Film DVD Cover Analysis

Explore the narrative image of 'Scream' and the way this is constructed through the DVD cover?

Camera:
The shot is an extreme close up- This puts all the focus on the character and makes it apparent to the audience that the emotion she is feeling is fear.
Only the characters face is in shot- This confuses the audience and makes them question what's going on and why she's doing what she is AKA enigma codes.
The image is an eye line- the woman on the cover appears to be staring straight at the audience. This is very direct and makes the audience feel involved, as if she's asking them for help. It also puts emphasis on her wide eyes (connoting fear).
Framing-the framing of the shot is very tight which creates enigma by letting the audience wonder what is going on.
Posed shot? I think that it is unlikely that this image came directly from the movie. i believe it was posed with the intention of attracting the audience and making them want to watch it.

Mise-en-scene:
The use of the colours blue, black, red and white- Black signifies evil and darkness and is regularly used in the Thriller genre to produce an effect that will work. The red of the lips signifies glamour and gives the audience the idea of a typical pretty, vulnerable female victim. However, red also connotes evil and could be seen foreshadowing that there will be blood in the film. The use of blue creates a cold feeling (could be linked to death)on the DVD cover and makes the audience feel quite uneasy. It also makes the females eyes stand out more and creates an eye-catching contrast with the red on the cover. The characters white face could symbolise her fear but could also be to show that she's not the villain (she's good). Also, white symbolises innocence and purity which gives the audience the idea of typical female victim traits. All the colours used are strogn colours which combined, create an eye catching DVD cover.
Text- all the text on the page is in capital letters and is very central keeping the haracters face the main focus of the photo. The use of the word 'don't' in the tag line makes it quite like a street sign or an order. The tag line is a conjunction of three, making it easier to remember. The message the tag line is putting across is very direct and as if it is actually aimed at the audience. The tag line slo hint what might happen in the filme.g. it will be set in a house, by saying things like 'Don't lock the doors'. This taps into the fears of the audience as your home is the one place that you should be able to feel safe.
The 'M' in Scream is pointy- this gives the audience the idea of a sharp dagger/knife and gives them a hint to what is going to happen in the film.
The woman has a hand over her mouth-This is an enigma code making the audience unsure whether she has her hand over her own mouth or if it's someone else's hand and why she/they are doing this.
Certificate 18- ensures that the film will be frightening or gruesome in some way.
Shadows on the characters face- this creates a spooky effect which signifies thriller and also shows the audience that the character is not all good.]
People:
The character is clearly female- we can tell this from things such as makeup and this gives us the idea that the film will use typical character types e.g. damsel in distress.
Wide eyed- action code for fear. (the colour white used on the cover make the whites of the characters eyes really stand out)
Clothing and hair can't be seen-all the focus of the picture is on the characters facial expression and lats the audience create their own image of her.
Age of the character - you can tell that the character on the DVD cover is in her late teens/early 20s which relates to the target audience of the audience of the film. Also, the fact that the character is a pretty, young female means men will be more inclined to go and see it.
She is the only character on the front cover-This signifies that her character is relevent to the plot of the film and perhaps suggests that she plays one of the key narrative roles.

The factors listed above all contribute to creating the overall narrative image of the film 'Scream' giving the audience an idea of what's to come. The cover is very enigmatic making the audience want to see what happens next and the reasoning behind it.

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I did some further research into the narrative image of 'Scream' and looked at the Scream Trilogy box set cover. The cover is mainly black in colour but also uses white and red. The front cover is simply the film title and shows the iconic mask used throughout all 3 films. Inside the mask you can also see the shadow of a knife being held up which foreshadows what happens in all 3 films. The black and white is used to create a simple but effective contrast between picture, text and background. The only other colour on the DVD cover is red on the 18 certificate making this stand out even more to the audience and showing them that the movies in the box set are frightening. The text is ectoplasmic creating a ghostly effect adding to the scariness of the cover. All the writing on the front of the box set is in simple, easy to read capital letters adding to the straightforward black & white theme. The box set is obviously intended for fans of the film and not neccisarily to attract new audiences. What is shown on the box set cover gives the audience clues/reminders about what happens in the plot of all 3 films yet is rtill relatively enigmatic not giving reasons for the pictures and giving no tag line which the audience can usually draw conclusions about the film from.