Film Poster Analysis

Here are some examples of film posters we thought were effective. Researching these posters helped us understand the components that make up a successful film poster, and provided us with the knowledge to create one of our own.

The poster for 28 Days Later uses various elements to promote the film. The films tag-line "Your Days are Numbered" gives the audience something to remember, and relates directly to the title and the main theme of the film. At the top of the poster, the previous work of Director Danny Boyle is mention. This reference, specially the mention that he directed Trainspotting, a British Cinema Classic, gives the audience a sense of what they can expect in terms of cinematic style and quality.
The use of colour is also important, as it directly relates to the film. The film poster is predominantly red, which immediately provides the people who see it with connotations of blood, and also violence, both of which feature heavily in the film. In the background of the poster, we see iconic symbols of London. This is important not just because it tells us where the movie is set, but also allows the audience to connect with the film, as the London skyline is instantly recognisable to most people. As well as these key aspects, he poster features additional information such as the release date, a positive film critic comment and the films website, which has become ever more important since the rise in influence of viral marketing and promotion in the film industry.

Compared to the Poster for 28 Days Later, the poster for The Hills Have Eyes 2 has less text, and relies on the strong visual element of the main picture to speak to the audience. The only large text visible is the actual title of the film, which makes it clear that this is a sequel because it shares the title with the first film. The main aspect of the trailer is the graphic behind the text, indicating the increasing use of technological synergies and convergence to promote cinema. The baron landscape featured will be instantly recognisable to those who have seen the first film, and those who have not can gain a strong sense of what the series of films are about and what they can expect in terms of location. The two characters featured pronounce the hostile relationships within the plot line, and highlight themes and motifs such as kidnap, mutilation and disfigurement. As well as this, the fact that you can see the antagonists face brings out the idea of a lack of identity and misplaced identity that features throughout the film.

By comparison, the film poster for Drag Me To Hell relies heavily on text. Noticeably, the film poster features numerous critical reviews and ratings in the form of stars. Providing the film with visible critical acclaim, the audience may be influenced by the opinions expressed and the ratings given resulting in them going to see the film for themselves in order to gather their own opinions. Similar to 28 Days Later, the poster utilises the previous work of the director in order to provide the audience with a benchmark against which to judge the films quality.
The image of the woman with the non-human hands on her chest and back dragging her down is representative of the films title, suggesting a dragging motion as her head is jerked backwards and her mouth is wide open which suggests she is screaming as she is pulled. In the background, we are given an idea as to where this movie may be set, as we see an average sized American house behind the objects in the foreground. As well as all this, we see other text featured that provides us with the date of release and a small and vague description of the films events just below the title. The website is also featured, again reinforcing the importance of online media to promote the film.

The fourth poster we chose is the promotional poster for the film 'the crazies'. The most important feature of this poster is the image, possibly a still from the film itself. The image connotes senses of voyeurism and violence, with the use of a garden fork which appears to be smothered in blood as it is leaving a trail and some drip marks on the floor. The image could be interpreted as a point of view shot, possibly of the last thing the antagonists victim can see as they lay on the floor. From the shoes, we can deduce the the antagonist is male by the style of jeans and shoes. The title of the film is in red coloured text, connoting blood and violence. The films tag-line "Fear thy Neighbor" has religious connotations, as it appears to be the opposite of "love thy neighbor". As well as this, the text is in white, which is a colour often associated with divinity, angels and heaven. The poster does not feature a release date, but does say that the film is "coming soon" and also features the website of the production company and the films website itself.

Like "The crazies", Our fifth and final poster "Feast" expresses a dark sense of voyeurism and ambiguity as the crop is unrevealing and does not feature the protagonists full face. Unlike the other posters we analysed, colour is very limited yet bold; only red and black are used which becomes more striking to the eye. Because of the dark contrast and lighting depicted in the poster, the protagonist is harder to see, and once drawn in to look further the image becomes more violent and shocking.  The bold use of strong language in the critics quote featured on the poster adds to the vulgar, 'in your face' essence the movie poster emphases - warning us the film is going to be as violent and as ruthless as the poster promoting it.