Poster review of the short film Displaced

1. Poster review: Displaced (2013)
Two charactersare shownon the posterthisimplies that
these are the protagonists of the film.The mainfocal pointof
the posteris the twocharacters peeringthroughthe diagonal
slit,thiscreatesthe impressionthatthey’re inhiding. The
characters are positionedone infrontof the other,withthe
oldercharacterbeingpositionedatthe back whichconnotes
mysteryandsuspicion astheydon’tshowanyinteraction
withthe toddler.The use of the black scarf createsa mystery
towardstheiridentity;thisiseffective because itkeepsthe
plotand narrative toa minimal of whichisgiventothe
audience toengage andattract themto the film.The use of
the scarf means that theirfacial expressionis hidden,again
keepingtheiridentitytoa minimum. The positioningof the
characters impliesthatthe oldercharactercouldbe looking
for the babyand creating the impressionthatitcouldbe a
parent. The onlyfeature the audience cansee isthe eyes,
thisiseffective because eyesrevealalotabout a person’s
emotion, andthese eyesare lookingdown implyingthatthe
character isemotional. The oldercharacter’sbodyposition
showsthat they’re anxiousandscared,thisshownbythem
fiddlingwiththeirhands.Byhaving the handsinthe picture it
allowshe audience tosee thatthey’re wearingawedding
ring,thisfurthersupportsthe viewthatthey’re the parentof
the toddler.The positioningof the charactersshow that
they’re notengagingwithone another,thissuggeststhatthe
parentcouldbe lookingfortheirtoddler,thisissupportedby
the use of the title ‘displaced’andcreatesthe impression
that the toddlermayhave beenkidnapped.
The coloursusedin the posterare dull and simple;this
reflectsthe genre of the shortfilm(drama) asit createsa
mystical theme.The posterconsistsof acolourtheme of
pink/orange topwhichthenfadesintoagrey/blackcolourat
the bottom.By usingpink,orange,greyandblackcoloursit is
effectivebecause itwill attractbothfemale andmale
audiences,wideningtheirtargetaudience.The pinkand
orange coloursat the toprepresentasunset/sunrise view;
thisisalso impliedbyuse of a sun positionedatthe point
where the skymeetsthe land.Bygivingthe impressionthat
it’searlyor late hourssuggeststhatit’smore likelytobe a
kidnappedasthisthe peaktime of kidnapsasthey’re less
likelytobe seen.
From justlookingatthe poster,cluesaboutthe narrative are
givenaway, inparticularthe use of the title ‘Displaced’.The
word‘displaced’ instantlysuggeststhatsomethingisn’tinits
correct place,byputtingthe title andmainpicture of the
postertogetheritimpliesthatthe babyhas been‘displaced’
and againsuggeststhatthe babymay have beenkidnapped.
The title of the filmispositionedinfrontof the characters;
againimplyingthatone or bothof the charactershas been
‘displaced’.The colourof the fontthat was chosenis white;
thisjuxtaposesthe narrative thatisgivenasthe colourwhite
isassociatedwithgoodness,innocenceandsafety. However,
thisjuxtaposition iseffective asitmakesthe audience
questionthe narrative of the shortfilmandtherefore engage
withthe poster,thiswill therefore encourage themtowatch
the film.Byusingthe colourwhite it isplainand simple butis
effectiveasitstandsout on the blandbackground,italso
createsa mysterywhichsupportsthe genre of drama as this
isa conventionof dramas.Itcreatesthe impression thatthe
filmwill include dramaticeventsandthe endingcouldbe
eitherhappyorsad.
The backgroundof the filmposterisa long aerial shotof a
urban town,the use of thisaerial shotis effective asfrom
the title ‘displaced’itcreatesthe impressionthatthe two
characters are somewhere withinthe town,buttheir
locationishidden.The factthat theirlocationisn’trevealed
couldsuggestthatthe shortfilmwill consistof asearchparty
lookingforthe toddler.
At the bottomof the shortfilmposterare the credits,thisis
the usual positioningof creditsona filmposter.These
creditsshowusthe locationof the film,the producer andthe
editor.Thisinformationiseffectiveasitrevealsmore
informationaboutthe filmtothe audience,forexampleit
tellsusthat the locationisthe Middle Eastwhichconnotes
that the aerial shotisof a town inthe Middle East.Above the
creditsare sponsorshipsandawardsthat the filmhaswon,
thisiseffective asitshowsthe audience thatthe filmhas
beensuccessful andtherefore reassuresthemthatthe filmis
worthwhile watching.
There are nostars’ namesplacedonthe filmposter,this
impliesthatthe filmdoesn’tcontainanywell-known
actors/actresses.There isalsonoage certificate onthe film
poster,howeverdue tothe suggestednarrativebeing
kidnappingitimpliesthatthe targetaudience will be foran
oldergenerationasitisan emotional topic. Due tothe film
beingproducedbya small productioncompany,there isno
surprise thatno well-knownpeople are actinginthe film.
The main image of the filmposteristhe twocharacters, this
suggeststhattheyare the mainfocusand focal point;thisis
done bythembeingpositionedinthe centre of the poster
and the picture beingamedium-close upshot.Byusinga
medium-close upshotitallowsforthe audience tosee the
facial expressionsof the charactersandwill be the first
impressionof whatthe narrative is.The colourscheme is
alsoa feature of the posterthathintstowardsthe narrative
but alsothe genre of the shortfilm.
Anothersuggestiontowardswhatthe narrative couldbe iscreatedbythe positioningof the
characters; thisisdone by the toddlerbeingpositionedinfrontof the urbantownwhereasthe older
character ispositionedinfrontof the sun-rise/set.Byhavingthe parentinthe skyit couldrepresent
herin heavenandthe toddlerhavingtolive lifewithoutaparent.Thisnarrative can alsobe supported
by the title ‘displaced’asitcouldrefertothe parent being inthe incorrectplace,asthey shouldbe
livingasa parentto theirtoddler,butinsteadshe is ‘displaced’inheaven.The images,mise-en-scene
and title of the filmcreate a numberof differentnarratives,thisiseffective astoomuchinformation
isn’trevealedtothe audience andtherefore itwillencourage themtowatchthe film.A different
narrative thatis suggestedisthatthe parentand toddler couldbe beingforcedoutof theirhome,this
ispresentedbythe use of the two charactersbeingfadedinfrontof the a townand the title
‘displaced’implies thattheybeenforced outof theirhome whichisseenasthey’re correctplace.This
narrative issupportedbythe writtentextasitincludes the locationof the ‘Middle East’thiscan be
linkedtothe issuesandconflictsthatwere inSyriain2013 (the yearthe filmwasproduced )where
250,000 people losttheirhomes.
The genre of thisshortfilmisdrama and whenlookingatthisposteritisclearthat it isa drama genre,
it isshownthroughthe colourscheme,picture and title. The title ‘displaced’impliesthatthe narrative
couldpossiblyinclude the parentsearchingfortheirtoddler,andcouldinvolve dramatic events. The
longaerial shotof the urbantown keepsthe narrative asecret,andimpliesthatthe toddlercouldbe
anywhere inthe town, againsuggestingthatthe narrative of the shortfilm will include dramatic
events. The mainnarrative of the shortfilmisn’trevealedinthe poster,thisistypically foundwith
filmposters because theydon’twanttogive awaytoomuch to ensure thatthe target audience are
intriguedandthereforewatchthe film.
The target audience forthisfilmisn’trevealedinthe poster,thisisn’teffective asitdoesn’ttell the
audience if the filmis targetedtowards them,forexample how dotheyknow if they’re oldenough.