Poster Analysis

This is one of the three posters I shall be analysing. This is a poster for a 2010 psychological thriller called Shutter Island. I will analyse this poster as it fits into the same genre as my own film.

In this poster there is the use of two very different images.  The first, main image that is used is a close up on the face on the central character. This image takes up about half of the page and so is most likely one of the first things people would see when looking at the poster. This use of a close up makes the audience feel closer to the subject and so, with the frightened expression, may too get a similar feeling. The colours used in this photo are very dark, particularly the shadows and in his eyes which give the image a darker and more sinister tone giving the audience an idea of the tone of the film and so would draw in those interested in darker films as well as giving them an idea of the genre, being a psychological thriller, through the darker colours and the image feeling almost as if it were in a confined space, with the use of the close up. The match also adds to the suspenseful and sinister idea as it appears to be the only light source available and so also makes it a darker feeling. It also makes the whole poster feel much colder and sinister as most of the colours that are being used are ones considered to be colder. The only warmer colour being used is the orange of the flame, but there is very little of this, mostly being white, which makes the audiences feel, themselves, colder and in this more sinister and scarier environment.

The second image also takes up about half of the page, but most of the space is taken up by the empty space of the water, almost making the audience feel somewhat stranded and the feeling of there being nothing else around, and so again creating this suspenseful and sinister feeling. The main subject of the image, the island, takes up much less space and so does not draw the audience in as much as the main image. This means there is much less detail within the image and, along with the darkness of the image, almost hides much of the structure on the island, giving it both a sinister but also mysterious feeling, making the audience see the film, possibly to find out what is actually on the island. This darkness is also created as a slight silhouette from a white light that can be seen, almost as an aura of the island. The look of the island itself is also very ragged and uneven, almost sharp, giving it that much scarier and darker feeling than if it appeared to be much smoother. One of the only structures that are visible from the poster is some sort of lighthouse, only apparent from the light being emitted from the top. This light almost gives it a strange sort of inviting feeling, particularly as the audience are placed far away, in the dark, empty water. This would draw them into the poster, just as it may if they were traveling towards the island in reality.

The text on the poster is also a major part in the feeling being conveyed. In the centre of the poster there is three different pieces of text being used. The main one being the title of the film ‘Shutter Island’ which is written in bold, block capitalised text. This makes it stand out, as does the juxtaposition of the white text against the black background. The second bit of text says ‘Leonardo Dicaprio’ this text is also in the same block capitals, as well as the same font and so keeps it feeling the same, but is slightly smaller so would not be the first thing that draws in the audience’s eye, that would be the title. This piece of text, like the entire poster, is centred as it brings the audience’s eye into the middle and makes it much more aesthetic for the audience and does not distract them. The use of Leonardo Dicaprio draws the audience in as it is large enough to catch someone’s eye and will be a name that many are familiar with and so would interest them and make them want to go and see it. These two pieces of text would draw in the audience, who would then see the third piece of text that can be found in the middle, which says, ‘A Martin Scorsese Picture’. This would also interest the reader as it would be a name that many would be familiar with and would then have a slight idea of what the film may be like. The font of this text is much different to that of the other two pieces and it is not as bold and appears to be closer to the font that is used in that large amount of text at the bottom of the poster. These three pieces of text also split apart the two different images, which gives it the feeling of separation and making it feel colder and more sinister.

The smaller text at the bottom, provides much more detail for the audience. It is not necessarily the information that would draw them in. It gives the other information they may, additionally, want to know, such as the other cast members, or the fact it was based on a book. The importance of this text is to give the audience an idea of what it may be like, through the different people who have worked on it and the production companies as well. Most of this text is in white, like the text higher up, but it does also contain two pieces of text that are in red. This difference of colour will draw the audience into these particular texts, making them stand out and appear to be of greater importance, possibly to the audience themselves. One piece of text is the release date, a very important piece of information that the audience would want to know. The other piece of text is the slogan, which reads ‘Some places never let you go’ which makes it feel darker and much more sinister and creates excitement for the audience.

This poster is for the 2013 film ‘Prisoners’, which I shall, again, be looking at as it is in a similar genre as to my own film.

This poster uses two different images, both of which are central characters in the film. The images of these two characters take up about a quarter of the space, with the other quarters being taken up by other images, which shall be discussed later. These two images are both shot in the same sort of light, with half of their faces being in shadows, with the other half being in much bright light and are both close ups, bring the audience closer to the characters. The light used in the image shows that the characters may possibly have two different sides to them, one much darker than their apparent light side, though the images do not give any hints as to what sort of characters they may actually be. The image of Hugh Jackman’s character is shown looking downwards, almost as though he were looking down to the other image, giving it a feeling that he may somehow be superior though the other character is also shown looking down slightly as well. Both images are shot at about eye level and so would be more effective in drawing the audience into the eyes, which is where much of the emotion, which appears to be anger or some sort of horror. This gives the audience an idea that the film may be darker in tone, and would also suggest that the characters a perhaps similar, but also have different sides to them as the two images are shot in the same sort of light, with the same sort of expression, though is filliped from each other.

There is also two other images, that appear more to do with a sort of background. These images both show a sort of maze structure, with middles that display the slogan of the film. The use of the maze may suggest it is a sort of recurring theme of symbol in the film. It also links in with the slogan, which reads ‘A hidden truth/ A desperate search’. This also gives the feeling of the maze suggesting that the characters may be somehow searching for something and are lost within, perhaps a metaphorical, maze. The maze, and the text within it, are all white, with a darker blue background, which gives it, along with the lighting and look of the photos, a darker and sinister tone, as well as being a rather cold feeling poster, from the colder colours that are being used. This is effective in drawing in the audience as it gives a suggestion as to what the film may be like, as well as suggesting what the basic plot of the film may be.

In the very centre of the poster is the title, which is written in a large capital style taking up much of the length of the poster. This would be one of the first things that the audience may see and so has been made in this large text to draw them in, as well as to give them the most essential piece of information that they would need. The text is also in a white colour, against a dark background, making it stand out to the audience so that it is clear as to what the information is, as well as the importance of it. The other, large pieces of text are at the top and the bottom, both being very different bits of information, but both that may be seen as being quite important. The text at the top is a quote from a review of the film, which would be effective in drawing in the reader as it shows that the film will be good as well as using the words, ‘powerful’, ‘breathless’ and ‘tense’ which all show and convey the same feeling that the images on the poster do. The other, large, piece of text in the release date, which would be seen as many as being rather important bit of information and so is made in large text, again being white so that it stands out against the dark background. This bit of text, unlike the title and quote, is not centred, making it feel, perhaps a little less important and so does not draw in the audiences eye, but is more used to convey the important information that they will want to know.  

At the bottom of the poster there is another bit of information that clearly stands out. This is the age rating for the film. This, along with the red colour of it, stands out against the rest of the poster, but it also gives the audience an idea of what the film will be like, such as the amount of violence that may be in it. This would possibly draw some people in as they may be interested in the content that could possibly be found within the film. The other important piece of information on the poster is the line of text at the top, and the logos of the production companies at the bottom. The production companies may draw the audience in as it may be ones who have previously created similar films that they have liked and enjoyed, and so may want to watch this particular film as well, giving them as slight idea what it may be like or about. The other piece of information, at the top of the poster, is written in much smaller text, though is also in a white colour against a dark background. The size of the text suggest that it is not the most important information, and so is not meant to draw the audience in, this is meant to be done by the images and the title. Once they have been drawn into the poster they may then look at this smaller text, which lists the main actors in the film. This could possibly be important information for some and may be what finally persuades them to see the film, as many of these names, like Hugh Jackman or Jake Gyllenhaal, would be ones that they were familiar with, again giving them an idea of what the film may be like, from these actors past productions.

This poster is for the 2013 film Captain Phillips. I shall again analyse it as it is in a similar genre to my own film.

This poster uses two main images, the main one being a close up of the main character in the film, which takes up about a quarter of the poster. This close up brings the audience closer into the character, making it feel more intense and suspenseful, as well as showing the emotion on the characters face. This would draw the audience in effectively because it shows the intensity of the film and so would interest the audience and would make them want to know what was to happen. The image is also lit so that most of his face is in darkness, particularly towards the eyes and the back of his face which shows a darkening of the character, possible as the film goes on. This would draw the audience in as it shows this development of the character. There is also another image being used, this one being a wide angle shots showing the pirates climbing up the ship. On this image there is two pirates being shown, however, the main pirate, the one at the bottom, who is shown looking directly towards the camera. This gives the audience a feeling of involvement and also adds to the suspense of the poster as the audience are being directly looked at and acknowledged by him. The other part of the image shows their boat and the open sea, suggesting that they will be in the middle of nowhere, far from any help and so would, again, add to the suspense and intensity of the poster, and so the feeling that it would give the audience. Most of these images are much darker colours, with a bright background, of mostly white, behind each of them, this emphasises the darkness of the film and of the characters.

This poster also uses a large amount of text, the main parts being large bold text that has been centred beneath the main character. This is to draw the reader into this particular image and are of the poster, showing the most important information that they would need and want to know. The main piece of text is the title of the film, ‘Captain Phillips’, which has been written on two separate lines, in a darker, almost dirty sort of grey colour. This keeps the darkness of the poster, whilst also standing out against the dark background of the image of Captain Phillips. This draws in the audience because it presents the darker tone, as well as showing them exactly what the film will be about. Above the title is another piece of text, this being the name of the star of the film, ‘Tom Hanks’. This would draw the audience in as it is a name that they would be familiar with and so would have some sort of idea what the film may be like. This text is shown in red, though still in the same font with the same dirty feeling as the title, this separates this piece of text from all the others, whilst still keeping it feeling the same and not creating too much contrast.  Above this there is another piece of text, this being the slogan of the film. This is a much smaller piece of text and is again in white. It reads ‘Out here survival is everything’, again coming back to the empty feeling of almost helplessness that is created by the image of the open water. This draws the reader in as it makes them feel similar to the helplessness experienced by Phillips and so would feel similar intensity and suspense.

At the top of the poster there is more text which reads ‘From the director of “The Bourne Ultimatum”’ which suggests to the audience that it will be similar in style and feel and so if they had enjoyed that film then they would enjoy this film as well. This would be effective at drawing in fans of not only this one Bourne film, but to some extent, fans of the entire series. This text is in the grey of the title and slogan, to stand out from the, mostly, darker background but also because there is not another piece of text that it may need to contrast with close by. The other, major piece of text is in red at the bottom of the poster. This is in quite large letters and is stretched out, all the way across. It reads ‘Based on a true story’. This would appeal to the audiences as to many it makes the film feel much more realistic and even more suspenseful and interesting had they know it had happened to a real life person. This would effectively draw many people in, because of this simple sentence. The rest of the text featured on the page is the smaller text that shows the main people, like cast, crew and production companies, that are behind the film, providing the audience with information that they would want to know, but is not necessarily essential for everybody to read and is not meant to draw any one in. Rather it is to provide extra information for those who may want to know it. This extra information, for those who decide to read it, would give much more information about what the film may be like, because of those who have worked on it.

The colours in this poster are all rather dark, with only small amounts of brighter areas to create a contrasted background for the images. The red used for the text is not a bright red, rather it is a darker, grittier red, much like the whites, which are closer to grey. The poster is also rather centralised towards the right hand side, with most of the main text being towards this side, though it has all be centred to this point. The use of red and white text also breaks it all up and makes them all contrast each other, helping to draw the reader’s eye to certain points.

Overall, these three posters are very similar in almost all aspects. All of them use close up images of the main characters, with lighting that throws half the person’s face into darkness. There is also a secondary image showing something that is slightly less important, but still quite relevant to the film, like the pirates, or the island, or the maze. The colours of all the posters are darker, usually blacks and blues, with some red being used in the text so that it stands out from much of the other text. All of the text itself is mostly centred, though not always on the same point, with the title being the largest piece of text, and then the main actors name usually the second largest and central piece of text. All of the posters show intensity and suspense in the expressions of the characters, but also in the feel and style of the text and colours, giving the audience the same sort of feeling. Overall they all follow very similar styles and conventions that are clear and so the genre quite quickly and obviously.