Assignment One: Analysis of Two DVD Covers

Paragraph One:
Introduction of the two DVDs that you are comparing. You should include the film name and genre. / The two films I am comparing are Love Actually and Casino Royale. The genre of Casino Royale is action as Daniel Craig is holding a gun which connotes violence. He looks serious so you can tell that it isn’t a happy film and he could be dangerous. Daniel Craig’s expression also seems a bit mysterious as he isn’t giving away anything. The genre of Love Actually is romantic comedy you can tell this because all the characters are on the cover wrapped in a red bow this connotes romance and love. Also all the characters are smiling which shows they are happy and this also connotes love.
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What is the title of each film? What does the title denote and connote? Bride would connote wedding and mayhem / The title, Love Actually connotes romance and chemistry as ‘love’ can also means romance. The ‘actually’ part makes it seem a bit different so it connotes it not an average romance film. The title Casino Royale connotes gambling and in casinos there are usually lots of girls this tells us what the film is about. It also shows where the film is set as the title of the film is where most of the things happen in the film.
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What Colours are used in the DVD cover? What do these colours connote? Why would these colours attract the intended audience? / In Love Actually the colours are main red and white. The colour red connotes hearts and loving which tells the audience it is a romantic film. Red can also denotes anger which tells us the film might have some conflict in it. The colour white connotes calmness this shows it is a light-hearted and happy film. These colours relate to the target audience of women as red is a colour usually associated with women. The colours in Casino Royale are mostly blacks and greys. The colour black connotes danger which shows there will violence in the film. Black is also associated with mystery and shows the character might be mysterious and unknown. The colour grey connotes misery and grimness and tells us the film is serious and is not a practically happy film.
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What font choice is used? What would this font connote to the intended audience? / The font of ‘love’ in Love Actually is much bolder then the word ‘actually’ as it’s trying to emphasize the genre of the film which is romance. As it emphasizes the word love it draws the attention of the target audience which is women aged 15 and over. The font for Casino Royale is sort of blurred like its travelling fast this connotes fast cars and tells us there will be some in the film. This may draw the target audience attention who is men aged 18-40. Also the two O’s in the title are bolder and underneath is a 7 which shows the OO7 which the target audience will recognise.
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What is the central image on the DVD cover? What would this image connote? How would this image attract the audience to this genre? / The central image of Love Actually is all the main characters wrapped in a red bow. This connotes a present and presents usually shows love. Most of the characters on the front are recognisable actors and actresses so the target audience would know it has a good cast so it would be a good film. The central image for Casino Royale is the main character James Bond and he is easily recognisable by the target audience. Also there is an outline of a attractive women and this would appeal to the target audience and also shows there are probably attractive women in the film.
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What language has been used in the blurb? Does the language have positive or negative connotations? Does this give the intended audience any clues into the genre of the film? / The language of the blurb in Love Actually is very appraisal of the film. It uses word like ‘hilarious’ and ‘touching’ to show the genre of the film which is romantic comedy. They have used emotive language to persuade the audience to buy it and tell them what it’s about. In Casino Royale the blurb it was quite serious and to the point which tells us it’s quite a serious film. It gives a very detailed plot of the film so it tells the audience what it will be about.
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What is the certification of the film? How does the film genre correlate to the certification level? How would this attract the audience to the DVD cover? / The certification for Love Actuallyis 15, it is a 15 because it contains sexual scenes and references it also has a lot of swearing in it. This may attract a secondary audience of men because it has a sex appeal. As it is also a comedy it shows the target audience that the humour will be adult humour and will appeal to them more. Casino Royale is rating 12 this is because it contains violence and one scene of torture. This may appeal to a secondary audience of boys aged 12 to 15 because they like violence ad guns and they can actually watch the film.
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What are the special features of DVD cover? Could this attract an audience to this genre? / The special features of Love Actually are commentary by directors and actors, deleted scenes, music from the film and music video. This would attract the audience so if they buy the dvd they could see scenes that weren’t in the cinema. Also the audience will probably like the actors in the film so they would want to hear the commentaries and they wouldn’t be able to find them anywhere else unless they bought the dvd. The special features of Casino Royale are ‘Becoming Bond’, ‘Bond girls are Forever’, ‘James Bond for Real’ and ‘Chris Connel Music Video’. These special features are like documentaries so it would attract the target audience of men so they can find out more about James Bond.
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How is the spine presented? Does it follow the conventions of DVD covers? / On the spine of Love Actually it has the title in red and black and a picture of one of the characters. It follows the convention of romance as part of the title is in red which connotes love and happiness. It also shows comedy as the character in the image is a humorous character.
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Who has produced the film? Is this institution well known for producing films for a specific audience? / The film, Love Actually, was produced by Universal Studios it is a world renowned institution but it doesn’t focus on one genre of film as it does many different types and genres for lots of different audiences.
Casino Royale was produced by Columia Pictures this is also a very well-known institution and they also produce many different films for different audiences.
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Have you compared how genre has been developed between DVD covers? Has this been constructed for an intended audience? / The genres of the two dvds are very different but they both show their genres well and attract their intended audiences. I think the cover of Love Actually does this by using the colour red a lot which connotes to the audience it is about love and romance but the colour can also denote anger and rage so there could be some conflict in the film. It also has bows and ribbons which shows affection which will attract an audience of women. Casino Royale shows the genre of action by using dark colours such as black and grey to show it is a serious film and not very happy. The colour black also denotes death so there could be some violence and killing in the film which will attract an audience of men.