Film Poster Overview

1. Film Poster Overview
I have selected 6 horror film posters to explore for my Film Poster Overview piece of
work. As the trailer i wish to create falls under the sub genre of slasher, i think it's
necessary for half of the posters i investigate to be from films within the same genre.
This is why out of the 6 films i have chosen 3 are slasher, Party Night, Nightmare on
Elm Street and Silent Scream, all arranged next to each other in the top row of
posters on the page. The 3 posters below them are also horror posters however they
aren't slahser. I thought it would leave me with more to discuss and it would also be
a more interesting piece of text if i included some posters that weren't from the
slasher genre.
Conventions
The Slasher posters that i have selected are all conventional in some ways, not just
to the slasher subgenre, but to horror film posters in general. The all feature a
striking/ shocking main image, this is a feature of almost every horror film poster. As
well as this, in all of the posters the title appears at the bottom of the page, again this
isn't specific to slahser but applies to all horror, just take a look at the posters that
aren't specific to slahser below, they all also have the title positioned at the bottom.
As well as this the institutional information also appears at the bottom, this is
because it is necessary for the institution to have their information on the poster
however they don't want it t be something people focus on, and considering Z-Line
composition and the rule of thirds, the small text at the bottom in the middle of the
page will either be one of the last things people see, or something that people will
not even notice at all. Aside from it being a requirement of the production &
distribution companies to have their institutional information printed on the main film
poster, it also allows fans to recognise which companies were involved in the making
of the film, promoting consumer loyalty. Universal Pictures and New Line Studios,
are well known and well respected film production companies. Detailing these
institutions on the film posters will remind audiences that the film has been produced
by a professional studio.
It is also convention to have a tag line, all of these posters have a tag line, there are
less conventions surrounding the positioning of the tag line on a horror poster,
however it is certainly conventional to have one. Another Convention of horror
posters is regarding the design of the title. Usually the title is designed to also look
scary or in some way relate to the narrative of the film. In all of thee posters the titles
are cracked/mottled in appearance, this is a convention of horror posters because it
connotes dirt and broken glass, perhaps a link/ suggestion of an attempt to escape
by the victims.
Layout

2. The thought process and design into how a film poster is laid out has a lot more to it
than just what looks aesthetically pleasing. The order in which a person will see
features on the page lans a part in designing the poster, so that the designers can
control what information we as consumers see first and what piece of information we
see last.
The theory behind what order we see information on a page is known as the z-line
composition, and it has be applied when designing all of the posters i am discussing.
The reason i claim that these posters follow the z-line composition is because the
key components of the poster all fall within the z-line on the page. ‘Party night’ starts
with the image of the killer from the top left, as you follow the z-line to the right and
then diagonally down to the bottom left you see the tagline and then the name of the
film as you leave the page.
Similarly, ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ introduces us to the killer of the film and as we
leave the page we are able to see the name of the film in the bold font and also the
tagline - Sticking in the memory of the prospective target audience. ‘Silent Scream’
challenges his information and the text is secondary in importance.
Colours
The colours on a poster can follow conventions and certain themes regarding the
colour scheme used, posters within the same subgenre also follow very similar
convention and vary to colours used on posters from different subgenres.
A conventional feature for slasher film posters is the colour red, the colour red has
connotations of blood, the devil and evil therefore is regularly featured on posters to
give the viewers these connotations. This convention of commonly used red is
apparent when viewing the posters I am looking at now. Most of them include some
form of red in one way or another. On the poster for Party Night and A Nightmare on
Elm Street the name of both films is written in red and for the Silent Scream poster
the skin of the victim is very red and so are they eyes.
Although there is a red theme to the poster for Silent Scream what makes it different
to the other two slasher posters is the fact that the title of the film isn't red, this
breaks conventions off a slasher posters, however I feel this was done for a reason. I
feel that it was done to perhaps to stand out against the darkness of the image
behind it, creating a colour contrast and naturally drawing the viewer's eye to the title
of the film. Following on from that there is also a dark colour theme, the edges of the
posters are all dark almost black, creating a mystery to what it being concealed by
darkness.
Image
Text/Straplines
Having a strap line/some form of text is essential to any film poster, to give the
audience information about the film, even if there is such minimal information the
poster must still include the film name.

3. A tagline appears on each of the three slasher posters, although in different
positions. On the Party Night poster, ‘Try to make it until morning’, appears in the top
right, just above the house in the background, suggesting that the house be a point
of interest in the film and have some significance, perhaps suggesting the house will
become a scene of murder and there is no escape for the victims from the psychotic
killer keeping them trapped. The tagline for ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ is positioned
above the title, ‘Welcome to your new nightmare’, this suggests that the iconic killer,
Freddy Krueger is back with a vengeance and horror fans should expect to find just
as many gruesome attacks as the first time he appeared on our screens. The third
tagline for ‘Silent Scream’, ‘Pray someone hears you’, suggests that the victims will
be in a secluded area and they will struggle to find safety, a typical convention of
slasher films.
Mise en Scene
The Mise en Scene/Horror Iconography used in the slasher posters follow
conventions of horror posters, not necessarily specific to slasher, however there are
some features specific to slasher.
For example in the poster for Party Night we can see what we can only presume is
the villain holding their weapon, a knife, a common weapon of choice for slasher
villains. Including the weapon used to kill victims is a common feature of slasher
posters. It looks as though the villain is heading towards the house, the knife in their
hand suggesting their ready to kill, however the knife already has blood on it implying
that murderers have already been committed and the fact he is heading to the house
suggests that the house may be a location of further murders. Multiple/mass murders
is a convention of slasher films and this is represented in this poster.
Another way in which Mise en Scene has been used in the slasher posters is via
make up/Post production on the bodies/faces of the individuals featuring. For
example, A Nightmare on Elm Street has used post production or make up (judging
by the time in which the film was released and the technologies developed then,
chances are it was makeup) to create an affect on the villains skin that almost looks
inhuman. It looks as though the skin is dead or has been chewed off, this adds to the
shock factor of the poster drawing viewers to desire to find out what film the poster is
promoting.
The poster promoting Silent Scream has featured make up or post production or
make the skin of the victim look very veiny. The image is of someone locked up by
the head and judging by their facial expressions and the equipment used it takes no
genius to see that they are being held against their ill. The fact that their skin looks
veiny, cracked and red suggests that they may have been locked up for a long
period of time, leading the viewers to wonder how long they have been locked up,
why and by who. Also the equipment used isn't an everyday piece of equipment, at
first glance it almost looks like a torture device, however under further inspection it is
clear that is is a heavy duty, specially crafted piece of equipment designed to keep
somebody against their will. Again creating the viewers to feel shocked and intrigued
by the film.

4. Talk about non slasher posters (bottom 3) only in this section
Now i've discussed the film posters I chose that fall into the category of slasher, I
also chose 3 film posters from different sub genres, and i will now explore them. The
film posters i have chosen fall into the category of Psychological and Supernatural,
Human Centipede falling into the psychological category and The Women in Black
and The Conjuring being the supernatural horrors.
At a quick glance there are a few main similarities regarding the layouts of the
posters, there doesn't appear to be any clear differences and this is because
generally all film posters follow similar conventions on terms of layout.
Although the layout of the 3 posters are similar to the slasher posters, one talking
point where there is a clear difference between the slahser and non slasher posters
is the colouring. All the slasher posters feature some amount of red, some more so
than others, however it is prominent in all of them. This is because red is a
convention of slasher related media, however it is clear that red isn't a convention of
all horror related media as it is not featured so heavily in media pieces of other
subgenres. There is a small amount of red in The Women in Black poster however it
is subtle.
The Colours of the non slasher posters all seem to be a lot more bland, these
posters include a lot of greys and blacks, this is convention of horror related media.
Greys and blacks are dark colours and and have connotations of death, very fitting
for the sinister plots of the supernatural films.
The Woman in Black poster involves very simple and very bland colours, this is
fitting with the simple and basic layout and main image, as there is no particularly
eye catching colours or shocking features on the poster, it forces the viewer to look
for content, and the content being the information about the film at the bottom of the
page. It also encourages viewers to look deeper into the cover, which will result in
them taking notice if the facial expressions of the poor boys, which of course make
him look scared. This will then lea the viewer to question why the child is scared and
look for clues on the poster, e.g the shadow on the wall behind him.
Furthermore the child is sat on the floor and the shadow is clearly someone stood
up, this gives him a sense of vulnerability and may lead the viewer to feel sorry for
him. As viewers we are unable to see what he is scared of which leads us to draw
assumptions. The supernatural theme of the film is reflected in the poster, more
specifically the shadow. In real life shadows are flat and human shadows include no
facial details, however this has included details of the girl/woman face, leading the
audience to draw and inhuman association with the character.

5. The main image of the Conjuring poster features a piece of Horror Iconography, or
more specifically, Supernatural Iconography, this use of mise en scene leads to
audience to create a supernatural opinion of the film even if they haven't seen the
the first film or know nothing about either of them. The cross in conventional to
supernatural horror media and is used as it has connotations of spiritual beings and
powers.
Another feature of the Conjuring poster is the child stood at the window, the child is
in a dark room, however outside the windows is very bright, and we are unable to
see what is there, however we can see that it is pure and the light i shining into the
dark room from outside. Dark colours and just the dark in general has connotations
of evil and danger, and lightness and bright colours has connotation of happiness or
the opposite to drk, safety. Heaven is also often portrayed to be bright, this is in
keeping with the subtle religion theme of the poster as it includes a cross necklace.
The Fact that the room is dark may be portraying that the room is dangerous, and
there is something evil present. The child could be stood where is the room however
there are stood in the lightest part looking out over the bright view, perhaps wishing
they could escape and access the safety if the bright outside.
The main image of the human centipede poster includes many victims, the first film
included only three victims however the second film features many, this is displayed
in the poster, to draw back the audiences f the first film and shock them, it leads
them to think that the second film is bigger, better and more complicated that the first
film.
The poster for The Human centipede is a very interesting poster, this is because it is
different to the other as it clearly wasn't designed to display information about the
film, but purely to shock whoever sees in and get audiences talking about the film.
This is clear as the main image it the total focus of the poster. The layout of the
poster means that the small amount of the text on the poster is in the bottom right
hand corner, this ensured that it does not take any focus away from the shocking
image. The arrangement of the victims of the poster fists the Z-Line theory and
ensures people will look at the whole trail of victims as is follows the route their eye
will take. It also suggests that the last thing on the page they will see is the name of
the film and the small text in the bottom right hand corner. The fact that the text is the
last thing that the viewers will see as their eye leaves the page suggests that it is the
least important piece of information and that the image is the main feature of the
page (included to shock).
Still on the topic of the human centipede poster but this time more specifically the
text, although the min body of text on the paigie is position in the least relevant
bottom right hand corner, there is also one line of text in one of the most relevant
places on the page, the top left. The arrangement of the text is meant to be the first
thing the audience see, they will then follow the Z-Line arrangement down the trail of

6. people and then on the top title of the film, when analysing the poster you can
literally see a perfect Z created by the line of text at the top lift, the trial of victims in
the image and then the body of text in the bottom right.
The short strap line of text at the top left says “100% medically inaccurate” it i
therefore affect but almost seems as though it is thee for legal reasons as a warning,
as if they are legally obliged to let their audiences know it's medically inaccurate.
This results in people wondering what the film may include, and this hand in hand
with the shocking image will interest the audience even more and lead them to think
how disturbing ca this film be, creating a desire to see the film and find out for
himself is they can handle it.
Moving on from the Human Centipede poster and focusing on the two supernatural
posters, a clear difference between these two and the Human Centipede poster is
the fact that the supernatural poster sinclude release dates at the centre of the page
at the bottom. This way it is one of the last things that viewers see, meaning they
have more of a chance if remembering this after viewing the poster.
The poster promoting the second Conjuring film includes the strap line ‘From the
director of’. It then goes to state two very well known and successful horror films.
This will give credibility to the director of the film in the eyes of horror fans, therefore
creating a desire to watch the film as they know it was made by a successful direct
who produced other films they enjoyed, therefore they like his style and have a
strong chance of enjoying this film.
Finally the poster promoting The Women in Black film features some interesting text
on it. It includes three short strap lines arranged one above each other in the centre
of the page, this is a relatively important place ensuring that the audience will notice
it. These strapline are aimed at people that saw the first film as it indicates that it
carries on a mystery/ unexplained side of the plot. It indicates that the audience
didn't pick of on something or that they were led to believe something at the end of
the first film that is incorrect and will be revealed in the second will. It leads them to
ask question such as… ‘where did she go if she never left?’... ‘what did i not
understand, or what more is going to happen’... did i not understand the first film
correctly’. This leads the audience to believe that all their question will be answered
in the sequel of the film and will create a desire to watch it.