Poster Analysis 1

1. POSTER ANALYSIS

3. INTRODUCTION
The ‘Friday the 13th’ film is being promoted in this poster. This is a slasher poster and I have chosen to analyse this
poster because it is the same sub- genre that I am working on and it will be beneficial for me to analyse this as it
will help me get a broader understanding on the techniques that are used to make the poster turn out successful.
This film has different elements that are in common with the trailer that I am going to create. This film is set in the
forest and I will also be taking most of my trailer in the forest so there is a huge link between this poster and the
poster that I am going to make.
One of the features used in the poster that I like is the main image being taken in a low angle shot. I like this
feature because it shows us that the person on the main image is the antagonist. We can understand this just by
looking at it. I find this poster very appealing because it looks very professional and unique. Even though the poster
looks quite simple it still manages to grab the audiences attention. So when I create my poster I want it to be
simple but effective.
This poster does look quite scary. The main reason for this, is the colour used. There are dark colours used in this
poster to create that scary effect. As there is only one person featuring in this poster it makes the audience feel that
there is no way to escape. It also creates a discomfort as the image looks very real and professional.

4. POSTER CONVENTIONS
The poster fulfils the general layout and conventions of the film poster by making the poster unique even though it uses
the same technique as the other slasher posters. It is very conventional to use only one person featuring as the main
image on the horror poster. It is also conventional to see dull and dark colours being used to make the poster be clear on
what genre it belongs to. If dark colours are used on posters it generally means that it is a horror poster.
It is also common to see masked killers featuring as the main image on front covers. This is a basic convention of slasher –
horror posters. There would usually be a close – up image used to show the antagonist. The antagonist usually features
on the poster than the protagonist because it is the antagonist that the horror fans would be more interested to see.
Another reason why the antagonist features on the poster is because he is the more popular character, the protagonist
would usually die during the film whereas the antagonist would usually be the character to survive longer than anyone
else.
The layout is very consistent as it follows the rule of thirds. The image takes up most of the centre of the page vertically.
The title is placed at the bottom horizontally and the tagline is also placed on the top of the title, horizontally on the
page.

5. IMAGE
Main Image
I will be analysing the image first because the image is more important than the text used on the poster. The poster shows us that
the film is set in a forest. The setting is typical for a horror film and helps to fulfil the conventions of horror films because it is set in
a dark/ isolated place where no one would be there. Just by looking at the poster we could see that the environment presented is
dull and gloomy. The location of the forest and by making the antagonist stand alone in the forest makes us understand that the
setting is used to create fear and to allow the audience to form an expectation about the films narrative. By using an isolated
setting it also would make the audience feel that there is no escape if we are alone with the antagonist in the forest.
Lighting
Low - key lighting is used to create a dull and scary effect to the audience. The dark lighting is coming from the forest which could
represent that the forest is dangerous. The dark low- key lighting is used to create fear to the audience which is an appropriate
mood because horror movies are designed to make the audience feel uncomfortable and scared.
Focusing on Characters/Mise-en-Scene
Costume
The antagonist is featuring as the main image on the poster. He is wearing a long black coat. The colour black represents his evil
nature and his dark personality. The trousers that he is wearing is also black. This shows us that he has a very dark side to his
personality and it symbolises his scary side. When you look close at the costumes that the antagonist is wearing you could see
ripped/ damaged pieces of clothing. This could give us an impression that he is quite violent because his clothing is damaged. It
also creates a suspicious side to his character because he looks very strong and bold which could reflect his characteristics. The
jacket he is wearing looks quite old so this could suggest that he has been wearing the same clothing for a long time. It could also
suggest that he is maybe trying to find someone to maybe kill them as he has a weapon in his hand.

6. Facial Expressions
The antagonist featuring on the poster is wearing a mask. This is a clear basic convention of slasher films. It is conventional to see the
antagonist wear a mask throughout the whole film. By wearing a mask, it could symbolise the dark side of the killer. It could make us
understand that he is trying to hide his identity and personality from others so that no one is aware that he is the killer. It could also give us
the impression that there is a reason behind all this. There may be a reason why he is trying to kill people.
Body Language
The character featuring on the front cover looks very confident by looking at his body language. He looks very strong just by looking at the
way that he is standing. The body language of the character reflects that he has a much higher authority than all the characters in the film.
It shows that he is more dominant and important in the film than the others.
Colour
The colour used in the poster is very dull and dark. It creates a very gloomy atmosphere just by looking at the poster. The colour black is
frequently used to express the dark side of the film. The use of black could also represent that there is going to be unpredictable scary events
that will take place in the film. Black is commonly used in posters to make it clear to the audience that the genre of the film is ‘horror’. The
colour red is also used for the text to represent death. Usually the colour black and red represents death. The use of the colour red could also
symbolise that people will be killed gruesomely because you could see the weapon in the image covered in blood. There is a bit of white used
in the image this could be used to represent that there is a way to escape from the antagonist. It could also represent that the masked killer
has a valid reason why he is killing people in the film. So it could symbolise the other side of his personality.
Props
The main prop being used in this image that you can see is the weapon in the antagonists hand. You could see a long knife that the killer is
holding. This creates tension because the audience would want to know who the antagonist is trying to kill and why he is trying to kill them.
It also creates a dark atmosphere as the audience are aware that there are going to be gruesome killings in the film.
IMAGE

7. Positioning of characters and other objects in the frame
The main image is placed in the middle of the page. Located near to the lower centre of the film poster is the title of the film.
The title is below the image to emphasise that the image is more important than the title. It would also allow the audience to clearly
focus on the main image rather than the title. Below the film poster, the date in which the film will be released is shown so that the
audience are aware. The main image is positioned following the rule of thirds as that is where the audience will look at first. So by
positioning the character in the middle of the page it created a dark scary atmosphere. This is because it makes the audience feel as if
you can not escape from the antagonist.
The long knife being shown in the image is a horror iconography and is used to indicate the genre because usually in slasher movies
weapons are a key and it is common to see the antagonist holding a weapon. By including images of weapons in the poster it would
therefore clearly signify that it is a slasher sub genre movie.
I find the way that the antagonist is wearing a mask very interesting. This is because it creates more tension and would make the
audience want to know who is behind the mask. As the colour schemes used in the poster is very dark and dull it also creates more build
up and suspense to the audience as you can not see much going on in the image. I would like to use these techniques when creating my
horror – slasher poster in order to make it successful.
IMAGE

8. TITLE
The title of the film is ‘Friday the 13th’. Friday the 13th is usually regarded as an unlucky day for a number of reasons. So the
title may suggest that someone may get killed on that specific day or something bad and unexpected is going to happen. It
is a very unique title and is very cleverly used in this film as it would suggest so many things to the audience. The title
probably suggests that on that specific date whoever is unlucky or sees the antagonist may die. It also suggests that there is
no escape and that is maybe why it is called ‘Friday the 13th’.
The font used is similar to ‘Book Antiqua’. The font is used in bold on purpose probably to make the title stand out more
from the image. The size of the font is 28. So this is the largest piece of text used in the overall poster. When you compare
this text to the other text used on the poster you would be able to see that the size of the other text is very small. So by using
large sized text on the title it emphasises that the title is more important than the other text used in the poster.
The colour red is used for the title. The colour red represents death. The use of the colour red could indicate to us that
someone is going to get killed in the film which is going to be caused by the antagonist. This colour could also suggest
violence in the film and could also represent that there are going to be gruesome killings shown in the film.
It is a typical layout to see the title placed near to the bottom of the poster. The title is generally placed there to show that
the main image is more important and to make the audience look at the main image first before looking at the title.

9. TAGLINE
The tagline on the ‘Friday the 13th’ poster is ‘Welcome to Crystal lake’. The tagline can be seen playing with the audiences mind
as usually the word ‘welcome’ is seen in reality as welcoming however as this is used in a horror movie it is basically the opposite.
When you look at it from the context of horror you will be able to understand that it is welcoming death. The colour black is used
as the background of the text so the colour black could give us an idea that people will not be able to escape if they get into this
place.
There is another tagline used which is placed at the top of the title which says ‘From the producers of the Texas Chainsaw
Massacre’ . This is a very clever tagline because it would immediately attract the audience into watching this film as they may be
a fan of the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’. This means that they would definitely want to go and watch this film as well.
A simple font is used for both of the taglines to make it clear for the audience. A white colour is used for this text to make it stand
out from the background.
One of the taglines are placed right at the top of the page. This is quite conventional in horror posters because taglines are placed
at the top to make the audience look at it as one of the first things on the page. The tagline usually gives a flavour of what the film
is going to be about. The second tagline was placed just above the title. This was because it was trying to advertise that the film
was created by the same person who made ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’.

10. COLOUR/ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Colour
When you look behind the masked man you would be able to see a light shining behind him. This could symbolise that someone
people could have a chance to escape even if they get trapped by the antagonist. It could give an impression of hope for the
protagonists. However, even though there is light coming from behind there is only a small part of light shining which means that it is
more likely for more people to die then escape.
As the title is written in red and most the poster is covered in black it is a typical convention of horror posters. It clearly indicates that
the genre of the poster is horror to the audience. As the majority parts of the poster is covered in black it creates an uncomfortable
mood for the audience. It makes the audience feel disturbed because they know that something bad is going to happen.
Background
The background suggests that the movie is located in a isolated place. This could give us an impression that if someone gets trapped
it is less likely for them to get help as there would be no one there. The background is very effective as it clearly shows what the
audience should expect the environment to be like in the film. If a black background was used it would not be as effective to the
audience.
Institutional Information
There are logos placed at the bottom of the page to show the production company. This is very beneficial for the poster because it
makes the audience understand that the movie is made from an actual production team.
Other Text
The title is written in a red colour font and the month the film is going to be released is also written in red. So when the audience look
at the month release they could relate it with the films title which shows that there is a link between both the text.

11. CONCLUSION
Overall, the poster uses the majority of the conventions that we as an audience expect to see. It has followed the conventions
by doing the following:
The antagonist is placed in the middle of the page. You will be able to see light coming from behind to show hope for the
protagonists.
When you read the first tagline used in the poster it would feel that the tagline is addressing to the audience. So it makes the
audience feel that they are part of the film.
The title symbolises the element of bad luck shown through the title. Therefore, this could suggest that the victim may turn
unlucky when it comes to the situations they face in the film e.g. they may go to the wrong place at the wrong times,
unexpected events could change their life, wrong decisions may be made etc.
You could see a cloudy shade of mist behind the antagonist featuring on the front cover of the poster. This could represent that
the outcome of the situation for the protagonist may be unclear. So from the overall posters you could see that there are a lot
of negative elements shown and there are less positive factors shown. This could make us understand that the people victims
may be less fortunate as they are in danger.