analysis of film posters and magazine covers

1. oooo
Title in red- tells the audience this
is a horror movie
Black background-
a sense of mystery
and loneliness
Spotlight lighting on the doll- shows they
are the main subject of the film and tells
the audience to be aware of them. Also the
fact that dolls have a traditional
connotation to being lovely and sweet
suggest there will be an unexpected
surprise as a sweet, innocent doll is in a
horror movie
The half crop of the face suggests themes of
being possessed as they are only showing half the
face. A doll as connotations of being sweet and
innocent. The half crop contradicts it and suggests
it may play a dark character

2. poster
under lighting- suggests to
the audience this is the
antagonist/ mischievous
character
Title in red- tells the
audience this is a horror
movie
Slogan entices the
audience. It helps to
persuade the
audience to go and
watch the filmThe featured character in on
the poster is the antagonist.
This suggests that for my
work, i should also use the
antagonist as the prominent
feature in my poster
In both posters for annabelle and
chucky, the dolls have been the
main focus. This means my poster
that i will make for my trailer will use
the antagonist character, the doll,
as the main focus
Black background
This keeps the poster simple
and makes the doll stand out.
It creates a terrifying
atmosphere as if the
audience is home alone, in a
dark house with the doll.

3. Poster
protagonist
takes up
most of the
frame
Antagonist is in
the background
Another idea
for my
poster is to
feaster the
protagonist
with a
frightened
expression
and have
the doll, or a
shadow of
the doll
behind the
protagonist
This half faced
composition seems to be
recurring trend in many
horror film posters. It
suggests that i should try
this composition to make
my film fit in better with this
genre

4. posterActors names
attracts fans of
the actor as they
have seen their
previous work
Title in red- tells
the audience this
is a horror movie Location shot
Merging three images
together
I could put the actors, for the main
protagonist and antagonist, name
on the poster however it would not
be effective and the actors in my
trailer are not well know and have
not done any previous work which
has been significantly successful.
There is a lot of information on this
poster

5. simplistic
Only text. No
characters.
Reviews and star
ratings. 4 and 5 star
reviews from film
critics persuade the
audience into
watching the movie
The poster features the
antagonist wearing the
mask. The mask
appears to have blood
on it which tells the
audience that this is the
antagonist.
“You’re next” is the title of the
film but it is speaking to the
audience directly which creates
a connection and a
relationship.
The poster speaks directly to
the audience which makes
them feel vulnerable and
scared and creates a sense of
them being watched
High lighting which creates a
spotlight on the character and
creates shadows around the border
of the poster and underneath the
snout of the animal mask

6. The character is not in the
center of the poster. It is
off to the side. There is
heavy shadow on the right
side of the character’s
face. This helps convey
the character to the
audience. This character is
sly and creepy and lurks in
the shadows. Furthermore,
the text and mast head is
on top of the image which
makes it appear as if they
are lurking, hiding, spying.
Name of the director. This attracts
fans of his work which will attract a
wider audience.
Light source coming from one
side, the left
advertising other similar films that
this specific target audience may
enjoy.
They are promoting other films
which share the same target
audience.
The language on the poster
helps to encourage readers to
go an watch the film. This
language is targeted to horror
movie fans.
The word ‘horror’ is written in red.
Red has connotations to danger and
evil.

7. The head of the actress
covers the middle of the title
of the magazine
There are no other
advertisement for other films, or
film reviews, ‘what's inside’
advertisement
Very clean cover, not a
lot of advertisement to
tell the reader what is
inside the magazine
Mid shot of the antagonist -
this is a composition i can
try for my magazine cover
Her head is tilted down
which makes her seem
mischievous and sinister
as it deepens her eyes and
makes them appear darker
There is blood dripped
over the model on the
cover indicating that this
is issue of the magazine
is covering a horror film.

8. ...
The protagonist of the film is featured
on the cover of the magazine- this
does tend to be a recurring trend
which suggest i should also use the
antagonist character for my magazine
cover
Reviews of the film tell the
audience what other people
thought of the film. Reviews
from celebrities or
professionals make the film
more credible. Reviews
from well liked people make
the film more enticing as
the audience will trust their
views and will want to go
and see the film.
The actor’s name who plays the character
on the cover- unfortunately, as my film
will be a small budget film, i will not be
able to hire well-known actors which
means i may not be adding this
element into my magazine cover.
However, if i were to add the actor’s
name, they would have to be an
ambitious up and coming actor which
will be featured in many up and coming
films. This will only apply to a magazine
cover and not a film poster as
informations about the actor and their
work can be spoken about inside the
magazine whereas there is no
opportunity for that on a film poster.
Advertising other similar films the
reader may enjoy