The document analyzes a movie poster for the film "Canine". It discusses several design elements of the poster including the low camera angle that makes the silhouetted figure appear powerful, the hidden light source that makes the audience feel unnerved, and the lack of visible face or gender of the character which leaves the audience guessing about the plot. It also notes the prominent black and red colors which represent darkness, danger, violence and blood. Different fonts are used to emphasize different text elements and draw attention of the target 18-25 year old audience. A comparison is made to another movie poster which uses lighter colors, has the tagline rather than title as the largest text, and includes a critic review and director information

1. Poster Analysis
McMahon & Quinn’s codes for print analysis:
Technical
Symbolic
Written
Slight low angle shot means that we
are looking up at the silhouetted figure;
putting them in a position of power
and making the audience feel inferior.
The source of light is hidden and is
beyond the audiences’ reach making
them feel unnerved.
We cannot see the face of the
character on the poster; neither can we
establish the gender of this particular
character. This will leave the audience
guessing as to who exactly it could be
and won’t ruin the plot twists of the
film. The wolf shadow also leaves the
audience guessing as they cannot tell if
this wolf is genuine or just someone’s
imagination.
Most prominent image colours are
black and the red light escaping
through the door. The black
represents the darkness and taps
into most people’s fear of the dark
to look spooky. The red is the
universal colour for danger and also
connotes blood and violence.
Different fonts to emphasise different words/phrases on the page. Movie
title ‘Canine’ has its own font and is also the largest on the page. Film ‘tag
line’, review and top caption are also emphasised through the size and font
used on the poster, drawing in the attention of my target audience (18-25
year olds) and encouraging them to discover more about the film.
The predominantly white colours of the text are a subtle reference to the full moon and its
importance in the werewolf myth.

2. Comparison to a genuine Media Product
1. Poster colours are much lighter than those of my own. This allows the designers to
add more detail which is visible. Such as the destroyed buildings. The darkening
sky and the image itself help to compensate for this lack of the scare factor.
2. The film title (Cloverfield) is not the largest font on the page; instead it is the
tagline which is deemed more important. My own poster keeps to the standard
format of the title being the largest word/s on the page.
3. Both posters have a web address for the official film website so as audiences can
enhance their movie experience and also to advertise to an increasingly digital
age.
4. My Poster has a review from a critic on behalf of Empire magazine which my
audience research indicated is one factor that will entice audiences and make
them interested in the film.
5. My poster also has details of other works by the director, another factor that my
audience research indicated would help to interest my target audience (18-25yo).