The student began by researching conventions of horror and comedy film posters. They noticed different genres use conventions in different ways. For their own poster, the student included standard elements like the release date and tagline linked to the psychological horror genre. However, they subverted conventions by inverting the colors of the central girl figure, making her appear inhuman and suggesting something supernatural will attack her. The streaks on the walls and the girl's vulnerable positioning imply she will die at the hands of something abnormal. Overall, the poster effectively conveys the horror genre through these visual cues and an unsettling, mysterious atmosphere.

1. Evaluating my Poster Q1: In what ways did your media project develop, challenge or use constructions of real media products?

2. I began by researching the conventions of existing posters. I began researching 3 horror/dark-themed posters (Final Destination, Dorian Gray and Pathology). However, I felt that there were other conventions in posters that were not commonly used in these genres of film posters. To investigate this, I researched 3 comedy films: Kung Fu Panda, Megamind and Over the Hedge. This showed me that different genres of film poster can use different conventions, or will use the same conventions in different ways (e.g. all the posters have taglines, but the comedy ones are funny, whereas the horror ones are scary.)

3. How I used, challenged and developed these conventions My film poster was very typical, and didn’t challenge many conventions, because I felt the poster would be more effective without subverting particular conventions. The release date is a standard inclusion in film posters. Some release dates refer to contents of the film (e.g. the ‘Juno’ release date was styled as ‘Expected soon’, a pregnancy reference). However, this wasn’t really possible with my poster. Release date I included the tagline ‘You can run…but you can’t hide’. Like the other posters I analysed, my tagline is linked to the genre and allows the audience to assume it is a psychological horror. However, this link has also been reinforced by the rest of the poster. Tagline How I used/developed/challenged it Convention

4. How I used, challenged and developed these conventions At the centre of my poster is the girl, who is strongly connoted to be the main character or victim. This connotation is made because she is the only figure in the poster, she is in the centre, and she stands out very clearly against the black background. However, in some ways I subverted this convention when I inverted the girl’s colours. Inverting the colours turned her skin blue and her hair white, which makes her seem inhuman. By dehumanising her, it becomes unclear whether she is a protagonist or an antagonist. Furthermore, this is reinforced as we do not see her face, which may link to another convention of not revealing the villain. Makes it clear who the main character (victim for horror movies) is.

5. How I used, challenged and developed these conventions By inverting the colours she now appears inhuman and glowing, with a pale shadow on a dark wall. All of this strongly suggests the supernatural. Her pose (stretched out, almost crucified, with her head down) implies that she is going to die or be struck, and that she is defenceless against it. The combination of these connotations is that she will die at the hands of something abnormal or supernatural. Posters for horror movies usually carry strong connotations of death. The dark background, the positioning of the girl (her head bowed, her body spread out, suggesting vulnerability and victimisation) tell the audience the film is a horror. The ‘Welcome to the Playhouse’ font is similar to font styles that drip blood, and the sinister tagline (‘you can run … but you can’t hide’) confirms the genre. Most posters will indicate what genre the movie is.

6. What do I think worked and Why? One thing I think worked especially well was the streaks on the walls, which was unintentional. I initially noticed them in a thumbnail of the picture, and experimented with inverting the colours to try to make them stand out better. This lead me to the girl with inverted colours, which gave the impression that she was not human, and the connotation that something supernatural would somehow attack her. Her positioning contributed to this connotation very well, as she is spread against the wall (suggesting helplessness) and her head is bowed (suggesting she has given up or is hiding from something).

7. The girl’s positioning was much more deliberate than the streaked walls, and although inverting the colours was initially an experiment, I began to develop it when I found it worked so well. For example, I altered the contrast and darkness of the girl, so that her features (e.g. her hair and face) would stand out more and would not become confused in all the white, light colours. I also reversed the inversion of the floor colours, so that both the walls and the floor were dark. What do I think worked and Why?

8. I am especially pleased with the appearance of the floor, as it looks old and scratched, suggesting some kind of fight or wear. It also gives the impression that the location is run- down, and reinforces that the girl is alone. What do I think worked and Why?