this is a detailed analysis of researching horror film posters

1. Poster Research Analysis

2. The Scream This is an example of a horror film poster which I have been looking
at to gain inspiration into how this poster is structured and the effects are used to
help create the horror feel towards the audience.
As you can see this film poster has many different attributes which allows the film
to look more effective towards the audience
there are the man conventions when creating a film poster
1) Masthead
2) Main Image
3) Sponsor and Producer Logos
4) Mis En scene
5) Theme
Firstly as you can see from the masthead it illustrates the name of the film. As shown the
to the audience. As you can see the masthead is somewhat split up which holds the
connotation of scream because as you scream u release I high decibel of sound which is
represented within the gaps left in between the letters.
Secondly the main image. this was interesting to me because it highlighted the
connotation of concealment and closure due to hand covering the face this instantly tells
me that she is the victim within the film. Also the detail within her eyes you can see the
pain and fear in her eyes which can be relayed to the audiences as sympathy. Also the
main image uses a “Eye line match” this means that the eyes are fixed on the individual
looking directly into the poster. Also the use of the light blue effect helps bring out the
eyes more because the rest f the film is black and white and the colour brings closer
attention to her eyes which shows fear and pain within them.
Thirdly Sponsor and Producer Logos. This informs the audiences who is responsible for
creating the film and depending on specific producers audiences will already have an
high expectation into what is going to be within the film producers include (21st century
foxx, universal)
THE
SCREAM

3. Fourthly The Mis En Scene, this is an important element o the film because it
adds to the connotation within the film.
Lighting- this is shown within the poster by the centre of the main image
being quite light this creates he connotation of purity because the light is
being shined on the victim however the lack of lighting around her suggests
that she is being consumed by the darkness which is the villain,
Facial Expressions- this is another element of the Mis En Scene as shown
within the poster the facial expression of the main image suggests that this
character is the victim doe to the raising of her eyebrows and the way her
eyes are pierced towards the viewers this helps create fear towards the
audience which is done effectively .
Finally the theme- by the use of dark colours this helps the theme and also
the genre to be acknowledged. The use of black and white helps create the
horror effect because the low lighting expressed in the point above explains
that low lighting causes the piece to look more sinister and mysterious
towards the audiences. By having a theme it allows me to have a idea of what
types of horror conventions are used within horror films e.g. , weapons ,
blood ect which all have different effects on the audiences .

4. Into the dark world is another poster in which I gained knowledge
from. Here are the key areas in which I looked at in greater detail.
1)Layout
2) font (masthead)
3)Colour
4) Mis En Scene
Firstly was the layout of the film I do believe that this is a very scary
poster. The main thing which stands out for me was the effect on
the eyes which creates the effect of anger, revenge and power, the
main image was the biggest layer on the poster and I do believe that
this has made the film more dramatic because the image Is very
scary which will cause the audience to become anxious when
looking at the poster and allows them to wonder what the film
looks like which could scare them further. Also the eye line match
would cause the audience to become afraid because they are being
watched by there horror villain within the film.
Secondly was font , this is important because it the font aids the
effect of fear. If the font is more neat and structured then the
horror effect will not be gained because of how simplistic it is
however within this masthead the font had dots within the D,O and
D which all create the connotation of eyes which highlights to the
audience that they are being watched this could cause them to be
afraid
Thirdly the use of colours. This is important because it helps bring
forth the feeling of death and fear. This poster uses a variety of
colours the two main colours used are black and red. (black is used
to create darkness within the poster and red which is used to
recreate blood this is effective because it causes the audience to
feel isolated due to the fact that they are entwined into a
connection with the horror villain.Finally the Mis En Scene
Lighting- this is quite low because the producers wanted to withhold the
features of the character which will cause the film to become m ore scary
Into the dark world

5. A nightmare on elms street is the final poster in which I looked at to gain
inspiration for my own horror poster creation.
Here are some key areas in which found which makes this poster look
more effective
1)Colour
2)Font (Masthead)
3)Main image
4)Mis En Scene
Firstly the use of colour was an area which I picked up on. This was used
throughout the poster from the main image to the colour of different
fonts, the use of red is the most used colour throughout this poster this
highlights the representation of death and blood which are usual
representations of the colour read this is effective because the use of
read relates to the main theme within the film which is continuous vile
murders which is committed by the villain .
Secondly the use of font (Masthead) was distinguished through different
types of text. The text has a different font to the masthead due to level
of importance. The masthead has bigger fonts because it is the title and
needs to be the centre of attention and be the first element identified by
the audience
Thirdly the main image, this show the close up shot of the villain
however his face is lowered and covered by his hat this shows that the
producers didn’t want to reveal any elements of the characters and this
would persuade the audience to go and watch the film to see what the
character looks like and how dangerous he is
Lastly the Mis En Scene , surprisingly this poster uses some light , this is
used to help the audiences see the image more clearly however the light
has a redness to it which helps keep the horror feel. The light also
highlights the weapon which is in the characters hand which highlights is
role within the film.
Facial expressions – as you can see the villain is smiling this shows that he
has control within the film by committing murders he believes that he is
the superior character this is what the producers wanted to highlight
A nightmare on Elms
Street

6. A nightmare on elms street is the final poster in which I looked at to gain
inspiration for my own horror poster creation.
Here are some key areas in which found which makes this poster look
more effective
1)Colour
2)Font (Masthead)
3)Main image
4)Mis En Scene
Firstly the use of colour was an area which I picked up on. This was used
throughout the poster from the main image to the colour of different
fonts, the use of red is the most used colour throughout this poster this
highlights the representation of death and blood which are usual
representations of the colour read this is effective because the use of
read relates to the main theme within the film which is continuous vile
murders which is committed by the villain .
Secondly the use of font (Masthead) was distinguished through different
types of text. The text has a different font to the masthead due to level
of importance. The masthead has bigger fonts because it is the title and
needs to be the centre of attention and be the first element identified by
the audience
Thirdly the main image, this show the close up shot of the villain
however his face is lowered and covered by his hat this shows that the
producers didn’t want to reveal any elements of the characters and this
would persuade the audience to go and watch the film to see what the
character looks like and how dangerous he is
Lastly the Mis En Scene , surprisingly this poster uses some light , this is
used to help the audiences see the image more clearly however the light
has a redness to it which helps keep the horror feel. The light also
highlights the weapon which is in the characters hand which highlights is
role within the film.
Facial expressions – as you can see the villain is smiling this shows that he
has control within the film by committing murders he believes that he is
the superior character this is what the producers wanted to highlight
A nightmare on Elms
Street