The document discusses the marketing and promotion of the 2011 sci-fi comedy film Attack the Block. It analyzes the poster and trailer, noting similarities in their use of logos, credits, and representations of characters and settings to create a recognizable brand identity. Both the poster and trailer depict the urban setting and gang of teenagers who must defend their neighborhood from attacking aliens. The film was targeted at younger urban audiences through its representations and placement on social media platforms.

1. I have received your letter regarding information about the film Attack the Block. The film
was released on the 13th May 2011 in the UK. The film was directed by Joe Cornish. I will be
looking at the promotional methods used by the institution to market the film. I will
compare the effectiveness of the film trailer and poster.
Some of the companies that helped make Attack the Block were Studio Canal, Film4, UK
Film Council, and Big Talk Productions. Film 4 has produced some well know films however
the other institutions are relatively unknown so the audience knows that it won’t be a very
big budget film.
Attack the Block is aimed at viewers who like Horror, Sci-Fi, and Comedy. It is a hybrid genre
film. The film is targeted at people between the ages of 15-25 as it has an age certificate of
15 and young people will like the representations of the urban environment and seeing
representations of characters that they recognise or could relate with.
At the beginning of the film trailer it shows the institutional logo of Optimum Releasing, this
is also displayed on the poster. It is a convention to have the institutional logo displayed on
the different platforms.
Institutions also advertise on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube this is because it’s free and
many people worldwide own an account on at least one of these cross media platforms.
And if people like the trailers they will post it onto their Facebook pages and if their friends
like it they might go watch it and recommend to their friends. The synergy between the
poster and the trailer are very similar as they both show institutional logos, credits block
and the age certificate. The poster and the trailer use the same typography for the title.
Optimum Releasing and credits
block show all other institutional
logos, name of company and actors.
It also says from the producers of
Shaun of the Dead. This is an
institutional endorsement as ‘Attack
on the Block’ was a successful film.
This will encourage people who
liked that film to also watch this
one.
Facebook.com/AttackTheBlock
Most people have Facebook and it is
free advertising. It helps the
audience feel as if they are involved
because they can leave comments.
Face book is free advertisaing for
institutiuons and company as man
people world wide have an account
this gives a wider range of
advertising and gets the fill more
popular and when people embed

2. They also use similar representations of the characters and setting. It’s important to
institutions to use this synergy to create a recognisable brand identity so the audience
immediately know that the cross platform promotional methods are for the same film.
On the poster of Attack the Block the characters are represented by their stance/posture.
Their posture could connote what their place in their gang id for example the person at the
front could be considered as the leader. And the white people at the back are the ones that
are not part of the gang.
The clothes that they are wearing could also give us a representation of who they are. Some
of the gang members are wearing hoodies and new era hats this could connote a urban
underclass and has connotations of violence and anti-social behaviour. However the film
narrative itself subverts and gives a positive stereotype of the urban youths by making them
the heroes who save the day.
The adults at the back of the group who are white could connote that they are not part
of/involved with the gang. The white man at the back could be represented as an
overweight man who could not care much about his hygiene. And the woman could be
represented as a normal person part of the community as she is wearing formal/casual
clothing. These characters have been included to help broaden audience appeal and to
hopefully make more money for the institution.
The tower block is being represented as intimidating, big, and isolated. In the background
you can see iconic building such as the gherkin this tells the audience it is located
somewhere in London. "What kind of alien would invade some shitty council estate in South
London?”
On the Poster there is an example of binary opposition to give the audience an example of
who’s up against who or what is up against something. For Attack the Block it is the
teenagers in the city versus the aliens from outer space.
Inner City VS Outer Space.
This is a classic binary opposition as this is typical of the Sci-Fi genre as there is always a
battle between good and evil and it fulfils the audience’s expectation.
In the trailer of Attack the Block there is inter titles which have a greenie blue glow around
them which connotes Sci-Fi and Something Alienate.
The glow can also give an enigma code this is because audience may wonder what is
happening for example if something was going to be blown up or being absorbed, the light
can also give a sense of energy.
In the trailer the types of shots are used effectively for different parts to give the audience a
better sense of representation and can show connotations of characters, places, and the

3. block itself. At the beginning of the trailer there is a panning shot, low angle shot and an
extreme long shot of the tower block. This connotes to the audience how big, isolated and
intimidating the block is and gives the audience a small sense of danger and a small thrill.
But on the Poster of Attack the Block it is a still of the block on a low angle shot this also
makes the block look intimidating.
In conclusion from my research I can tell you the film Attack the Block turned out to be a big
success on its opening weekend as it grossed a total of £1,133,859, Source of information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_the_Block#Reception.