The Conjuring - Film poster analysis

This is the international poster that I chose that was part of the advertising campaign for the new horror film "The Conjuring".

Here is the link to my analysis of this film poster on Flikr;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/101147147@N03/9670324483/

I find this poster very effective and this is actually the poster that encouraged me to go and see this film myself as a viewer compared with the previous trailer that I analysed. The main component that I like on this poster is the simplicity of it. There is not a lot going on but every small detail portrays mystery and the fear of the unknown, which draws you in to want to find out what it is thats making her so afraid, made effective by the low key lighting. As my budget is only small this poster brought it home to me that it is possible to make a poster that is simple yet really effective in drawing in an audience and so when creating my own film poster, I want to create this simplicity for the same use.

The Conjuring - International Film Trailer Analysis

                             

The Wolverine - Empire Magazine cover Analysis

As well as looking at the poster to promote 'The Wolverine', I also looked at a magazine cover for Empire, which was The Wolverine featured issue that was promoted on the front cover.

              

By analysing the codes and conventions of this issue of Empire, it has allowed me to see how a large budget and established magazine promotes a Blockbuster film. It was clear to me that I would not be able to reproduce a magazine cover of my own to this standard, as the level of CGI is higher than I could achieve on Photoshop only and the time I have to complete this task. This has given me an overview of one end of the scale of quality of promotion within magazine production and I will next find magazines that are more independent and that have a cover that I will be able to create with my own skills and ability. 

The Wolverine - Poster Analysis

After analysing the international trailer for "The Wolverine", I wanted to cover the whole production of the movie to see how it was marketed and advertised on all platforms and so chose one of the many posters that were released leading up to the premiere screening. Posters and advertising play a major role in how many people will go and see the film and through analysis you can find the smallest details that can give you an insight into the film from Day 1 of the lead up without giving anything away. How professional and captivating a poster is, may determine the viewing numbers and influence viewers to get excited to see the film.

The link to my analysis of "The Wolverine" film poster is below:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/101147147@N03/9665062206/

This poster is an example of how a company or film with a large budget can create to widely advertise a movie worldwide. I think that this poster is extremely effective in attracting the right demographic of people interested in films in the action genre. I have learnt a lot from analysing this poster alone, as it was brought together all on computer with the aid of a lot of professional CGI, but done so professionally and has shown me that if you have a large budget anything is possible. It has given me a lot to think about when creating my own film poster.

The Woman In Black Poster Analysis

As I had analysed 'The Woman In Black' trailer, I decided to anaylse the international poster that was used also to promote the film. Below is a link to my analysis on Flikr.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/101147147@N03/13049504004/

This poster was particularly inspirational to me through the use of colour and the close up of the protagonists face is something that I will replicate for my own poster with our protagonist. I will use direct mode of address as seen here and try to correlate an eerie feeling of mystery with codes and conventions of the horror genre to produce an overall professional looking poster to promote our trailer.

The Woman In Black Trailer Analysis

                             

Saw Trailer Analysis

Since it's release in 2004, 'Saw' set new boundaries for film makers of the horror genre for future projects. It revolutionised the genre by showing off it's extensive features in the international trailer, despite the low budget. By watching and analysing the trailer, I have learned that no matter how big the budget, an effective and captivating trailer can be achieved from small details coming together to build emotions. I wanted to to gather more insight and extend my research by looking at this older example to compare to recent, more up to date horror trailers.

There is no doubt from this trailer that it is in the horror genre, and the codes and conventions of typical horror trailers can be found within it. The lighting plays a large role in creating a creepy atmosphere, with lots of low key lighting in many parts. This gives it a very dark feeling, which is common for horror trailers and films. However, in some parts, there is high key lighting, but this light is bright and white, which suggests that something unnatural about the situation that the film is centred round. When looking at the mise-en-scene of this trailer, we also see conventions which indicate the horror genre. For example, the mask that we see (that the character of 'Jigsaw' wears) is creepy, and may frighten younger viewers.The structure of the trailer also gives us an idea into what the film entails. 
At first, we have the scene of the man taking photos in an apartment - the room is very dark, with only quick, bright flashes of the camera flash  lighting up the room. Apart from the diagetic noise of the camera, there is no other sound in the first few seconds. Even in these few seconds, we can already identify the genre through the use of lighting. Right through to the end, not much is revealed about the plot of the film, leaving a certain amount of mystery for the audience (which would entice them to see it at the cinema). At the end, the title is shown, along with the dialogue of the character of 'Jigsaw' 'Live or die, make your choice...' which then fades to black. Again, this statement does not give too much away, creating mystery. 

In this trailer, there are many interesting features of cinematography. There are a lot of jump cuts, rapid editing used, and swift camera movements, which provide a quick pace for he plot to run at. This builds tension, and reinforces the horror genre. The use of CCTV footage also suggests the idea of voyeurism, which is a key feature of the story of film. Green filters also give it an eerie feel, and the shadows accentuate this. Close ups and extreme close ups are used to shows the fear and emotion on the characters faces, which gives the audience an amount of sympathy for them, which may keep their attention and focus on the characters throughout the film. Other interesting edits include the break up of scenes with 'fade to black' transitions, and the use of text in between cuts. The fades help to reinforce the dark feel to the trailer, and the text, with words such as 'Psychopath' and 'Madman' also implies to the audience that the killer is someone to be afraid of (most people are afraid of psychopathic murderers in films such as Saw, which helps us to identify this as a horror film).

Due to the fact that is a horror genre, this film is clearly aimed at adults. Even some of the content of the trailer may be unsuitable for young children (all of the features that I mentioned) and the insinuation of pain and gore (the section of the advert which implies that the characters must saw off their own feet would be extremely unsuitable for children). The screaming and warped sound effects would also be too suggestive and frightening for children.
I really liked the use of lighting and editing in this trailer - the bright white/ blue filters created an unnatural and clinical feel, and the fades in between shots kept the trailer running fluidly. This trailer is for a horror film that features a lot of gore which will not be a part of our trailer, however, I will use these components of this trailer (the use of lighting and editing) as inspiration for my own trailer.