Guidance for poster analysis

2. THE FUNCTION OF A FILM POSTER
• ADVERTISES A PRODUCT
• ESTABLISHES GENRE, NARRATIVE, REPRESENTATION
• ENTERTAINS AN AUDIENCE
• GETS THEM TALKING THROUGH MARKETING FEATURES (E.G. QR
CODES, WEB ADDRESSES)
• PROMOTES THE BRAND IDENTITY OF THE PRODUCER
• PROMOTES THE STARS OR FILM-MAKERS

3. More on the Enigma Code
AN ENIGMA CODE WORKS TO KEEP SETTING UP LITTLE PUZZLES TO BE SOLVED
(AND NOT ONLY AT THE BEGINNING OF A STORY), TO DELAY THE STORY’S
ENDING PLEASURABLY: E.G. ON THE POSTER FOR SHUTTER ISLAND, WHY IS
LEONARDO DICAPRIO SHROUDED IN SHADOW? WHAT’S HIDING?
ENIGMA CODES CAN BE DESCRIBED AS MINOR OR MAJOR.
FILM POSTERS OPERATE ON THIS BASIS AS THEY CONVEY THE BASIC
INFORMATION, BUT LEAVE THE AUDIENCE GUESSING.

4. Apply his ideas to the example text
What elements of the Shutter Island poster act as enigma codes
(or clues) that leave the audience with questions or
puzzles to solve?
Draw and fill in the table below:
What are visual elements? What questions about the film do they
leave the audience asking?

5. COMPOSITION AND NARRATIVE
The following our the basic composition techniques
used in both photography and cinematography. You
might have learned these at GCSE, or for the as
photography course.
The point of going over them is to consider how the
technique can have an impact on the audience’s
grasp of the narrative.

6. 6
Read
through the
sheets!

7. 7
Read
through the
sheets!

8. 8
Read
through the
sheets!

9. 9
Read
through the
sheets!

10. 10
Read
through the
sheets!

11. 11
How does the
use of thirds
affect our
ideas about
the narrative?
How does it affect
our view of the
character’s
situation/feelings
?
What other
composition
techniques
have been
used?
BONUS – how does
the composition
reveal the genre?

12. 12
Just to test 3rds is a convention of
thriller posters!

13. 13
Just to test 3rds is a convention of
thriller posters!

14. 14
Just to test 3rds is a convention of
thriller posters!

15. OTHER SEMANTIC ELEMENTS
SO FAR, WE HAVE LOOKED AT HOW SYNTACTIC ELEMENTS ARE EMBEDDED IN A MEDIA TEXT, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO THINK
ABOUT THE SEMANTIC:
• SHOT TYPE/CAMERA ANGLE (SEE SHEET)
• DOMINANT COLOURS
• MISE-EN-SCENE
• LIGHTING DESIGN
IN GROUPS, TAKE AN ELEMENT EACH AND EXPLORE THE IDEAS IN THE POSTER. TRY TO LINK SEMANTIC CODES TO:
• MEANING
• NARRATIVE
• GENRE CODES AND CONVENTIONS

16. More ideas Star name in top third attracts
audience who are familiar with
the star. Sans-serif, wide-
spaced letters and white colours
connote purity and innocence
Title and marketing features in
bottom third as title enigmatic
and less likely to draw
audience. Emboldening the
word ‘BOX’ emphasises the
importance of this object in the
narrative.
Red slash in centre vertical
third both connotes blood and
is a leading line to the box
itself and the man holding it.
This suggests the narrative
focuses on the titular box and
the fact it is delivered by a
possible antagonist. The
character’s clothing and
shadowed face connotes he is
a negative figure and creates
enigma. These semantic
elements create iconography
by which the genre can be
identified (Buscombe)
A single central image of the
character is conventional of
mystery thrillers. The
character looks off to the side,
connoting mystery and fear, or
that she is guilty of something,
conventional syntactic
elements of thrilllers.
The lack of colour and heavy
shadowing connote negativity
and fear.
The character’s ordinary hair
and clothing suggest she is an
‘everyman’ character, again
conventional of thrillers.
Applying Neale’s genre model,
the poster is using repetition of
conventions without much
difference apart from the fact
the protagonist is female.

17. HOMEWORK – DUE ON BLOGS SEPTEMBER
Start your three thriller poster analysis pieces, on films that emerged from your
research into the genre.
Refer to enigma and at least one genre theory.
Focus on exploring the narrative of the poster and identifying genre conventions,
alongside a discussion of basic meaning.
You will need to discuss the marketing/organisational aspects of the poster (see
guide sheet), as well as the image.
Keep things clear and simple, aiming for 300-400 words (60-90 minutes work) on
each one.
First due on blogs this Friday, 30th September. Second and third by Monday 10th
October