Poster and Magazine analysis

By Leah Meka

POSTERS

Saw • The image of a hand that appears to be cut off immediately grabs attention. From looking at this poster without carefully analyzing, it is clear to say that the genre of this movie is horror. The image is positioned at the center of the poster therefore is the center of attention. The image looks like it is in 3D this is effective because not only does it add terror but it also makes it real. Furthermore, the way the hand is positioned connotates that the person was begging or pleading for help, this person was a victim of a vicious attack. Blood drops are displayed near the hand which leads the audience to the title 'Saw' which appears to be written in blood. The colour scheme on this poster is very simple but has a lot of meaning. For instance the white background connotates after life, this colour is linked to the image displayed on the poster. The red blood drops and the title in red symbolized death and pain. Overall, the two colours displayed link together, the red symbolizes death whilst the white symbolize after death. The font of the title 'Saw' is written in a creepy way which also symbolizes evil.

The ring two • There is a little girl shown in the center of this

poster, this connotates that there is a child involved in this horror movie. As you can see, the child's face is hidden by her hair and her body language suggests that she is under some kind of evil spell. From looking at this image, you are able to identify the genre. Majority of the colour used on this poster is black, however it is light in the middle of the poster where the audience can see the image of the little girl, this specific lighting has a glow affect and this highlights the significance of this child. This poster has the effect of chiaroscuro lighting. This technique is effective and is popular in Horror movies. Furthermore, the smaller font displayed on the poster that says 'The ring' is written in a child like style. The bigger font that says 'Two' is written mysteriously which adds fear. The letter 'O' appears directly behind her head and creates a ominous ambience. There is not that much text on this poster therefore it leaves the audience feeling curious about the movie and intrigued about what the movie will entail.

The masthead on this poster is placed at the bottom of the poster in large capital letters in bold font, this emphasizes the title 'SCRE4M' The masthead is written in white which stands out on a black background because they are contrasting colours. In the title the number 'A' is misplaced with the number 4 this is because this is the forth edition to the scream movies. The number and the letter 'A‘ are quite similar looking, therefore blends with the rest of the word. Furthermore, From looking at the title you can see that the letter 4 is in red, this change of colour is used to grab attention to the audience. The letter 'M‘ in the title is jagged and very sharp, which symbolizes a knife which is the killer main weapon to kill victims.The words "New decade, New rules" are displayed at the top of the poster in red. These words adds mystery because it doesn't give anything away however hints that this edition will be different to the others, therefore grabs the audience attention. These words are written in red which symbolizes blood, danger, evil etc., all reflecting the genre of this film. From looking at the text on this poster, you can see that the masthead is at the bottom of the page whilst the slogan is at the top. This connotates that the slogan is more important that the actual masthead. Furthermore, the poster looks pretty simple however very effective, the black background connotates death and darkness which adds terror and also contrasts the white mask which is displayed at the center of the poster, which is the killer in this horror movie. The image of this killer has been edited so that the chin resembles a Sharpe knife, this is the killers main weapon. Towards the end of the chin there is a bright shine light to connotate a fresh new knife ready to kill. The image of the mask has a slight glow it, this allows curiosity as well as terror to grow amongst the audience.

• The silent scream is an American film released in 2005.

This poster immediately grabs attention. The image covers the whole poster highlighting the significance of this image. The close up image displayed looks like a female being viciously tortured. The chains locked across her mouth links to the movie title “Silent scream” as she is unable to move her mouth, therefore her screams will not be heard. The detail effect on her face shows her suffering, for instance her eyes that appears to be red, which suggests pain. She is looking up, this could mean she Is looking up at her torturer. This makes her look helpless. Her pale skin and visible veins covering her whole face, connotates that life is being sucked out of her.

The background behind the image is black this suggests danger. Whilst the masthead is in white in order to stand out and grab the audiences attention. The masthead is placed at the bottom of the poster in large capital letters and bold font. The image leads us to look at the title at the bottom, this is effective because they both link together. • The tagline displayed underneath the mast head

“Pray someone hears you” emphasizes on the genre and adds terror. In addition it suggests that this film contains a lot of torture and danger.

• The Mise –En Scene shows that by the way this women looks such as her costume, hair, make up conotates she is just an ordinary person. This adds fear to the audience as they are also ordinary people therefore target audience can imagine themselves in this position.

• In the background there is a house covered in darkness. This suggests that this could o f been the victims house which is now under some kind of evil threat.

• The tagline is displayed at the bottom of the poster says ‘Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future. But in three days, she is going Hell” This supports the connotation that she is just an ordinary women. It also leaves the audience wondering, what she did to end up in Hell.

• The character is also aware of the characters name, therefore has a sense of involvement.

• Below the mast head the credit block is displayed with the aim to acknowledge the cast and crew in the production.

The image of the female character shown as the victim Is stereotypical in a horror film as women are seen as weaker than men therefore defensive. The medium shot of this female is very effective. Her face expression connotates that she is in pain as it looks like she is screaming. You can see hands grabbing her which looks like its dragging her down. The hands also look inhuman therefore suggesting the vilian is supernatural. Furthermore, the fire below her conotates danger and evil. There is a direct link to the image and the mast head displayed at the bottom “Drag me to Hell”

This is a teaser poster as it says ‘coming’ soon ‘ rather than stating a official date.

Magazines

– Fangoria is an internationally distributed US film fan magazine specializing g in the genre of horror, slasher, splatter and exploitation films.

– The masthead is placed at the top on the magazine. The style and font represent the genre as It is edited to have a Sharpe effect. For instance the letter A has pointy Sharpe ends to resemble a dangerous weapon.

– The image of a skull is placed at the center of the magazine which also covers most of the space. This image adds fear because skulls are typical conventions of horror therefore associates with evil.

– The tagline at the bottom of the magazine says “Laid to rest, he kills you best” . This adds terror and leaves the audience wondering who is ‘HE’

– The colour scheme used on this magazine reflect the genre. The masthead is in red, also half of the tagline which says “Laid to rest” is also in red but a brighter red. The different shades of red emphasize danger. The other half of the tagline is in yellow to grab attention. Both the colours red and yellow stand out on the black background . The colour used on the skull is blue with a glow affect, which creates an even scarier look.

– On the left and right text is displayed highlighting some features that will be inside the magazine. Creating curiosity to grow on the audience.

• Scars magazine is an independent magazine which focuses on horror.

• This magazine imminently grabs attention. The image displayed at the right hand of the magazine appears to be a women. The Mise-en-scene connotates that she is possessed and has been attacked. The medium shot of her allows the audience to see that she is covered in blood.

• The Mise-en-scene also allows the audience to see what she is wearing, which suggests that she was just an ordinary person until something evil happened to her.

• The colour scheme used on this magazine reflects the genre. Red is used in the background as well as the red from the blood which connotates danger and evil.

• The mast head is placed at the top of the magazine in large capital letters in the colour white, which stands out. The style of the writing looks scary with red outline which looks like fire, which suggests Hell.

• There is text displayed on the left hand of the magazine. This is a teaser of what the magazine will entail. This Is in bold font in red white to grab the target audience attention.

• The masthead at the top of the magazine is very effective and reflects the genre horror. The fire which is the outline of the title ‘EMPIRE’ adds terror and connotates Hell. Below the masthead there is a medium shot image of what appears to look like a devil. The Mise-En scene shows that this creatures yellow eyes is evil. In addition, the villain looks supernatural and inhumane however it’s hands and some facial features like the nose and mouth suggests it’s half human.

• The colour scheme used are typical colours for horror . The title of the movie ‘Hell boy 2’ is placed at the bottom of the magazine in the colour white which stands out from the colour red. Red is also used in the masthead to emphasize on the genre. The image of the creature is red , this connotates danger. The black background allows the other colours on the magazine to stand out,

• The white text placed on the left side of the magazine stands out on the black back ground as they are both contrasting colours.

• Paracinema magazine is an independently full colour, quarterly cult film magazine.

The masthead at the top of the magazine immediately grabs attention. This is because it is in large capital letters in bold font. The style of the writing looks as if it’s been bitten at the tips of each letter, this reflects the genre. The image at the center of the magazine appears to be a drawing of a girl. She looks as id she is possessed, her beady eyes and wicked smile connotates she is evil. The drawing of this girl adds fear and brings attention to the target audience. The writing displayed below the image is aimed to target people who enjoy horror movies.The colour yellow used in the masthead stands out therefore grabs attention. The black background and white text are both contrasting colours therefore are effective. In addition, the colours used in the image of the girl suggests she is not normal. The beige/yellow colours of her face connotates she is dead and has no soul. The use of red on her nose and cheeks looks as if it is blood, this suggests danger.

This is another example of a Fangforia magazine. The close up image of what appears to be a male creature/devil is what grabs the audience attention. The Mise-En-Scene shows that this vilian is evil and has viciously attacks someone/so, something as we can see blood around t’s mouth. It’s mouth is open so it’s long Sharpe teeth is visible , this suggests it uses it’s teeth for evil. The tagline at the bottom of the magazine that says “Daybreakers, the future has fangs” this reflects the genre and creates a sense of fear amongst the audience.

The text on both left and right in bold are aimed to grab attention to the target audience who are interested in vampires etc.

The colours used are mostly yellow and white which go together very well. The masthead is in red as we well as the blood on the creatures mouth which associates with danger and evil.