Analysis Of A Real Film Poster: Insidious

The iconography of the whole poster is quite dark and dull. This is conventional the horror genre as they connote aspects such as death and mystery. This allows the film to associate to themes such as possession and evil. Other themes may include childhood issues which is signified by the key image of the boy positioned in the centre of the poster. This subverts the stereotypical connotations of young children as they are seen to be innocent and pure. However, the boy is presented to look very unhealthy and dull. This is due to the make up and effects and it causes the boy to seem dangerous. Ontop of one of his eyes there is text stating ‘insidious’ and the other ‘is’. This feature is quite hard to see from a far however it may freak the audience out as they get closer. It is a small but effective detail.  Furthermore, the lighting is low key which causes the child to seem more under the influence of evil due to the darkness.

The boy is wearing what seems to be pyjamas which further symbolises childhood. However, the way his clothing was darkened causes the initial innocence and vulnerability associated with the boy to be lost. In turn this increases the fear and tension for the audience.

The background consists of a single house which seems to be isolated.  There is a dark shadow that covers the house which may foreshadow that sinister things happen there. Furthermore, the sky is made to look very gloomy which further carries on the theme of darkness.

Above the film title we can see the stereotypical line stating ‘From the makers of Paranormal Activity and Saw’. This causes the viewer to be interested in the film if they enjoyed the two films listed. The biggest font is of the movie ‘Saw’. This may be due to the fact that it is more well-known than paranormal activity and it is also a franchise. The font style of the text is san-serif and this makes it clearer to read. The title of the film is written down vertically and it is written in 2 colours;red and white. The letters ‘is’ are written in red which connotes danger and blood. This further relates to the main image in which the words ‘insidious’ and ‘is’ are present in the boys eyes. This adds an element of mystery into the film as the audience are most likely wondering what is insidious?Who is insidious? Underneath the title, the tagline states ‘its not the house that is haunted’. This further relates back to the key image as except for the house the only other visible aspect is the boy. This also subvert the stereotype as conventionally in the horror genre the house is portrayed to be the sinister and mysterious place.

At the bottom of the poster the companies that helped o produce the film are credited. If any individuals from the target audience recognise the companies and associate them with other films they enjoy they may be more drawn to watch this one. The text is in a light grey colour which contrasts the dark background allowing the text to be recognisable. Lastly, the biggest text within that writing is the coming out date marked April 1^st . This will cause the audience to look forward to seeing the film and get them more excited for its release. 

Analysis Of A Real Film Poster: IT

The poster for the new IT movie is quite simple, however effective.The main focus is the main image. Positioned in the centre is the back of a child wearing a bright yellow coat and green wellington boots. Yellow connotes joy and happiness which is a colossal contrast to the rest of the poster which is quite gloomy and dark. The boy is looking at a dark figure appearing from within the dark foggy background which connotes that he is the antagonist. The antagonist in this movie is Pennywise the clown, I know this as he is wearing a clown costume. Furthermore, he is reaching out to the boy giving him a bright red balloon in order to lure him in. The colour red connotes danger and blood which may foreshadow events that may happen to the child if he goes to the clown. Also through the red balloon you can see the clowns face; he is looking down at the boy and smiling which may creep out some of the audience.

On the right of the image there is the tagline which states “You’ll float too.” This relates to the main image including the balloon as balloons float. This depicts that if the boy goes with the antagonist he may float too. The font of the tagline is serif and in a white colour. The white connotes innocence and purity which subverts the horror genre and theme of the poster. However, it is clearly visible due to the dark background. Below the tagline is the title ‘IT’ which is the biggest font visible on the page. The font is quite distorted which gives the effect of a disequilibrium. Furthermore, due to it being in red it connotes death and danger. Moreover, it links to the red balloon which allows continuity.  Underneath the title there is text saying ‘Coming Soon’. This allows the audience to get excited for when the date of the movie is released. It creates a buzz.

The background is quite foggy going into pure darkness. The fog makes the poster look a tad more realistic as the floor the the boy is walking on looks like a pavement after rain. The dark colour connotes death and mystery which may cause tension to the audience.

Analysis Of A Real Film Poster: The Conjuring

‘The Conjuring’ Film Poster Analysis

The sell line of the poster is “From the directors of Saw and Insidious”. Both of the movies listed are very well-known by the public. This allows people to see the poster and want to watch it due to liking the movies listed. The director’s name is not mentioned however the two mentioned movies are directed by the same one causing the audience that likes their movies to be intrigued in this one. The text is positioned at the top of the poster and it is in the colour black to contrast the light grey background. Furthermore the two film titles are in bold to cause them to stand out more.

The main title is the largest font on the page which causes it to be easily seen by the consumer. Furthermore, due to it being in a dark colour it allows a contrast on the light background. The use of a dark colour may connote death which seems to be a theme in the poster. This adheres to the horror genre as something like a murder/death is likely to happen. The font is serif and bold which further makes it clearer for the audience to notice it.

The tagline underneath the title states “Based on the true case files of the Warrens”. This creates an element of realism as the movie is based on a true story. This causes the film to appear more frightening to the audience as it is ‘real’ and may seem relevant.

The main image used for the poster is an establishing shot that mostly shows the location of where perhaps the movie is set. The main focus is however the tree with a noose hanging down. The noose connotes death and suicide which are overall very grim events that are likely to happen due to the genre of the film being horror, so therefore it may act as a foreshadowing device. Moreover, due to the noose just hanging there it may give of several meanings. For example, was someone killed? Or did they commit suicide? This type of withholding of information from the audience causes them to be more interested and create suspense; almost acts as a ‘cliff hanger’ causing them to want to watch the film.

However, on the ground below a tree there is a shadow of what looks like a girl in a gown. This again withholds information from the viewer as it is subtly placed in the bottom right corner of the poster. Therefore to notice it the audience must have been closely looking at the poster and asking even more questions; there is no one hanging from the noose so how is there a shadow? This will cause the audience to be even more confused and frightened therefore convincing them to watch the film. 

In the background there is a house that seems to be very old and may be haunted. Due to the house being featured in the poster shows that is has some significance to the storyline and film itself. However due to it being quite blurry due to the fog effect makes it not seem as important as the tree with the noose.  The mist effect creates a mysterious and creepy atmosphere that is a convention of the horror genre. To add emphasis to the fog the weather in the poster is made to be dull and grey as well which may connote negative associations such as death.

At the bottom of the poster there is information on the companies that helped to produce the film. If the audience recognises any of the companies and enjoys any other films they helped to make they will be more drawn to this film. The font is also white which contrasts well on the dark background making it easier for the audience to read. Lastly in a much larger font there is the release date for the movie. This causes the audience to be excited and remember the date in order to watch the movie.

Analysis Of A Real Film Poster: Sinister

‘Sinister’ Film Poster Analysis

The sell line on this poster is “From the producers of ‘paranormal activity’ and ‘Insidious’. Both of the movies listed are very well-known by the public. This allows people to look at the poster and notice these famous movies which will cause them to be intrigued and want to watch the film. The text is positioned at the top of the poster and it is in the colour white to contrast the dark background. Also people normally read from the top down. Moreover the two horror films listed are in a larger text size in order for people to see it better.

The background is overall quite monochrome and dull. This allows other aspects such as the bloody face to stand out. Due to the colours being quite simple it gives the poster a spooky eerie feel to it.

A focal point of the poster is the title of the movie “Sinister”. The typography of the title is serif and bold. The title is written in black which connotes sinister aspects like death, fear and the unknown. The font is quite simple however, it looks like the black colour is fading off the writing and dripping down the page. This already foreshadows something supernatural and evil may happen. Moreover, the dripping relates to the main image of the blood dripping down the wall. Due to the spaces between the letters of the title being quite separate it makes the masthead look much more clear to the audience. ­

The tagline underneath the title states “Once you see him, nothing can save you”. This adds to the audience knowledge of the movie and links to the image below of the face in blood. This foreshadows certain aspects of the movie as it connotes a disequilibrium. This depicts that something in the characters life will change once they see ‘him’. This also adds tension and fear to the audience as they do not know who the ‘him’ is. The typography is similar to the title which allows continuity and consistency to occur throughout the poster.

The selling point for this poster is most likely the dominant main image. The bloody face which looks like is created or coming from the camera film may cause fear and disturbance for the audience. The bloody face is looking straight at the audience which may cause them to feel uncomfortable. The colour red connotes murder and blood which will most likely appear in the movie. Furthermore, portraying an innocent young girl as distributing the blood due to her hand dragging it across the wall causes it to be more frightening. This is due to the subverting of connotations of children – innocent and pure and making her seem as something sinister. Moreover, she is wearing white plain clothing which further connotes purity which is subverted by the image. The young girls face is not shown which adds another element of mystery to the poster. Another feature of the key image is the damaged film reel. Due to it being damaged it may connote that the protagonist was trying to get rid of them and the demon is trying to stop him. This may attract the audience as they would want to know what will happen; will the protagonist survive? Will they get harmed?

At the bottom of the poster there are listed companies which were involved in the production of the film. If the audience recognises them and if they are already interested in other films the companies helped to produce they may be more attracted to this film. Below that there is text saying ‘Coming Soon’ which is quite conventional as it causes the audience to be more excited for the actual release date of the movie.

Production Stills

Camera Tests

Equipment List

Equipment List

Equipment list	Picture	Use
Baseball bat		The killer uses a baseball bat as one of his weapons to knock his victims unconscious The blunt impact of the weapon creates a sound.
Toolkit (wrenches)		The killer stores his weapons in his toolkit. There is a still shot on the toolkit, and the killers weapons are revealed when the case is opened.
Sledgehammer		The killer will use a sledgehammer. This is a heavy and intimidating tool, and fits in with the toolkit.
Torch		The torch will be the lighting for the shoot as it is going to be shot at night. The torch creates a threating and unknown atmosphere that is pivotal to the success of the trailer as only a limited area will be lit, and it creates realism within the chase and death scenes.
Phones		The phones can serve as handheld cameras from different points of view which create a realistic and scary effect, whilst being more convenient. The phone cameras can also light up areas for a brief moment with the flash tool on, and serve to create a jump scare.
Camera		The cameras used will be high quality. This will be used when necessary e.g. establishing shots and long shots so that the scenery, joy and peace can be portrayed. When there is danger, a lower quality camera (phone) is used and will be handheld which distorts the image slightly and adds realism.
Tripod		The camera stand will hold the camera steady as it captures establishing and long shots. The tripod enables us to create high quality imagery as the scenery will not be blurry, whereas handheld cameras would move and create a blurred image.
Car		The car is driven by the psychotic father. When the car is suddenly appears but is now empty, mystery and tension arises.
Fake blood		Fake blood will be used on victims of the killer to create a realistic death. The trailer will mostly be shot in the dark, which makes it hard to discern whether or not the blood is fake.
Tent		The group of friends will be camping together in a remote forest. They will remain in a tent throughout the night, until they realise something is wrong.
Fake knife		A fake knife will be used to stab one of the friends. The knife will be found, stained with fake blood.

We have created a equipment list to know what props we will need on the production dates to keep organised. Furthermore, each prop has gone through a risk assessment resulting in the props being safe.Most of the equipment is quite conventional as many horror films use props such as knives, fake blood and torches. However, on the production days we did not end up using all the props e.g the car.