MEDIA STUDIES A2

1. Horror Film Poster Analysis
#1
Paranormal Activity (2007, 2011)
Thisspecificposterpromotes“Paranormal Activity”,ahorror
filmthatbelongstothe paranormal sub-genre.When
watchingthe horror film, audienceswill be spookedoutbythe
increasingthreatsthatthe protagonistshave toface via found
footage.Ihave chosento do an analysisonthisposterasthe
film’sfoundfootage theme relatesheavilytowhatI am
producingformy project.Withthisinmind,itwas thisreason
alone thatI am analysingthisposter.
Discussingthe content,the mainimage breaksconventionsby
not coveringthe whole of the image,onlytakingupthe middle
sectionof the poster.Thisismost probablytogive a
widescreeneffecttothe image inorderfor everythingto be
seenwithoutanycropping,bearinginmindthatitisan actual
snapshottakenfroma scene withinthe film.Thiscouldbe
consideredtobe crafty,as it will give the audience aninsight
intowhat isexactlyhappeninginthe scene thathasbeenfeatured.The image hasbeengivenablue
tintand a time code positionedatthe bottomright;the blue tintto give off aneerie andchilling
effectaswe associate the colourwithcoldnessandvulnerability. Thisistohelpsignifythisfilm
consistsof usingfoundfootage topresentitsterror,makingitmore realisticandmodernfor
audiencestobe scaredby. The image isnot that cleareither,givingoff amysteriousfeelthatwill
worrythe audience whoare planningtowatchthe film.
Lookingat the characters that are featuredinthe image,we can deduce thattheyare the film’s
protagonists,giventhattheyseemtobe the onlyvisible charactersthatcan be seenbythe
audience.Theyare positionedinbedandintypical nighttime clothing,helpingtoconveythatthe
filmiswill take place inthe late evening,whichistypical of horrorfilmstodo.We can alsoassume
that theyare ina relationship,giventhattheyare sharingabedtogether as well the male having
positionedhishandoverthe womanlike asif he isdefendingher. The femaleisseentobe pointing
at somethingthatisinthe doorwayof theirbedroom.Thissomethingisinvisible toeveryone,
includingthe audience,onlybeingable tocasta shadow uponthe door whichwill of course fright
the audience intowonderingwhatthe shadowyspectre’sintentsare forthe protagonists asit stands
tall up againstthe door,blockinga wayof escape forthe couple inthe bed.The bedroomitself
seemstobe slightlylitpossiblyfromasmall lamp,aswe can see lightreflectingfromthe polished
woodenpartof the bed. The beditself islarge andking-size,withawoodenheadrestthatdominates
overthe couple.

2. The title of thisfilmis“Paranormal Activity”.Itsuggestsasituationoccurringwithsomethingother-
worldlyanddefinitelysummarisesthe imageryusedforthe poster.The textitself isthe biggeston
the posterand positionedmore towardsthe bottomof the frame,whichkeepsinwithstandard
posterconventions;beingrenderedoutof asmall editof the Kautivafont.Thisfontis verypeculiar
and givesoff amysteriousandsecretive feeltothe title,asif we’re notmeantto see thisfilmand
that itis forbiddentodoso.The redcolouringgivesoff dangerousvibes tosignifythatthere isgoing
to be peril.Redisa veryintense colourasitis saidto enhance humanmetabolism, increase
respirationrate,andraise bloodpressure,givinganeffectivefearful atmosphere forthe audience to
bringthemselvesin.
There are twotaglinesthatare featuredonthe filmposter,one situatedjustontopof the title logo,
and one that isplacedbelowitaswell.These piecesof textare boththe same font,colour,and size
as each other.The fontis similartothatof a one you woulduse ona typewriterandthatis featured
on classifieddocuments,furtherindicatingthatthe filmshouldbe confidential andkeptasecret. Itis
inthe colourwhite inorderforit to standout and be easilyreadfromthe blackbackgroundthat
makesup a large chunkof the poster.The firsttagline thatcan be read is“What happenswhenyou
sleep?”Thisphrase will make the audience questionthemselvesandleadthemtohave a sense of
curiosityintothe possibilityof somethingparanormal happeningintheirhome whiletheyare
sleeping.The othertagline is“Don’tsee italone.”Thisisaninstructionplaceduponthe audience
that theymustnot viewthe filmbythemselves,makingthe filmseemmore scaryandfrightening
and that somethingwill happenwhenthe filmisviewedon yourown.
Otherpiecesof textincludesasmall review atthe topthat is givenbyBloodyDisgusting, awebsite
that covershorror filmswithreviews,interviewsandnews.The review mentionsthatParanormal
Activityis“one of the scariestmoviesof all time”andthat audienceswill be “affectedasit’shardto
ignore the imprintitleaves”.Thiswillgainmore of the audience’sattentionasBloodyDisgustingisa
popularplace to go whenitcomesto horror movies,andtherefore,havingsaidsucha positive
reviewaboutthe film,thatitisgenuinelyscary,will increase alotmore interesttoParanormal
Activity. The lastsectionof textatthe bottomissimplyaskingthe audience todemandthe filmif it
isn’tavailable innearbycinemas,alongwiththe ratingof the filmwhichis“Restricted”(18forUK
audiences) andthe filmcompanylogothatithas beendistributedby,placedatthe bottomright.
To conclude aboutthisposter,Ifeel thatalthoughthe mainimage andtextssuch as the title and
review willreel inthe audience towatchthe film, Ifeel the posterislackinginthe majorityof areas
such as layoutandimage placement.Also,there isnoinstitutional informationonthe filmplacedat
the bottomand no informationonreleasedate aswell. Ifeel thatthisposterlooksveryamateurand
improvementsare definitelyneededinordertogive ita more professional andrefinedlook.