Pirates of the carribean (magazine cover)

The colour pallet for the Pirates of the Caribbean is relatively simple, with black being background of the poster. The simple nature of the poster has a very mysterious air around it, having almost no detail on the entire cover.  Johnny Depp's character permeates the darkness with a serious looking face staring directly at the viewer. his face is illuminated by what appears to be candlelight, this is one of the many hints towards the setting of the film, as electronic lights are an indication of a relatively modern world, the presence of candle light indicates that the plot will take place in an older setting. The candle light also has a very dramatic effect on the face of the main character, partly illuminating it and leaving the other part shrouded in darkness, this has a very eye pleasing effect, making the viewer instantly attracted to the image situated in the magazine cover, giving more attention to the, now iconic, main character.

Besides having "pirates" in the title there are many other indications to the genre and the sub genre of the film within the magazine cover. For example the character situated in the centre of the poster is crossing two weapons across his chest, this is a subtle indication that there will be violence, meaning that the genre could be an action/adventure. These weapons are also a good indications of the main plot line to the film, seeing as both of the weapons across the character's chest are heavily associated with pirates (the cutlass and flint lock pistol). The character is also appropriately dressed in pirate attire, with a bandanna and jewellery. All of these subtle hints contribute to the viewers interpretation of the film's themes before even seeing the film.

Johnny Depp is a very well known A-list actor, therefore using his character on the front cover of the magazine will make many fans of his previous work instantly interested in this film. The magazine cover is relatively simplistic, with very little detail and much dramatic highlighting on the main focal points of the poster, this makes viewer know as much as they need to from the outset of seeing the poster. The font is in the very top and very bottom of the poster, this means they do not overlap the face of Johnny Depp, this means that both of the important pieces of writing in the magazine cover (the title of the movie and the title of the magazine) are shown prominently but do not drain focus from the main picture.

All in all I think the magazine cover for Pirates of the Caribbean is satisfactory. It makes the important details of the film evident from first view of the poster. However at the same time it's nothing particularly special and can be easily overlooked by a viewer due to it's lack of any real eye catching qualities