The document analyzes several movie posters, summarizing key elements and techniques used: The Black Dahlia poster uses dark red text on white to represent death covering happiness. Legend prominently features the main characters and title in bold, noting it is based on a true story. The Dark Corner uses bright colors against a dark background to draw the eye to the title and actors. Positioning and lighting of characters are analyzed to infer plot details and character traits. Effective poster techniques highlighted include using contrast to make important elements stand out and conveying personality through lighting.

1. Poster Analyses

2. The Black Dahlia
In this poster we can clearly see the title of the film as it is a dark red colour on a
white background. This could represent happiness being covered and soiled by death
and sadness (which is denoted as the colour red).
The names of the main actors in the film are shown at the top. Although we cannot
very clearly see their first names due to the dark red on black, we can clearly see the
surnames of actors. This may be a problem with some movies however the surnames
are very recognisable meaning we do not necessarily need to see their first name. For
example, we can assume “Johansson” will be Scarlett Johansson based on her already
large fan base and popularity.
We can also see in this poster the information at the bottom. This is normally what is
contained on movie posters. It is important information for legal reasons however it
may be useful to the general public. However, it does not stand out as strongly as the
title or actors names as it is not viewed as being essential for the audience to know.
In this small print, it does however have a piece of information saying it is inspired by
the most notorious unsolved murder which will lead to people researching the film
and potentially telling others what it is about therefore building publicity for their
movie.

3. The Black Dahlia
In the poster, the woman is gazing upwards. Underneath her, the background is white.
The contrasting lights could represent life and death and she is crossing over from life
to death. This would tell the audience that are unaware with the story that she will
die in the film and that would be a main part of the plot. As well as this, her lipstick
dropping could actually be blood dripping from her lips. This could connote that she
will die (connotation of blood) due to someone's love for her (connotation of red lips).

4. legend
This poster shows the main characters who are the Kray Twins and the woman
(Frances Kray). They are central in the poster with the title of the film in big bold
letters. We can also see films made by other producers of this film. This technique can
be used to attract people who may have enjoyed those films by suggesting they may
also enjoy this true British story. Similarly to the Black Dahlia movie poster, where it
tells the audience this is based on a true story. This has the same impact where it
raises awareness for when the movie actually comes out.

5. Legend
In the poster, we see the two main characters standing side to side. Unlike many
movie posters containing multiple people, we have one character standing over or in
front of another to show superiority. However, the positioning here tells us that the
characters are equal in power and support each other (which makes sense since they
are both gangster brothers). The other character in the shot is Frances Kray, the wife
to one of the brothers Reggie Kray. Her position standing behind the two characters
shows that although she is not the main focus of the movie, she is still a major part of
the plot and is always driving the brothers to make decisions.
We can assume that the movie is going to a gangster movie as the facial expressions
are more serious than they would be in other genres of film. Another clear sign that
this will fall under that specific genre is that one of the twins is holding a gun while
they are both wearing very sharp and expensive suits. Frances is also set up to look
like a femme fatale with very nice makeup and shiny hair.

6. The Dark Corner
The poster for The Dark Corner has the names of the main actors and the
title in large bold letters. They are also bright colours which stand out
against a dark background allowing the eyes of the viewers towards the
important information. There is also an irony that the title “the dark
corner” almost radiates yellow light across the woman in the post. This
could just show that the title is in a dark corner since it is surrounded by
black making it stand out stronger.
The poster shows the man as being quite pale with more blue/ grey light
shining on him while the woman emits bright yellow light. This could
inform the audience of character traits. It could tell us that the man is more
depressed and in need of help while the woman is more optimistic and
adds a hint of joy to the movie. It could also suggest she is the love interest
in the film as he is drawn to her light since she has what he lacks and
desires it.

7. The Dark Corner
The poster shows very common and stereotypical conventions of a Film
Noir movie. The man is peering through venetian blinds which are
commonly used by this genre due to he harsh lighting contrast that they
cause (this is explained more in-depth in my comprehensive analysis of
genre).
The poster also has a character we can assume is the femme fatale due to
her costume and how well presented her hair is. The bright red shoes
(which I now know commonly represent lust from previous research) tell us
that she is quite scandalous and eyecatching towards the man.
In the trailer we can make the assumption that the man is looking out for
the woman. This is through the positioning where is slightly larger and
looking down upon her. This could connote that he is protective over her or
actually spying on her through windows. Both ideas could fit in with Film
Noir.
It could also be the case that the man is hiding behind the venetian blinds.
In the actual film the man suspects that someone is following him and
trying to kill him which explains why he would be hiding behind venetian
blinds.

8. What I can incorporate in my own poster
• From my research I know that an important
technique is to make the positioning of the
characters clear and distinct as this is a common
tool used to describe the plot and which characters
are going to be more important. However as seen
in the Legend poster, this does not necessarily
need to be one character standing over the other
but if two characters have the same status then
they can stand side by side.
• Light is also an effective tool. The contrast in these
posters not only make the important information
(such as titles and main actors) stand out, but can
also reveal personality traits of the characters in
the movie.