Analysis of Magazine Front Cover: Inception

• A traditional layout is shown as the main character of the film is centered in the front cover with other items included in the magazine around the image.
• A well known actor is used as an advertising technique to sell the magazine, as this will appeal to fans of the actor from previous projects and fans of the genre. It is also targeted at women as Leonardo Dicaprio is a very good looking man, so women are easily drawn in than men. This then makes women more likely to go and pay to watch the film.
• The use of dark colours could signify the genre to the audience as we see the main character dressed smartly in a black suit with a darkish blue background making him an eye catching and authoritive figure on the magazine. The colour schemes used creates a spooky and supernatural feel with the use of black and dark musky blue. The blue background could suggest connotations of sadness or coldness involved in the film. The use of the knife could also show the genre of the film suggesting the main character to be deceiving as although he looks intelligent and wealthy due to his costume the use of the weapon suggests he could have a dark of evil side. 
• The text pictured around the main image is seen in colours red and white which could suggest a battle between evil and innocence which could show the use of binary opposites in the film such as the victim and the killer or the known and the unknown. The colour red could also suggest there is danger involved in the plot and could act as a warning to the audience. 
• The main character seems to be looking past the camera with a worrying and guilty facial expression showing he may have done something wrong, or be in trouble.
• The text around the outside of the main image may also encourage an audience to purchase the magazine as it includes an article on 'Toy Story 3' which could be appealing to a younger and family audience.
• All the codes and conventions used in this film cover suggests the film 'Inception' could be a Hybrid film with a mixture of both horror and thriller elements.
• The title of the magazine 'Total Film' looks as though it has been made out of buildings which would normally be located in a city, showing the genre of the film as action packed thriller sequences normally take place in big settings such as warehouses and cities.