Film Poster Analysis

 Film Language
Film Poster Analysis
FILM: BLADE RUNNER


Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner can be clearly seen as a Sci-Fi film with the iconographical images and conventions such as space ships, ray guns and luminous lights. From the poster I can see that the films protagonist is the man in the upper left corner and from the strong light behind him I can connote that he is a hero in this film. In contrast the stark lady behind him is seen to be shown as an antagonist and a femme fatale this is further strengthened by the dark background she is placed in. I think the story line may include lots of action and maybe humans being overthrown by their own creations due to the tagline ‘man has made his match…now it his problem’ this suggest some sort of overthrowing or invasion by man made things. I think the target audience of this film is fans of Harrison Ford due to his name being printed in sans serif on top of the title, also in the target audience, 16-35 year olds and sci-fi fans.

FILM: SCARY MOVIE 2




Scary Movie 2 is a sequel of the parody film scary movie 2, which is a comedic horror. The film main purpose is to tease other classic horror films. It does this in the film poster with the use of spoof characters and props. The film’s title contains traditional horror film conventions such as bright red in the title which connotes violence and gore. But this is also juxtaposed with the bright colour and comedic facial expressions of the actors in the poster all of this allows the audience to notice that it is a new age parody film, which have recently become successful because audiences enjoy knowing and understanding what they are laughing at. I think the storyline may include an array of skits to do with classic horror films such as the exorcist. The target audience of scary movie 2 should be 12-25 year olds who enjoy comedy’s and Marlon Wayans, the star and producer of the film, previous work.
FILM: UZAK
 From the minimalism on the film cover it is hard to analyse this film poster and identify a vague storyline. However due to the awards displayed I can clearly identify that it is a foreign art house film that is recognized and praised worldwide. The dark colour scheme suggests to the audience that it is a hard hitting film and due to the back drop if an industrial estate could say it is to do with work oppression or trying to provide for people. The use of the person as a silhouette suggests to the audience that he may feel just like an object and not a person or they are just seen as a piece in the industrial place. I think the target audience of UZAK is 25-40 middle class arthouse film consumers.


FILM: IM NOT SCARED

I’m not scared is another foreign arthouse film. This film contains more colour and is more modern and appealing to the modern masses but it is still not a Hollywood blockbuster budget film. The angle of the child, who may be the protagonist, seems to show him from a intrigued point of view as he seems to be staring down a hole. This an effective use of the enigma code as the audience will continually ask questions as to what he might do next and why he may do it and it is even more impressive as the audience can denote this from anywhere in the world. I think im not scared is aimed at 16-30 year olds

FILM: SIN CITY

The title of the film is bold red which stands out as a dangerous and edgy towards the audience. The image is a low angle shot which signifies the characters have authority and high importance. The hero or protagonist is looking down and the gun is aimed to the ground which suggests he has committed a crime. In the mise-en-scene, the use of props such as guns connote that the film is in the action or thriller genre. The use of black and white tones suggests the film genre could also be film noir. I think the target audience would be 15-35, mainly males because of the action genre.

FILM: PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN

The title and picture of this poster already suggests that this films will be about pirates and their adventure through the Caribbean. The rustic look also fits the conventions of such a film. The dominant look and focused camera on the protagonist suggests to the audience that this character is a leader and a memorable figure. The film fits in the family action adventure genre. The target audience would be 12-40 year olds seeing it is a family film, it would also attract fans of famous actors Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp.

FILM: BRIDE & PREJUDICE

The storyline seems to be about love and marriage. They also have happy facial expressions on their face which connotes a romantic/love story. In contrast, the left side of the poster has background characters that don’t look so interested. This an excellent use of binary opposition which signifies battle or change. The two characters positioned at the centre of the poster, seem important suggesting they are the hero and heroine. As their poses are facing back to back, it could again signify that they are both in the middle of the conflict. The tagline “Spectacular, romantic, funny…and so sexy”, tells the reader the film genre is romantic comedy. I think that the target audience of this would be previous Bollywood fans or people who enjoy foreign film of the age of 20-40.

FILM: MILLON DOLLAR BABY

 

This film poster connotes that this film is about fighting and action seeing as the women on the front is wearing a vest and is a dark background with sweat which suggests that she is ready for action. Her muscular build not only reinforces the fighting theme to the audience but contradicts the idea of women being weak. The storyline might be about a woman who has lost something and is trying to get it back by fighting for it. The two men might be aiding her in this. The genre for this movie will obviously be action/drama. The target audience would be from 18-30 year olds with mixed gender audiences. The reason why the audience would be mixed gender is because men are usually attracted to violence and action while a female protagonist may attract female audiences.