For my A2 Media Studies coursework, I have been asked to shoot a film trailer in groups. My group and I decided on a kidnapping thriller. One of the tasks associated with this project is the production of a film poster. To help us achieve this, we are required to choose three film posters of the same genre as ours and analyse them in depth. This is the analysis for Gone

1. Gone Film Poster Analysis
The text that can be seen in the character’s
hair gives across a fairly alarming
message, part of which says “Nothing will
stop her”. This indicates that she does all
she can to solve the enigma and is
therefore hopefully the hero by the end of
the film
The right side of the poster and the
character’s face is cut off which is quite a
scary and gruesome effect as it signifies
violence. It creates mystery and curiosity
as well because it seems like the character
has something to hide or possibly has two
sides to her character
The way in which the two characters are
presented on the poster gives across another
message that might not have been interpreted
beforehand. The way in which Amanda
Seyfried is positioned makes it look as if she’s
trying to protect the girl behind her. This could
suggest that in the film, Seyfried has to try and
protect the girl from the man shown e.g. from
being abducted, raped etc.
‘Jill Parish is still trying to recover after surviving a horrific kidnapping attempt. Starting
a new job and asking her sister to move in with her is her attempt at rebuilding her life.
However, coming home from work one day she discovers that her sister has vanished
and she couldn’t be surer that the same man who abducted her has returned for
revenge.’

2. Lighting
The use of lighting in this poster is extremely effective and will strike an audience in
different ways. The outline of the poster resembles a girl’s figure which indicates to
the audience straight away that the film involves a girl or girls as the main
character(s). Audiences of both genders would be appealed to this image as young
males would inevitably be interested due to the whole idea of sex appeal and young
women would find it appealing as they would feel they can relate to the character.
The reason a mainly youthful audience would be enticed by the poster is because the
character on the front, played by Amanda Seyfried, is a young actress especially at
the time when the film was released.
Another important aspect of the lighting used is low-key and high-key lighting.
Low-key lighting is evident in the outline of the poster
which creates a sense of looming/approaching doom for the
character(s) in the film. The character’s face, Amanda
Seyfried, in the middle of the poster is presented in high-key
lighting which shows that she is at the centre of the all the
action/events occurring and could also suggest that she is the
hero in the end – she brings light and hope to the audience.
In addition to this, her hair being blonde is made even
brighter and a man’s silhouette can be seen here. This creates
alarm and panic amongst the audience as they will start to
think that she is either being followed or in danger of some
sort and it involves this man.
Costumes
The poster doesn’t reveal to the audience any clues on the sort of costume that they
might see in the film which would inform them, to an extent, of what the film is
possibly about. In terms of the reasons behind this, it is likely that the creators
behind the film poster intended to show minimal signs of costume in order to
enhance the audiences’ focus on the characters on the poster and the way they’re
portrayed. In addition to this, costume may not be that significant in the film so it
wasn’t a necessary component for the film poster.

3. Settingand Location
Again, with regards to setting and location the poster doesn’t reveal anything about
it which could also mean that it isn’t a hugely significant part of the film. The film
poster producers may have had a very clear intention when designing the poster –
all the attention has to be towards the characters, the girl(s) and the man, and the
audience are made to infer as much as possible from this.
Props
Similarly to costume and setting/location, the use of props aren’t evident in the film
poster which again could prove to be a significant choice. The appearance of props
such as knives, guns, torches etc on a film poster would be very indicative to an
audience about the genre and nature of the film. However, keeping the audience in
the dark through the absence of these sort of props is often more effective as they
want to know more and therefore are more likely to watch the film. It enables them
to go and watch the film with an open mind.
It is not completely evident but the part of the girl’s face that
is cut off could possibly resemble the shape of the blade of a
knife. This could be a clue as to what the film entails so the
audience can formulate their own ideas and thoughts about
it.