Analysis of Documentary DVD Cover- World War II
This is the cover of a documentary about World War II. This Documentary was created to give people who didn't experience the war and people who did an insight of how it was in the 1940. So therefore, this documentary would appeal to a very wide audience due to the popular topic being documented. However, stereotypically this would appeal to older audience because of the serious topic which older audience would be appealed to. The demographic could be all of them because rich and poor people can all relate to the war.
The image on the cover shows a soldier looking at the war scene. This connotes that the DVD will be showing the war through the eyes of soldiers. So therefore, this would certainly appeal to former/current soldiers because they can relate to them. Also people who aren't involved in army would be appealed because they can sympathize with the soldiers, see their brave actions and have a better understanding of the history of their countries. The cover doesn't really show many colors and images. This is done to empathize how serious this topic is and by having many colors and images would connote a happy scene, which it certainly wasn't.
The DVD instantly gives out the genre and meaning of the documentary because of the codes and conventions used in the war genre. This is very important in this genre because this genre has a niche audience that would most definitely be interested in purchasing this. The color and font used on the title. 'WWII' is very simple. This connotes that this documentary doesn't need colors and editing because it isn't a subject which needs that.
This documentary is an E (everyone) rated DVD. This is done because children, adults, male and females would all gain something from watching this because they will learn something from their history and have a better understanding of what war life is.
The barbed wire could represent a message that shows that the soldiers a restricted to do certain things when they are in war. This creates sympathy towards the soldiers from the audience because they will feel sorry that they are living that kind of life. Also the fact that the soldier in the cover is facing the 'WWII' (second war world) connotes that the soldiers are in a mission to win the battle. Also there's a 'WWII' in front and behind his head. This connotes that serving in war is the soldiers destiny as he cannot avoid it.
To conclude, I think this cover followed many very important codes and conventions in this genre which is vital if they are willing to attract people to watch this type of film. Also the use of simplicity on the cover certainly made sure that they keep this genre as serious as possible.
