Poster Research

We will also be making a poster as part of our coursework, so I deconstructed current examples and noted what makes them effective.

Deconstructions

(500) Days Of Summer

• Theme of poster represents structure of film and coincides with title (title is pun and poster plays on both meanings) --> collage of pictures of Summer
• Title is clear, bold and easy to read
• Colours aren’t block/shapes are layered over one another
• Main character in the bottom corner is not main focus (tells us about character) = suggests he’s artistic as he’s sketching (alone --> not conventional)
• Character ‘sitting’ on drawn hill with sketchy writing next to it as tagline
• Tagline: ‘This is not a love story. It is a story about love’. --> subverts stereotype with unique take (enigma)
• Blue background with sun and pictures in the sky is happy but not cheesy
• Together with tagline targets the right target audience (e.g. no red for a romance)
• Steers clear of clichéd rom-com as the focus of the film is that this isn’t a ‘love story’ but rather real life
• Actors names above in sketchy font not taking away attention from pictures
• Blue theme fits with blue theme in the film

Jaws

• Simple image creating terror by showing scale of shark and how human is oblivious
• Person not a focus meaning it could be anyone creating more fear
• Red, bold title – represents blood & danger
• Steven Spielberg not established then so didn’t have his name as a focus but rather popular actors at the time
• Black, white and red for simple terror
• Framed image draws attention
• Promotion: ‘The terrifying motion picture from the terrifying number 1 bestseller’ --> sells the scare factor plus the achievement the story already as (brings to attention it’s a book adaptation
• Bluntness of scares will attract only an audience who like horror (‘creature feature’/psychological/slasher)
• No tagline

The Final Destination

•     The title has a shining light/glimmer to it and together with the mirrors in the main image could connote reflection. This links to the film’s plot in how the characters reflect over the near-death event to uncover future fatalities.
•     Unlike the title of the film, the release date’s text is red. This keeps in line with the genre of the film and gives the poster more colour. Because it juxtaposes with the rest of the poster, it creates more of an impact.
•     The background isn't plain black but is in fact has a smoky/foggy effect which depicts more of a mystery and a chill (stepping away from black, red, and white) blue = cold
•     The main image consists of a screaming woman with the bottom half of her face a skeleton all of which being an image reflected in a smashed mirror. This combined image is most effective as it is not a regular image we’d be used to seeing and it’s slightly gruesome/fearful. The mirror could also be suggestive of how all the characters are young, pretty teenagers revolving around self-image. (shadowed eyes/grim reaper à death personified)
•     The type of characters narrows down the target audience as this’ll more likely attract teenagers and younger adults
•     The image is placed in the centre of the poster filling all the space so it is the focus to create the most impact
•     The tagline: ‘Rest in pieces’ works well with the fragments of broken mirror. It suggests deaths that are gory and gruesome depicting the plot of the film.
•     The explicitness of the image and tagline narrow audiences down to the target market of those interested in the horror genre which this poster clearly demonstrates.  (teenage slasher)
•     Tongue –in-cheek/humour --> play on ridiculous deaths 

The Dark Knight Rises

•     No film title is included on the poster as the franchise logo is well-known and is therefore more effective to not include the title. This also creates more buzz around what the film may be called and will encourage people to research and look into the film
•     The way the logo has been created is imagery as if the audience are looking up at the sky and can see the Batman logo in the silhouettes of the buildings
•     The buildings are surrounded by falling rocks representing destruction and creating a sense of disequilibrium and enigma. (messy, action film)
•     The text that is included though is clear but concise and discrete as so not to take focus away from the main image.
•     Unusual angle – people of Gotham in need of help (rocks falling towards us)
•     Binary opposition (bat shape)
•     The colour scheme is white and grey which gives a bleak and grim look also creating disequilibrium as it does not look bright and joyful. This will steer some audiences away who prefer a more cheerful film
•     Gotham cast in shadows/full of depression (comic book)
•     There is no tagline as not to give any clue to the plot as this poster is more of a teaser poster.
•     The genre is only clear due to the established franchise of which promotion for this film relies. Otherwise this could be interpreted as a horror or even a sci-fi perhaps. 

•     Plays on teaser trailer
•     Tagline: A fire will rise --> matches destruction
•     Fire inside of light (Hell)
•     Finality, destruction, hopelessness, action, dark
•     Relate to last film? Franchise
•     His positioning – protecting us/himself from fire? Given up?

The Last Exorcism

•      The focus of the poster is a room rather than the girl clinging in the corner of the ceiling (Golden rule) This is to not conform to the convention of the image being in the centre of the poster but in fact averting the audience’s eyes to create more of a surprise/shock impact (unsettling) --> makes eyes look around more so people spend longer looking around
•     The image is of a girl with long hair covering her face is a white nightgown clinging to the ceiling. Using a young person is a convention of horror films as they can create more of an impact on audiences due to them traditionally not being regarded as a threat. How she is positioned is abnormal and so is freaky/creepy, also suggesting some inhuman presence (as the title suggests). Her face is covered for enigma and terror as the imagination is the best tool for instilling fear in audiences. Her shadow is seen on the dirty grimy walls creating more discomfort within the audience --> shocks/jumps (position of danger/threat)
•     The font of the title is conceptualised being archaic/Gothic relating to the theme of the film which is exorcisms and the Devil etc. (picture, typography and tagline all relate)
•     This is also linked to the tagline which is: ‘If you believe in God you must believe in the Devil’. Use of first person targets audiences and makes the audience believe they are being spoken to.
•     Other than the title the rest of the text is smaller as to not take focus away from the image and title. Some of which is in red to fit aptly into the horror genre suggesting blood (not in the way Saw might) as well as danger. Other than this the rest of the poster is black, white and grey with a green tint which makes a murky image that is dirty and grim perhaps reflecting the storyline. 

The Godfather

•     Conceptualised/iconic font
•     Tagline: ominous
•     Cat links to Bond --> innocent creature in hands of bad guy
•     Little bit of red
•     Portrait --> hierarchy 

Alien

• Typography: spread out, links to space, vast, futuristic, invading space
• Tagline: ‘In space, no-one can hear your scream’.
• Positioning (Golden Rule)
• Makes you look closer (spend longer looking at poster)
• Unnatural, acidic colours (black, yellow & green) --> scifi

The Dark Knight

•     Typography: catchphrase/tagline (looks as if written in blood) --> smile makes it more horror/freaky/unsettling) sick/twisted/sinister/psychotic (Joker is iconic character)
•     Gotham in the background – mist, fog, vague
•     Painted on window, clotted
•     Gesturing towards audience – unnerving as cannot clearly see him
•     Positioning, golden rule

Terminator Salvation

• Plays on conventions of Golden rule (main image in middle but upside down)
• Eyes are main focus --> red is illuminated, suggesting still alive ( contrast to colour scheme – brown, black, cream = natural)
• Background illustrates a fight – action (links to tagline ‘we fight back’)
• Typographic – metallic, futuristic, robotic, man-made, artificial , reflective
• Genre – sci-fi/horror (destruction) 

The Cabin In The Woods

• Genre – grey scale background, eerie, chilling, eerie, enigmas
• Cabin suspended - (Rubik’s Cube, puzzles, psychological)
• Tagline – ‘you think you know the story’- plays on audience expectations and conventions of horror in the woods genre
• Simple image, conceptual
• Typography – scratched, thin, elongated, modern classy
• Release date – straight to the point 

Gone

• Image – picture within a picture within a picture
• Man just a shadow – no identity
• Girl looking straight at audience – powerful position (in front of picture of girl’s body, vulnerable)
• Focus on actress rather than plot
• Tagline: ‘No-one believes her. Nothing will stop her’ (Mystery over who is victim/villain  --> small/off-centre/capitals)

The Bourne Legacy

• Landscape poster = unusual
• Draws eye over whole poster to get information
• Tagline: ‘There was never just one’ – one assassin
• Pun on Borne/Born
• Image with bars – relates to piecing
• Genre – action/thriller
• Typography: modern, slick, professional 

Inception

• Background – road twists up (confuses audience what way we’re looking
• Genre – sci-fi/fantasy/thriller
• Tagline: ‘your mind is the scene of the crime’ --> thriller/abstract/puzzles
• Different size given to different cast/crew
• Colour scheme – blue (clinical/cold) Blue and red = crime (red = contrast)