The document discusses inspiration for film posters from several movies. It analyzes posters for "The Bone Collector," "Chloe," "Awake," and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Many of the posters feature protagonists and antagonists or action shots to set the scene and mystery. They also use chiaroscuro lighting with strong contrasts between light and dark to create intrigue and suggest themes of secrecy and mystery for the psychological thriller genres.

1. Inspiration for
Film Poster
Emma Dempsey

3. ‘The Bone Collector’
My group and I like the layout of this film poster as it includes the two main characters
and places them in such a way that it presents their relationship to the audience; they
appear to have formed a united front against the unseen antagonist. This is shown
through their positions; they are standing close together and appear to be looking at the
same thing suggesting they have a common goal in mind. The poster also includes an
action shot at the bottom, it is of the character Amelia Donaghy searching a railway line
with a torch and light, this suggests she is investigating the murders with the help of
Lincoln Rhyme, played by Denzel Washington. The colours used suggest that the
characters are being lit by a candle’s light or some kind of naked flame, this suggests the
theme of mystery and uncovering secrets, therefore presenting the poster as a
psychological thriller.

5. ‘Chloe’
Similarly to our film ‘Eve’, the producers of ‘Chloe’ have named their film after the
main character. However, the focus of the poster is not on the protagonist but the
antagonist. My group and I like the idea of having an extreme close up and making the
film poster highly cryptic however, we would really love to feature both the protagonist
and the antagonist in our poster. The photo of Chloe has had its contrast and brightness
increased suggesting extreme exposure to light and introducing the idea of secrecy and
uncovering it.

7. ‘Awake’
Similarly to ‘The Bone Collector’, this poster includes an action shot of the
character Clay Beresford on the operating table with the possible antagonists
around him. The character of Sam Lockwood is in the foreground suggesting
that she is the protagonist, her husband is in the background, looking down at
the operating table suggesting a supernatural element to the film. My group and
I like the contrast of dark and light and think the mystery that surrounds the
poster causes it to be extremely intriguing.

9. ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’
My group and I like the layout of this poster as it displays both protagonists.
However, the way in which it is presented causes the audience to question the
relationship between the two characters featured. Placing the character of Mikael
Blomkvist in the foreground looking directly at the camera suggests he is the main
protagonist and is unaware of the presence of Lisbeth Salander who is positioned in
a profile shot. The profile shot suggests Lisbeth is somehow an echo of Mikael and
presents the film as a psychological thriller. The colours used suggest a foreboding
atmosphere or the theme of secrecy as the grey background is reminiscent of fog or
mist. At the bottom of the poster, a shot of a house covered in snow is used, this
suggests the main setting of the film or the source of the mystery the protagonist is
trying to uncover.

11. Chiaroscuro lighting
Many of these film posters use an effect called Chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro in art
is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. Chiaroscuro lighting is an
artistic term dating back to the Renaissance that is noted by the contrast between
dark and light. It is often used in a bold manner so that it has a noticeable and
dramatic effect on the entire composition of a work. Many psychological
thrillers use this technique in their film posters because the contrast between
light and dark creates a sense of mystery and obscurity, it also adds clear tonal
contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the
subjects depicted.