Conventions of Opening Sequences

-Opening sequences are a vital element in film marketing as the first minutes will captivate the audiences’ attention; viewer decided to watch the rest or not

- Creates immediate interest in the film from the start

-Does not give away crucial elements; some opening sequences are criticised for giving away too much detail

-Opening credits placed at the beginning of film. The purpose of this is to inform viewers what is expected in the film; audience often decide to watch a film based on the actors in it.

-Title and release date placed at end of film

-Names of directors and/or producers are embedded; phrases such as ‘from the creator of...’. The main intention of this is for spectators to make connections between the film about to be viewed and previous successful and recognised films by the same director/producer.

-Powerful voiceover may be present to captivate attention of viewers; pungent voice emphasises key elements of the film.

-Music is essential as it portrays genre, style and plot of film. Music is used in a clever manner to bring the opening sequence together.

Organising Activities

To ensure that our opening sequence is done promptly; we will have to certify that we have all the costumes, props, equipment and the actors we need. In order to do this, we will make a prop list and tick off everything that we have completed. 
The prop list will consist of all the names of the people in our group, the costumes we need (fake blood, knife, mask, bag, farmer costume, school uniform) and the equipment we need (camera, tripod, storyboard, battery, cassette).
We discussed how we will manage to complete the opening sequence within the time period we have been set. We will do a certain amount each day accordingly and we hope to to achieve our aim.
If we do it after school timings we have to ensure that it is at a time and date that everyone, who are part of our production, are avail to us, even if that person may not be needed. This is so everyone equally takes part in the making of it. Most of our filming will be produced in Repton Park, thus, either we will all make a meeting point or we will go there together - ensuring we are aware that we're constantly being pushed for time. Due to this, we all have to work together as a group to produce the opening sequence to the best of our ability.

Audience Pleasure of Horror Movies

After watching various horror films (The Shining, The Orphan, The Strangers and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Our group studied the films, and below is the key conventions we found:

v  Moon

v  Black Background title

v  Mirror

v  Drugs

v  Physiatrists

v  Looking from a point of view out of a window

v  Forest

v  Creaking Doors

v  Swings

v  Fireplace

v  Fire

v  Mobile phone

v  Torchlight

v  Silhouette

v  Knife

v  Stranger in mask

Conventions of Horror Movie

Meeting 6

This lesson, our main focus was on organising both the costume and prop list. We allocated each individual, from the group, to find items of clothing and props that could be used within our music video. We ensured to split the tasks evenly and the items that one could not find were allocated to someone who had these resources available to them.

Film Poster Moodboard

Emotions in Horror Movie

Candyman

The poster of "Candyman" has a plain white background layout. Only the eye is in colour which fades into the white background. As red is a very dominant colour it makes the inside o the eye stand out which leads the audience to seeing the silhouette of the man who is thought to be the 'Candy man'. This suggests voyeurism and that someone is being watched or watching which puts the audience in that point of view of wanting to know and see what is going on and happening.

The wasp being in yellow stands out as it is the brightest colour on the poster. As a wasp is a very scary, dangerous insect it gives the film a sense of fear and danger. Without even knowing about the film it gives the impression that the 'candyman' is a bad character who may be involved in murdering or torturing others. If you compare it to the wasp it may 'prey' on other humans.

The phase "from the chilling imagination" suggests the film will be very imaginative, unique and the audience will be expecting something spectacular.

"The scarist film since the Silence of the lambs" indicates the flms genre staight away so would attract an audience who is looking for a very scary film. They have compared it to another film which is very scary and by saying it is scarier the audience would aimmediatly be attracted to wanting to watch the film.
The poster is very vage, it highlights the films genre and emphasises how scary it will be, however does not give alot about the film away which would keep the audience in suspense, influencing them to go watch the film.

Skeletons Key

This poster is effective as it incorporates uses one large extreme close up image of an eye with an extreme long shot inside the eyeball. I believe it suggests the film may be based upon an old man looking back to the past of when he was younger or watching out for someone who is younger. A significant element of the image in the eye is that the character is on a wheelchair. This can convey the idea that the child has suffered physical trauma or was born disabled. The child is also gazing at a mysterious building; which I think represents a madhouse he may of lived in or an adoption centre he used to live in. The title has been placed at the bottom of the poster, under the eye in three lines. The title is also in a bright beige colour, which creates a contrast to the background and draws attention more to the main image. The name of the star, Kate Hudson, is situated at the top, which reveals she is the main character in the film ‘The Skeleton Key’. As her name has been distinctively put up there it shows her great significance, which may be a tactic, used to attract people to watch the film. There is no information about the film given on the poster except for the title and one of the characters name. The purpose of this may be to keep the storyline a mystery and provoke the audience to go to the next step, and watch the trailer. This technique is a typical convention of a film poster, as they do not usually give away a lot about the film. The ‘E’, which is in the title, also looks like a keyhole, as it seems lights shining out of it. This emphasises the idea of the film being named ‘The Skeleton Key’.

Infected

This film poster of 'Infected' shows a close up image of half a persons face which has been edited and seems to be a surreal image. The inside of the eye has a black background which suggests there is nothing behind it and shows the person have no personality or any significance as it his character is unclear through this image. It is even unclear if this human is a male or female which adds on to the whole mystery behind this person. The symbol inside the eye may represent a symbol or clue in the film, which the black background helps to stand it out. The symbol may be a sign of danger or a warning to something bad as it seems to be a very tribal, evil symbol. This reflection is strengthened with the scars and scratches on his face which shows pain and violence which has been done upon this person. Highlighting something bad will be happening in the film suggesting some sort of torture. This clearly represents the genre of the film, which would be a horror movie.

The title of the film is 'Infected' this highlights there is some sort of infection or disease going around which may be the cause of this destroyed face. The font used is also significant as it seems to be dissolving at the edges and fading away which may reflect the person with the disease which due to the torture is rotting away and may be leading to a death. It has been placed at the bottom therefore leaving space at the top empty to emphasis the deep scars and scratches on the forehead.

The tag like used is "how can you kill what is a part of you" this is a very strong, powerful phrase which causes the audience to think about what this could mean, creating stories in their heads to try and work it out. It may suggest the person is living with this type of infection which they want to get rid of however they can not kill it or get away from it as it is now a part of them. Which adds to the horror, mystery and scariness behind the film.

Meeting 5

A Shot list is vital in the film industry as it allows the creators write down all the different camera angles and frames that will be used within a moving extract. Therefore we decided to create our own shot list for our opening sequence and ensured that every detail such as the different angles and framing positions were included. This task also helps the camera man as before filming; they will already know specifically what to shoot as the shot list is available to them. This will speed up our shooting time and make everything run smoothly and efficiently.

Extracts found from the 'Hammer and beyond British Horror' written by Peter Hutchings

‘Horror tends to be identified as a means by which an audience comes to terms with certain unpleasant aspects of reality. Horror film teaches an acceptance of natural order of things and an affirmation of mans’ ability to cope with an ever prevail over the evil of life which he can never understand.’

‘Horror sequences are really formulaic rituals coded with precise social information needed by adolescent audience.’

‘The psychopath tends to be a masculine as this is stereotyped as being the more dominant gender.’

‘Horror tends to include visible stress, acts of violence, predominantly adolescence audience and morbid themes.’

Our group acknowledged this statement by Peter Hutchings and tried to embed it into our extract. The psychopath in our extract is Arron Mallory. We decided to use him as he is masculine character, and this follows the general codes and conventions of horror as the character is the more dominant gender.

We have also portrayed visible stress from the protagonist in the extract, by screaming and distressed facial expression.

Research into Horror Films

Horror films are designed to:

v  Frighten and panic

v  Cause dread and alarm

v  Invoke our hidden worst fear

v  Captivate and entertain us in a cathartic experience

v  May conclude in a terrifying finale which shocks the audience

Fears created by horrors:

v  Nightmares

v  Our vulnerability

v  Alienation

v  Revulsions

v  Terror of the unknown

v  Fear of death

v  Loss of identity

v  Fear of sexuality

Convention of characters:

v  Lead character becomes the survivor of the film

v  Killer monster often has a trademark of the people he kills or the weapon used

v  2 characters are in a conflict – good vs evil

v  Good person survives and defeats the ‘baddie’

General conventions:

v  Isolated location

v  Female victim

v  Disruption of normality

v  Sub plot of male/female relationship

v  Defeat of monster

Conventions of Opening Sequences

-Opening sequences are a vital element in film marketing as the first minutes will captivate the audiences’ attention; viewer decided to watch the rest or not

- Creates immediate interest in the film from the start

-Does not give away crucial elements; some opening sequences are criticised for giving away too much detail

-Opening credits placed at the beginning of film. The purpose of this is to inform viewers what is expected in the film; audience often decide to watch a film based on the actors in it.

-Title and release date placed at end of film

-Names of directors and/or producers are embedded; phrases such as ‘from the creator of...’. The main intention of this is for spectators to make connections between the film about to be viewed and previous successful and recognised films by the same director/producer.

-Powerful voiceover may be present to captivate attention of viewers; pungent voice emphasises key elements of the film.

-Music is essential as it portrays genre, style and plot of film. Music is used in a clever manner to bring the opening sequence together.

Horror Shot

Denotation: 

Big thick hair: Makes the face seem lost in the volumised hair and also shows the characters bold personality

Lowered face: Portray the theme of horror as the eyes seems extremely dramatic and enticing

Knife across face: Conveys the element of horror through the reveled destructive weapon; sharp therefore dramatic contrast

No smile: No happiness as there is no smile therefore the character can either be depressed or a psychopath 

I found shooting the real image to be an easy task as I did not have to hold the camera. The shot was taken on webcam therefore I just had to position myself in front of the webcam with hair/makeup. I also lowered my face to give a devious expression. I did not have to go through the trouble of ordering someone else to be my model and the image was to my preference as I was in total control.

I believe my image is effective as it conveys the theme of horror in the snapshot. The big hair adds to the image as the face seems mysterious and hidden. The lowered face draws attention to the eyes and the knife is a dramatic contrast to the face. The image is also slightly blurred to add to the suspense of the photo.

If I had the chance to repeat this task, I would capture the image from a long shot to include more of a scary costume; such as black ripped t-shirt and leggings. I would also add fake blood across my face to emphasise the theme of horror. My body posture would also be fairly akward to represent a scary atmosphere. After the shot is captured, I would edit the image on and Imac such as blur out the edges or lower the brightness for a dark tone throughout the shot.

Initital Idea

Shot Number 1: On screen text stating 'On December 19th, a girl was home alone. At 11:32, the harrassment began'.

Shot Number 2: Sound of current R&B song playing in the backgroud as it is a stereotypical music for teenagers. A sleepover is taking place, without the presence of parents, at the home of the protagonist. However she explains to her friends that she is beginning to feel poorly.

Shot Number 3: Friends decided that she should call it a night and they will leave a reschedule this arrangement for a later date.

Shot Number 4: The friends leave, and the girl decides to take a painkiller with a glass of water. She makes sure the taps are closed, the TV is switched off, the doors are locked.

Shot Number 5: The girl walks upstairs and tucks herself into bed. However there is a sound of indistinct TV in the background. She goes downstairs, only to see the news turned on, stating how a teenage girl had been harrassed whilst home alone, and the event resulted in death.

Shot Number 6: The girl becomes anxious, however turns off the TV and makes her way upstairs. At that moment the telephone rings.
Girl: Hello
Stranger: I can see you
Girl: Excuse me?
Stranger: Im in the garden, wnat to play hide and seek?
Girl immediately puts down the phone in panic.
Shot Number 7: The audience sees a shot of a man thats identity is hidden, walking down the path towards the back door. Frantic girl rushes towards the door to make sure the doors are locked. The stranger has disappeared from the garden.

Shot Number 8: A blank screen is shown. The audience can hear persistent ringing of the doorbell, TV and radio turned on, alarm sets off and all taps are opened. 

Shot Number 9: Girl becomes paranoid and intensely distressed. She screams for help, followed by a creaking door opening (by the intruder).

Shot Number 10: Girl immediately hides under bed.

Shot Number 11: Blank screen. Diegetic sound of girls hearbeat amplified and irregular breathing.

Shot Number 12: Stranger: I can see you
Shot Number 13: Blank screen. Sound of progressive footsteps becoming louder and louder, this creates tension. Suddenly the sound stops, all the viewers can hear is silence.

Shot Number 14: The ending shot is of sirens from several ambulances and police cars. This is followed by the stranger repeating his tag line to the audience: I can see you.

Meeting 4

During this meeting, we decided to construct a script. We chose to do this in the form of a dialogue with conversation exchanged from the main character and the friend. We also considered the noises made by the killer as he does not actually verbally communicate within our opening sequence. This was a simple task and was completed within the lesson as in our horror extract, dialogue is not the focal point and only a short amount of phrases are embedded. As a group we chose to focus on the visuals and music rather than the language used.

Enchanted

The sequence opens with the typical shot of the mystical Walt Disney Castle; however there is a twist as the camera zooms into a window, where a book is revealed. The book is placed on a brown alter; similar to the opening of Snow White. This indicates that the film is based upon a fairytale animation, as this technique is a convention found in princess films. The camera steadily zooms into the title of the book from a high angle, where the name Enchanted is portrayed. This is written in a fairytale font which emphasises the genre of the movie. The book then gradually opens, where a 3D pop up image of a castle appears. This is a modern take on the typical opening of a fantasy book, as the pages tend to be flat; in Snow White. The narrator is heard saying ‘Once upon a time, in a magical Kingdom of Andalasia lived an evil Queen’. The opening statement is a stereotypical phrase that has commonly been used in many animation films. This highlights that the narrative is based upon the clichéd evil queen, attempting to eradicate the naive Princess. A countryside cottage is shown; the camera zooms into the window to reveal a beautiful princess dressed in a pink gown, with delicate rosebuds placed on her head, dreamingly dancing around. She is surrounded by talking creatures which emphasises the whimsical theme of Enchanted; similar to Cinderella and Snow white. She then begins to sing a cheerful song about ‘true loves kiss’. She is referring to Prince Charming, which is always an essential character in a Princes based blockbuster. An element of humour is intertwined where the Princess, Giselle, states ‘Before 2 become 1 there is something you must do’. The rabbit responds ‘do you pull each other’s tail? A bird replies ‘do you feed each other seeds?’ This comical naivety of the answers foreshadows to the viewers that there is yet more humour to be unveiled. The lighting is bright, and the colours are vibrant and nature is shown frequently, a representation of happiness. This indicates the simplicity and beauty of a typical princess’s life.

Flightplan

Flightplan begins with a passing yellow train; this enables the audience to decipher that the location of film is based in America, as this is the convention of the tube in America. The shot is rapidly cut by a blank screen which illustrates the opening credits. This is portrayed through a basic font in a white colour, and for a dramatic effect, high pitched sound is added which enhances the movement of the train. The previous shots fades into the next shot, and the camera steadily zooms into the back of the protagonist head. A match on action is used shortly, which presents the facial expression of the central character as the camera is in a front angle. The camera zooms into her face and we can see she is distressed as she has tears in her eyes. The title appears to the right in a similar white font text, which contrast heavily with the background. The purpose of this is to draw the audiences’ attention to the name of the film. This is followed by a rapid fade into the next shot, intertwined with a sound of a triggering gun; illustrating the genre of action in the film. An open casket is revealed, related to previous sound, through a wide shot. This highlights the genre of mystery as the viewers want to distinguish who has died. A man walks towards the protagonist and asks ‘Would you like a moment of privacy before the casket is sealed?’. The protagonist gently nods her head. The lady is dressed in black as a sign of respect for the corpse. The lighting is blue and dark. This creates a tragic and intense atmosphere, which emphasises the bereavement that has previously occurred. The opening sequence foreshadows what the film might be based upon.

A Cinderella Story

Cinderella Story commences with the introduction of the Warner Bros Company as they are presenting the film. The opening shot the viewers perceive is a blank shot, followed by a mystical soundtrack. The next shot is an establishing shot of a ‘far far away Kingdom’; which the protagonist is narrating. The purpose of both these elements is to introduce the audience into the romance / chick flick genre of Cinderella Story. The protagonist narrates a brief story about a little girl and a widowed father; explaining her reality. This allows the audience to gain an insight into the main characters life, which creates a sense of identification to the character. The next shot is a graphic match of the ‘far far away’ castle to a castle in the girls’ snow globe. Subsequently a two shot of the girl and the father is presented, as it highlights to the audience the special bond and close relationship they share. A whip pan shot is closely shown as the camera moves sideways rapidly, the image becomes blurred into indistinct streaks, with a background sound of traffic. The next shot seen is an establishing shot which presents the location of the film, San Fernando Valley; a fertile valley in southern California to the north of Los Angeles, which includes many residential communities. This contrasts dramatically with the stereotypical location of a fairytale setting; usually in an enchanted forest. The opening credits appear on screen, from the writers and directors of the movie, to the main star; Hilary Duff. The font is written in a curly writing in a bright pink colour as these appeals to the target audience. A wipe is used to indicate ‘Hal’s Diner’; the fathers place of work. The lighting is bright, the colours are vibrant, cheerful music is played and the customers’ facial expressions are happy. This creates a close sense of friendship within the community. It also signifies the stereotypical life of fairytale stories. The theme of humour is emphasizes when Hilary Duff talks about her fathers’ diner, stating ‘A place where DIET was a 4 lettered word, and grease came with no additional charge’. This captivates the audiences’ attention in witty humour, and foreshadows upcoming humour that is yet to be unleashed during the rest of the film.

The Ring

The sequence commences with a dark lit kitchen; typical convention of the genre of horror. The colours are dull which helps create a tense atmosphere. The extract progresses by a close up of a teenager; enabling audience to see the visible distress in her facial expression. This enhances the anxiety within the audience as we can sympathise with the character. The camera steadily moves into the living room, where a TV automatically turns on to reveal a fuzzy black and white screen. The girl declares ‘if you’re being a bitch, where’s the remote?’. A shot of the remote is seen on the sofa. The girl abruptly grabs the remote and turns of the TV. As she walks into the kitchen, the TV repeatedly turns on once again. She becomes panicked and runs towards the TV and rips out the fuse; electric current is shown. She leans in towards the screen, and a sudden movement from the kitchen becomes visible from the reflection. She sprints across to the kitchen, and sees an open door fridge. She slams the door of the fridge shut. The next shot shows a high angle shot of the character at the bottom of the stairs. The purpose of this is to enhance her vulnerability in this situation. As she walks upstairs, a puddle of water is seen on the floorboard. The water is shown coming out of a room. As she turns the door knob, there is a point of view shot of a TV screen. It illustrates a blue lit secluded forest with a well, surrounded by skeletal trees. The camera zooms into the girl to reveal her screaming action. A continuous rapid fast paced shot of a disfigured mouth chewing on a finger, a box of chopped fingers, a gold ring, a ladder with its reflection, a window of a house and the fuzzy black and white screen emerges.

How effectively does the opening sequence from 'Children of Men' (2006) use the forms and conventions of film openings? What is your personal response as a member of audience?

‘Children of Men’ explores an era of dystopian United Kingdom in the year of 2027. The human race has become infertile which has lead to severe oppression as the world has fallen to war.

The purpose of opening sequences is that it encourages the audience to carry on viewing the rest of the film. It also hints at the life of the protagonist, the core themes that run throughout the film and also the environment which the story is based upon. Occasionally the opening sequences help to enhance the baseline of the narrative. Pace is also a crucial element of a film as it helps to create either an upbeat atmosphere or a sinister environment. Another essential element in a narrative structure is the use of mise-en-scene i.e. sound track, costume and makeup. The soundtrack constructs the atmosphere of the film and the costume and makeup help highlight the characteristics, personality and position of status of each character. It can also signify whether the film is set in a futuristic era, and the society in which the plot unravels in. All of these codes and convention help enhance the opening sequence of a film in a more effective manner.

In media there are many conventions that are commonly used in the production of films which enhance the basis of an opening sequence. For example a narrative function that is frequently used is that the protagonist is introduced to the audience. This is presented in the first extract of ‘Children of Men’ as the audience can immediately recognise that Clive Owen obtains an imperative role in the film. This becomes apparent in the sequence which shows a crowd emotionally depressed and genuinely mortified at the death of the youngest person on the planet. The news broadcast follows the typical convention of a bulletin due to text such as ‘Breaking News’, the mid-shot of presenter and also distorted clips and use of date. This is shown on a TV screen at a cafe stating that the world has descended into chaos. Diversely Clive Owen cuts sharply through the crowd to order a coffee. His sheer lack of interest in the news of the death of ‘Baby Diego’ becomes evident as he instantly stands out from the sheep like crowd. This emphasises his importance and captivates the attention of the audience to this character; rather than a member from the crowd.  A tracking shot is also used to follow only his actions; therefore is audience able to connect with his life. For example we can see him add some alcoholic drink such as whisky to his ‘morning coffee’. This signifies that Clive Owen is going through a difficult phase in his life.

A narrative convention of an opening sequence is the establishment of a core theme and iconography of the film. In ‘Children of Men’ this is presented while the protagonist, Theo Faron is continuing with his daily routine by fixing up his drink, when abruptly an explosion occurs due to terrorist bombing. This signifies and foreshadows the key themes that will run throughout the film; such as, Mystery as the audience gains enigma as they question why the population is infertile and Drama due to terrorist attacks. This also signifies that there is still a continuous civil unrest (siege) in the future; similar to the present time.

Media language is also essential in the production of a movie. In this extract, the lighting is dull which carries connotations of a miserable atmosphere in the futuristic country of United Kingdom. This highlights the sheer distress of the community and the terror rippled in each body due to the unexpected frequent attacks. This may also hint to an increase in pollution due to advanced technology; can be deciphered as a harmful impact on the population’s health; a fumed, smoggy atmosphere. It also emphasises the troubled circumstances the citizens are enduring and also highlights the recurring theme of anxiety in the daily lives of the population.

Another media language used is the setting of the story. In the background the audience can see within the frame the enhancement of advanced technology. For example instead of the basic bus banners, there is a digital moving imaged bus banner which shows that the development of computing. Similarly there are buildings covered in either discrete screens or have some sort of projections covering the whole building; similar to Piccadilly however seems more common rather than a London attraction. This signifies that human knowledge has developed over the time from the present moment to the future.

A familiar convention of a film is the use of an opening credits presented at the beginning which lists the most important members of the production. In ‘Children of Men’ it is shown as text superimposed on a black screen with a basic font of credits. There is no music accompanying the credits although a use of speech via news broadcast. This immediately conveys to the audience that the film is based upon a serious issue; usual connotation of a news broadcast and that the film is intertwined with anxiety and apprehension.

An establishing shot is shown during the opening sequence. It exposes subtle elements such as the classic British double Decker bus, the standard post box and the polished Black Cabs. One can denote that the setting of this film is based in United Kingdom; London. The audience is also able to connect to the environment with the visuals in the background however selective focus and attention to detail is needed for one to recognise these objects. During the explosion sequence a long shot is used to ensure that the audience is able to see all the action and detail within the frame. This appears to be a ‘money shot’ as this scene recreates a realistic destructive image which captures the emotion of every individual.

The makeup of the protagonist; Theo Faron was minimalistic which entitles the audience to interpret the stereotypical Hero. This is emphasised as he is ‘tall dark and handsome’; an obvious saviour of ‘Children of Men’. The costume worn is very casual and shows the rugged edge of Theo Farons character and also hints at the adventure thrust within him.

During the opening sequence, I could recognise elements that seemed to foreshadow the dramatic event. However the explosion occurred abruptly and I was at the verge of my death. This caught me off guard and released adrenaline with me; creating a surge of energy. I believe the codes and convention used throughout the film were extremely effective as the criteria’s used (lighting, colours, costume, camera shots) has fulfilled the purpose of the ideal opening sequence. The narrative enticed me into the film and left me wanting to watch the rest.  

Meeting 3

During this meeting, as a group we decided to put our ideas into visual terms by producing a story board. We drew pictures of each shot and made sure we drew them in the perception from the camera and embedded all the different camera angles we wanted within our opening sequence. Pictures of the clothing worn by the characters and the props used were also within each frame. This helped us visualise our idea easily and we were also able to alter any flaws present in our sequence.

Importancy of Film Posters

Posters are highly crucial to allow films to appeal to their targeted audience/market. Posters advertise the film and inform the audience of what to expect in the film. It gives a brief denotation of what the film plot is based on, the key concepts and genres of the film are, illustrating who the main character(s) is/are and so on. It allows to specifically attract the targeted audience whom would want to watch the film. This would ensure that bad publicity is decreased as much as possible because majority of the people who would go watch the film would be the people who would enjoy it. Posters allow to make the film seem as interesting as possible. In a way it seems as if the film production company have a chance, before the film gets released, to adhere to as many people as possible. It persuades people to be informed about the film before it is released, therefore, may buy pre-tickets. Whereas, film companies who don't do this, noticeably, see that their film demand is much lower than others.
Since our film production companys' budget would be quite low compared to other multi-national companies, we would have to ensure that our poster still manages to cover all the points we would need. Additionally, posters are not very expensive compared to other advertising techniques, thus; we can take advantage of this and invest in making the best posters possible to ensure we have atleast one strong technique of advertising.

Film Poster Featuring Text

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

·         50% of poster is text

·         attention on text due to big bold black writing which contrast to the white background therefore draws audience’s attention to read it

·         rhetorical question makes audience question themselves

·         The image shows a masked man with a chainsaw. This relates to Goodwins theory that there is a connection between visual and text as there is both the element of chainsaw in the image and the title

·         The title is written in bold red letters which immediately draws attention to the most vital element of the poster.

·         The title is in the colour red. The colour red is stereotypically known to convey danger, fear and death; subtly outlining themes within the movie

·         ‘America’s most bizarre and brutal crimes...’ entices the viewers to watch the film as it is persuasive

·         The film becomes scarier as the tagline mentions ‘What happened is true...’ – this creates fear in the atmosphere as the audience realises that these horrific situations also occur in reality.

Simple Film Posters

Saw 2
The poster for the Saw 2 is really simple yet effective. The main portion of the poster is white which contrasts heavily to the ash coloured title. This makes the title stand out which promotes the film itself. The font is also the same as the first Saw movie which shows that this movie is a sequel. The poster cleverly demonstrates this poster is advertising the second sequel as there is two fingers. However to convey the genre of horror, the fingers seem as if they have been cut from the hand and is mouldy and rotten at the bottom. The nails also have rigged edges as if someone has bit it off. The fingers are also dirt as if they have been buried from underground; hence portaying the idea that the finger is from the ceased. Another interpretation of the two fingers is that it is growing from under the ground, similar to plant. However it is demonstating irony as plants tend to represent new life and a new fresh start however contrastingly this image represents the negative aspect and demonstates death as if a ceased person is coming out to haunt the audience. Goodwins theory has also been used as there is a connection between the text 'Saw' and the visual, as there is a picture of a sharp bladed rusty saw across the top of the page.