This is the Empire front cover for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which I both like and dislike in equal measure. To start positively I think that the photo is very powerful and has a really strong effect on the viewer. Firstly the choice of the characters for the front cover is important, as it hasn't chosen the main characters, but instead shows the supporting characters who didn't appear in the first Hobbit movie. Most importantly it shows the character Legolas, who was one of the leading characters in the Lord of the Ring's Trilogy. This makes fans of the original Lord of the Rings more excited for the film as he was one of the best-loved characters. Also having him centre of the poster, more prominent than the other two characters makes him stand out more, and the viewers' attention is immediately drawn to him. Also to help the viewer to remember everything they loved about him, he is aiming his bow at the viewer. The bow and arrow was Legolas' trademark weapon, which in the Lord of the Ring's trilogy he could use with incredible skill. Another effect that aiming the arrow towards the viewer is that they feel drawn into the picture because he is directly connecting with them. It gives the front cover a 3D element and makes the character jump off the page and drag the audience into the action. At the same time the pose is quite intimidating as he is aiming a weapon at the viewer and his face is hardly friendly. In a way, he seems to be challenging the viewer and daring them to buy the magazine. This pose appeals to a male audience, who stereotypically impressed by shows of masculinity and athleticism. Legolas's pose is very masculine, so a man would feel manly in buying the magazine. The other two characters to either side of Legolas also have very powerful poses. Tauriel, the elf on the left seems to be turned slightly away from the camera but with her head turned to look at the viewer. This gives the impression that she can do what she wants and she is more powerful than the viewer. She seems to demonstrate the epitome of a powerful woman, something that is becoming very fashionable in today's society. Tauriel seems to have complete control of her actions and almost not care that she is on a magazine front cover. In her hand she is holding a sword, which further solidifies this interpretation of her as a powerful and dominant woman. She appeals to a female audience and in particular to a feminist audience. In the first Hobbit film there was only one female character, against at least twenty male characters, so in this front cover the film shows that there are more female roles, even if it is just the one. On the right of the front cover is Thranduil, who also has a very powerful stance. The crown he is wearing makes it obvious that he is a highly important figure - most probably a king - and this makes it seem like he is demanding to be noticed. It's hard for a viewer to ignore a man wearing a crown. By wearing a crown but not holding a raised weapon he seems to be saying that he doesn't need a weapon to hold power over the viewer. These three characters together seem to be very confident of their power over the viewer, and this makes the viewer believe it themselves and submit to them by buying the magazine.
However this front cover isn't as strong as it could be because of the bright red colour scheme that is completely out of place in front of the image. The image is very darkened and foreboding, with lots of dark greys, whereas the banner at the bottom and the title of the magazine are a bright, fun red. It really doesn't work and ruins the effect of the whole poster as it takes away from the seriousness of the picture and makes it look ridiculous. At least the colours should have been slightly darkened just to match up the colours. Admittedly this could have resulted in the whole front cover looking very dark and miserable, but I think that this would have looked far better than the bright red colouring. In other Empire and Total Film magazines I have seen that the title is edited to match the mood of the film, such as in Clash of the Titans the title was on fire, and on the Inception one the title had a metallic effect. Here, the colour of the title is completely out of place with the film, as I very much doubt that there'll be a red colour that bright in the film. It may work for something like Django Unchained, but for The Hobbit it is a very bad choice. Not only this, but the magazine has failed to edit the title for the film itself, and has written 'The Hobbit' in both a colour and font that are inappropriate for the film. This is incredibly bad design and is one of the worst mistakes I've seen in a magazine front cover. There is no consistency across the cover at all. On a brighter note, I like how the bar code at the bottom lines up with the banner.
Overall there is much to learn from this poster. The main lesson that can be learnt is that the picture and the extras on a front cover have to match up and look good together. The colours have to complement each other, or the whole thing will be a mess. However, on the positive side, I can see the effects that different poses can have on the audience. Each one of the characters on this front cover has a different pose, and they all have a different effect on the audience. As a group they work together to attract as wide an audience as possible.