Poster analysis

Horror Film Poster Analysis

My Poster analysis 

Emily's poster analysis

Phoebe's poster analysis

The first thing you notice on this poster is the little girl sat in a chair in a dark room with nothing around her, with her hair covering her face so the audience can’t see it. It makes the target audience wonder why she is hiding her face and what has she got to hide from the world which is luring the audience in to watch the film to see if her face will ever be reviled.

The titles for this film look like a child has just wrote it down on a pice of paper, as there is no capital letters and the hand writting is not very neat, the have also written “two” bigger then the main title as this lures you in more and wants you to wander what will happen in the film. The “o” on the “two” is a lot bigger then the rest of the writing on the poster as it is shaped like a ring, as the film is called “the ring two”. As this film is the second one of the series, people who have watched the first film already have an insight on what the film is about but if you never watched the first film you would have so many question about it, encouraging you to watch the film to find out the answers.

The release date for the film is at the bottom of the poster in the centre as when you first glance at a poster you look at what draws your eyes in first then you make your way around and finish at the bottom and this will be the last thing you remember about the poster. The production company name is in the right bottom hand corner out-of-the-way as it isn’t very important on a film poster as it will be showed in the trailer and on the opening sequence of the film.

The colouring used for the poster is black around the outside and as you get to the center it fades to white grey colour to focus the viewer’s attention to the middle of the poster.

‘Fear comes full circle’ is the strap-line used on the poster it makes the audience wonder what will happen in the movie and why the fear comes full circle, and who fear it is. The stap-line is small and faint on the poster to make you look closer to the poster and pay more attention to it.

This relates to the target audience as it is luring people in to find out what happens in the film and will they find out what fear comes full circle? or will they be left with another cliff hanger.

Sam's poster analysis

This is the official film poster for ‘Sinister’ a supernatural horror directed by Scott Derickson the storyline follows a crime journalist as he finds a box of home videos which damages his and his families lives for the worst as he unveils how the family who previously lived in his home had died and why, the revelation causes him and his family to become in danger with the supernatural entity. The film uses both ‘found footage’ and traditional cinematography. I have chosen to analyse this poster as I believe it has features in common with the film I want to create such as the narrative in regards to the found footage and evidence acting as proof for the supernatural my narrative also surrounds characters searching for the truth and uncovering a supernatural entity. The poster is appealing as the image is bold making a big statement about the film that it is horrific overall encouraging the audience to watch ‘Sinister’.

The posters fulfil the general layout conventions with the image being the largest and most predominate item on the page, and the title of the film being the largest item. However the image is slightly unconventional as the face of the character featured on the poster is hidden moreover the tagline is the smallest piece of text on the poster conventionally the tagline would be the second largest and most important piece of text however the designers of this film poster may have decided to keep it small so the audience search out the answer to what the graphic imagery used within the poster is about creating a greater sense of mystery.

The setting of this poster seems to be white room within a house, white it can represent an absence of colour reflecting the mood of the poster as soulless. The location of the poster is unknown but if the audience have seen the film trailer of ‘Sinister’ they would know the primary location in which the narrative is set is within a house where a family were mysteriously murdered. The use of a setting with white walls and white floors also conjures a clinical image the setting of the image could be perhaps some kind of mental institute this is a common setting for horrors as they are usually dark places and often the victims within horrors are labelled as crazy. This setting helps build up the audiences expectations of the narrative as it’s unveiled that the majority of the film is based on the disturbances occurring within the house.

The character within the frame is dressed in white pyjamas this could indicate that they are at home or perhaps they are in a mental institute as white pyjamas are often a form of uniform given to patients so that they easily identifiable. Furthermore the fact the character is dragging blood against the wall in their pyjamas creates an image that they are sleep walking and not truly engaging in what they are doing linking to the idea that they are possessed. Their face is turned away and facing the wall creating a wonder in the audience as to what is this faceless evil moreover the fact that the audience cannot see the person’s face but can see the monster like face painted in blood across the walls can indicate that they are no longer human and have been taken over by this evil entity.

Furthermore the use of the image painted in blood across the wall of the skull like face is relevant as the film trailer unveils that there is a clear correlation between the face and the supernatural occurrences which are experienced by the family.

The title of the film is ‘Sinister’, it is defined as threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments giving the overall impression that narrative will surround a harmful or evil event. The title of the film is typical of the genre it is effective as it defines what the film is about. The font is in a serif style font this very typical of all the supernatural horror posters I have analysed. The title is the largest most predominate piece of text on the poster it stands out this is emphasised through the bold shadowing effect used; the use of grey could indicate the dark shadowy nature of the film. The layout is typical as the title is placed in the centre just above the main image.

The tagline used is‘Once you see him, nothing can save you.’ The tagline relates to the narrative of the film suggesting that once you see the supernatural being he will pursue you. The tagline helps to anchor the concept of the main image as the girl has witnessed the supernatural spirit and is now being pursued by this; the idea is demonstrated to the audience through her drawing the spirit/demons face in blood acting as a metaphor that he is the face of evil that has caused the bloodshed. The same typography has been used for the tagline as in the title of the film to maintain the overall consistency of the film poster. The placement of the tagline is slightly unconventional although its placement under the film title is conventional it is smallest item of text on the poster perhaps this has been used to reinforce a sense of mystery as the audience search the poster for an explanation to why the girl is drawing across the walls in blood.

Other text featured in the includes ‘From the producer of Paranormal Activity and Insidious’ which suggest that Sinister will be a film which fans of Paranormal Activity and Insidious will enjoy as it is too part of the supernatural sub-genre this may lure in fans. Institutional information is displayed at the bottom of the poster in extra small font so not to take away from the main image within the poster. Instead of a specific release date the poster simply states that Sinister is ‘Coming Soon’ this leaves audiences in suspense curious to find out when it is going to be released there is also a link to the official film website which can relieve the audiences curiosity ‘Haveyouseenhim.com’ which reveals the synopsis with production notes, cast and filmmakers details to added I expect this information has not yet been added to keep the film a mystery, there is also an interactive motion poster which is the copy of the original poster format I have analysed except the audience can view the girl drawing the face in blood this can be shared via Facebook and twitter, the website also contains iconic screen shots in motion from the movie, there is also the film trailer which can be shared via Facebook and twitter. Further advertising the film.

The overall colour scheme consists of the red, white and grey. The white suggests a clinical type of feel to the poster perhaps suggesting the location of a mental institute. Grey has suggestions of darkness, uncertainty and acts a as a foreshadowing that dark events are close grey is often associated with grey clouds or grey weather which is usually a indicator that a storm is about to occur this is relevant to the film title and narrative of ‘Sinister’ as the meaning of the title foreshadows that dark and evil events are going to happen. Furthermore Red can represent blood, passion and gore a common colour used within horror film posters. Red and grey are conventionally colours within the horror genre however white isn’t as conventional and is usually reserved for use as text which contrasts with black backgrounds.

Overall I think the poster for ‘Sinister’ is effective as it demonstrates the genre and the sub-genre effectively informing the audience that film narrative revolves around a evil supernatural activity however it does not give away too much of the film narrative. The tag line will intrigue the audience without revealing the full synopsis of the film.

Adventure/fantasy film poster Analysis

Romance/Sci-Fi Poster Analysis

The Host Poster Analysis from Bethany-Millward

Summary

After analysing the three film posters and looking at the analysis's completed by my group members I have noticed the conventions used by producers in film posters. The main title of the film and other bodies of text are conventionally placed above or below the main image, so that they do not destroy the effect created by the image. Therefore I will use this convention in my film poster. It is also conventional to have a person, rather than an object, as the main image on the poster. However some posters do challenge this convention, and this can make them stand out more, because they are unconventional; therefore I have decided to challenge convention and use a picture of the doll from our trailer, rather than an actress or actor.