Film Poster Analysis

The Impossible Poster

PurposeThe purpose of this

poster is to catch the audiences eye with the powerful image, inform them of the name of the film and who is starring

in it.

ColourThe colours are very

bright and in your face, especially with the sun at the top of the poster

which seems to indicate hope in times

of extreme devastation. These

vibrant colours add to the power of the

image.

Key ImageThis powerful image attracts to the audience because of many different

factors. The shot is taken from a low angle which gives us the impression that the people are fighting through the disaster, and using each others

compassion towards each other to help them get through it. The sun that is glaring over them gives the picture a sense of hope, and makes the

image look inspirational to the audience. You can’t see any of the actors faces, this depicts how scared they all are, and that they are trying to block

out the devastation and keep their loved ones safe.

BackgroundThe background consists of

palm trees, bright sun, splashes of water and some

bits of wood. The background doesn’t play a

big role in the appeal of this poster (apart from the sun) because it is mostly about

the characters in the middle. The background

tells us it’s set in a tropical country and that it is some

sort of disaster movie judging by the water and bits of wood. Although

there is no clear indication in the background that it is a disaster movie, the blood on Ewan McGregor's arm

gets it across better.

RealismThis film is based on a true story, although most people who see this for the first time won’t realize this because it doesn’t

have the ‘based on a true story’ tagline on it. Anyway the audience would get the impression that this is a realistic film

because of the real images, and that the film is probably based on the relationship between the family, judging by the image of them clinging onto eachother, rather than being based on

huge CGI disaster sequences like films such as ‘The day after tomorrow’ & ‘2012’.

The Impossible Poster

Text ColourThe colour of the main font is black, and put on

a white see through banner so it can be seen clearly. The colour of the lead actors names

are light grey on a white background, which cannot be seen very

clearly, this is probably because the film is more about the message than

the actors.

Text FontThe font on the actors names and the title of the is fairly basic, it’s not got any stylistic

qualities, it’s just their to give you

information. The title of the film is much

larger than the actors names because it needs

to stand out more.

TaglineThere is no tagline used on this poster, they probably wanted the image to be the main

focus.

ReactionI think this poster is great, the simplicity of it really draws you in to the main image. I’ve seen this film

before and I enjoyed it, that may alter my judgment slightly but I still think I would want to find out

more after seeing it.

LayoutThe layout of this poster is simple but effective. Our eyes are drawn towards the powerful image because it’s placed in the middle. The information is placed at the bottom with the title and the actors names, this poster proves that sometimes less is

more!

Zero Dark Thirty Poster

ColoursThere’s a lot going on in terms of

colour, there are two main colours, orange & blue. These represent two different kinds of moods, the blue at the top of the poster represents calm, and the

orange at the bottom of the poster represents chaos. The reason I

say this is because there is a calm looking woman with shades on at the top, and explosions going on

at the bottom. This makes the audience think that the woman at the top is powerful and in control

of the situation.

Key ImageThere are two main images merged into one, the calm woman at the top and the chaotic explosions at the

bottom. The images represent one extreme to the

other which makes it powerful and instantly

catches the audiences eye. Like most film posters, the key image is the main focus.

BackgroundThere is no distinctive

background on this poster. It’s like everything is in the foreground, it’s different to

‘The Impossible’ poster because you cant pinpoint

exactly what is in the background. Anyway, there

is blue sky at the top and orange smoke at the bottom that merge together in the middle, and as I’ve said

before, these represent two contrasting feels, calm &

chaos.

PurposeThis poster informs you of the

name of the film, what it’s about and when it’s released. It looks as if it is an action film, judging

by the fire and helicopters.

Zero Dark Thirty PosterText Colour

They have used the colour of the title in an interesting way. Unlike

the standard block colour lettering that most posters use,

they have merged it into the main image. As you can see, the main

title includes an image of a woman that spreads across all the

words ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, I’ve never seen this before and it works very well, giving the

woman a sort of mysterious look because you can’t see all of her face. The text at the top and the tagline are both in white, these

stand out fairly well to get across the information to the audience.

The small print is not usually meant to be read so it is in a murky orange colour that fits

with the background. The red text showing ‘January 11’ stands out

well with a bright red colour against a black background, this

is a crucial bit of information that the audience want to know.

Text FontThick ‘Impact’ style fonts are

used for this poster, suitable for the genre of the film. The main title is very big, a lot bigger than the average title size on a poster, this is because it merges into the main image, it can afford to be

bigger because it’s not as noticeable. The typical thin font is used for the small print at the bottom. The information on the

top of the poster, the tagline, and date on the bottom use

more or less the same font style and size, they’re smaller than the main title because they are of less importance, however they are enough to catch the

audiences attention.

RealismThis poster is based on a true

story, there’s nothing obvious on the poster that gives that away, apart from maybe the tagline

‘The greatest manhunt in history’, which may hint some

form of realism.

Zero Dark Thirty Poster

ReactionIt seems the more you look at this poster the better it gets, you don’t notice all the clever aspects at a first glance, but when you look

into it more you realize how much thought has gone into

making it unique and attractive to the audience.Layout

Trying not to repeat myself, the layout of this poster is clever, using the calm & chaos idea

from top to bottom and using a large transparent title, it is unique and eye catching. It

doesn’t entirely stick to conventions, however it does in some places e.g. The small print and release date at the bottom and the tagline in the middle.

TaglineThe tagline ‘The greatest

manhunt in history’ hints at a true story and explains what the

film is about. We know from this that it’s an action film, and

it’s about a manhunt.

Basic Instinct PosterPurpose

The purpose of this poster is to seduce the audience with the main image and give them

information regarding the title, tagline and actors names.

ColourThe colours used on this poster are harsh, with blacks whites and reds. Having seen this film I can tell what

they are trying to do with the colours, it’s telling the story of the

film, the whites represents how seductive main female character is, the blacks and reds are saying if you get seduced by her, you are entering

into a dark place where you‘re risking your life, the evil look on her

face accentuates this.

Key ImageI would describe the main image

as ‘seductive & evil’. The expressions of the actors really make it powerful. Especially

Sharon Stone, it shows her hiding behind Michael Douglas’s

shoulder with her nails wrapped round his back like she is going to hurt him, the way she is looking straight at us is very creepy also. Michael Douglas looks terrified but seduced at the same time. The tag line accentuates this

image.

BackgroundThe background is very

simple on this poster, it is mostly white with some

black, the white represents the seduction aspect, and the black represents the

danger aspect.

RealismThis is a fictional story,

though not a fantasy story like a sci-fi. So there is an element of realism to it, if

that element of realism wasn’t their the film poster & the film wouldn’t work.

Basic Instinct PosterText Font

The main title uses quite a thin font, especially on the word ‘Instinct’. This seems to make a link to the message of the poster, the sleek

think look represents the danger, this attracts to the audience. I like how small the lettering is on the

tagline, it’s not bold and out there like the zero dark thirty poster, it’s

quietly there in small writing, and to me, that gives the poster an

element of mystique. Similarly with Michael Douglas’s name in the top

right hand corner, it’s very thin which also adds to the mysterious

feel of the poster.

Key ImageI would describe the main image as

‘seductive & evil’. The expressions of the actors really make it powerful.

Especially Sharon Stone, it shows her hiding behind Michael Douglas’s

shoulder with her nails wrapped round his back like she is going to hurt him, the way she is looking straight at us is

very creepy also. Michael Douglas looks terrified but seduced at the same

time. The tag line accentuates this image.

BackgroundThe background is very simple on this

poster, it is mostly white with some black, the white represents the seduction aspect, and the black represents the danger aspect.

Text ColourThe two colours used on the text are red and black, they represent danger and death. The color red stands out the most, notice how

Michael Douglas’s name is in red, this accentuates that he is going to be in some sort of danger during

the film.

TaglineThe tagline on this poster is very

effective, I said earlier how I liked the small font because it gives the poster an element of mystery. The words rhyme, are very concise and they sum up the

film brilliantly, there’s always something creepy about words that

rhyme when they are used in that way. I’m sure members of the audience would want to watch the film after

reading that

Basic Instinct Poster

LayoutThe layout Is an important feature

of this poster, it shows the two different moods in the film, the

seduction and the danger elements with the white and black colours. You can pick out conventional

triangle shapes within the poster, this gives it a strong composition

that attracts the audience.

ReactionThe people who designed this poster

want you to feel scared and seduced by Sharon stone, and I think it does a

brilliant job of doing that. Everything about this poster is sexy and terrifying.

The colour, facial expressions, font’s etc, all add up to it’s appeal. The majority of people would be intrigued by this poster,

and as result would want to watch the film.

Basic Instinct Poster

LayoutThe layout Is an important feature

of this poster, it shows the two different moods in the film, the

seduction and the danger elements with the white and black colours. You can pick out conventional

triangle shapes within the poster, this gives it a strong composition

that attracts the audience.

ReactionThe people who designed this poster

want you to feel scared and seduced by Sharon stone, and I think it does a

brilliant job of doing that. Everything about this poster is sexy and terrifying.

The colour, facial expressions, font’s etc, all add up to it’s appeal. The majority of people would be intrigued by this poster,

and as result would want to watch the film.