unproofed Grease poster analysis. GCSE Media Studies

1. The poster for Grease is a DVD release poster and portrays the genre of
the film as a romcom musical through its use ofimages of people dancing
and showing the main characters in close situations.
The colours of the poster are bright and sunny looking denoting that the
movie will be a happy upbeat film. The use of a sky image beneath the
logo is echoed by a blue and white background in the main image
suggesting sunny days. This together with the smiling headshots
underlines the idea that this is going to be a fun and light hearted film.
The main characters are given equal billing – suggesting that there of
equal importance which is echoed in the use of head shots of them at the top of the poster. There is
also a large image of them touching/dancing in the middle of the poster again suggesting they are of
equal importance.
The USP is the setting, although this film is released in the late ‘70’s the images clearly show 1950’s
dress so the setting is the 1970’s
The layout is of a central picture of the two main characters, emphasising there importance. The
remainder of the images are laid out around the edges like a film strip or cartoon and are a mixture
of character images and further shots with the two main characters as the focus. The layout
suggests that there will be many different scenes and locations and that the action will swiftly
moving.
The main characters are given equal billing – suggesting that they are of equal importance which is
echoed in the use of two head shots of them at the top of the poster. Their is also a large image of
them touching/dancing in the middle of the poster again suggesting they are of of equal importance.
The layout and images suggest that the narrative will show the characters coming together in
numerous locations along with their perspective groups of friends. The images of the friends show
clearly that they belong to different groups, each wearing they’re own “uniforms” to
symbolizetherein groups. The narrative will also include dancing as an important feature as a
number of the images show both the main characters and their groups in dance poses.
The connotation of this sequence of images is that the romance will blossom between the main
members of the two groups. There is no indication that the romance will run smoothly although the
happy feel of the poster suggests that there will be a happy ending.
The text on this poster is minimal with a banner showing that this is a special edition and the actors
names for just the main couple. The name of the movie is displayed as a stylised logo where the text
is within a car shape and two letters have been placed to become wheels. The logo is large, showing
the importance of the name and the logo, which may be used for merchandising.
The target audience for this film will be young women from teenagers to mid-twenties. The poster
makes small attempts to appeal to women by the single image of with a car in and the the car in the
logo, ultimately a musical love story will appeal to men.