1. Sunglasses used to hide
identity, or make him look
mysterious.
Storm clouds indicate
trouble brewing. The
fact that the character
is facing away from
Low angle shot used to them could be
emphasise his size and foreshadowing that he
assert his confidence and is unaware of
authority. impending doom.
Sheriff badge pinned
to outside of jacket
symbolises the fact
Bright white shirt to that he takes pride in
accentuate his chest his profession.
and masculinity. The Because of this he is
fact that it has a collar probably got strong
suggest that he is a morals and principles.
professional.
Western style banner used
to symbolise the setting
Oversized lettering, all in and genre of the film, i.e.
capitals, spanning the breadth Western. Can also be
of the magazine cover. This is interpreted as taking an
used as a representation of ‘old school’ approach to
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s being a sheriff.
representation as an actor, as
he usually plays the role of the
masculine hero.

2. Although the rest of his face is lit,
there are shadows over his eyes,
which act as a sort of disguise. It
also makes him look evil.
Although the picture only shows
from the shoulders up, the image
is clearly focused on the
characters face, with his shoulders
and upper head blurred out. This
signifies that his face should be
The shot is a close up of the subjects well recognised and respected, as
face, and is similar to a mugshot. you don’t need to see anything else
Because of this, one would be lead to in order to identify him with the film.
believe that the film is to do with
crime. This becomes more evident
when you look at his facial expression,
as his face is hung in an
expressionless manner, which could
The fact that the magazine only
be interpreted as a sign of guilt.
has one picture, and very little
writing is a huge gamble to
Empire as they have sacrificed a
lot of space which would
otherwise be filled with features
which would grab the attention of
Very little writing suggests that it the audience. This shows that the
needs no introduction as it is so subject of the picture must be
iconic and well recognised. universally recognised in order for
the sacrifice of page space to be
worth while.

3. You could also come to the
The low angle shot is used to
conclusion that the things in
make DeCaprio look bigger and
red are most important. The
more important. His ‘grandness’
first instance of this is the title
is emphasised by the fact the he
‘Empire’, who make the
towers over the skyscrapers in
magazine, which is against a
the background, and is
darker blue background and so
surrounded by text and other
stands out. Another example of
features which appear to be
this would be the ‘Inception’
based around DeCaprio, as if he
title, which again is in big red
is in control of them. It is from
letters which span the page.
these features that we know that
We know that this is important
he plays a commanding or
as it stands out against the
leading title in the film
background, and is centred
across the image. What is
The way he is dressed and the interesting is that the Empire
background could also be logo is behind the image, as if
identified with bankers or stock it is not important, but further
brokers. down the inception title sits in
front of the image. The
This is because he is wearing a implications of this might be
very professional looking suit, that the empire title does not
with slicked back hair, both of need to be fully visible to be
which make him look very recognised, whereas the
affluent, and that he takes a lot inception titles does because it
of pride in his appearance. will only appear in one issue of
This is also evident from the Empire, and so needs to stand
background which includes out.
many tall building, which could
be found in major cities and are
owned by banks.