1

2. PrimaryOptical Area(TopLeft):
Thoughcentralised,the title,tagline andname of the actor are featuredatthe top of the poster.The
word‘tombstones’becomesdarkerasitgoesfrom lefttoright,whichhighlights the factwe read
fromleftto rightwiththe brightestwordsbeing inthe primaryoptical area. The title isbloodred
and the use of red,whichisassociatedwithblood,revealsthatthe storymaybe murderousand
scary. It alsoworkswell insharpcontrastto the blackand white colours thatmake upthe majority
of the poster.
The title isnearlyalwaysprominentlylocatednearthe top;as itis keypeople know whatitisbeing
advertised.Some movie postersdonotfeature atitle,butusuallyfeature somethingiconicso
people automaticallyknow whatitis.Howeverthiswill almostalwaysbe fora sequel orremake,or
somethingthatiscausingenoughhype.
The star iseffectivelythe focal pointof the poster,ashe is inthe dead-centre of the poster. He is
lookingandwalkingforward,somethingIbelieve helpsthe viewerof the posterimmerse themselves
inthe worldof the film. Asthe posterisin blackand white,there are nocleardistinguishingfeatures
that immediatelyidentifyhimasLiamNeeson. However,hisname isclearlyvisible atthe topof the
posterwhichallowspeopletoknowwhohe is. The fact that he is the onlyactor in the filmpresent
inthe posterinbothvisual andtextform, isan example of the startheory.Thisis that more people
will be drawnto a movie if italreadyfeature anestablishedactororactress,whichinthiscase it
does.LiamNeesonhasappearedinmanyactionand thrillerfilmsoverrecentyears,manyof which
have beencriticallyandcommerciallysuccessful,suchasTaken1 and 2, The Grey,Non-stopand
Battleship.Beingapopularstar will make ita goodfilmfromthe audience’sperspective whilethe
filmmakerswill seeitasa way to make more money.Bybeinga prominentstar,LiamNeesonwill
effectivelyactas an anchorage for the film.
The Terminal Area(BottomRight):
The axisof orientationbringsushere aswe readfromleftto rightand wouldgoacross Liam
Neeson’sbodytogettothe terminal area. Thisareafeaturesagravestone crossand the release
date,as well asa bag Liam Neesonisholding. The facthe is holdingabag can create a narrative
enigmaasthe viewerwill automaticallywanttoknow twothings:whyhe is holdingitandwhatis in
it.The area alsohas a lot of thingsprominentlyfeaturedwithlotsof large loomingtrees there,which
isin contrast tothe lighterside onthe left. The aforementioned crosscancome acrossas quite
sinister,while alsoalludingtothe fact that the movie isentitled‘A WalkAmongThe Tombstones’.
The cross is alsoverystereotypical anda feature commonlyassociatedwithagraveyard.Itishighly
symbolicof death,withperhapsahintof somethingsinister. Itcouldalsopossiblyhavean
underlyingmeaningof hope,asthe crossrepresentsChristianityand LiamNeesonmakesfora
saintlyfigure inthe poster,withwhatappearstobe a glow behindhimaswell asa seriousbutnon-
threateningappearance.

3. Thisarea alsofeaturesthe film’scredits,includingthingssuchasactors, directorsandproducers
amongother roles.Thisisa conventionof manyfilmposters,featuringthe title above the credits,
whichare almostalwaysinsmall text.The releasedate isalsoat the bottomof the poster,whichis
bloodred,justlike the title atthe top of the screen. The bottom of the screenalsofeaturesablood
redpond,whichis reflectingthe tombstonesandcrossesinthe background.Thisisa verysinister
feature andgivesa sense thatthisfilmisn’tgoingtobe a normal popcornaction movie,buta
thrillingone too.The thrillerelementof the filmisalsorepresentedbyamysteriousfogwhichisin
the backgroundamongthe tombstones.
StrongFallowArea(TopRight):
Thisarea worksin conjunctionwiththe primaryoptical area,sharingthe title,actor’sname and
tagline. Despitebeingthe strongfallowareaof the poster,thisareadoesnotfeature a plethoraof
things.Asmentioneditsharesthe writtentextonthe upperhalf of the posterwiththe primary
optical area,thoughthe majorityof thisupperhalf has a clear background. However,LiamNeesonis
lookingoff intothe distance onthisside,soviewersmaybe drawnto that side.
WeakFallowArea(BottomLeft):
Thisarea reinforcesthe factthat thisisan actionthriller,asyoucan see Liam Neeson’sguninhand.
Thiswill commonlybe usedinthe posterforan actionfilm, asa gun isa conventionof the genre. By
seeingagun people will immediatelybe able tosee thatthisisan actionfilmandwill know that
Liam Neesonwill be atthe centre of all of the actionin the film, because asI previouslymentioned,
he is the onlyactor on the poster.Inthisarea you can see the release date,the moviecreditsand
the bloodredpond,whichreflectssome of the tombstonesinthe graveyard.Thiswill also actas a
baitto the audience,asthe filmposterdisplaysbothelementsof anactionand a thrillerfilm,making
it a hybrid. People willwanttoknowwhatconnectionthe pondandthe surroundinggraveyardhave
to the plot.
Overall the postercarriesmanycodesandconventionsof itshybridactionthrillergenre,suchas
guns,blood,foganda star of many similarfilmsasitsprime character. The textaddressesthe
audience inasinisterway,withbloodredwordsanda sharp font,whichIbelieve helpstoattract
people.