Preliminary Task: Front Cover Textual Analysis

In this assignment i am going to analyse the 'college lifestyle' magazine front cover.

The main character is wearing a casual black jacket with a plain white t-shirt. This connotes that he is just a normal 'college boy' that is not trying to stand out from the croud but just get by with college life peacefully. Black and white are both bland colours but they both go with everything so this connotes that the character gets along with everyone and is easy going.

The character is holding some law and society books which show that he is an intellegent man and that he cares about his education because he has been bothered to bring in his school books. In school life today it is said to be 'un-cool' too carry books around so I believe that this magazine is attempting to bring some coolness to carrying books around and to make students that do carry books around feel more comfortable in them selves. The pendant he is wearing is a cross which shows that this may be a catholic school or he has his own relationship with God.

There is not much to the background because i feel that they wanted the main focus point to be on the character. From the background it looks like this shot has been taking in a studio. They have added a little bit of editing to the background by making the middle of the cover a lighter shade then the edges of the cover and they have made it fade together.

The background of the front cover is very dull and dark where that have just used black, but this contrasts with the text which is in bright broad colours such as a lime green and pink. It is as if it is showing too sides to college life. Where the dark background is showing the boring stuff such as coursework and so on, and the bright colours are showing the fun side of college. Also the books are a bright colour which shows that maybe doing bookwork can be fun at times.

The main character has a little grin on his face which shows that he is having fun at college. He is standing upright and strong which shows that he is happy where he is at the moment.

The masthead is bold and in bright colours so the audience can clearly see what the magazine is called. The main cover-line is used to attract the youth because alot of college life poeple like to party. The barcode shows that this magazine is not free and that they will have to pay. The dateline shows that this magazine was released in summer 2009 which shows that it may have some tips on how to revise during your holidays and what equipment you will need to buy for the next college year. The cover-lines are very youth orientated for example 'Why we love blackberry' because currently there is a bbm buzz going about that it is said to be cool to have a blackberry eventhough the target audience are working class adults.

Induction: Movie Poster Textual Analysis

In this assignment I am going to analyse this Indiana Jones front cover.



The main character is wearing a rugged shirt which is also covered in dirt and it looks like the top 2 buttons are broken. This connotes that he has just been in a rough battle which has caused him too lose some buttons and to dirty he’s clothes. His sleeves are rolled up. People normally roll their sleeves up before they have a fight or when they are about to do something that they are not meant to.


The main character is wearing an authentic hat which connotes that this is set in the past. He has a gun on his belt which shows he is ready for action and is also ready to defend himself for whatever comes to attack him. The gun connotes death and shows clearly that this is an action adventure movie and also the fact that he is holding a whip shows he has been giving a few things a beat down.


This is set in a dark room almost as if it is in a cave of some sort, which shows he may be getting it to some danger. The stairs show that he is at the bottom and is trying to climb to the top and the skull behind him shows there is going to be some trouble in order to get up there. Also there is some ancient carving on the side of the cover which shows that it is going to have some past educational facts in the film.
Behind the main character is a skull which is on fire which juxtaposes the dark image with the skull lighting up, which makes the skull stand out. Also at the bottom of the stairs is dull and dark and at the top it is light this shows that at the top has the higher status than the bottom.


The main characters fist are clenched tight which shows that he is ready for a fight. Also he’s body language is very upright and not fragile which shows that he is confident that he can overcome what ever obstacle is in his way. Finally he’s stance is very strong which shows he wont fall down easily.

Induction: Re-Creation Of A Movie Magazine Front Cover

This is my first piece of work in AS Media. I had to re-create this 'Empire' front cover (on the left) promoting Ocean's Twelve. I struggled with fitting all the words on to the page and also making the writing go behind the characters head as it did in the original. I fount it rather easy to be able to put some of the writing in the right positions but struggled to get it to the write shape, sizes and fonts. I did not add a drop shadow to the 'Oceans Twelve' font and didn't know how to add the shape where it said 'Amazing start to 2005.' Also i did not add the top line of the magazine and the shape in the top right hand corner. This is the first time i have used photoshop in a couple of years, and I need alot more work on photoshop to become more confident in the software and excel in using it at A2 Level.