Being Human DVD Cover Analysis

Here we can see that the “Being Human” text is the first thing we see on this media text. The text itself is very thin and long which gives connotations that it is for a mature audience and not for younger viewers. We can see that the 3 characters are the dominant signifiers on the scene and it is safe to assume that they are the main characters within the media text. Looking closely at the characters themselves we can see that the female character has connotations of being a ghost which is reinforced by the anchorage of the unnatural glow around her as well as her legs being fairly transparent. As well as that we can see that the central male has connotations of being a shady character due to his dark clothes and is again reinforced by the anchorage of the blood-stained bag that he is carrying. We can see that the other male present has connotations of being a werewolf and is reinforced by the anchorage of the animalistic scratch marks on the male’s shoulder. We can see that the slug-line at the bottom of the cover says “Time to face their demons” which also acts as an anchorage in putting across that what these characters are unnatural and also  gives an insight into the narrative of the story almost like a preview. We can see that the text itself is on a dark alley way which gives connotations that these characters have had a ‘dark’ past which can be reinforced by how there is a distant light at the back of the image which gives connotations that there is ‘a light at the end of the tunnel’ which means there is hope and can give connotations that the characters are in trouble as shown by the dark lighting on the characters. In terms of the genre conventions on the text we can see that it has placed a review from a well-known source (in this case, IGN) in the top left so it doesn’t act as a dominant signifier but is noticeable to the viewer and helps sell the media text due to the positivity of the review from a well-known source and these are normally found on DVD covers. We can also see that they have placed the “BBC” logo on the spine of the media text which has connotations that the show is made of a high quality due to the budget that a company spends on certain media texts such as Doctor Who for example, by having a renowned company logo on the text it helps make the viewer to do something i.e. buy the DVD. Carrying on from that, the BBC logo being there shows that the target audience will be of a mature age due to other shows being broadcasted on the channel such as Doctor Who, Holby City etc which all are aimed at older audiences such as adults.