Poster Analysis 1

The film poster above promotes the slasher movie the “Texas Chainsaw 3D”. The film itself is based on a true story and “Texas Chainsaw 3D” is the most recent interpretation of the film, which was released in 2013. Other interpretations being: “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)” - this is highlighted at the top of the poster whereby it says “In 1974, one movie changed the face of horror. In 2013, a dark new chapter begins”.

The poster itself follows many conventions of a film poster. The title is the biggest font within the frame, clearly indicating that that is the title of the movie, allowing the audience to focus on it and remember it. Smaller fonts including the institutional information, is placed at the bottom of the frame, out of the way in an undistinguished place so that the audience can focus on the main details. Such as the release date which

is the last piece of text on the poster and is placed at the bottom so it is the last thing the audience will see and therefore remember. Lastly, the image dominates the frame allowing the audiences to have some sort of insight into the movie. In this case it is leatherface, whom the audience will recognise from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Therefore attracting the audience further to want to see the film.

The image itself dominates the frame, it is a medium long shot of the antagonist, leatherface, but from a low angle shot. This makes the antagonist automatically look dominant, proving to the audience from the beginning that leatherface himself is going to be on a killing spree throughout the movie. Additionally, that this image is from the victim's point of view and what they are seeing. Creating fear from the audience if it was them in that situation! The mise-en-scene of the image allows the audience to identify the movie as a slasher. Through the use of a mask, it is obvious, as this is a very common convention within slasher films, a masked killer with an unknown identity or motive. The mask itself is creepy, making the audience scared of the antagonist even more than they would be if he was unmasked. Furthermore, the costume leatherface is wearing are dirty, baggy overalls. This is common with antagonists with in horror films and is used regularly. It is a consistent convention that continues to scare audiences, without them even realising it. The overalls make leatherface look more masculine, larger and indicates strength. The main prop within the image, is the chainsaw, as expected from the title of the film. The chainsaw itself looks old and rusty, this implies that it has been used before, potentially on previous victims. It takes up a majority of the image, highlighting its importance within the film and is also used to help intimidate the audiences as well as increase the fear factor. There is a single spot light of lighting coming from the left hand of the poster, looking like an available piece of lighting perhaps coming from a garden light, or a light coming out of a house window. The lighting allows us to sit a foggy mist, creating the setting of a cold, foggy night whereby leatherface is lurking around looking for a victim. Due to the background being black, it is hard to specify the exact location of the image but because of the mist, it is more than likely that it is set outside.

The title of the film is “Texas Chainsaw 3D” suggesting that the film is going to be about a massacre (death of many people), which is done through the use of a weapon that is a chainsaw, which is also evident through the 1974 version and is anchored within the image. Additionally, it portrays the idea that the location of the film is in Texas which is the second largest state in America however is covered in grasslands and forests, making it the perfect location for massacres leaving the victims with no place to hide or escape! The text itself is the biggest piece of text in the frame, clearly indicating that it is the title of the film. It is written in red, which can be a connotation for blood, linking back to the

idea it is a slasher film which is related to gore. It is presented in an uppercase, serif font. The use of capital letter creates emphasis on the idea that leatherface is solid and undefeatable. This could cause fear for the audience, leaving them with no thought of any kind of happy ending for the victims.

The tagline to this poster is presented at the top of the poster, which is a conventional location for it to be placed. A tagline is used in order to give the audience a further insight to the movie, which it successfully does. The tagline is “In 1974, one movie changed the face of horror. In 2013, a dark new chapter begins”. Indicating that all that was revealed in 1974, was not the truth and more is yet to be revealed. This will intrigue the audiences, as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre is based on a true story and has built up mystery and suspense as to what the ‘new chapter’ is. This is further heightening by the idea that it is written in capital letters (serif font), implying its importance. The tagline is written in white, on a black background, contrasting the two colours which could link to the contrast between leatherface and his victims (good v evil).

Institutional information is placed at the bottom of the poster, out of the way so it doesn’t distract the audience from reading the more important text on the poster such as the title and tagline. It is also written in a smaller font, further highlight the idea that it is less important. However, the release date is written in a slightly larger font, grabbing the audience's attention once again. It is placed at the very bottom of the page, leaving that the last thing that the audience will see and therefore will stay in their minds.

This film poster successfully promotes “Texas Chainsaw 3D” and successfully entices them to watch the movie by giving them a clear indication of the narrative without giving the story line away. In general, this poster was inspirational to me and gave me many ideas for my own film poster. For instance, the use of a low angle shot in order to make the antagonist come across increasingly dominant and the use of a weapon to indicating and give audience different ideas to think of as to how my antagonist is going to kill the protagonists.