Movie Poster AnalysisBY ALBA BEZHANI

Horror Films - Mama

Colours: In this film poster black and white are the most commonly used colours. Black resembles death and darkness both of which are recurring themes in the horror genre. Whereas white resembles purity and angelic-ness. These colours juxtapose each other, black resembles evil while white resembles good. We often see some sort of good and evil in horror films. The black background also gives a sense of isolation since you can’t see anything behind the people, this also adds to the suspense which would appeal to the target audience.

Mise-en-scene: In this particular poster we can see butterfly's flying over the corpse. Butterflies signify many things such as rebirth, vulnerability and in many cultures it is associated with the soul. This has been purposefully done to show that maybe ‘mama’ the corpse the butterflies are on could potentially be more than just an evil spirit. This psychologically makes the audience ask questions as they want to know why butterflies are used in this film.

Typography/Text: The font used is very think and easy to read it looks almost like Times New Romans. They have used the colour white as it shows a bold contrast between the dark background. The name of the film is Mama and the tagline says ‘ a mothers love is forever’ these two texts link in with one another as they both suggest an emotional bond between a mother and her child. This appeals to audiences as it gives them an idea of what the film will be about.

Image: There are only two characters used on the poster a woman and a child. It is conventional to use children in horror films as it appeals to the audiences emotion more. The young girl looks a little bit scruffy this could represent a lot, for example it could mean the child hasn’t been looked after properly or it could mean that she’s in distress or danger. She is shown to have a scared expression and looks like she is cowering away from something. However she is hiding behind a women that looks almost like a corpse, this could connote that maybe the thing we’d expect her to be scared of isn’t the thing she’s hiding from.The other character on the poser is a women who we can assume is Mama however we cannot see her face. This adds to the suspense as we don’t know what she looks like and as humans it is our nature to place a name to a face. The lighting used illuminates the right hand side of her body and then fades to black s you move along to the left side. This could signify that she is either being pulled into the darkness and is trying to take the young child with her. Or that she is trying to come out of the shadows to be reunited with the young child, this could explain the tagline ‘a mothers love is forever’. The woman is wearing dirty and appears to have dirt marks and bruises all over her body this could suggest that she is the antagonist of the film.

Rom-Com – Bridget Jones’s Diary

Image: We can see 3 characters on this film poster a women and two men, they are in the shape of a triangle with the woman (Bridget) in the middle. This could connote that they are in some sort of love triangle with both men fighting over her. Bridget is giving the camera a direct gaze while smirking, this could be to show that she knows she's got two men going after her and she’s playing the game. Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) is looking at the diary not the camera, this could be to show that his character is more insecure. He needs to know what she’s writing about and what she thinks of him. This also goes along with the tagline ‘all women keep score . . . Only the great ones put it in writing’ this could meant that he has some sort of trust issues as he needs to go through something so personal – her diary. Whereas Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) is giving the camera a direct gaze, this signifies that he is confident about his position in the love triangle. Not only that but it could show that he is confident in himself and compared to Mark Darcy he could be perceived as cocky.

Mise-en-scene: The most obvious prop on this poster is the red diary as it has been placed in the bottom center of the poster. The dairy is coloured red as it connotes lots of things such as love, heat and danger. This all relates to the type of stuff she writes about for example, her relationships and her life.

Typography: The font used is very simple it almost looks like the font Arial Narrow and it is used for all the writing on the poster. The largest writing on the poster is the name of the film this is a typical convention for all film genres. For the title they have used a blue colour for Bridget Jones’s this could be to mean a lot o things as the colour blue can connote many things depending on the genre of the film. For example blue could connote trust, faith, intelligence and masculinity. Since it is her name that has been coloured blue (and she’s holding a blue pen and wearing a blue shirt) these connotations could be to represent her. Whereas the word diary is coloured in red, just like the diary she is holding. This would have similar connotations as to what I have already mentioned in the mise-en-scene section. With this information we can conclude that the film is about a women (Bridget) who is stuck in the middle of a love triangle. She has a diary that she rights things in presumably about her sex life or relationship, this assumption is based on the tagline ‘all women keep score… only the great ones put it in writing’. Other: On this poster, and normally other rom-coms, they include banners that let the audience know what other films the director has created. This intrigues the audience of the films and tempts them into watching this one. This has strategically been added for business purposes in order to boost customer sales which in turn boosts revenue and then ultimately the profits.

Melodrama – The Fault in our Stars

Image: The image used is a close-up of a girl‘s (Hazel) and boy’s(Gus) face. Close-ups are often used in melodramas as it lets the audience see the emotion on the characters faces. In the image the characters look content and peaceful being laid next to each other. This gives the impression that they are in a relationship and like being in each others company. In the image the characters are facing it other at a 180 degree angle this could connote that there is some distance between them, or that there is something stopping them from being able to embrace each other. (During the film you actually see that Gus ends up dyeing). They are led on the grass which could connote that they have previously been looking up at the sky or stars, this would link in with the name of the film The Fault in our Stars. One of the things that stands out on this poster is the fact that Hazel is using an oxygen tank to help her breath. This would mean that she has a medical condition that disables her from breathing properly. Terminal illness is a common thing in melodramas as it makes the audience more emotional, which is the purpose of a melodrama.

Font/Colours: The font used is very quirky and has no real order to it, this could connote their relationship. For example it could mean that they haven’t had an easy smooth relationship, instead it’s been bumpy and maybe a bit strange. As if their relationship isn’t actually going to last. The colours used for the font is a light blue and white, these colours usually connote peacefulness and calmness. However in the way they have been laid out on the page it also looks like the sky. The white writing is smaller and is placed on top of the blue just like how clouds are smaller than the sky and all you can see around them is the colour blue. This once again links in with the title as it makes you think of space and stars.

Other: Just like other poster this film follows similar codes and conventions for example it has a banner on the top saying ‘based on the New York #1 best seller’. Things like this have been used in order to create excitement and hype around the film so that hopefully it will be a success at the box office when it is released in cinemas (June 6th). They have also included a website URL so that potential viewers can go online and find out more about the film. On the website you can expect to find links to social networking sites that would also help create a buzz online and attract lots of media attention. This has been included by the marketing team in hopes that it will generate even more revenue and then ultimately profit.

Melodrama – Marley and Me

Image: In this poster there are only two characters and a dog. The man and woman are hugging each other, this could connote that they are in a relationship and that they have strong feelings for each other. They are both giving the camera a direct gaze this is commonly used in many advertising campaigns not just posters as it draws the audience in and it makes them feel as though there is connection between them and the characters on the poster.

Mise-en-scene: The mise-en-scene is very simple the only prop used is the leash. Normally in melodramas there is one prop that has many emotions and connotations attached to it. On this poster the leash is wrapped around both the main characters this could mean that they are bound to each other in some sort of way. Their relationship is so strong and they care for each other so much that it feel like there is something literally drawing them together. The other end of the leash is in the dogs mouth and it looks like he is pulling on it. This could mean many things, for example it could connote that the dog is trouble, he is always winding them up (literally and figuratively . Or it could mean that he is the glue that is holding them together. Marley (the dog) is what has made them as close as they are in their relationship. This invokes more emotion into people when they watch the film as sadly Marley ends up passing away.

Colour/Font: There is only one colour used on the whole poster and that is red. That is because red connotes love and that is the main theme in this film. You have the love between a dog and it’s family and the love between the man and woman on the poster.

Other: Some other things that can be seen are the names of the actors. A common convention in melodramas is to use well-known actors as the main aim of Hollywood films is to make as much revenue as possible in the box-office. So by having the names of the actors on the poster it makes the film look more appealing and worth watching. Another profit making idea on the poster is the banner at the top saying ‘from the director of The Devil Wears Prada. By including that they are hoping that the audience from that film will come and watch this film as psychologically they’ll believe it’ll be just as good as The Devil Wears Prada. They have also included a tagline saying ‘this relationship wasn’t going anywhere until one little thing tied it all together. This sums up the whole poster as the tagline is confirming what the image tells us. They have also included the credits at the bottom, this is a generic convention and is expected in all genre movie posters.