suggests that perhaps the college is for girls only, or this particular college magazine is directed to the female members of the student body. This is shown again in the image, when all we see are young female students - the only males in the image appear to be teachers.

Magazine Conventions

Although not all magazine conventions are included in this magazine - as it is a college magazine and not one that is sold - the features that are included are clearly shown. For example, we see the logo for the college at the bottom left of the magazine and at the top left we see the Masthead - 'Carmel Up Close' - which is bright and in large font so that it is recognisable and different from all the other fonts on the page. There is also a clear dateline next to the masthead that tells us this edition of the magazine is from Autumn 2009. Again, the main image is that of the student holding her results. A successful coverline is used below the word 'results', stating that "Carmel is one of the top ten colleges in the country".

Induction: Movie Poster Textual Analysis

Our task was to make a textual analysis of the above poster in groups. We found that the denotation of this poster was an adventurer of some sort standing alone in front of what appeared to be an ancient cave. The obscure skull in the background could symbolise death, telling the audience that the mission he is about to take could be deathly and dangerous. The image of the fire reinforces the idea of danger in the film. The ancient carvings surrounding him could be a connotation telling us more about the character. From this one image we can see that he is a historical explorer and that the film will entail a combination of adventure and danger.

The use of anchorage in the title of the film is in sans serif font, which clashes with the seemingly historic and ancient setting and tells us that he is from more modern times and that he doesn't necessarily belong in this setting. 'Indiana Jones' is in bright, comic-like typography much like you would see with films such as Superman. This gives us the idea that Indiana is an iconic character and protagonist. This kind of writing also tells us what kind of genre the film will be. For example, if the writing was not bright and comic-like but dark and dull, the film may have appeared to be a horror movie. However, the sans serif font is appropriate and makes the film look more like a friendly, family-based adventure movie.

This poster alone not only gives us an in-depth idea of what the film will entail, it also introduces us to the hero or main character of the story through the use of mise-en-scene. Non-verbal communication is used to communicate to us Indiana's personality and state of mind. His fists are clenched, his eyes are directly focusing on the camera and he is standing tall and brave despite what is occurring behind him. This shows us that he is determined, prepared and fearless. We also get an idea of who he is because of the costume that has been chosen. His attire suggests that he is some kind of explorer. It looks as if he may be on a hunt for something. His sleeves are rolled up and his buttons are undone, showing that he has been through a lot during his mission. The only props shown are Indiana's weapons. His whip and his gun are all that he carries, suggesting that these may be his signature objects.

By doing this task I have learnt that there is a lot that you can find out about a movie from posters advertising them. I also realised that when making a film and producing posters for it, people deliberately choose how they present there movie. They are thoughtful and use mise-en-scene and specific fonts and effects to ensure that the poster will attract the right people and inform everyone properly.

Induction: Re-Creation of a Movie Magazine Front Cover

Although it was confusing at first, I enjoyed working with Photoshop and I look forward to using it throughout the course. I tried to copy the magazine cover as accurately as I could and the effects - on the font, especially - enabled me to do so. Some of the effects that I used were 'Stroke', 'Drop Shadow', 'Bevel and Emboss' and 'Inner Glow'.

The image on the right is the original cover that I was told to duplicate. Because Photoshop did not have the same fonts, shapes and effects as the magazine did, we all had to adapt and make it our own in a sense. One thing I struggled with was the use of layers in and finding the right tools in the sidebar when using Photoshop.

Because we had the right program, we were able to transform and edit an image - without any photo manipulation - and make the finishing product look like a professional magazine cover.