Analysis and production of film posters.

1. The target audience for this film is young adults who have an interest in horror
films. It attracts the audience by using very dull muted colours with sections of
deep red to create an eye catching contrast. By using red blood makes a clear
statement that the film I horror and ensure that the target audience is attracted.
The image is a young gormless looking girl covered in blood with a dead look in
her eye this continues to attract those interested in gory horror films but more
specifically will attract the age group 16-24. The main typography is a white,
classic, gothic font that runs down the centre of the poster saying “ You will
know her name”.
The second but of text is the release date,
in the bottom left hand corner that is the
same font but in bright red so it attracts
the audiences attention. However the
two pieces of text don’t show the title of
the film, they are able to do this as the
film is remake of a classic horror made in
1974. The tagline is very suggestive and
makes the audience think back to the
original film. The layout and design
concept is quite unique as instead of the
title the tag line is the main bit of text (as
there is no title). It is also usually found at
the top or bottom of the poster in a signal
line but with this layout it is in the centre
with each word below each other on a
separate line.

2. My first step was to research different directors from this time
period such as Alfred Hitchcock and Woody Allen and looked into
the films they had made. A director that caught my eye was
Stanley Kubrick, who directed 'The Shining'. It is an 80's horror
film. I watched the film and found it very interesting so I decided
to base my contemporary poster on this film.
Stanley Kubrick: The Shining
Background research:
The Shining is a 1980 British-American
psychological horror film.
In the film, Jack Torrance, a writer and
recovering alcoholic, takes a job as an off-season
caretaker at an isolated hotel called
the Overlook Hotel. His young son
possesses psychic abilities and is able to
see things from the past and future, such
as the ghosts who inhabit the hotel. Soon
after settling in, the family is trapped in the
hotel by a snowstorm, and Jack gradually
becomes influenced by a supernatural
presence; he descends into madness and
attempts to murder his wife and son.
Original movie poster designed by
Saul Bass

3. Before I could begin producing the poster I had to do some
research into existing horror film posters so I understood what
codes and conventions I would have to use in order for my film
poster to be recognised as a professional media product. Some
of the key concepts that were commonly found on existing film
posters that I wanted to include with my poster were,
quotes, ratings, awards, tag lines, dates, ratings and extra info.

4. I looked at some fan art for the film to see what
others had produced. Most of them were edited
versions of a photo of the character Jack
Torrance played by Jack Nicholson but there
were others take had specific links to the film.
I liked the posters below because it used the
type writer (that Jack uses and in one scene and
wrote a haunting message whilst being
influenced by a ghost). It also uses the maze that
Danny and Wendy are running in whilst trying to
get away from Jack.
The poster on the left also uses reference's to
the film as room 237 is the room that Jack is
warned not to go into, despite this warning he
still goes inside, which started the influence of
“the shining” over Jack.
These examples are what made me use a
meaningful and iconic scene from the film as
a part of my poster.

5. Composition
The picture of the main character is in the centre
and takes up the whole page. And the title is in the
centre of the page so that the eyes are
immediately drawn to it.
Colours
The main image uses dull muted blues that
represent the horror genre and the text is a bright
red that stands out against the cold blue colours
and also links to the danger that is usually found in
horror films.
Text
The text is in slanted bold capitals and takes up
the majority of the width of the page which adds
drama and danger to the image which is what you
would expect to see on a horror film poster.
Composition
As is most common with movie posters the key
feature in it (the key) is placed in the centre so that
it is the first part of the poster that you look at
Colours
The colours used in this poster are more neutral,
with browns, reds and oranges. I like the poster and I
think it looks very professional but I don’t think the
colour scheme represent the horror genre and
therefore wouldn’t attract the target audience.
Text
The text again is red and slanted in bold capitals that
represents the genre of the film and it is in a deep
blood red which links to the gory horror theme of the
film.

6. I began buy making a note of iconic scenes in the film such as
the room key '237' as this symbolises the place that triggers
the supernatural events, or the maze that Jack Torrence chases
his wife and son through in an attempt to kill them. However, I
decided to use the scene where Jack Torrence attempts to
break down a door with a axe to kill his wife and son as this is
a high drama scene that everyone remembers to be so iconic
from the film.
The inspiration for my poster
cam from iconic scene from
“The Shining” when Jack
Torrance breaks down the door
with an axe to try and kill his
wife and son whilst saying
“Here’s Johnny!”. I could use this
by featuring an axe in poster or
possibly a face between a
broken door.
I thought it would be good to
use this iconic scene as the
audience would instantly make
to link back to the film whilst
representing the film as a horror
thriller at the same time.
“He becomes a monster under
the control of the hotel, truly
unable to control his dark side”

7. After looking at existing images with
axe’s I have found a few that gave
me a few different options to work
with.
The first is a silhouette of a man
holding an axe with the sky in the
background. I could then manipulate
the image using blue and purple
tones to represent the
mystical/super natural theme of the
film that is shown through his son
Danny’s ability to read minds and
experience premonitions. The hotel
itself also creates these abnormal
vibes with its ghostly presence.
Another option is to have a
silhouette of a man holding an axe
but have him standing in a brightly
lighted door way entering a very
dark and gloomy room. This option
would relate to the darker more
troubled part of the story, where
Jacks character becomes increasingly
unstable and is unable to control the
darkness within the hotel.
I like both of these ideas as they all
relate to the most iconic scene from
the film.

8. I started by taking basic photos
of axes that I could edit and
then continued to take photos
of my model holding the axe in
different locations, such
outside, at a stairway or at a
door way. This gave me a few
design options to chose from
but the one I liked most was
the model standing in the door
way, I chose this design as the
light coming through the door
created a dramatic image and
also made the model stand out
as a dark mysterious figure.
Once I had the image I began
editing and manipulating it to
make it more interesting and
visually pleasing.
I decided to use this picture on
the left as the lighting works
really well in making the figure
stand out.

9. Quick mock up

10. Quick mock up

11. Th Times
First attempt

12. Second attempt

13. I think this poster is the best
as it follows all of the codes
and conventions of a film
poster and with the use of
colour, lighting and
typography the poster
represents the genre of the
film and therefore will
attract the right target
audience.

14. Final poster