Mise en scene

Cold spots are a common type of haunting type of haunting activity and is actually the ghost attempting to manifest. Due to the face seen in this potential ‘wind’, the poster does follow these conventions which will adds familiarity to the viewer. There is minimal text which pushes the main focus of the poster onto the main male character showing he will play a significant role in the movie.

The mise en scene shows a close-up of male protagonist with only half his face in the foreground, while in the background are the film details and smoke in which another face appears from. This mise en scene clearly suggests that the genre of the film is horror due to the close-up of the male character as it allows us to see his feared facial expression. One could argue that the smoke is in fact a vivid wind which is not only a film convention but a real-life ghost encounter story convention.

Text + Font

There is a consistent design on the text as you can see a rugged line that looks like it has almost been scratched on the film title, release date, tag line and actor’s name. This gives continuity throughout the whole poster and builds a strong brand identity for the film.

There is minimal text on the poster and only the crucial details such as the film title, release date, actor’s name and tag line are featured on the poster. The tag line is “Do you believe in ghosts?” which suggests that the figure in the background is in fact a ghost.

Facial Expression

The second facial expression is more subtle and therefore more profound for the viewer to realise. This facial expression looks like that of a woman who is screaming perhaps. One could argue that this is the figure of a dead ghost who is sticking around to haunt people due to her frightening expression. The fact the film title is smudged in this face could imply that this in fact is the face of the Woman in Black. Also, both faces present on this poster are cut off and therefore only half is showing. This common feature on both characters shows that there is some kind of connection between both these characters. Both characters also make direct audience address by having extraordinary considering half of the characters in the poster are eyeless!

The majority of the poster is taken up by the male protagonist’s incomplete face as you can only see just over half of it. This was done deliberately and for an effective reason as it raises questions and suspicions from the viewer, ultimately asking “why didn’t they show his full face?” From my personal spectator view, I assumed that the lead male could have a facial disfigurement of some sort, hence why part of his face is concealed and this could be revealed later on in the film as a twist.

Colour Scheme

The colour scheme within this poster is very basic. There is largely the colour grey used throughout the poster but just in different shades, along with the additional colour of white. This basic colour scheme is in strong connection with the 1800’s time period the film is set in because people’s clothes for example would’ve been very plain and most likely either black or grey.