Textual AnalysisAncillary Task: Posters

The films that I will look at….

Elegy

The use of having the focus on the character and not the background suggests that she is important to the plotline and that the use of the medium shot shows how she is in control.The costume that the character is wearing is slightly dirty and the fact she has to wear a gas mask suggests to the audience that it is a dangerous environment.

The use of high key lighting suggests that the character is not in danger at that moment however the fact that the rest of the poster suggests that death is around the corner could mean that it has been used to throw the audience and give them a surprise.The poster does not give us much information about the plot and thus leaves an enigma for the audience to solve.

The title takes up a lot of the bottom half of the poster to capture the audiences attention and it stands out as it is against the characters dirty clothes. The title is a reference for poems of the dead and suggests that this environment is dangerous and many people have died due to some problem.

Connected

The fact that there are very little textures and bland colours this signifies that the narrative is focused towards the two characters on the poster.The poster also connotes that it doesn’t effect just these two people but that it effects all of humanity as they struggle to survive.

The title connotes that we should stay together as a human race and that we cannot be selfish thus this shows how the event has affected the people and that they must survive in the harsh wasteland.

Also the baron colours show us that little exists and that people need to trust each other to survive.

The main image actually comes out of the box maybe as if they were walking out to the audience. This may be done to make the audience empathise with the characters who may be in danger.

The use of the ‘n’s being joint together exaggerates that people need to stay connected and that without each other we won’t survive.

Due to the film being niche, it doesn’t focus on the actors or director as they won’t attract the films audience. The actors names are isolated and larger than other crew members to signify their importance. The rest of the names are bunched together as they are not a selling point for the film.

The font being used is thick and bold, with colouring matching the colour on the poster . The font itself has connotations of early Sci-Fi films and with the colour scheme staying constant this helps keep the idea of the genre stuck in the consumer’s mind.

The dark blue contrasts heavily with the background which makes the two characters stand out more to the audience. Also the contrast of colours of the white tubes helps lead the audience to the assumption of that the tubes play an important part, and that the two are literally connected to each other.

All that Remains

The use of props like the guns and harness connote that this is a dangerous place where you must be protected to survive.The use of textures in the poster connotes that this is not a nice place and that it is very harsh and gloomy due to the use of the effects added on. The lone character in the poster suggests that this place is dangerous and little survives. It also shows how he may be about to attack someone due to the manner that he has pointed his gun. Which shows the audience that people can’t be trusted and that you must always be alert.

The fact that this poster has no text and may just be used as a teaser poster shows us that independent films focus more on the characters or plot rather than actors and directors.The use of the buildings in the backgrounds show us that this place once had life around it however it is now old and rusted away showing the audience again how it is a harsh environment for this character to survive in.The poster is very simple however it tells the audience which will be sophisticated a lot of information of the setting of the film however does not give much info of the plot and thus creates an enigma for the audience to solve.

Conclusion...

After analysing the three film posters I have found some conventions and some aspects which we could use for our own film poster.

1. Keeping the poster simple is seen in all three of the posters as they don’t have too much happening in any of them which leads to the audience wanting to find answers to the many unsolved questions that are derived from the posters and thus creates more anticipation from the audience to watch the film.

2. Another point is to have a innovative title and to make sure that it stands out to the audience so that it stands out and catches the attention of the audience.

3. The poster should just mainly have one or two characters being shown in the poster due to it showing that this apocalyptic environment is harsh and deadly for people to survive in.

What has this helped with?

This has helped us give us a bit more confidence in ideas of what to do for the poster as want to use a mixture of the elements from the poster ‘All that remains’ especially the effects it uses to create a darker and more gloomy looking environment but still making it look realistic. We also want to take elements of the ‘Elegy’ film poster as it stands out very well however we are thinking about using low key lighting and having something such as a flare to create the light to create suspense for the audience.