Codes and Conventions of Psychological Thriller Posters
- Colour - typically use the colours: black, grey, red, white, blue, yellow and orange
- Picture - the poster usually includes the main character, sometims two that are the main focus on the poster and take up the majority of the space
- A few pictures sometimes give awy the setting and possibly a scene from the film
- Thrillers posters often has the use of a glowing light
- Theres usually some signifiers in the poster to indicate to the audeince what genre the film is and what the film may entail
- Font/text - fonts used are typically clear and easy to read. The title is often in bold capital letters to attract the audiences attention. Sometimes the font can be scratchy and rough looking to give the audience more of a feel for the genre
- Lighting - Typically low key lighting to create mystery and a tense atmosphere, the lighting often makes the chracters seem mysterious and by shadows created can hide idenity creating suspense for the audience to find out who it is
- Directory/producer/actors - Usually the director and producer of the film is shown espeshially if they are well known as some people follow directors/producers. Actors names are often also highlighted if well known to attract the audience and are often seen at the top or bottem of the poster
- Taglines - the tagline gives a clue on what the film is about but usually has a mysterious feel to it to entise the audience to see the film
Existing Film Poster Analysis
'The Gift'
The Gifts film poster is used to advertise and promote the film, however its also there to inform the potential audience who has directed and starred in the film and also when the film is supposed to be released in this case its the 'Summer'. The key image for this poster being the man holiday a large colorful box, indicates to us this man has a important role to play in the film and as his face is half shaded out we know he is likely to be a 'villain' character and could have a different 'dark' side to him. The deep blood red bow on the box also indicates blood and draws the eye to look at the surrounding detail as well as this key feature along with indicating that their is going to be violence and potentially death. The background is completely black to suggest mystery and fear of the unknown along with keep all the attention on the main focus being the man and the box as the box matches the title of the film 'The gift'. This in its self adds mystery and suspense for the audience as they are left to keep guessing what the gift is. The film name itself is in a much larger font than the font surrounding it and the large slash through the title again indicates violence and suggests that this links into the mysterious man holding the box that he could be the one causing this disturbance. The sandy coloured font works in contrast with the background colours in order to make it clear and stand out but also matches the shadow colour reflected onto the man's shirt. The colours in this poster all relate to the typical thriller/horror genre. However the teal blue differs it from these genres as its not what you would typically see which suggests its a psychological thriller as its different and emphasizes the psychological problems this movie could include and the characters unstable emotion. The tagline 'NOT EVERY GIFT IS WELCOME' ties the whole poster in together perfect as it links the gift in the centre of the poster with the mystery man together as the audience think he could be the gift that is unwelcome and is therefore going to cause trouble.
The Black Swan - Poster Analysis
The black swan poster clearly indicates straight way the main character with a close up shot of her face. In order to keep the focus on this character they have a dark background which makes her face stand out even more. Unlike the previous poster (The Gift) this poster has quotes in the black area of the poster to entice the potential audience to watch the film when it is released and they have stated what they can expect. The crack in the woman face suggests there is a negative fate for her and gives he a 'doll like' feel which seems unusual therefore links into the psychological genre as in this case could potentially suggest this girl in likely to be in a unstable emotional and psychical state. The fact that her arm is raised above her head suggests there is a link to the dance genre which may therefore attract a larger range of audience. The title is in a bold black font in order for it to stand out from the woman's fair skin tone so that we are well aware of the name of the film. Above the title 3 well known actors that star in the film are placed there in order for the potential audience to hopefully be more inclined to go and watch the film if they know that talented or even there favourite actors/actress's are in it. Beneath this a neutral colour is used to show the extra information that is not as important. I will consider how they have used the colours schemes to adapt to what information is priority and how to make it seen in the most effective way to the audience.
Research into Film Magazine Covers
Codes and Conventions of a Magazine Cover:
There is one main image that takes up the whole cover - this is usually the mean feature article, usually in a medium close up or mid shot
Title (masthead) - Has a trademark unique font, usually one or two words. The title fills the width of the cover or is in the top left corner.
Positioning statement - How the magazine positions itself in the market place against competition,the price and issue (sometimes by the bar code) date by title (11pt size)
Puff - offers something else to the magazine such as free giveaways
Buzz words - Usually with the main feature article. Used to attracted attention e.g. FREE
Barcode - positioned at the bottom right, or up the right side. Along with it will sometimes be at the date/month of edition, website and issue number
Coverlines - lines of text on the front cover designed to attract the audience attention and make them pick the magazine up and look inside
Main Coverline - This is the largest text on the cover after the title and it anchors the meaning of the image. Usually a sub line in smaller text giving more information about the article that represent the stories inside.
Strip- across the top or bottom containing lists of items which feature in the magazine. This shows the magazine is full of interesting stories and the audience is getting value for money.
Colour - small amount used with a simple colour scheme adding to the distinctive design
Magazine Research - Gone girl
I feel this magazine cover promoting 'Gone girl' is extremely effective and eye catching even at a first glance. Starting of with the main imagine being the first thing your drawn to with the woman's piercing eyes staring upwards as if she is staring at you. There are many features, text and images on this cover which makes it that much more appealing and attractive to look at. The colours used blend very well together and work along side the title 'WINTER PREVIEW' as white, blues and greys are used a lot which represents coldness and ice therefore linking with the word 'winter'. The fact that they have made the words 'WINTER PREVIEW' look 3D with shadows captures the audiences attention even more giving it a bold statement. The features in this magazine are all surrounding the main image and strap line, to indicate to the audience what is meant to be the main feature regarding this magazine. The smaller features are presented with text and a smaller image this is to give the audience plenty to look at and shows them what the magazine has to offer without overpowering them with masses of information and graphics. The main image does cover part of the masthead in order for it to make more of an impact on the audience and to stand out. However because this magazine is so well known it does not matte that part of the title is covered as people can easily identify what magazine it is due to its popularity and strong brand name. A mid shot is taken from a high angle of a two shot of the two main characters of this film giving the audience the feel that they are looking down onto the characters and that they are actually there in the room with them as it grasps their attention. The two characters are laid on an examination table which automatically creates questions and will intrigue the audience to know why they are laying there. The background is very dull and lifeless which links very effectively with the main image on the cover as it looks as though the actress has died and also looks lifeless. Also the way the male actor is staring passionately at the woman allows the audience to make judgement's and gives clues on the plot line which creates suspense for the audience. I will take a lot of these ideas into consideration when creating my magazine cover for example the usage of different shapes and boxes promoting existing movies is a eye catching way to lay these features out therefore I will replicate this in my work.
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