Poster analysis

Before we can design our film trailer promotional poster, we have to look at different posters that already exist to work out the conventions of a poster. Firstly we shall begin by looking at a selection of older posters from films such as Silence of the Lambs, moving through to more modern posters, such as the series of posters designed for Saw and The Crazies.

Here is the film poster for an old horror film Up from the Depths (1979.) The poster for this film carries a very aged effect due to the actual age of the poster.  The tagline for this poster appears at the top as opposed to the bottom as found on modern posters. The title takes pride of place, being overlayed atop the main image of the woman (instantly assumed to be the protagonist due to her pride of place upon the poster) being attacked by a shark of some description. Below the title, which has been designed to have a watery effect like a wave, are the actors staring in said film along with the rating for the film and the other people key to the film's development.

The next poster is for The Silence of The Lambs (1991.) Regarded as one of the best horror films of all time, the poster is suitably intriguing and chilling simultaneously.  The poster lacks a tagline interestingly enough, stating the origins of the film rather than a witty pun or a sinister line explaining the plot of the films. The title of the film is nowhere near as large as that of Up from the Depths, taking a far smaller place at the bottom of the poster to allow more of the poster's picture to be seen. The picture in question is that of a character with some form of moth or butterfly sitting over their lips. The colour has been drained from the photograph, but not the insect, which still carries its bright and vivid colours. This contrast between the two not only allows the poster to carry a sinister feeling, but also allows it to highlight the skull on the insect's back. As with Up from the Depths, the poster features all the key actors and the directors and such below the film's title.

American Psycho (2000) is a slasher film, which garnered a cult following when it debuted. The poster for this film features Christian Bale, as the protagonist and antagonist of the film, taking pride of place on the poster. The tagline for this film is a pun as opposed to a statement, with the words "killer looks" carrying multiple meanings here of Christian Bale being well dressed, looking like a   killer, or perhaps even being a killer looking for his next victim. The title of the film is located on the bottom quarter of the poster, with all the information regarding those staring in the film and those crucial to the development of the film just below that. The main feature of note here is the picture in the center of the poster, which is a near reflection of the poster's main photograph. However, the subtle changes in his clothes suggest a dichotomy to the character not instantly apparent; a key plot point of the film.

 To the left is the poster for the original Friday the 13th film (1980). This is the film which began the immensely popular chain of films, which has led to 11 films and a remake in 2009. The poster itself is very simplistic. The tagline is featured at the top of the poster, giving a summary of the plot rather than a pun as was the case with American Psycho. The image in the center of the poster is the silhouette of the primary antagonist Jason holding a bloodied knife which is dripping onto the title. The rest of the information regarding actors and actresses as well as directors and their roles in the film, including the film's certification can be found below the films title; roughly one third the way up the page. This poster is very similar to that of Up from the Depths, as both feature similar layouts and both also make use of a slightly distorted text.

To the right is the poster for the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th franchise. An instant contrast between the two film posters can be seen, least of all because the posters were designed nearly 30 years apart. The tagline of the newer Friday the 13th film is far shorter, and explains less of the plot to the audience; Welcome to Crystal lake. This is also a reference to the events of the film series, which is likely to entice old fans of the series. Once again, the title for the film and all those who star in said film are located below the title on the bottom quarter of the poster. The image chosen to sell the film is almost a mirror of the image found on the 1980s film. The image of Jason is not of a silhouette, but rather the character himself. The hand holding the weapon is also switched, and the knife has been replaced with a far more menacing looking machete.

The next poster is for the film The Crazies (2010.) This poster is a very simple poster, which gives it a powerful impact. The poster features a character, who the audience knows nothing about. The tagline for the film is actually a quote from the film, yet is deeply ironic knowing that this is a horror film. The quote is splattered with blood at the bottom, reflecting the appearance of the character on the poster, whom looks to be deeply wounded and dirty. The title is written in big bold letters at the bottom of the image, with a distressed text reflecting the distressed nature of the characters at the film progresses. Contrasting to the other 'modern' poster I have looked at thus far (Friday the 13th), the poster is actually quite bright and everything on the poster is clear to see. This is mainly to highlight the wounds possessed by the character on the poster, but also creates a strong contrast between shadow on the poster which is cast half way down the poster.

To the right is the poster for the film The Apparition (2012.) Despite the impressive looking poster, the film apparently was unable to match up to the expectations of the audience. The poster features an image of who is assumed to be the protagonist being gripped all over by ghostly hands. These hands are dark on the edges, and are slightly pale on the fingers. The tagline is located roughly half way down the image, and is written in a plain block text, explaining to the audience of the film that once they believe in the ghostly antagonist of the film, they are marked for death and will meet an untimely end. The rest of the text showing off the title of the film as well as the other important information is located below, with the release date being highlighted in a different colour; orange in this instance. The poster is actually very well designed. Without knowing the story of the film, the audience would be unlikely to know the significance of the action being shown on the poster.   

The poster to the left is the poster for the Devil, the 2010 horror film by M. Night Shyamalan. The poster features a ghostly looking lift, with light shining from the crack in the door in the shape of the symbol of the antichrist. The sign of the light is displayed in red, making it more evident than if other light had been used. The colour red in this is also a reference to the Devil himself, who is a prominent character in the films. The lift shown is a key part of the plot, which features heavily in the plot of the film as well as setting up the plot for the next film in the series. The title of the film is located at the base of the image in a way that is clearly linked with the image above it. The text below is barely visible below the title, and the main text which can be seen is the director's name, which is due to his name being the main reason anyone would go see the film.

The above three posters are a series of posters designed to showcase the first Saw film (2004.) The short series of photographs actually tell a story of the different methods of torture used in the films. As par usual with horror trailers, small spoilers are revealed through the images that aren't instantly known as spoilers until the audience has watched the film. This sequence of posters is actually incredibly well thought out, as it allows the producers to reveal more and more clues as to the nature of the film with each new poster. The only poster which actually features the normal titles and actors featured in the posters above this sequence is the last poster, which appears to be the last poster in the sequence. These posters are also incredibly minimalistic and prioritize a plain background to allow emphasis upon the image at the center of the poster: normally the severed limbs and the bloodied implements. 

From looking at all the posters above, we intend to create a series of posters much like the Saw posters featured above. The way in which the images are presented, featuring images with very little/no colour create a very stylized house style, which we hope is something that we can replicate in our film posters.  Currently our initial idea is to create three posters, with each one focusing upon a different aspect of the film (the house, the protagonist and the mysterious hooded figure.)