The Dead Set page on the C4 website is predominantly layed out to represent gore, horror and blood. In the background of the page, the viewer can see blood splatter all around the page, and also on the E4 logo. This is a representation of the shows genre of horror, in addition, it has signified a lot of things associated with the genre. Such as, blood, gore, murder, death etc. The significance of the blood on the E4 is that it perhaps, considering it is a page within the actual E4 site, signifies that E4 has been 'taken over' which links with the concept of the show. The central image of Davina McCall dressed as a zombie and eating human guts is a signifier, which signifies the strong violence and horror. It also allows the viewer to make links to familiar Channel 4 faces, and adds to the realism of the show because Davina presents the actual Big Brother. Additionally, the text that accompanies it, anchors the image. The text states "Contains images of a gory nature and adult content", which is exactly what is shown in the central image. The title is also above the image in dark red, connoting blood and gore. Furthermore, it is accompanied by a tag line "Reality bites", clearly referencing the show itself, being as though it is set in the Big Brother house under attack by zombies. The majority of the pages text is red or at least on a red background. Red/black being the primary colours used, signifies, again, blood, gore and violence. When looked at all together, we can clearly see that the main theme of the show is of a dark nature. Particularly because the whole background is black. Despite the main colour scheme being red/black, the website still sticks to the channel's (E4) primary colours, purple/white. This allows the viewer to maintain an opinion of authenticity and know that it is definitely E4 and trustworthy. Within the areas of purple/white, are the features associated with the site itself. Such as logging in to an existing account, returning to the home or browsing more shows from the channel. This allows the viewer to distinguish between the Dead Set associated products, and those associated with E4. There is a syntagm on the page of blood/gore. Seen as though the page is dominated by colours and images associated with it, eg. blood splatters, zombies, guts etc. The web pages paradigmatic choices are to heavily connote things of a dark nature, to further develop the story of zombies and anarchy. Below the central image is yet another image of Davina attacking somebody.The repetition of Davina shows that it is a Channel 4 related production. It again also adds to realism, because she is a familiar celebrity. The image is also a link to the cast and crew, which allows the viewer to explore the show in more depth and get to know the characters more. The small tag line that accompanies the image, anchors it. This is because the image depicts an attack, to which the tag line responds "Incoming!". Underneath both, is text in red that states "Just in time for Halloween". Halloween obviously being a holiday of horror and scare, this links with the theme of the show. On the left of the screen is a note with blood splatter on it. On this note is various references to things associated with the show, such as: an interview with the writer, story, pictures, cast guide and episode guide. This feature enables viewers to navigate around the page easily and find out the necessary information simply.
Some good observations about how the tone of the programme is expressed in the aesthetic of the site. However, you could have elaborated on the ways in which the audience is encouraged to use the site. The inclusion of a number of iconic E4 elements was well observed and this is obviously something that you may want to replicate in your own site.
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