Research: A film poster

On a denotative level, this is a picture of a battered Nazi Second World War helmet hanging from a bloody baseball bat.

However, the poster holds more detail than first thought of; the typically American baseball bat is plastered in German signatures. This can be interpreted as the Nazis killing their own men, or a humiliating American onslaught.

On a connotative level, the up-side-down German helmet can be a representation of the Germans losing the war. Supposing the baseball bat is American, it infers that the country has more authority over the vulnerable-looking Germany, because the bat doesn't fit in the frame, suggesting it is much bigger and stronger than the enemy.

The negative space in the picture is strategically filled with text, the remaining becomes a visual aspect in itself; It emphasizes the isolation and dullness of which the soldiers experienced.

The poster's content gives a brief outline of the film; "Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France..." Then the picture suggests Americans beating down on Germans.

Research: A film magazine front cover.

Deconstructing the constructed
The layout of the page acts as a guide of which the audience reads, the editor of the magazine has shown this in many ways:
- Rule of Thirds -
The left-hand-side thirds are used for the magazine's prominent articles (usually relating to the cover picture).
The right-hand-side thirds are used for the picture, the rest of the title and other prominent features the magazine is offering.
The top thirds are used for the title, leaving a lot of space for it to dominate the page. The price of the magazine and issue number are strategically placed in the top third here because it's out of the way and therefore makes the front cover look less jumlbed together.
The content of these thirds act as a border for the main attraction; in this case, a still of the protagonist from Harry Potter, Harry Potter.

- Design -
Colours are strategically used in a way that links quotes from across the front page, together.
For example, the words written in bold white are all talking about the same film; "*BLOODY HELL!", "MASSIVE PREVIEW SPECIAL!" and "HARRY POTTER 6*". The words 'bloody hell' and 'Harry Potter 6' are both marked with a bright blue asterisk, inferring that the phrase was the magazine's reaction to the film.
The use of the colour yellow, against the black, connotes 'danger' or 'warning', in the sense of "Danger! This film needs to be watched". The words written in yellow are associated with 'danger' also - Need, Right Now, Fighting and Mulder and Scully - Mulder and Scully are the two main protagonists in 'The X Files'.

Year 13 A2 Work From This Point