Primary Optical Area

The producer has chosen to put all these in the specific part of the poster because that’s the primary optical area. That area is where we all look first; the name of the star is at the very top. This is important because if the audience will notice Liam Neeson is a well-known actor and will get them to look into the film more. The title is also important for the audience to know what film it is. An image of Liam Neeson will also get the audience’s attention, this is incase you weren’t aware of the actors name or just couldn’t see it most people know who he is.

Strong Fallow Area

The strong is similar to the primary optical area; this is where the title, tagline and the star of the film is placed also. Because this area is at the top of the page next to the primary optical area the most important things are in these two areas. The producers have done this purposely because the top of the page is where we look first (left to right).

Weak Fallow Area

The weak fallow area is part of the poster where the not so important things go, for example most magazines put the barcode in this area. This is because when we look at a poster of front cover we look from the top left corner to the bottom right. There is a gun in Liam Neeson’s had in this area of the poster. This is because the gun is a convention of the genre; the producers also put this there purposely so the audience has an idea of what genre the film is.

Terminal Area

This area is one of the main areas as well as the primary optical area. When looking at a poster of cover of a magazine we look from the top left to the bottom right. The terminal area is in the bottom right area. Usually the release dates are positioned there. On this poster there is a cross as if Liam Neeson was stood in a graveyard, this is gives the audience a clue to what kind of film this is going to be.

Axis of Orientation

Axis of orientation is the direction we look at something, for example if you was to look at the poster above you would look at the top left corner (primary optical area) to the bottom right corner (the terminal area).

Genre codes and conventions

There a quite a few genre codes and conventions in this poster. From looking at the poster we know this film is an action thriller, in a weak fallow area there is a gun in Liam Neeson’s hand this suggests there is going to be action. In the terminal area there is a cross and he looks to be stood in a graveyard, this suggests it is also a thriller. The very bottom of the poster is red; this could mean there would be a lot of blood involved within the film.

Anchorage

Liam Neeson has been put in the centre of this poster. He has starred in other fims, taken and taken 2. These fims have been a success and Liam Neeson is well known. The producers have put him in the middle of this poster using him as bait. The audience will look at the film star on the poster and will be anchored to it, this means tey will read more about the film.

Modes of address

As i have said preiously, Liam neeson is in the centre of the poster. He is looks straight on and when the audience look at the poster they will feel as if he was looking directly at them. This helps involve the audience when looking at and reading the text.