'The Strangers' Poster Analysis #6 - Horror/Thriller

This is one of the promotional posters for the 2008 horror/thriller slasher 'The Strangers' starring Liv Tyler. The film falls under a home invasion styled, horror/thriller film. 

This poster I find is considerably effective and very well achieves the tone and mood for the film. 

The first thing that is effective with this poster is the three masked intruders in the middle of the frame. The key thing and most iconic aspect of this film is the masks they wear, as they are extremely odd and make these three people extremely ominous. Since they are wearing these masks, the audience can then associate the film with home invasion, slasher and murder, also given the title of the film 'The Strangers'. The characters are also presented in a low-key light, making for a tenser, scarier atmosphere for the poster, which helps to lure in the audience and feel chilled by this poster since the subjects are in such low lighting and makes it all the more scarier. Similarly, half of the female character's face at the front is shadowed in darkness. This is used as a device to hide the characters true identity, and also adding to the idea that the killer can be anyone who comes out from the shadows, also adding to the ominous tone of the short film.  Lastly the female character positioned at the front of the three intruders is holding a large knife. This creates again, a very bleak and sinister toned poster, due to the connotations the knife and all of the masked intruders creates. 

The next thing to comment on in this poster is the tag line positioned at the top. It reads 'Lock the door. Pretend you're safe.' This tag line has quite an effective impact as it subconsciously includes the audience in it, and makes them think about a situation when even though their door is locked, they don't feel fully safe, This is the purpose of the tag line and it cleverly manipulates the audience into imagining a similar situation to the one happening in the film, ultimately making the viewing experience of the film scarier and more thrilling. Additionally the 'Inspired by true events' at the bottom of the poster also helps to add to this effect, of getting the audience invested in the film's plot and theme as much as possible. 

'Black Swan' Poster Analysis #5 - Thriller/horror

'Black Swan' is a 2010 psychological thriller-horror film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman as the titular character. 

This poster is one of the two main theatrical posters for this feature film. What makes this poster so fitting for this psychological thriller-horror film is how strange and unsettling Natalie Portman looks in this poster. This is mainly due to several things. 

The first thing being the extremely contradictory colours used for the poster, in the form of Natalie Portman's soft white face, yet dark red lips, sinister red eyes and black eye detail. This was done to symbolise the themes and ideas that would be presented in the film. Her all soft, white face represents her character as a pure, frail, angelic girl. Yet however, her dark red lips exactly contrast this due to the fact that red is the typical colour for danger. This sheer contrast in colour and in meaning is striking and powerful , which is one of the reasons this poster works so well. It hints at the fact that this girl is going to go through some drastic changes and differences in her life when certain events happens. The second major thing to comment on is her menacing looking, black and red eyes. Her pupils are black yet her iris is blood red. giving the impression of some kind of monster within her. Another thing to contrast this yet again is the tiara she is wearing on her head. A tiara typically represents royalty, significance and being apart of a prestigious social circle of some kind. But however, despite she is wearing this grand, powerful tiara, she is opposed by the black swan, evident in this poster by her forbidding eyes and lips. When you combine all these things together, you get a drastic mix of emotions and themes, which is why the poster very well helps to tell the story that is occurring in the film. 

Another noteworthy feature of this poster is how the composition of the poster is different, some parts are out of focus compared to other parts. Such as, her face is in focus whereas the other majority of the poster is out of focus. This would have been done to further represent the theme of contrast and insanity presented in the film. 

Overall I think this is an excellent poster that represents the themes and ideas presented in the film considerably well and makes the audience feel rather unsettled by this poster. 

'Panic Room' Poster Analysis #4 - Thriller

'Panic Room' is a 2002 home invasion thriller film directed by David Fincher and starring Jodi Foster, Forrest Whittaker and Jared Leto. Here is the theatrical release poster for the film:

This poster I feel is greatly crafted and represents the films main theme of invasion and protection quite well.

Firstly, you have Jodi Foster's character in the foreground of the poster. I think the way she has her eyes wide open and seems to be lying on the floor is effective and it makes her look at her most vulnerable and also her most weak. The large, red font just under her is also extremely obvious and stands out very well, clearly presenting the title and main substance of the film, since 'Panic Room' is associated with a room of high security and stability in the case of a murder and invasion. It is also effective as the font is written in red due to the fact that red is very often associated with danger, anxiety or horror. Hence when you see the title Panic Room on this poster, you feel a certain tone that immediately hits you due to its design. This foreshadows certain elements and prospects of the film such as violence,since Jodi Foster and her daughter in the film are victims of great threat and danger due to the invading criminals who will stop at nothing to get what they are seeking.

The other captivating thing about the poster is the intruder in the background. He's dressed in all black and is also slightly blurred, so his character is not clear to see and it makes him more ominous and dangerous.In addition his body shape is hunched, which can be suggesting he is stronger than her and this is why in the poster she's lying down and is looking considerably vulnerable. This may be linking back to the stereotype that men are stronger than women, and could be why the creators decided to use this aspect in the poster. He is also directly in the centre of the poster, which may suggest the character has more of the power in the poster or in the film's diegesis, and he is not to be crossed.

I also think the way the poster has been chosen to cut off sections on the right and left is clever and appropriate, so it makes for just one strip down the middle of the poster. This creates a smart effect and makes it look like Jodi Foster is trapped within the frame and in fact within her own home, which once again foreshadows the film's theme of invasion and security.

'Disturbia' Poster Analysis #3 - Thriller

This is the theatrical release poster for the Shia Labeouf thriller film, 'Disturbia', which is a tense, subtle thriller. 

I think this poster is particularly effective as how it mixes up low key lighting with saturated colours, being the oranges and reds in the lenses of the binoculars. 

The fact that the male character has his face very contrasted by the whites and blacks is effective. It could be suggesting his character is more of a plain, unknown person with good observational skills, linking to the binoculars. I also think that this has been done to provide a more creepy poster that lacks colour and therefore lacks emotion and positivity, as it is a thriller after all. The contrasts between the black and whites create a slicker, more intriguing mood. 

I believe that the lenses have been saturated in colour to not only create a blend of colours in the poster, but also to suggest what the male is seeing through the binoculars is 'heated' and 'dangerous', since colours like red are often known for being the symbol of danger, linking to semiology. 

The tag line at the top of the poster reads 'Every killer lives next door to someone'. I think this title is clever as it manipulates you into thinking and agreeing with the caption. It is true, every serial killer living in a neighbourhood will be someones next door neighbour, it just comes down to who it is. Therefore, the caption plays with the readers mind psychologically and it the reason why the caption succeeds. 

Initial idea- Peer Assessment

In class recently, everybody was given the chance to have a look at and peer assess each others initial storyboards / ideas. This was a very beneficial task as it gave all of us some additional insight and perspective when it comes to forming ideas and narratives for our short films/ music videos and adverts.

For my initial idea, my positives were that I had a clear idea of settings and shots, and that it was detailed enough for someone to simply make. I also had a good idea of the sounds I want to be using, to set specific types of themes and tones. 

The main improvement for my work was that there needed to be additional character build up/ progression. This is so that the audience can understand the characters more and therefore build more of a relationship between the viewer and the the short film, making for a more tense/ sinister viewing experience, ideally.

I aim to take these improvements on board as much as possible so that as I am adding and developing to my initial storyboard, I am considering the characters throughout. 

'The Blair Witch Project' Poster Analysis #2 - Horror/thriller

This is the official theatrical poster for horror classic 'The Blair Witch Project'. This was the first film to utilise found-footage type film-making and it shocked audiences all over the world. 

This poster is visually striking to me and equally intriguing. 

The most intriguing part about this poster is the female's face, right in front of the camera, surrounded by absolute darkness in a forest. As soon as the viewer sees this it immediately strikes them, making them feel very anxious whilst seeing it because of the situation the female character is in. Another key thing is the fear in the females eyes, since her upper face is the most lighted thing in this poster because of the light from her camera, it stands out the most. As a result, the poster does a good job of emphasizing the sheer fear in her eyes and she is almost looking directly at you, which furthermore makes it look like she is trying to reach out to you for help. This so far automatically makes the poster very engaging with the audience and will make them drawn to see this film and discover the situation this female character gets in. 

Another thing to pick out is how the top of the forest, along with the sky, is still light and bright in colour, yet everything beneath it is in total pitch black. I find this to be interesting and creepy as it is suggesting that this may seem like an ordinary forest, but once you find yourselves isolated in the forest, it becomes a haunted. terrifying and horrific place. Given the title of the film, you could also expect there is  witchcraft occurring within the realm of darkness in this poster, which is the main thing the female character is concerned about and furthermore scares audiences considerably because they will begin to imagine themselves in the same situation. The colour scheme for the poster is also very dark and bleak, with an abundance of black which further adds to the ideas and mood the poster is trying to convey to audiences. 

Lastly, but not least, you have the films synopsis in the middle of the poster. I think that this is used as a device to not only inform the audience, but also to chill them. The text is in darkness, making it all the more scary and effective. It makes it seem like the whole situation is nothing but a hopeless, haunted adventure, given this synopsis and the female at the front of the poster. When you put everything together, this poster makes more sense and also makes it  all the more terrifying. 

'Shutter Island' Poster Analysis #1 - Thriller

This is the main theatrical poster for 2010's thriller film, 'Shutter Island' which is directed by Martin Scorsese. I really love this poster and think it represents the film as a whole incredibly well.

The way Leonardo DiCaprio's face and eyes are positioned in the poster are telling; his eyes are looking to his left which can suggest he has seen something he shouldn't of, or something that is indeed disturbing him. It makes him look very anxious which is why his face and eyes are this way. Furthermore, the fact that the rest of his face and background is in darkness adds to the atmosphere of the poster. It builds up on the idea that something very shady is happening in this poster, along with the expression on his face; the darkness in the background alludes to the mystery and sinister events that the viewer can expect to see in this film.

The tag line for this poster reads 'Someone is missing.' I really love this tag line due to how vague and ambiguous it is. Who is missing? Why are they missing? It is also a very blunt, and an extremely to the point sentence. As a result it sounds more dramatic and ominous, which I really like. The fact that underneath it is the titular island on the poster, it makes everything even more dramatic and exciting. The audience can assume that most of the film will take place on the island, given that it's in the title and on the poster, so how can someone go missing on an island that is surrounded by sea? This question will entice the audience into watching the film due to the ambiguity of the tag line and premise.

Lastly, the title 'Shutter Island' is in a large, red font that very much stands out from the rest of the posters dark colours of blacks and greys. This title leaves a harsh impact on the poster mainly due to its red colour, and bold, staggering font style.

Overall I think this is a very effective poster that draws in the audience with its minimalistic tag line and its captivating visuals.