1) The primary focal point of the poster is Matt Damon's helmet, which signals to audiences that the film is a science fiction genre that director Ridley Scott is known for. 2) The strong focal area is the central tagline "Bring Him Home" over Matt Damon's emotionless face, implying his character wants to return home. 3) The weak focal area is the title "The Martian" at the bottom, giving audiences an idea of the genre and plot that the character is stranded on Mars.

1. The Martian Poster Analysis
His face shows no
emotion,likeablank
stare .It’svery
masculine andshows
no fear.This
representsthe type
of audience forthis
filmbeing,amale
orientatedaudience.
His eye contact
withthe
audience shows
directmode of
address. The
directorhas used
thisso the
audience can
see whatthe
maincharacter
mightbe feeling
whenlookingat
hiseyesandface.
Formal mode of addressshownonthe
title of the film, because of the fontused
for the title of the film. The fontisa light
grey/silvercolour.The title fontisquite
sophisticated,andseemsquite serious.
Thiswill attract a more seriousand
mature audience.
The actor inthe filmMatt Damon is
mostlyknownforstarringin
blockbusteractionfilms,makinghis
target audience forhisfilmswould
be male audience whoare aged16-
35 wholike actionfilms.Thisiswhy
RidleyScottcast himas a main
character inthisfilmto broaden
the audience.
The filmstag line is“BringHim
Home”,whichgivesthe ideaof how
far awayfrom home he might be,
and whyhe has a vague lookon his
face. Thisrepresentsthe genre of the
film, science fiction.The use of the
tag line andthe space suit, are used
togethersothe audience understand
the plot. The audience forthisfilmis
predominantlymale,because Matt
Damon isinaction filmswhichare
usuallytargeted towardsmen.A
female audience isdrawnto
watchingthisfilmbecause of his
looks, whichbroadensthe audience
for thisfilm.
Primary Optical Area
Strong Fallow Area
WeakFallow Area Terminal Area

2. The Martian Poster Analysis
Primary Optical Area : The primaryoptical areafor thisposteristhe helmetwhichthe mainstar
Matt Damonis wearing.Thisisa goodway forthe audience to suspectwhatgenre the filmisgoing
to be whichis science fiction .The use of the director’s name inthe middle of the helmetcatchesthe
audience’s eye because of the readinggravity. RidleyScottisawell-knownscience fictiondirector
whohas directingbig filmssuch asthe science fiction- horrorAlienwhichwasreleasedin1979. The
audience whoenjoy filmssuchasAlienwillbe drawntowatchingthisfilm.The audience forscience
fictionhorrorfilmssuchas Alien are usuallymales.Filmslikethisare targetedmore towardsamale
audience because of the action,violence,blood,anddeaththatmightbe featuredinthe film.
Strong Fallow Area : The strongfallowareaforthisposteristhe tag line andthe protagonistsface
whichisin the centre of the poster.The tag line beinginthe centre of the posterisveryeye
catchingfor the audience,because of the use of a large white fontwhichmakesitstandoutagainst
Matt Damon’sface. While readingthe tagline the audience will see the starsface inthe centre.The
star gives a directmode of addressto the audience.Asthe audience are readingthe tagline, Matt
Damon’seyesare lookingstraightatthe audience,givinganalmostemotionlesslookto them. This
couldbe linkedtothe tag line “BringHimHome”.His face looksverystrongbut almostfearless,the
linktothe tag line couldbe thathe misseshome andisdeterminedtogetback.
WeakFallow Area : The weakfallowareaisthe title of the film“The Martian” whichistowardsthe
bottomof the poster. Thisfilmistargetedtowardsscience fictionfans,whoare usuallymales.The
use of the actor Matt Damontargets a differenttype of audience,fans of filmshe haspreviously
starredin whichare mostlyactionfilms,whoare predominatelymales,aged16-35 yearsold.This
will broadenthe audienceforthe filmalsothe directorof the filmRidleyScott’sfanswill be
attractedto watchingthe film,because of hispreviouswork. The filmtitle “The Martian “ givesan
ideaof the genre of filmitis.Whenthe audience thinkof “The Martian”,theywill instantlythinkof a
science fictionfilmbasedinspace,andthentheywill readthe tagline “BringHimHome”.This will
give theman ideaof whatthe mainplotisgoingto be about, and if theyare interestedin watchingit
or not.
Terminal Area : The terminal areaof the posteris at the bottomof the posterwhichisthe names
of everyone involvedinthe makingof the film.Inthe rightcornerat the bottomof the posteronthe
characters space uniformisthe wordNASA,whichgivesthe audience anideathatthe character is
on a missionfromthe space companyNASA andhow he wantsto getback home. Most science
fictionfilmsare usuallybasedinspace,sothe use of the NASA writingonthe space suit, isusedto
define the genre of the film.Science fictionfilmsare more commonlytargetedtoamale audience,
usuallybetweenthe agesof 16-35, from a lowerworkingclass,to uppermiddle class.Mostfilms
Matt Damonstars in are action filmssuchasSavingPrivate Ryan,whichare targetedto a similar
type of audience.A female audience will be drawntothe filmbecause of the mainstarsgoodlooks,
whichhelpsmix the audience,andtobroadenit.
Anchorage: The waythe audience isdrawnin,bythis posteristhe way the mainstar of the film
Matt Damonis placeddirectlyinthe middleof the poster. Whenlookingatthe poster,the
audience will come acrossthe actorsface and will see thathe islookingdirectlyathim, showinga

3. The Martian Poster Analysis
directmode of address,whichdrawsthe audience inevenmore,enticingandpersuading the
audience towantto watch thisfilm .
Codes& Conventions: Particularobjectsusedinthe poster,define the genre of the filmwhichis
science fiction.The use of the helmetwhichthe mainstarMatt Damonis wearingindicatesthathe
isan astronaut andthat he mightbe on a mission,aswell asthe NASA emblemonhisrightshoulder.
The use of the tag line beingdirectlyoverthe actorsface attracts the audience immediately,
because itisin the centre of the poster.The fontusedforthe tag line isa large white neutral colour
as well asa simple andtraditional font.Itattractsthe audience because itstandoutagainstthe
orange/grey/gold/coloursbehindit,andemphasizesthe desperationthe maincharacterfeelstoget
back home to earth.
Modesof Address: Onthe posterthe mainstar Matt Damon,islookingdirectlyatthe camera
givinga directmode of addresstothe audience,captivatingtheirattention. The fontusedonthe
filmtitle andtagline isa formal mode of address, because of the simple yetseriouslookithas.