Poster Conventions

The following images were found using the internet or scanned from the past 12 months of Empire Magazine.

Catchy tagline with alliteration.

Flesh has connotations of pain and horror.

Blood

Scary image, faces hidden not clear who or what it is.

Classic font different sized

letters.

Actors Names

Website

Release date with cheesy almost funny

tagline.

Colour pallet: Green, yellow,

white and black.

The Human Centipede• Tagline suggests the notion of a torture film ‘Their Flesh Is His Fantasy’. ‘Flesh’ is a

strong word to use and connotates to the horror genre, ‘His’ reveals that the antagonist is male and ‘Fantasy’ tells the audience that his motives are purely due to desire.

• The central image shows 3 people however only one persons face can be seen, this image doesn't look normal in the positioning of the 3 people. This image tells the audience that there are 3 or more victims, it doesn't reveal much about the gender of the victims however the first person does seem male but this isn’t clear due to it being blurred.

• The second tagline including the release date, ‘Crawling To Cinemas Near You From 20th August.’ This is very ironic as the film is literally about a human centipede so the world crawling relates to the plot. This to me is quite funny so it could suggest you shouldn’t take the film to seriously however this could not have been intended.

• The words 100% medically accurate located above the title makes the film look even more scarier and entices me to find out more about the film and story.

• The colour pallet reminds me of rotting/ decay which again relates to the story.• I think this poster is very interesting it makes me want to find out more and it

reveals alot of clues about the plot.

Protagonist, half of the face could suggest they are also bad.

Alien like features, antagonist.Tagline, font is red fear has

connotations of horror.

Lasers more sci-fi than horror

Bold modern style writing.

Release date.

Expression on characters face

doesn’t show fear.Colour pallet: Red, black,

white, green.

Predators• I decided to look at this poster to help me distinguish the difference between the

horror genre than a combination of horror with another genre in this case sci-fi.• Firstly the tagline ‘Fear is reborn.’ connotates to horror, ‘Fear’ is typically used and

‘reborn’ shows that the film is a remake of previous film. • The main image consists of two faces both only showing half. This is the

protagonist who shows no fear only seriousness in his eyes and an antagonist which is clearly a robot/ alien. These images don’t look scary they don’t look like they belong to the horror genre the look more sci-fi/action.

• The Lazers and title also have elements of sci-fi rather than horror.

• As my task is to create a horror poster I must ensure I do not mix genres and my conventions research will allow me to do this.

Red title with old cheesy horror style

Woman aimed at male audience

3 Word tagline, alliteration, male audience.

Antagonist

Colour pallet: Red, white, blue.

Piranha 3D• This poster really stands out due to the bright colours the red and blue is very

bright in comparison to the previous posters I looked at and the woman on the lilo shows that the film is aimed at a male audience.

• The writting is quite tacky and cheesy looking however it really does stand out but it look more funny than scary.

• The tagline consists of 3 words ‘Sea, Sex and Blood’ Alliteration is used again this makes the tagline more catchy and stand out but also it shows it’s aimed at a male audience.

• I don’t really like this poster as it doesn’t look scary or entice me to watch the film or find out more about it, maybe this could be because I am female if I were male it may make me want to find out more.

Red font

Letters different sizes

Release date

Website

Shocking image, quite

disturbing

Antagonist, face hidden

Colour pallett: Black, white

and redReview

The Last Exorcism• The main image in this poster is what stands out the most it is very shocking and

disturbing it is clear what the film is about and reveals the sub genre: supernatural. The costume of the antagonist is seen in many horror films including, The Exorcist, The Ring and the Grudge. This reveals clues about the plot in all the previous films this was worn by the antagonist who was initially good but then turned bad, therefore it could be a clue to the antagonist in this film but this will only be noticed by audiences with knowledge of horror films.

• Also her face is hidden, we can’t see who she is clearly which again is seen in films such as the grudge and the ring. Showing the unknown but not revealing to much is common in posters.

• The bold red title really stand out from the background and some letters are slightly smaller than other, this gives the film it’s own unique font. The font is quite classic like The Exorcist, however this element adds a modern element. I really like this classic horror style font, I will consider using it on my poster.

• There is no tagline which is unusual for poster as conventionally there is always a tagline, however there is a review included, it’s quite large and very noticeable this helps sell the film by including other people’s opinions.

Review

Rhetorical question tagline

Image shows protagonists, it isn’t clear

whats happening, antagonist

shadow can be seen,

Time: realistic.

Website

Title is red with computer like font, blurred.

Promoting the film distribution

Colour pallet: blue, red, white and black.

Paranormal Activity• The layout of this poster is very different from the ones i previously analysed

primarily due to the fact the central image does not fill the full poster, the screen shot shows an amateur quality to the film, this may be intended due to the fact it’s filmed on handheld camera with amateur filming.

• The image has a blue filter and refresh rate lines, this would not normally be seen on a poster, the image would be very bold and clear however, I like how they have added an amateur element to reveal some of the plot.

• Again like the previous films the shadow on the door shows the unknown, we don’t know who or what it is which entices the audience to find out. This isn’t very clear on the poster at first glance but because the image isn’t focused one particular person/ object it makes you look at the poster longer so you interact more with what you see.

• The title is the thing that stands out on this poster as it’s very bright and the glow reminds me of a recording light on a camera which again relates to the story line, this font is quite modern and has a sci-fi look, I would consider using this font as I don’t think it would be suitable on my poster.

• Like the previous poster this has reviews at the top of the poster to help sell the film but it also has a tagline ‘What happens when you sleep?’ The rhetorical question is quite scary and makes you think, What does happen? The answer is you don’t know and because of this it makes you want to see the film to find out.

No tagline, narrative paragraph.

Dates seems realistic.

Protagonist, scared expression can only see the

eyes.

Torch light

Forest setting

Scatch like writting

Website

Colour pallet: Red, black and

white

Logo, witch craft related.

The Blair Witch Project• I really like this poster as it reveals a lot about the storyline and also persuades you

to want to see it and find out more.• The image is split into three sections the top which is the least noticeable

containing a forest showing the setting for the film. The bottom section is a extreme close up of a person’s face, this doesn’t reveal to much as it’s not clear of gender. From the eyes we can see they are scared and have been crying so we know that something terrible has happened and the lighting looks like a torch. From this image we know where the film is set, an idea of the protagonist (presuming it is the protagonist), what they are doing in the forest which seems to be camping.

• The middle section of the poster is black with a small paragraph, this includes a date and the use of the word documentary makes this film seem factual and based on a true story. Therefore the reaction to the poster is amplified as it is much more scarier when you know it could happen to you.

• The title is quite small and at the bottom of the poster although the font is larger than the paragraph it does not seem to be the focus of the poster. I like this font as it is unique and almost like it’s been scratched. The title reveals the sub genre of the film as it includes the word ‘witch’, therefore it is supernatural.

Could be antagonist, blood around mouth, strange eyes,

possibility of vampire.

Could be protagonist.

Classic font, blood splotches.

Tagline: She will keep is repeated 3 times, quite

long.

Colour pallet blue, red, white and black

Breath, set in winter?

Let Me In• This poster like the previous also split into 3 parts. The centre section is the main

focus which is wear the title is, I really like this font with the red blood smears behind the writing. It really makes the title stand out.

• On the right there is a boy and on the left a girl, they are facing opposite sides this could suggest they are accomplices as enemy’s usually face one and other. The girl has strange golden/ yellow eyes this is unnatural and reminds me of the vampire genre the blood down her mouth also emphasises this clue to the sub genre. The boy however has normal eyes therefore suggesting he could be a victim.

• In the background we can see a forest and we can also see the boys breath indicating that the time of year the film is set is winter, the blue filter also emphasises this factor.

• I also really like the tagline on this poster, it uses a common language technique; the rule of 3. ‘She will keep you close. She will keep you safe. She will keep you forever.’ The repetition of she will keep you makes the tagline flow and memorable also ‘She will keep you forever.’ Suggests that the girl is the antagonist and someone is being held against their will.

Review

Tagline, fear connotations of horror.

Title scratched

away

Protagonist, half face lit, blood scared

expression

Light filtering down, suggestion of being

trapped underground

Colour pallet: blue, red white

and black

The Descent• The layout of this poster is my favourite of the ones I have analysed so far. I like

how the title is bold and stands out with the image on the left. This is a matter of creative opinion because some people may think their is to much black space.

• The image has a blue filter and the woman is looking up with light filtering down, this tells the audience she could be trapped underground, the light on the walls shows it is a stone wall with rough edges which doesn’t appear to belong to a house therefore revealing the film is set outside or underground.

• The descent (to descend) is to move or fall down, this title is very clear that the film will be set underground and they are trapped.

• The poster however does not indicate an antagonist therefore it makes me want to know more.

• This poster also has a review to help sell the film.• The tagline ‘Face your deepest fear.’ This is a very common tagline in genre often

they include the word fear as it connotates to this genre.

Colour pallet: red black and

white

Title, red, bold font

Antagonist half face

hidden, wide eyed looks unnatural

Tagline repeats words and

uses alliteration, it connotates

that the antagonist is not human

Release date

Website

The Grudge• This poster in my opinion is shocking to look at, it is clear that the central image is

the antagonist mainly due to the previous posters I’ve looked as it conventionally looks like an antagonist. The face is half hidden and the expression looks very unnatural.

• The title ‘The Grudge’ is in a bold font and red so it really stands out and again gives an indication the plot, the antagonist could possibly have a grudge, this shows the motivation of the killings.

• I really like the tagline on this poster ‘It never forgets, it never forgets.’ The use of ‘it’ indicates the antagonist is not human, although this contradicts the image as to me this is the antagonist and is clearly human. It could be showing that the girl we see appears human but is not she could be a ghost or demon. The tagline entices me to want to find out more about the film and also it is conventional due to the repetition.

Title in child like font suggest a

child is the protagonist or

antagonist

Tagline relates to

plot

website

Noise

Circular ring of light

Colour pallet: black, white and blue.

The Ring • This poster is not as clear as the others as their is no really eye catching/ shocking

image. • The ring of light is what stands out most, it really does not indicate much of the

storyline except it looks very ghostlike showing it may be a supernatural film.• The title ‘the ring’ is also very unclear it is in a childlike font showing that either the

antagonist or protagonist is a child. It isn’t clear what the film is about from what we see.

• The tagline ‘Before you die you see... The ring.’ This also doesn't reveal any of the plot is the ring an object, person or thing? It could show that when the people die in the film they see this ring of light.

• There is noise on this poster which I really like, it does have a horror feel to it and I think would be good to experiment with.

SummaryOverall horror posters are very conventional in terms of colour pallet and layout. The

font can vary from modern sci-fi to classic horror and often indicates what the film is going to be about. The tagline is also very important as it reveals some of the plot but also makes you want to find out more. Although some posters were different and some very similar collectively they each revealed clues and indications to what the film is about and entices the viewer to want to know more.