The development of my Horror poster

The idea behind the image was to have the book illuminate the characters face, I created this effect by placing a light below the book but not underneath it. This meant that I could create a soft glow, but still light up the characters face. As this is a main character, their face is in the centre 3rd, however not in the middle. I have chose to leave a space in the middle for the title as it is the most important piece of copy.

The expression on the characters face is a fusion of emotionless psychopath and an evil glare. I feel its important for the characters eyes to look directly into the camera lenses as the viewer need to feel and connection and need to be draw into the story. The clothing used for the character is black, this colour represent death and decay which I feel is relevant as the poster is for a horror film. In addition the black shows little about the character which is appealing to the audience as they will then want to watch the film to understand the true personality of the character.

A book has been placed in the frame as although this is a feature in the film it represents a story. As this is an object which occurs in the majority of peoples life, the audience may begin to guess the significance of this particular one. As a result they are more likely to want to watch the film

In fitting with the theme of blue, I used a blue light as lighting. This creates a slower glow and isn’t as harsh as a white light. In addition the blue if most obscure which the audience may link to a psychological horror.

The original photo wasn’t engaging nor did it look professional. I used adobe Photoshop to edit my image, first I black out the back ground as the view could see a bed. This allows for space for a credit box, in addition it improves the over all appearance as the photo looks darker which is once of the conventions of horror. Apart from the background I also edited the character face, I made her eyes a sharper and brighter blue which stands out to grab the audiences attention. Furthermore the colour blue fits in with the colour scheme which is effective as it creates consistency. To create more definition in the characters face I darkened her eye browns, this acts in contrast to the light blue eyes which are associated with innocent .

As previously stated, the black space in the middle of the image was for the title. Using Photoshop I layered text on top of the image, I chose a similar style to text that it featured in the trailer to create a link between the two. The font is simple and clear for the reader which makes it convenient, however the font could be considered part of the images. The word deactivate is placed above the book and which in the bean on light, this shows the audience that the opening of the book has caused the disruption. It appears that the word has risen out of the book.

In the original image the character had a blue nail, to keep in fitting with the characters personality I used Photoshop to refill the finger nail with black.

The tagline it placed above the characters head, this is because the tagline is an important piece of text. It sets the mood of the whole trailer, also because the film is psychological if felt appropriate to have the tag line near the characters mind. The font is the same as the title as they are linked, however its in small caps because it isn’t as important as the title of the film. The colour pallet for Deactivate it black white and blue, in order to keep this consistent the tag line is the same colour as the characters eyes, this creates further links between the tag line and the rest of the poster.

The next piece of copy to be added was ‘from the makers of Paranormal activity’ this is significantly smaller that the heading, because its less important. The colour white was chose to match the heading because both Paranormal activity and Deactivate are from the same makers. In addition is has been placed closely to the heading because Paranormal is an extremely popular psychological horror, therefore more people will want to come knowing that the film should be similar.

To make the title stand out and almost look like it is floating, I added a drop down shadow. It doesn’t deviate far away from the title, but it can be seen easily which is effective as the word looks like its floating out of the book. I added the date below the book, this is because the date it important so it should be close to the image. To enhance the significance of the date, I increase it size so it bigger then the text about Paranormal activity however it doesn’t take away from the title. The date has been made blue to closely link it with the film, the date and the tag line act like the fame for all the important information.

In addition I added a credit box beneath the image, I looked at other posters for inspiration as to what needs to be mentioned and what doesn’t. two of the main influences were Attack the block and Eagle. By looking at these I found out what needed to be mentioned, In addition the Attack the block poster inspired the website featured on my poster.

As seen previously the book contained both blue and orange, I used Photoshop and the paint brush tool to colour in the orange section with blue. This meant that the overall look is more professional and the book fit in with the colour pallet.

To make the title stand out and almost look like it is floating, I added a drop down shadow. It doesn’t deviate far away from the title, but it can be seen easily which is effective as the word looks like its floating out of the book. I added the date below the book, this is because the date it important so it should be close to the image. To enhance the significance of the date, I increase it size so it bigger then the text about Paranormal activity however it doesn’t take away from the title. The date has been made blue to closely link it with the film, the date and the tag line act like the fame for all the important information.

In addition I added a credit box beneath the image, I looked at other posters for inspiration as to what needs to be mentioned and what doesn’t. two of the main influences were Attack the block and Eagle. By looking at these I found out what needed to be mentioned, In addition the Attack the block poster inspired the website featured on my poster.

As seen previously the book contained both blue and orange, I used Photoshop and the paint brush tool to colour in the orange section with blue. This meant that the overall look is more professional and the book fit in with the colour pallet.