LU CY C L A R K E

SEMIOLOGY

TYPES OF SIGNS • Signifier is the intended meaning this would be the image

itself • Signified is the actual meaning this would be the meaning

behind the image • An Iconic sign occurs when the signifier resembles the

signified, for example a photograph or drawing • A symbolic sign is where a meaning is behind the sign, for

example road signs with words in e.g. 30mph signs • An indexical sign is a link to a meaning e.g. a no smoking

sign which shows a cigarette with a cross in front, this doesn’t actually say with the words “no smoking” but we understand what the sign is asking.

• Polysemic signs can be read in many ways and has more than one meaning to the audience

All signs have a connotation and a denotation. The denotation is the simplest form of a sign for example, the word rose signifies a particular kind of flower. However, a connotation is the secondary meaning which is the signified sign. For example, if we see the rose we think passion and romance , this then helps the viewers understand the genre of the film will likely be romantic. Furthermore, this is encoded (created) by the film makers/creators and decoded (understood/noticed) by the audience as they now understand what the genre of the film is likely to be like.

HOW DO THESE SIGNS WORK?

SEMIOLOGY IN FILM POSTERS

Film posters can have symbols to entice the audience, different colours can display messages and iconic images are used to inform viewers what the film is about. This is the advertised poster for the film

gravity. Straight away, viewers will understand the genre of this film from the use of semiotics. This can be said from the costume of the character within the poster as you can see they are wearing a space suit is the obvious give away that the film may be of a science fiction genre. There are many other factors such as the lighting of what looks like the moon going from very bright to dark, as well as the set out of the shot, which leaves the viewer feeling uneasy and on edge, this may suggest the film may be motivating and may have many plot twists. The boy posture of the spaceman also shows that there may be a situation or something gone wrong with the main character through the film.

THE MAIN MESSAGE…

There are three main messages we want to connote on our film poster, for the audience to decode. These messages include, the idea that the girl is lost and also that the girl is looking and searching for forgiveness. We would also like to hint to the audience the girl may be dead. It is possible for us to achieve this by shooting the picture up on the moors, as this is a big place and may show that the girl is lost, as stereotypically, characters tend to appear missing in larger areas that are lonely and deserted. By shooting on the moors, it may be easier to represent that she is trying to find her way home. We can also represent that she is looking for her way home by the use of body language, as she could have her face angled to the side (as if she is looking around) and her shoulders tense like she has been searching for a while. We would like to portray a sense of innocence in the protagonist. We are going to do this by having her in a white dress as it implies innocence

DECONSTRUCTED FILM POSTER…

This film poster is similar to how we would like our poster to look. The film is about a girl who was murdered, who’s spirit lives on and could see back into the world as she awaited justice. The film poster represents death in certain ways by giving hints to the audience and by connotations, such as, her faded face in the centre of the background. This may connote death or a spirit as she is not all there as it isn’t a solid image. Instead, it may represent a ghostly/spiritual figure. Her head is also in the clouds, which could connote her character looking down on others, which her spirit may be doing in heaven. The birds flying away from the tree may connote freedom and are flying higher to the sky, which could have a specific reference to heaven, s the place they are flying to is lightened with a bright light. This again may show her

spirit in the sky, as rays of sun are shining down, this may connote.

…What I find effective is the use of lighting as to me, this connotes that everything in her world(heaven) is okay as there is a bright light coming from this area. However, in the real world, everything is not okay and could be a bit dark. This is a connotation encoded by the film producers as the floor/bottom of the picture is a dark and eerie. Which it is in the film, as her family goes through a dark time, trying to find justice for the girls death. This is done by colour balancing in Photoshop, which is an aspect we can consider, when making our short film. The use of colours are also important, as they have avoided the use of bright colours as this might confuse the audience of the genre. By using the colours as shown on the poster, it connotes a sense of solemnity. The background is dark at the bottom, making it easier for the text to stand out, showing the title of the film. This is made bold so

the audience knows the title , making it relatable to the audience.

DECONSTRUCTED FILM POSTER…This is another film poster that could influence our film poster. It shows a woman who went missing and died (similar to our protagonist) however, the story is very different to our as it portrays the relationship with the protagonist and her husband and how the husband could be guilty of killing his wife. Although, our story is based on two relationships, the first is the main one between our protagonist and her father and between her and the character Richard and how he displays a caring fatherly figure towards the protagonist. In this poster there are many connotations due to different features, which can be derived from the poster. The first connotation is that the man seen in the poster, could be looking for the “gone girl” this gives the audience this connotation, from the

use of the mans body posture. He is looking to the side and his shoulders are tense. This implies he might have been busy looking for her as well, because his sleeves are rolled up, again this may imply that he has been searching for a while and has been busy looking.

…Also, this is an establishing shot, which allows lots of space(lead room) both sides of the man which shows that he has looked. I like the use of the establishing shot in this poster as his surrounding are on a big scale and he looks slightly lost as he is on a much smaller scale than the surrounding, this is portrayed from the use of an establishing shot. This further implies that it is difficult to find her. I also like the lead room above him as it is a low angle shot. Because the shot is low angle, it focusses on the sky. The cloud in the centre may have a connotation of heaven, which the faded picture of a woman's face could further connote she may be a spirit, as she is in the sky which has a heavenly representation.

The text is bold and central, making it easy for the audience to observe quickly. Also the word “gone” is merged into the could, which could suggest where the “girl” is as she could be dead and in heaven.