Film Poster Research
- Analysis of 3 ‘Horror’ Film Posters
Film Poster example 1 – The HauntingMain image of
characters, depicting an abstract horror
theme, as if a haunting dream. Black
background works well in causing primary and secondary characters to stand out with the visual effects used.
Actors’ names displayed at the top of the poster, matching
the conventions of film posters. Usually in
order of importance and appearance in the film,
reading from left to right, like this film poster has done.
Use of a famous actor to act as a ‘hook’ to fans of the actor to
watch the film.
Tagline/Slogan to tease the audience into what to expect to see when they watch the film.
Tagline here suggests an element of mystery, persuading the
audience to find out the meaning behind it by watching the film.
Another film poster convention – direct information about the film;
cast & crew, release date, distributors etc. More well-informed
audiences may make descisions based on this information,
particularly the director of the film.
Title designed to reflect the film’s
genre; thin capital letters with serifs communicates the
genre of Horror well. Large font positioned in the centre of the
poster to attract audience’s attention as attention would be heavily weighted on
the characters at first sight.
Image of primary character crawling with an expression of fear on her face, portraying the horror element of the
film well, reinforces the title of the film and justifies the genre.
Tagline/Slogan positioned underneath the film title – another
convention of film posters. The use of the imperative sentence “find a good hiding
place” is a good use of direct address that
targets the audience and identities the film genre further. Smaller
font, in blood red, convention of horror
film advertising.
Title of the film stylised as bold and crooked capital letters to reflect the film genre. Simple one word
title “SLAUGHTER” convention of some horror films as one word can have enough impact to entice an
audience to see the film, especially if the word has a strong horrific connotation,
like ‘slaughter’.
Film poster convention of direct information: cast
and crew, distributors etc. This technical information about a film can sway an
audience’s decision in seeing the film as they
may know and appreciate the previous work of a
certain director/producer/editor or
actor.
Background to main image is completely black. Colour
scheme conforms to conventions of horror film
advertising, as some connotations to black are
death and despair. Compliments the main image of red lips and a
knife well by causing it to appear more prominent.
Main Image of a blood-stained knife resting on
bright red lips holds great impact and conveys a sense of danger and
seduction, an effective image in representing the
film genre.
Film Poster example 2 – Slaughter
Common convention in film posters, stating that
the film has an element of truth and realism. It is an effective ‘hook’ for the
audience to see the film, as it plays with human
curiosity which provides the film with a great
selling point.
Striking film poster title for the unusual font and colour
scheme which works effectively with the black background. Designed to convey the film genre of horror. Stylistic use of ‘@’ as an ‘a’ - most likely a
relation to a certain theme or aspect of the film.
A recent conventional stylistic aspect of film
posters is to position the film title in the lower half of the composition, as this
is a common tendency over the past few years in
film posters. Stylised to reflect the film’s genre,
therefore a great choice of colour scheme of patchy blood red. Enlarged ‘M’ acts as a focal point for
the viewer, possibly referencing to a certain key aspect in the film.
Known name in the industry, entices fans of their work to watch this film to witness similar cinematic experiences
with previous productions.
Another convention of a film poster is to clearly state the
release date of the film. Here the date is displayed in a bold, which contrasts
with the smaller fonts surrounding it, making it easily accessible for the audience to find out the
release date to watch the film.
Main image consists of certain sections of 5 separate images of
monstrous faces. This arrangement of images is very horrific and clearly outlines the film’s genre. The intensity of the ‘fear factor’ of this main image entices the audience to discover who the faces
belong to and what monsters exist in ‘SEMUM’.
Conventional technical information regarding cast & crew etc. Certain horror fanatic audiences will look
out for their favourite director/producer/editor/actor in this section of the film poster, as they may enjoy
the style of filming that exists in their previous
work.
Film Poster example 3 – Semum
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