Film Poster Analysis

Eda Ozdemir

Title- the title has been written in the biggest, boldest font on the poster and is also written in capitals which helps it to stand out. It is in white to stand out from the darkness of the boys shirt in the background and matches the colour of the rest of the text on the poster and the white scratches on the boys eyes. The typography denotes a slightly faded and distressed effect which makes it old. This is the largest text on the poster so it automatically hooks the audiences attention to read it as it is the most crucial part of the poster

Main Image- the main image dominates the page, being the largest feature on the page

and being central in the layout. It is a medium shot of a young boy, from a directly

parallel angle looking straight towards the camera, which in this case is the eye line

match is the audience. So this incomes direct address being used which draws the

audience, however the eyes have been scratched out which automatically shows

that something bad has happened to him. The use of child actors have become

extremely popular since the release of The Exorcist (1973). Having the picture of the

child in the foreground of the poster intensifies the importance behind the

character. Typically children are seen as a sign of purity and innocence, which is clearly

opposed in this poster scaring the audience who view it. The eyes being scratched out

immediately forces the audience to ask ‘why?’ and increases their chances of going

to watch the film, to answer these rhetorical questions.

Strapline- The strapline ‘It’s not the house that’s haunted’ puts a twist on the plot of the

film before the audience has even watched it. It intrigues the audience and makes them

want to know more about the film. The strapline is important as it gets their mind

working, asking questions that can only be answered by watching the film and

uncovering the mysteries. The strapline has the same typography as the title however it is

in a smaller font and coloured in blue to separate it from the title and match the cold

coloured background.

‘From the makers of’ is a clever selling line as it catches the audiences attention by highlighting other well known

films made by the same people. This is a massive help when promoting a new film as people will often trust

producers of previous films they have seen and enjoyed watching, and expect this film to be of the same

standard. This links to Tom Ryall’s genre theory, that it provides a framework of structuring tools which in turn

act as a form of supervision over the work of production film makers and the work of reading by the audience.The cold colours create a scary mise en scene

which are normally associated with horror films. A shadow of a demon/monster is in the background on the large window of the house which creates the sense of the unknown which makes the audience want to find out what the shadow is. The blue/grey colour scheme seen in this film poster has become a widely used convention in Western countries in recent horror. The tone of the colours suggest death, coldness, and mystery. This entries the read and urges them to find out more, by them watching the film.

Credits are an important aspect of any film poster as they give recognition to the companies and main names involved in creating the film. They are almost always in the same font, situated at the bottom of the poster. The credits are the legal lines that give credit to the producers, distributor, financier, cast and crew.

The background of the poster is always very important as it gives the film a

setting. Here we see the all-American home, which in most films is a place of

security for the characters. In the window is the silhouette of a demon, which gives a preview as to what the

film could be about, this then furthers the interest of the audience. The

flowers in the garden are dark and dead, which adds to the overall feel of

the poster.

The quotes from other sources increase the audiences expectations of the film, and convince them to go and see it when its released as it becomes evidence that it is worth paying for. It describes what the film was like from other audiences which shows that the film has lived up to the expectations of a horror film. The most important words such as ‘scary’ and ‘sheer terror’ have been put into a bigger font to make them stand out, catching the audiences attention.

Company logos have been added to show what licensing and production companies are involved.

The website allows the audience to look further into the film, which will then further

persuade them into watching it.

The rating immediately shows the reader that it is a good film as it has been given 5 stars which will attract the audience as they would want to watch a good quality film.

The main colours used in the film poster, enforced through the main image are white and blue. In the mise-en-scene, there is a setting of the outdoors, shown by the bright blue sky and small amount of green grass showing through, connoting that they are outdoors perhaps in a rural area, like a field. There are large amounts of the blue sky shown in the image. And the characters clothes are also blue and white, matching this colour scheme. The use of light blue represents trust and loyalty, two key components of a loving relationship, which links with these two main characters and the romance genre of the film. The use of bright white connotes light, purity and innocence, representing the purity of their love. These colours are quite tranquil, connoting a calm lifestyle which the couple share. A large amount of white is used in the centre of the poster, in the form of light which brings focus on the two characters lips which are near touching. This has been brought to focus to show that they are about to kiss, further representing the romance genre. This colour scheme differs completely to that of the horror genre as romance films tend to use this pure colour scheme consisting of only light colours, whereas horror films tend to use very dark, striking colour schemes in their posters which connote evil and darkness.

The main image of this film poster dominates the page and is main focal point, much like the other

various genre’s of film posters I analysed, as it is a common convention of a film poster of any genre.

The image is a close-up of two characters embracing romantically. Through the mise-en-

scene, their expressions show passion and lust, emotions associated with love, romance and the romance genre. This is also shown through their body language, in which their arms are wrapped

round each other, mid-embrace, connoting closeness and love. The image also includes rain

pouring down hard over the couple, as we see through the characters clothing and hair being

wet. This is a cliché romantic theme, people kissing in the pouring rain, which is immediately

associated with the romance genre. The heavy rain adds to the intensity of the scene, making it a

very strong image which connotes passion.

The credits are in a small, centred text and are featured conventionally at the bottom of the poster along with the company logos involved in the making of the film included beneath. All of this text has been included in black contrasting with the main image so that it stands out clearly to the audience, but also connoting that there may be a darker, perhaps sadder side to this story.

Immediately, the viewer recognises this as a film of the romance genre. We see this through the style and structure of the film poster, as genre

theorist Daniel Chandler states that genre tends to be based on the idea that genres represent

particular conventions of that genre, such as specific iconography and structure/styles.by

iconography, Daniel Chandlers means we expect to see certain things and objects within the mise-

en-scene in a particular genre. In this case, in romance we expect to see a romantic relationship,

which this poster clearly represents through the large image of two characters embracing. We also

see an engagement ring on her finger, clearly in view, which further gives us the denotation that

these two characters are involved. The title of the film has been written in a simplistic, sans serif bold typography. The simplicity of the title’s typography is to ensure focus is not taken away from the powerful main image. Conventionally, in the romance genre, film posters use a tall serif font to appear formal and elegant and relate to romance. This poster subverts this romance genre convention. This film poster has not used this convention, and even unconventionally included their title in a rather small size. This is because they intend to attract their target audience through their main image, and do not want a bold title to draw attention away from it.

Company logos have been added to show what licensing and production companies

are involved. It is a very important convention in a movie poster.

The strapline ‘Behind every great love is a great story’ intrigues the audience and makes them want to know about their love story. The strapline is important as it gets their mind working, asking questions that can only be answered by watching the film.

Title- the title of the film is placed beneath the main image. The spooky typography used relates to genre of horror and supernatural. The use of red connotes danger and contrasts well against the black background, catching the readers eye. The title evokes the reader to be alarmed as it conveys the genre of supernatural and horror efficiently. The small size of the title may be because of the greater importance of the image for the poster. The blurred effect of the typography relates to the genre of horror as it makes the title look ghostly and scary.

This poster is dissimilar to the previous two posters, as it does not include any credits or information.

This could be due to the type of film poster, presuming this is a ‘teaser’ poster that was released several months before any news on the release date

was out. However, it may just be that the film company did not feel it was important or relevant in

this case to include the credits. This is the similar case in the other sequels of the ‘Paranormal Activity’

films. Therefore it will have been continually decision not to include the credit information.

However, it does include the company logo positioned on the bottom right hand corner of the

poster, adding the element of professionalism to the poster.

Although a release date has not been stated, the poster mentions the film to be ‘coming soon’ in a white bold font that catches the readers eye. The ‘coming soon’ adds excitement for people wanting to watch the film and as part of the ‘Paranormal Activity’ sequel; the anticipation will be much greater than if it were to be a new film.

Unlike the other 2 film posters I have looked at, this poster uses a film critic’s opinion of the film as their main tagline to encourage people to go and watch the film. By using a critic’s opinion, describing the film as the ‘most anticipated horror event of the year’ the poster will have built high expectations for the audience as they will now anticipate the film to be the best horror film they will have watched all year and meet their entertainment needs – Uses and gratifications theory (1974). The placing of the tagline at the top of the poster in a white colour contrasting with the black background will catch the readers eye. It also acts as a sign of ‘warning’ people as it informs them of how scary the film will be. This helps create a sense of excitement amongst people wanting to see the film.

In comparison to the previous poster I analysed, both of the horror genre, the main image used in

this poster appears to be a clip from the actual movie itself giving the audience a sneak insight into

what they should expect. No clear characters are shown to expect a young child and a dog, leaving us

questioning who the protagonists are in the film and what the narrative will revolve around. The aerial

shot looks as it is from CCTV footage and because of its nature, it can also be classified as a master shot

as it shows everything in the bedroom. The opened door creates suspense as the young child and dog both are looking at the door, as if they can hear or

see something. The blue tint of the image creates a spooky and supernatural feel, relating back to the title of the film ‘Paranormal Activity 2’. Unlike the

previous poster, the image does not take up the whole poster and the use of the black makes the

genre of horror very clear to the audience.

The colour scheme of dark blue, red, white and black all relate to the genre of the film, as they are

typical colours associated with horror and supernatural. This allows people to recognise the

film as a horror.

The website address has been included on this poster encouraging people to go onto the website to find out more news and information about the film. The production company is using cross media convergence to advertise and promote the film whilst building an online community of people excited to see the second film of the sequel. This also links to the uses and gratifications theory.

As a sequel film, part of the ‘Paranormal Activity’ films, people will be able to recognise the poster to be one of their films because of the similar conventions used and the use of continuity through things such as the type of main image and the typography.