The Hollow Pond
MAHD Productions
Paranormal Activity: Poster Analysis
The facial expression of the woman suggests that something unexpected has happened or she is afraid of something. This us further backed up by her body position as the man is moving protectively towards her.
The lighting around the doorframe is the darkest area of the poster, which signifies something is hiding there. On the door there is a shadow and the woman is pointing at it but there is nothing standing in the doorway.
The whole scene is shown through a camera’s view that suggests they are being watched or even experimented on. It could also suggest that they are worried about what happens during the night when they sleep. This is supported by the text as it says ‘What Happens When You Sleep’.
The bright red font signifies that death may be about to occur. The title is blurred and has the same effect as the camera with the lines across it. The lighting suggests that it is early morning and this is further backed up by the time shown in the bottom right corner.
The woman points to the door where the humanoid figure is seen but there is no one there, which creates a sense of confusion in the audience.
“Don’t See It Alone” is written in white so it stands out more. This draws more attention to it, as it is a black poster with big red writing above it. The red font signifies death and blood. It is bigger than anything else so it stands out more than the rest. The blurred title disorientates the viewer and has the same effect as the picture.
~Daniel
Black Swan: Poster Analysis
The poster for Black Swan shows an emphasised a close up of actress Natalie Portman, An Oscar winning actress. This could influence audiences to go and see the film as they recognize the lead actress for being popular amongst audiences. The critic reviews on the poster for the film also promote a trustworthy/professional opinion that convinces the audience to watch it.
This poster has the main image of Natalie Portman with a white background. The colour white creates connotations of purity,innocence and a blank,untouched canvas, and cleanliness,unexpected qualities of a character in a thriller and ones that could easily make them a victim. It is also juxtaposed against the black which denotes mystery. The use of the colour white is also a contrast to the title of the film “black swan”.
The strong black eye makeup emphasizes the extreme use of white in the poster and also breaks up the idea of complete purity in the character. The white also denotes the youth of the character;the red used in her eyes and lips suggests a range of seemingly conflicting emotions from passionate love (shown in the lips,kissing?) to violence and evil (red eyes symbolizing rage).
It is suggested that her passion for ballet turns her internally into a monster,hence the red in her eyes. The tiara on her head shows how she is blinded by her passion and determined to get to the top;Tiara’s have connotations with femininity,innocence and princesses; however this tiara is notably spikier and darker than a conventional tiara and suggests and evil or dark figure.
The angle used in the shot is a close up to mid shot of the woman. The woman is looking directly into the camera,creating the effect that she is staring directly at the consumer which creates an unsettling and uncomfortable effect, further emphasizing the genre of the film.
The target audience for Black Swan is varied; those interested in dance,particularly ballet may be drawn to the film,whilst the psychological aspects shown in the film poster such as the red eyes and dark eye makeup may attract teenagers ,those in their twenties/thirties and older audiences.
The font used in the poster is a simple black font to contrast against her pale skin. It is small,minimalistic and classical,signifying the nature of ballet. The red used is dark and fits with the theme of the film (psychological thriller). The focus is primarily on the woman (Natalie Portman) and all the elements of the poster have been minimalised to promote her presence.
~Hannah Lee*
HANNIBAL:Poster Analysis
The shadow covering half of face connotes that he has something he needs to hide which creates an air of mystery about him. Being the same character’s name, the title further connotes Hannibal’s mystery, establishing whom the movie is about and making the audience curious to discover more. The red in his eye symbolises his bloodlust and foreshadows his intentions in the movie.
The dennotation of the dents in his face connotes him aging, which sybolises him wearing away, consequently foreshadowing Hannibal Lecter's downfall and eventual death.
~Mark
Resevoir Dogs: Poster Analysis
The key signifiers in this poster are the four men, the blood splattered background and the title. The first signifier denotes four well-dressed men walking in the same direction but all looking in different directions, which connotes that there is conflict within the group, which could leave to disloyalty and treachery. This communicates to the audience that Reservoir Dogs is a movie that could shock and surprise, which supports the movie’s genre as a thriller. Also, the characters’ choice of attire denotes a smart black suit, which connotes a funeral, which we associate the theme of death with. Continuing this theme, the second signifier (the background) denotes splattered blood behind the film’s title. This connotes that there is violence in this film and the colour red also signifies danger. The placing of the blood (behind the title, which refers to the characters’ name as a collective) connotes that violence and danger surrounds the central characters which, again, supports the genre ‘thriller.’ Despite the blood, the space behind the men denotes a blank background. The connotation of this is that the movie’s central focus is the main characters, which signifies a character-based movie. The only colours used for this poster are white, black and red, which connote colours that we associate as men’s colours. The genre of this movie is crime/ thriller and marketers recognise that the audiences for these movies are predominantly male.
The third signifier, the title, denotes the words ‘reservoir dogs’. The denotation of the word ‘dogs’ is larger than the other, putting emphasis on it. This connotes that the main characters are dogs which is a word often used to describe criminals; this supports the movie’s crime genre. This is backed up with the movie’s slogan, which denotes ‘Every dog has his day’. Again, this signifies that the main characters are referred to as dogs, another word for used for criminals. However, the use of the word ‘dogs’ contradicts the characters’ smart attire. This juxtaposed comparison connotes that there is mystery within the characters, which draws in audiences and, again, supports the movie’s genre as being a thriller.
~Mark
The poster is the basic first impression of a film that the viewers see, therefore it needs to contain codes and conventions to establish its genre and, generally, what it's about. Our opening will also be brief so we can learn from these posters what kind of codes and conventions we need to add to establish our film as a thriller.
~Mark