The poster analyzes the 1996 film "Scream" movie poster. It follows horror movie poster conventions like featuring the main character prominently, using dark colors like black and gray, and placing the title at the bottom. The analysis examines specific elements of the poster like the close-up facial expression of fear, ambiguous background, and tagline about "love" and "murder" to build intrigue and connect to the film's plot. Overall, the poster effectively uses basic horror conventions while still feeling unique to promote the mystery and danger of the film.

1. POSTER ANALYSIS 2

3. INTRODUCTION
The next poster I will be analysing is the ‘Scream’ which was released in 1996. The main film was set in a
house. There was a young girl who lived in that house. Even though, the film was set in a house it follows
the same ideas and conventions that I would like to create when making the trailer. So by analysing
another poster within the same genre would be very helpful for me as I would be able to get a broader
understanding on what I would need to include in my poster to satisfy the audience and meet the
expectations of the audience by including different features.
The style of this poster is very different compare to the poster I analysed before. Even though both the
posters are from the same genre and follow the same conventions they still manage to make their posters
look unique and appealing to the audience.
POSTER CONVENTIONS
The ‘Scream’ poster fulfils the general layout and conventions of a basic horror poster by making the
poster unique even though it uses the same technique as the other slasher posters. It is again, very
conventional to use one main character in the film featuring on a horror poster as it gives the audience an
idea on who the main antagonist or protagonist is. It is very conventional to see dull gloomy colours being
used in horror posters and by using this particular black/grey colour scheme it will make the audience
clearly understand that it is going to be a horror film.
On this particular poster you will be able to see the protagonist featuring on the main poster which is less
conventional. This is because it is more likely for the antagonist to feature on the poster because they are
the ones who survive till the end and they are the main character in the film. So this shows that the
‘Scream’ poster is quite different compare to all the other posters which makes this poster very unique.
The layout of the poster is very consistent. The main image is placed on the centre of the poster which
shows us that it follows the rule of thirds. The title is placed at the bottom thirds of the page which makes
the audience clearly understand that the people who are promoting the film want the audience to look at
the image first before reading the title, as the image is more important than the title.

4. IMAGE/Mise - en - Scene
Colour Schemes/Main Image
The poster uses two main colours which are black and white. It is common to see these colours
in horror related movies. Usually black represents death so as black is used in the poster we
could understand that death will play a major role in the film and there are going to be murders
seen during the film. A woman is featuring in the poster. This shows us that she is the main
character in the film. In the image it looks as if someone has put their hand over her mouth
which shows that she may be trapped or caught by the antagonist in the film.
Facial Expressions
By looking at the facial expressions of the character it looks as if the woman is being shocked
and this could probably make us think that the woman is probably shocked from witnessing a
killing. Moreover, the image of the woman featuring on the poster links very well with the title of
the film. There is a clear link between the title and the image. The image makes us think what has
made the woman scream and builds the tension.
Camera Shots
A close up shot has been used for the image of the poster. The close up shot makes the poster
very powerful because we can clearly see the woman's facial expressions and understand her
emotions. The colours black and white could make the audience understand that not everything
is simple as how it portrays.
Lighting
A strong contrast in lighting is used around the woman’s face. This could make us think that
there is only little hope that she will survive as the majority of the poster is covered in black.

5. Positioning in the Frame
The image is positioned in the centre of the poster. The eyes clearly stand out from the image
and is positioned as if the eyes are looking at the audience. When you look at the image you
could sense a fear and feel that the character is frightened. Just by looking at the image it makes
the audience instantly think why she looks shocked, and why she is frightened. This would make
the audience want to watch the film even more as it leaves suspense.
TITLE
The title gives different suggestions about the movie itself. The word ‘Scream’ suggests that there are
going to be unpredictable events taking place and it is highly likely to see frightening moments also
taking place during the film. The title has a strong connection to the image itself which tells us that we
are going to hear people scream in the film.
The title is written in a very simple font. Block capitals are used just for the title to make it stand out
from the rest of the text included in the poster. As the title is written in bold letters it makes the title
stand out from far away and people would be able to read it even from a far distance.
A white colour is used for the font which is in contrast to the background colour black. The colour white
could represent the hope that the woman has that she will survive. As the colour black is strongly used
for the background colour it could also represent a mysterious side to the film that would make the
audience think even more and would make them want to watch the film even more as it is leaving a lot
of build – up and suspense.
It is a very typical layout to see the title being placed near to the bottom middle of the poster. A title is
usually placed near to the bottom to make the main image dominate more on the poster and to show
the audience that the image is more important than the title.

6. TAGLINE
The tagline used in this poster is ‘Someone has taken their love for scary movies one step too far,
Solving this mystery is going to be murder’. Just by reading this tagline we can get a flavour of
what the film is going to be about. We can clearly understand that there are going to be murders
taking place in the film and we can also understand that it is going to be difficult for the characters
in the film to escape from the antagonist. The word ‘murder’ plays a big role in the film and we
could possibly think that the woman on the main image and the word murder may have a strong
link.
There are strong words used in the tagline which would make the audience relate to the film. For
example the word ‘love’ could make the audience personally relate, to the situation of the victim.
There is a twist used in the tagline which would make the audience confused as it says ‘Solving this
mystery would be murder’. However, it is really the mystery of solving the murder’. So the tagline is
very cleverly used and gives us a broader understanding on what the film is going to be about.
A very simple font has been used for the tagline to make it clear to the audience about what the
meaning is behind the tagline. The tagline is separated into two sentences to probably show the
idea that there are two parts of the film which will be very important and will have a twist between
the narrative.
The tagline is placed right at the top of the page. This is another basic convention used in horror
posters. It is common to see the tagline being placed at the top of the page. A reason for putting the
tagline on top of the page is because it could give a strong idea on what the narrative is going to be
about which is important. So by placing the tagline at the top of the page it is more likely for the
audience to read it first before reading any other text used on the poster.

7. COLOUR/ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Colour
So by using mainly black and white for the poster it could gives us an idea that the film is going to be dark.
There is not going to be any happy events taking place in the film and the woman is surrounded by an evil
atmosphere. As black is usually related with death it could also suggest that the woman may die or she
may be close to death. The colour white could foreshadow that there is a chance that she may escape from
the antagonist.
Image
As a close up shot is used for the image it leaves us with a lot of questions in our mind as we are not clear
about what is really happening in the image. We could see a hand placed on top of her mouth in shock but
we are not clear, if it is the woman's hand or if it is someone else's hand placed on top of her mouth from
stopping her screaming or making any noise this enigma creates a very uncomfortable feeling for the
audience as they would want to know what exactly is happening in the image.
Marketing Strategies
The names of the actors are also included in the bottom of the poster. This is a very clever technique used,
because it would make the fans of the actors want to watch the film just because they have contributed to
the film. It would also make their expectations increase as they may have enjoyed the previous films that
the actors have acted in.

8. CONCLUSION
Overall, the poster uses a lot of the basic conventions that you would expect to see in a horror –
slasher poster. It has followed many conventions to make the poster successful. The main
conventions the poster has included are:
Using a close up shot of the main character featuring in the film. It is highly likely to see a main
character featuring on a poster. The image is also placed in the centre of the page which is also a
basic convention of horror posters.
The title is also placed near to the bottom middle of the page. It is very common to see the title
being placed there because it shows that the poster gives more importance to the image rather
than the title.
A tagline is also included in the poster which also uses words that makes the audience feel
connected with the film e.g. ‘love’.
The background is not very clear. We are unclear on where the film has been set which could give
us a hint that there are elements of the film that may not be clear e.g. We may not know who the
killer is, the identity of the killer may not be revealed etc.
Moreover as the background is not clear it could also make the audience think that the situation of
the victim is also not certain and could lead them into being less fortunate in the events that occur
in the film and could lead them into danger.