Poster Analysis 1 - Jess

There are a few conventions followed with film promotional posters which attract an audience to come and watch the film. The major forms and conventions of film posters could include:
An eye attracting title which is large and bold and of a colour which stands out against the background and other writing.
A captivating focus picture which would attract viewers to the film.
Persuasive language to entice the reader and want to know more.
The main characters name, most likely already well known, for promotion.
And the age rating which will ensure that the right type of people are watching the film and that they are attracting the desired target audience.

One Missed Call

Looking at the poster, the main focus is the face in the middle. Naturally, the next thing that draws my eye is the title of the film below the face which is in a large, bold and white font in contrast with the black background. This choice of colour allows it to stand out. Next I am drawn to the slogan of the film at the top of the poster in a deep red colour. When one seems interested in the general look of the poster, they would next look for the date of release which is conventionally found at the bottom. This detail is true for this poster as the date of release is in the centre and at the bottom in a font and colour the same as the slogan, yet smaller. It is also a typical convention of a film poster to have a list of producers, directors, star actors and actresses etc. in block capitals. This is also accurate for this poster and as these details are often ignored, they are usually put as the smallest font on the poster to draw attention to the most forceful and important details about the film. This way, one is more likely to remember the film name as it is the biggest detail; besides the main picture which itself gives an idea of the genre of the film.

Colour

The background: Black. This denotes dark things and a conventional colour associated with horror, evil, the unknown, fear and death. It also allows the details upon the background to have a better impact on an audience as it helps them stand out in contrast to the darkness.
The face colour-Green/pale grey hue: A deathly and sickly colour, perhaps suggesting that the face on the phone is a dead one and adding to the spookiness of the whole message trying to be sent to the audience.

The slogan: A dark red. This colour is associated with blood, danger, caution, pain and anger. Against a black background, it immediately tells the audience that there will be an element of horror simply because of what the colours denote.

The release date: A dark red exactly that same as the slogan. This makes this detail stand out also yet not as much as the focus picture and the title. As it is the same colour as the slogan (which is usually looked at third; after the picture and the title) it makes the audience subconsciously search for similarity and associating details with a likeness with the same importance.

Main credits (bottom block of text stating film makers, directors etc.): Plain white. A simple colour for a detail that is not often acknowledged when looking at a film poster, however it is a typical convention nearly always found on promotional film advertisement. Here the website name, the age rating and the icons of the production companies are included underneath the credits. It is in white to be visible against the background but not in a different colour to stand out against more important features. If it were to be in red, it would bring down the importance of features such as the slogan and would just look like one block of colour which would be difficult to read.

Font
All of the font is in capitals for an extra impact and so it is easily distinguished against other details such as the background and the images. The font style is blurred in the main title to suggest this is a ghostly story, spooky like the title. The shadowy look could also be linked with a story about being followed, hence the shadows. The font face is thin and not that bold to allow the main picture to stand out more, making the details that are actually revealed seem rather vague and drawn into the background.

The focus picture
This image is really in your face and has a great impact on the viewer. It seems to have emerged from the darkness, a spooky thought and has a very creepy face. The eyes are actually screaming mouths when one looks closer which could mean that someone is going to see pain and horror. In the film, the people hear their own deaths before they happen which would explain the eyes. This is where the slogan links with the face: ‘What will it sound like when you die?’ The mouth is big and out of proportion with the face, perhaps suggesting they are in disguise and not all they seem. The mouth is smiling also which is very disturbing. The hands holding the phone next to the face are normal which may mean that the face seems to have just put itself on the victim and quite happy about the death they are about to experience. Furthermore, the phone obviously links with the title ‘One Missed Call’ explaining that a little more.