Ancillary Task 1 – Film poster

By Tayla Debenham-Scott

http://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/2482/The-Hills-Have-Eyes-(2006).html

Fonts: The font for the writing on this poster is serif. This is conventional for a horror film poster because the writing is bolder and stands out more; catching the audience’s eye. The style of writing is also gothic which is conventional for a horror movie. The colour of the font also stands out against the background, that will catch the eye of the audience.

Images: The image used in this poster is effective because it shows the main character as a child. Using a child connotes innocence and makes the audience sympathise with the character. The image also shows the setting which is a house, this setting is relatable to the audience. Showing the house and the child with the glowing eyes and then the slogan ‘its not the house that’s haunted’, this signifies to the audience that it is the child who is haunted.

Colours: The colours on this film poster are very dark, suggesting that it is a horror movie. Having dark colours is conventional for a horror movie because it creates an eerie atmosphere, also in horror movies it is conventional that in a horror movie that the danger happens at night. This plays on the audiences childhood fear of night time and the ‘monsters under the bed’.

Conventions of form: This film poster is conventional because it includes the name of the film, a main image that will catch the audience’s attention, credits, a slogan and a rating that may influence the audience to go and watch the film. All of these aspects are conventional for a film poster because they will intrigue the audience and they are more likely to go and watch the trailer and see the film.

Conventions of genre: This film poster is conventional for the horror genre because of the dark colours that create an eerie atmosphere, this informs the audience that it is a horror movie that is being portrayed. It is also conventional for a horror movie because the slogan creates mystery as the audience don’t know the narrative of the story. Having a child in the poster is also conventional for the horror genre because children are innocent and the audience sympathise with him. The child’s eyes are also glowing suggesting to the audience that it is the child that is haunted.

Layout: The route of the eye is very effective in this poster because it catches the audience attention when it says it is made from the same producers of saw and paranormal activity. These are popular and well-known horror movies, so they will catch the audience’s attention even if they haven’t seen them. It then takes their attention across the main image, this is effective because it is a child that connotes it is a horror film. It also shows the audience a review, it also has 5 stars which shows that the film is successful. Lastly, it shows the name of the film, the slogan and credits of the film. This is important because it informs the audience what the film is called, so they can watch the trailer and see the film.

Mise-en-scene: The lighting in this poster is low key to signify that it is a horror movie. It also creates an eerie atmosphere with the low key lighting and the smoke that surrounds the house. The setting is a house.; this is relates to the audience as it is an every day setting. The house is also surrounded by the woods which suggests it is isolated which is conventional for a horror film. Putting this on the poster is effective because it shows the audience that this is the location in the narrative and that is where the danger is. The boy is also wearing pajamas, this suggests that the child was in bed and the danger happens at night.

Camerawork: This shot is a close-up of the boys face which is effective because it shows the audience that the child has no emotion, it also shows the audience the boys eyes glowing suggesting that he is the thing that is haunted. Having the house in the background, using a wide shot shows that the boys is haunting that house and it also shows the house is isolated as it is surrounded by the woods.

Font: The font on the poster is serif, this is conventional for a horror movie because it is bold and gothic. This suggests to the audience that it is a horror movie. The name of the film is in serif font but it also looks like it is lit up with the lines coming off the words. This creates a feel that it is a horror movie because it looks spooky. The name of the actor and the slogan are not as bold as the name of the film because if the name of the film is bolder the audience are more likely to remember it.

Layout: The layout for this poster follows the route of the eye. This is effective because it takes the attention of the audience across the name of the actor; who is very well-known which is likely to catch their eye. It then takes them across the main image and the name of the film, as the actor is well-known and is the main image, it will also catch the attention of the audience. Lastly, it takes the audience’s attention across the credits at the bottom of the poster, which is very conventional for a film poster.

Images: The main image of the poster is very conventional for a horror film poster because it shows the protagonist of the story , he is also a well-known actor which might attract some people to watch the film as he has a fan following. Also on the poster is an image of the house in the background. This shows that the house is in isolation which is conventional for a horror movie. There is also images of a grave yard and a woman in black. This suggests to the audience that the film is about death and it also suggests that the silhouette is the ‘woman in black’ Having the tree in the background standing over the actor is effective because it creates an eerie atmosphere.

Mise-en-scene: In this poster there is a large use of low key lighting. This is conventional for a horror film poster because it creates an eerie atmosphere. It also suggests that it is night time which is also conventional for a horror movie because that is when the bad things start to happen. From this poster the character looks like he is in the middle of a field. This setting is conventional for a horror movie because it means there is no where to run when something goes wrong. The costume the main character is wearing dark clothing; this also shows the time era of the film because he is dressed in clothing that would be considered wealthy in that time era. It is important to see the time era because it gives the audience can idea of when the film was set and whether they would be interested in that time period.

Camerawork: The camerawork used in this poster is a mid-shot of the main character. This is effective because the audience are able to see what the character is wearing and they are also able to see the emotion on the characters. The emotion on the characters face shows that he is the protagonist of the film because he isn’t giving away how he is feeling. For example, he is a male protagonist it is stereotypical that he is brave and strong, so showing no emotion portrays this. The use of the wide shot ensures that the audience can see the house, the silhouette and the graveyard.

Conventions of form: This poster is conventional for a film poster because it has the name of a well-known actor. This is conventional because it will catch the audience’s eye as they would of heard of his name. It is also conventional because it has the name of the film in the middle of the poster, this will catch the audience’s eye, it also has the credits as the bottom of the film and the slogan underneath the title of the film.

Conventions of genre: This film poster is conventional for the horror genre because of the low key lighting it creates an eerie feel that gives the impression to the audience that it is a horror movie that is being presented to them. The use of the fog also shows the audience that it is a horror movie because it creates a sense of mystery because it makes the image less clear to the audience. It is also conventional in a horror film poster to show the setting, for example an isolated house in the woods.

Why?Doing an analysis on these two film posters is positive because looking at how successful they were. This will help me when it comes to me making a poster for my film because I now understand the conventions for a horror movie poster. I looked at the conventions of both form and genre, the font, layout, the images, mise-en-scene and camerawork. For example, it is conventional to have the name of the film, the release date and usually the name of a well-known actor that is in the film.

Having this on the film poster is conventional because it is more likely to scare the audience even more because they think it has actually happened and it makes it more relatable to the audience. This can make some audience members feel uncomfortable and get there adrenaline going when watching the trailer and looking at the poster; this is conventional for the horror genre.

This is conventional for a horror film poster because it shows the setting of the film, in this case it is a house. Having a house as the main setting is both effective and conventional for a horror because it makes it relatable to the audience and is more likely to scare them as they have to go home once they have watched the film. Also, having the image in blue shows the audience that it has been shot at night time which is very conventional for horror move because the danger happens at night time.

It is conventional for any film poster to have the directors of the movie and to mention what other movies they have directed. This is conventional because if someone has seen ‘saw’ for instance and enjoyed it then they might go and watch this film because they think it will be just as good.