The document analyzes several movie posters and magazine covers, describing their visual elements and how they convey information to viewers. It discusses the Amityville Horror poster's use of dark colors and a figure holding a gun to suggest a killer is involved. It also examines posters for Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street, noting visual cues like weapons, villains, and taglines that establish the films' genres and draw interest. Magazine covers for I Am Legends and Shutter Island are summarized, focusing on how imagery, text, and stars are used to inform viewers of the films' genres, plots, and main characters.

1. Analysis
Here we have the Amityville horror movie poster. The main colours in this poster are black, red and
grey, which is conventional to horror movies. The colours are quite dark and gradient, with the
colour grey being used for the house, as well as the colour
for the trees. The dimmed misty light upon the house
draws attention to it and the figure in front of the house
tells us that there is some sort of killer involved. On the
side of the darkness it has the phrase ‘katch em & kill em’
which suggests to the audience that there’s someone
watching them in the film and how it looks like it’s been
scratched into something. The genre of this film is easily
shown within the main image. As you can see in the
background, there is a big, old fashioned house centred in
the background, this shows the audience or may give
them the assumption that this particular house will be the
main setting of the film or may have some importance.
We are looking up at the house, and the man, who may be
the protagonist, stands up tall in front of it, this may
suggest power. They are trees on the either side that look
like curtains and a man that looks like he’s walking
towards it. He looks like he is holding a gun. This is a quite
conventional of a horror film. The scary theme used of the poster tells the audience that this film is
of the horror movie genre. There could also be an element of mystery in it as the observer doesn’t
know why this person wants to kill anyone, if they have been hired as hit men to do so, or who was
and why. The title actually represents a real place in America. The word horror is actually quite self
explanatory. Maybe suggesting that something bad has already happened or taken place in this
specific area. Also below the title it states that the film itself
is based on a true story which tells you that something like
this may and can happen and can make people want to go
see the film even more. Just above the title there is what
looks like a faded newspaper article with the words ‘says she
was possessed’ which also brings more to the film as not only
has the poster got someone with a weapon in the centre, it
talks about possession. This poster is particularly aiming to
grab the attention of those diehard fans of horror, or those
who enjoyed the gruesomeness of Texas Chainsaw Massacre
or like Michael Bay and his style of directing.
On the ‘Friday 13th’ movie poster the tagline can be seen as
playing with the audience as in relation to the image and
title, it is apparent that it is a joke which would normally be in
reality seen as welcoming. However in the context of horror,
it conveys that it is a welcoming to the end of a person’s life.

2. The black surrounds the tagline and the edge of the whole poster, therefore suggesting that the
characters will be trapped and endorsed in the lake. Behind the villain there is a glimmer of light that
shines directly behind him. Thus this symbolises that there is hope from escaping from the area and
the villain. As it is only a glimmer, this suggests that the likelihood that the majority will die is highly
likely. The scenery of the background helps to further emphasise the location in being at a deserted
place where no one can gain anyone’s help. In this sense it may be seen as being more effective than
a plain, black background as it further represents the environment clear so that audience expect to
see something similar to what has been portrayed via the poster. The lake represents an eerie
atmosphere as it appears to be polluted by evil, when a like should be symbolical of calmness and a
relaxed environment. The title is written in red which therefore follows the conventions of the
typical colours associated with horror films. It also makes it noticeable from the black and white
style of the page. The release date is February 13th which is relation to the name of the film being
Friday 13th. The two complement each other as they are both in red and at first glance the February
appears to look like it says Friday. Logos have been placed here which shows the distribution of the
company, and Production Company. This makes the poster authentic as it is made the actual
production team in charge of the film. This tagline would attract people into watching the film as
they may be fans of the Texas chainsaw massacre and therefore would want to go and see this film
as it is made by the same producers. The weapon that he is holding is a machete, which is symbolical
of being associated with the death and murder in the context of horror films. The villain is isolated
by himself which conveys that he is the sole person responsible and at the heart of where evil takes
place. This is because it appears as though he is the one inviting his victims to his territory, where
the main events will start to occur, The villains is wearing a mask, which is a typical convention of
horror films, as it concealed he identify and makes the person unknown.
On the Nightmare on Elm Street movie poster, the image works very well. This man or ‘thing’ is
looking down so we cannot see his eye level but we are able to get a good view of his face.
Automatically we can see that his face is distorted in some way.
This intrigues the audience. If you then look further down the
image, the audience would come across his hands which at a
glance look like they would blend in with his body, but you then
see a knife which is attached to his hand, acting as a finger. For
people that have seen the original movie, they would
automatically recognise that this is Freddy Krueger. The layout
of the poster is very conventional but for me it works better
than the others that I have analysed. One of the things I like the
most about this poster is the way that the man is looking down
– I think this would bring in a wider audience because they are
enticed. The colour used within this poster is a perfect example
of what should be used for a slasher film. The dominant colour
in the poster is a dark red mixed with tones of brown and black.
Overall it creates a very dark, hellish feel to it. The title is written
in a very sharp and strong font – it is also in capitals which makes it very bold. The font itself
manages to look quite scary as it is so striking. The audience should by now be starting to have some
basic ideas as to what the film is about. The release date informs the intended audience as to when
the film is released. It’s conventionally placed at the bottom of the film poster. The tagline always

3. follows the title as it gives us a small inclination into the storyline. The audience will look at this
poster and automatically link the phrase ‘new nightmare’ to the grotesque looking man above.
There’s a small section of writing on the bottom right of the poster; this shows the studio the film
producers have worked with. If a particular studio is advertised then it may attract certain people
that like other films produced by these companies. Nightmare on Elm Street is directed by Samuel
Bayer and distributed by New Line Cinema; therefore fans of Samuel Bayer and New Line Cinema
entertainment would see the distribution and would be attracted into watching their latest film.
On the magazine cover analysis I decided to focus on Empire’s “I Am Legend” edition. On this front
cover we can see a clear red and white theme with the typography and the use of red connotates
danger and hints to the themes of the film. The use of white typography stands out against the dark
background of the image. The white typography has
also been made to look like it is light in the fog. There is
fog present in the image and so therefore the
typography anchors with the image. The use of the fog
in the image further adds to the mystery and unnerving
nature of the image. The connotations of fog are
generally mystery and the future being unclear and
unknown. Looking at these connotations that viewer
will be able to perceive that the movie contains horror
or thriller aspects and therefore can decipher the genre
of the film. The date and price have been made to fit
within the title, but the masthead of the magazine is
dominant. The viewer can easily see that ‘I Am Legend’
is the film being focused on in this issue of empire. It is
written in bold typography so it stands out against the
dark jacket Will Smith is wearing. It is clear that Will
Smith is the main character in ‘I Am Legend’ as he is the
only character from the movie to appear on this front cover edition. He is the centre of the cover
and the audience can also tell that he is of great importance as he is in front of the magazine
masthead; further drawing attention to him. There is very short description of the basics of the
movie, the location ‘New York’ and the genre ‘Sci -Fi Horror’. This will immediately inform the viewer
what the movie will be like and about. The viewer can clearly see that the character is holding a gun
in the image. Usually weapons are seen as a sign of power and masculinity, but in this image the
character has his finger ion the trigger (as he can sense or is expecting something bad to jump out at
him or take place, therefore holding the trigger as a sign that he is prepared to defend himself) and
the character does not appear to be standing in a masculine way. This could signify that the
character feels inferior to something, but as this is not included in the cover image it creates a sense
of enigma. The backlighting in the image creates silhouettes behind the main character. This creates
a sense of light vs. dark, Will Smith being the light as we can clearly see him (and therefore the good
in the movie). The use of the silhouettes also creates a sense of mystery and danger as the viewer
cannot tell what it is, but can tell from the outline that it looks quite threatening.
In Total Films ‘Shutter Island’ edition, the main image of the film consists of a long wide shot of the
leading actor Leonardo Di Caprio posed as his character Teddy Daniels. He i s standing on a rock
empowered by the fog around him, looking downwards; behind him is an island with a lighthouse

4. built onto it. The image instantly relates to the film title. We are shown straight away that that this is
where our narrative will take place. The sell line above the film reads “Leo takes over the asylum!”
This gives us another indication of the films narrative. We
can picture that on the island in which Di Caprio’s character
is on is some sort of dysfunctional mental asylum. We can
further develop out idea of the narrative as Di Capri has a
police badge on his belt and a gun in his hand. This shows
that Teddy Daniels is some sort of police officer who us
investigating the asylum. The gu8n represents that there is
some sort of threat existing on the island. The mist that
surrounds the island represents an unknown element. This
could mean that there is some sort of mystery involved in
the island. This would imply that the shutter island narrative
falls under the crime/thriller genre. We therefore are able to
establish a target audience for the film. The main image is
able to sell itself to the target audience as they would be
interested in this sort of narrative. Leonardo Di Caprio is
however the main selling point of this film due to his
reputation of being a massive top rated Hollywood actor. This brings a large number of Leonardo
fans that are attracted to this film because he features in it. The film title that appears on this front
cover is similar to the one which is on the films official poster. The blocked and bold red colours
which appear in both this front cover and the island appear once more. This creates a symbiotic link
between these two promotional media texts as people will be able to distinguish the film through
these two pieces of iconography. The magazines masthead is in huge upper case letters and is placed
at the top of the front cover, conventionally so. The white stands out against the dark blue setting of
the main image allowing it to become striking in the view. The total in the masthead uses the
background of the main image to allow it to stand out against the white text, a smart method used.
Despite Leonardo’s covering up some part of the masthead, it is still easily recognisable, as the
masthead is still shown the same as other previous editions to keep that familiarity and consistency.
One trailer that I looked at
was the Friday the 13th
(2009) teaser trailer. From
0:09 to 0:13 of the “Friday
13th” official teaser trailer,
there are non diegetic
sounds of birds tweeting.
This could connote that
there is an intruder. There
is also an establishing shot
of the lake. The lake looks
very peaceful but this could
be a symbol that the
darkness is descending and
unusual events are about to take place. At 0:15 there is a fade to black transition. It cuts away from

5. the lake, which implies that the events will now start to happen. From 0:18 to 0:21 there is a non
diegetic sound which is low and continuous for three rough seconds. This could represent the wind
surrounding the cabin which is shown in the next scene. At 0:19 there is a point of view shot of a
disintegrated shot of a mysterious looking light and the background is completely black which
implies and that there could be something there and the audience can see it. At 0:21 to 0:22 there
are two images shown by a long shot and its showing the cabin (a horror concept) in two different
angles this could be to show the audience that the cabin is completely isolated which suggests that
there may be a killer in there. From 0:22 to 0:24 there is a voiceover of a woman telling the history
about her son drowning in the lake, here we can see the narrative being told, that way the trailer is
shortly selling the story to the audience. At 27 seconds there is a creaky door, which is another
horror concept. Starting at 0:28 and going on to 0:52 there is a voiceover echoed from what
assumedly must have been a past interview or hearing, it gives context that a boy named Jason
drowned at Camp Crystal Lake. As the voiceover continues there is a flash of white light which is
later revealed in the next scene. It is a torch which could connote that there is somebody missing.
This same flash of light is repeated at 0:59. At 0:29 there is a diegetic sound of someone scared,
running, this makes it out to be a chase scene. At 0:34 there is a doll on the ground. The doll may
represent childhood and the feeling of wanting to be young again, this could relate to Jason’s victims
as he targets and kills young people. In a way, this coul d also relate to Jason’s childhood, as he
drowned at Camp Crystal Lake due to the negligence of the camp staff. At 0:39 there is an inter-title
of the director ‘Michael Bay’, this is used in the trailer as a different piece of advertising. Michael Bay
is a very well known director due to his work in some films such as Pearl Harbour, the Bad Boys
franchise and Armageddon. This strap may be used to convince those that are fans of Michael Bay
movies, to go and watch this one. From 0:40 there are collages of the action that is to feature in the
film, each last a second and show a montages of what’s to happen in the film. 59 seconds into the
trailer the audience first see a glimpse of the killer, Jason jumps into the scene standing underneath
a flickering light bulb, which is suppose to make the audience jump as his appearance is unexpected.
Another trailer I looked at was the Texas
Chainsaw Massacre (2013) teaser trailer.