Poster Analyse!

After looking at some trailers and analyzing them I decided to move on to looking at different movie posters and then analysed them. The Four posters I looked at were:

1. Dead Silence
2. Silence Of The Lambs
3. Avatar
4. Jurassic Park

I looked at all the aspects of the posters and around the image I wrote what I saw on the poster and what it means to me. After that I wrote about each poster so I could understand how a film poster should be layed out. I started by annotating Dead Silence.

What I wrote around the poster was:

• Unique Selling Point (The Face)
• Director and Writer
• Hand is dead looking
• Hands in a shush position
• Slogan for the movie (You Scream You Die)
• Company Logo (Universal)
• Website for movie
• Release Date
• Detail of the movie
• Age Rating
• Title of the film
• Black background to emphasis the face and horror
• Face of the main character

The next poster I annotated was Silence Of The Lambs.

What I wrote about this poster was:

• Face of a character
• Black Background to emphasis the face and horror
• Title of the movie
• Film Company Logo (Origin)
• Details of the movie
• Age Rating
• Information of the film (From the anticipating best seller)
• Actors of the film
• Butterfly with skull emphasizing weirdness

The next poster I annotated was Avatar.

What I wrote about this poster was:

• Unique selling point (From the director of Titanic)
• Director (James Cameron)
• Character of the title of the movie
• Unique selling point for the movie
• Film Company Logo's (20th Century ox and Hunters Film)
• Website for the movie
• Title of the movie and the people
• Black Background to emphasis the face

Finally the last poster I annotated was Jurassic Park.

What I wrote about this poster was:

• Director of the film
• Image of a dinosaur to show what the movie is about
• Slogan for movie (An adventure 65 million years in the making)
• Company Logo (Universal)
• Age Rating
• Company Logo (Amblin)
• Details on the movie
• Film Title written in preostocic writing

After annotating each poster I decided to write about each poster so I could understand the main aspects of a movie poster and it's appeal. The questions I answered were:

1. Which film poster is the most effective and why?
2. What is the most outstanding feature of each film poster and why?
3. Is there anything you would change about any of the film posters? why or why not?
4. How does the color scheme of each poster aid viewers understanding about the film
5. Of the posters shown, which film(s) have you seen? Do poster(s) match the films? why or why not?

To make sure each poster was clearly analysed I choose colors that would represent that film.

1. Which film poster is the most effective and why?
Avatar because it does not have so much information and makes you concentrate more on the poster. It makes you want to look at the site given to find the release date and other information on the film. Finally, just by putting 'From the director of Titanic' you know it should be good a good film, as Titanic was a major film.
2. What is the most outstanding feature of each film poster and why?
Avatar's outstanding feature is the face of the character because it goes with the title of the movie, which makes you focus on the face of the movie.
Dead Silence's outstanding feature is the slogan for the movie 'You scream. You die.' as it is straight forward and direct to the point, it makes you want to look at the rest of the poster.
Silence of the Lambs outstanding feature is the picture of the face because you have no clue of what it has to do with the movie, making you wonder what it is about.
Jurassic Park's outstanding feature is the way the directors name is written because it makes you concentrate more on the rest of the poster which helps the image for the poster stand out.
3. Is there anything you would change about any of the film posters? why or why nor?
I would change the Avatar poster a bit by adding the release date because it would be easier to know when the film will be released.
I wouldn't change the Dead Silence poster because it gives you all the information you need about the movie, the image let's you wonder what it has to do with the film.
I wouldn't change the Silence of the Lambs poster because it draws you in by leaving you to wonder what the image is about, it also makes the film seem creepy and more of a horror.
I wouldn't change the Jurassic Park poster as it gives you information for the movie just by making the title, the image and the slogan the center of the poster.
4. How does the color scheme of each poster aid viewers understanding about the film?
The color scheme for Avatar is blue, white and black. This aids the viewers understanding of the film as it shows what the characters are and emphasis the face.
The color scheme for Dead Silence is white, red and black. This aids the viewers understanding, as it shows it is a horror film and emphasis the dummy's face.
The color scheme for Silence of the Lambs is white, orange and black. This aids the viewers understanding as it shows the horror of the face and the film.
The color scheme for Jurassic Park is black, red and white. This aids the viewers understanding allows the image to stand out and the text is able to also stand out which then shows what film it is.
5. Of the posters shown, which film(s) have you seen? Do poster(s) match the films? why or why not?
The film that I have seen is Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park poster goes with the film as it emphasis the dinosaurs and it matches with the film as it makes it seem very real and doesn't give too much away.

Looking at the annotations and the questions that I had answered I noticed that the main features that are important for a movie poster is:

• A big image of the main character(s)
• The movie title has to be big and match the image behind it
• The slogan has to be small but has to show what the movie is about
• A release date so people can find out when the movie is to be released.
• Some may include a small amount writing at the bottom
• The director and the actors are mentioned in small writing.

Trailer Anaylse!

After doing research on movie trailers, before I come up with my own I decided to analyse some trailers from each genre so I can work out the key parts to making that style of genre which includes camera angles, speech and action in the trailer.
Action Trailer: The Dark Knight

• At the beginning of the trailer there was the companies logo's that produced the film
• There was a tranistion of blackness between each scene making it dramatic
• There was a voice over coming from the Joker (the villian)
• There is alot of explosions and crashes through out the trailer with quick cuts between them
• There were alot of one liners and some dramatic laughing coming from the villian
• There were medium close ups of the characters
• Finally the music through out was dramatic and mostly drums and also stopped when the title appeared on a black background and with the release date afterwards

Adventure Trailer: Inception

• At the beginning of the trailer there is a close up of the main character (Leonardo Di' Caprio) and the logos appear as one
• There is a voice over going on for half the trailer from the main character with no one speaking
• There is transition of blackness between shots which reveal different parts of the action
• There is only s hort brief talk in each scene from different characters
• The slogon appears in seperate parts between scenes
• There are medium close ups of each character in the shot
• Finally there is a birds eye view of the site which then changes to the title of the movie and cuts to black for the release date

Comedy Trailer: 50 First Dates

• At the beginning of the trailer there was an establishing shot a place
• Then there were different characters talking about the main character and dating him (Adam Sandler)
• Then we see the main character talk to a girl as he tries to get rid of her which then the logo appears
• Then a voice over talks about the main character and what he does with shot of the character
• Then music starts when he sees a girl (Drew Barrymore) sitting across the room
• During any funny speechs or scenes the music and the narration stop to make it stand out
• Then there is a narration and a close up of the characters saying the actors name
• Finally the title appears and it is set as the colour of the text and the style of film and then shows when it is going to be released

Crime and Gangster Trailer: In Bruges

• At the beginning of the trailer the logos for the company's appear with a voice of the main character (Colin Farrell) talking to another character
• Then it goes into the conversation which then ends with him shotting the other character and white flashes appear as gun shots
• Then the voice over continues through out the trailer but stops at certain points
• Then the text about the movie appears during a scene and the music continues
• Then the music stops when ever there was something funny being said
• Then text about the movie and the actors names appear on a pictured background between each scene and before a character shot
• Then there is white flashes between each action shot
• Finally it ends with the title and the slogon on the pictured background with the release date at the end

Drama Trailer: Black Swan

• At the beginning of the trailer we see a dancer dancing in a spotlight with a voice over over the top from the main character (Natallie Portman)
• Then it blacks out and some text appears on a black feather background with slow dramatic music over it
• Then it shows the main character in different places and the text appears between some scenes still on a black feathered background and the voice over starts to stop
• Then the music grows louder and then stops at a dramatic point in the trailer
• Then the music starts again but faster and the shots of action become faster and there is a voice over the top as the action continues to fastern
• Finally it ends the actors on a black feathered back ground and then a quick dramatic shot of the main character and then goes to the title of the movie and the music goes down

Epics/Historical Trailer: The Kings Speech

• At the beginning of the trailer the logo of the company producing the movie appears with slow but dramatic music in the background
• Then there is a shot of some the characters that include the main character (Colin Firth)
• Then the music stops when the main character tries to speak to an audience
• Then text appears on a pictured background with the music sounding more up beat
• Then some shots have no music so that the scene can pop out and show what is important
• Then there are different shots from different characters trying to show the action on the main character
• Then the music goes faster and louder near the end of the trailer showing that the film would end on a high note
• Finally the title appears with fancy lettering and on a black background and the music fades out from the shot to the title

Horror Trailer: Scream 4

• At the beginning of the trailer we see the logo of the company with one piece of slow yet dramatic music and fades in and out and the sound of a phone ringing
• Then we see the main character (Neve Campbell) answer the phone
• Then a voice over of the villian is heard and there are shots of the main character's friends and ends with a scream
• Then some text appears with the side of the villians mask
• Then the theme music for the movie plays over the scenes of the characters talking about the new villian
• There are blackouts between shots and the music begins to build and so does the action
• Then there is screaming through the shots and ends with the villian coming at the camera
• Finally it ends with the title appearing in front of the villians mask and the 'A' changes to the number 4 to go with the film, then a little of a conversation from the killer to a character then the release date appears and the 4 turns red and into a knife like shape

Musical Trailer: Hairspray

• At the beginning of the trailer there is a drum beat and a voice over and the colour of the screen is a dule colour
• Then text appears in bright colours and like a showbiz style text and showbiz lights around it
• Then the music changes to a more upbeat dance type music and it then gains colour and faster speed in the shots
• Then the voice over continues and a song from the movie is playing in the background whilst the characters are speaking
• Then are four seprate shots of characters with different colours over the top which goes with the film and the music changes to a different song and continues in the background
• Then the season the film will be released appears and the music changes to another song from the movie carrying on from the actural singer
• Then the actors names appear and then a shot of them appears after the text
• Finally the voice over says the title of the movie when the title appears then there is one last scene then the date appears

Dance Trailer: Step Up 3D

• At the beginning of the trailer the logo for the company appears and then there are sanp shots of a city
• Then it shows people dancing and one of the characters asking a question about dance with shot bursts of upbeat dance music
• Then a sentence appears one word at a time showing different dances in the movie
• Then are different shots of dancing and one of the characters speaking in a voice over
• Then text appears with a flash and has spotlights in the background to make it stand out
• Then different text about the movie appear with a flash and inbetween there are shots of dances going on in groups
• Then there is a voice over of a character speaking about dance whilst there are shots of dancing going on
• Then the music grows louder and the action goes faster to then stop when the title appears in big lettering
• Finally it ends with different dances and bits of text inbetween and shows off the text in short bursts and the dances a bit longer than the text

Science Fiction Trailer: Men In Black 2

• At the beginning of the trailer the logo for the company appears on the screen in the style of the movie
• Then there is a voice over that explains what is happening in the scene and what the film is about during the action scenes
• Then the voice over stops and the action continues with different shots of the one of the main character (Will Smith) and his dog
• Then the voice over starts again and the action starts up again
• Then during the serious yet funny scenes the music stops and the voice over stops, then when the main character starts to speak in a alien language there is music in the background
• Then the text appears on a blackground and in white but then continues over to the shot of the movie
• Then the theme style music plays when they introduce the actors name and use the same shot they are both in after their names
• Then shows different action shots and speeds up the music and the shots so you see more of the action
• Then the voice over starts again and with different shots from the movies action scenes
• Finally it ends with the two main characters (Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones) kicking the screen which turns into a door and it becomes the small version of the title of the movie (MIIB) and has stars on the background then shows a shot of the two main characters together

War Trailer: War Horse

• At the beginning of the trailer the logo of the company appears and then fades into a shot of a horse running through a war field
• There is piano music playing in the background whilst a voice over changes to the actual person talking
• Then the music becomes more louder and has more notes and there are shots of the horse and other characters and there are fades from each shot to the next through the previous shot
• There is no more speech through out the rest of the trailer making the movie have more meaning and appeal to the audiences emotions
• There is text that appears between every few shots
• The music gains more tempo making it more emotional and more dramatic and gives the film more emotion and depth
• Finally it ends with the title coming in a long fade with the music loud and then softening near the end making it more appealing and also fades out slow with the music going quite

Western Trailer: Wild Wild West

• At the beginning of the trailer the logo for the movie appears with the them music playing and a voice over of a conversation of characters talking fading into the conversation
• Then the title's logo appears and quick cuts into the trailer
• Then there are quick action shots of one of the main characters (Will Smith) and voice over explaining who he is with it ending the shots with him saying his characters name
• Then it continues with action shots of the main character in action with the theme music still playing in the background
• Then there are shots of the main character talking but with the music stopped in the background
• Then the logo for the title appears again but with text over the top with the theme music playing in the background with a voice over reading the text
• Then the music stops when the villain is introduced and the action becomes a longer shot with the main villain's weapon
• Then the action starts up again with the main character fighting the villain and other action shots with the theme music in the background and the voice over saying the actors names with the characters head shot and saying the slogan
• Then the logo of the movie appears again and then separates into separate W's which then produce the title Wild Wild West and the theme music is still playing in the background 

Chick Flick Trailer: The Princess Diaries

• At the beginning of the trailer it starts with different shots with words that represent that shot and has a voice over reading the words
• Then the voice over continues which then talks about the main character (Anne Hathaway) waking up in her bed as if it were a dream
• Then there is different shots of the character and the voice over talks about her and her life
• Then there are shots of other characters related to the main character and then there is silence when the main character says something funny
• Then text appears as if it were flipping through a book like a fairy-tale
• Then there are different shots of the main character practicing how to be a princess with music in the background with the voice over explaining it
• Then the logo for the film company appears over s hot of the trailer with the voice talking over the shot
• Then the voice over says the actors names over the characters head shots
• Finally the title of the movie appears as if it were flipping through a book and has shots of the main character changing from who she was to a princess when the title appears and then there is one last of the main character

Detective/Mystery Trailer: The Pink Panther

• At the beginning of the trailer the logos of the film companies appear and then disappear to reveal the cartoon pink panther
• Then there is a voice over explaining about the pink panther and what it is with the theme music behind it
• Then it goes to the actual movie with a the pink panther being shown on someone's hand
• Then there is a shot of the main character (Steve Martin) who then says his name with the theme music still playing
• Then the text appears on a white background in a pink text with the voice over saying the text and the actors name and role
• Then there are different shots of the movie with the music behind it but stops when something funny happens in the shot with a voice over describing the character
• Then there is a voice over explaining the character and also saying who the film is by without the logos for the company
• Finally the title appears on white background with two circles in which the pink panther walks across them with a voice over from on the characters and the theme music playing then there is a final shot of the character and then the slogan and release date

Disaster Trailer: I Am Legend

• At the beginning of the trailer we have a voice over from the main character (Will Smith) explaining what is happening to the world
• Then there is shots of people running as they are trying to leave the infected area
• Then text appears about the movie whilst the main character is narrating the movie
• Then there are different shots of the main character trying to surviving by keeping an eye on his surroundings
• Then we different shots of action with the diseased people and the main character and trying to run away from them
• Then the voice over stops and there is a shot of the main character trying to find his dog and then we see one of the diseased people attack him then it goes black
• Finally the title of the movie appears with the release date and no music behind it

Fantasy Trailer: Hellboy

• At the beginning of the trailer the film companies logo appears on screen and with the logo follows on to a shot of the movie and to another logo which continues on to the next shot
• Then texts appears about the movie and fades into other shots of the movie and the character walking by
• Then there is different action shots of creatures whilst another character explains what they do
• Then we see a follow shot of the main character (Hellboy) and his name is mentioned by the first character shown
• Then we see different shots of the other main characters who are also creatures/mutants
• Then there are different actions between the main character and some of the other characters
• Then there action shots of the villains and the main characters with adventure/action/dramatic type music to accompany the shots
• Then there are action shots of the main character fighting and there is text about the movie which appears
• Finally the title appears separate (Hell) then there are shots of the main character and then the full title appears and ends with a couple of shots of the characters and then a final shot of the main character

Road Trip Trailer: College Road Trip

• At the beginning of the trailer there is happy/funny music that then goes to a shot of the main character (Martin Lawrence) and his wife
• Then there is a quick shot of the companies logo
• Then there is a voice over that talks about the main character whilst there are shots of the main character doing his job
• Then there are shots of his daughter with a voice over explaining the character and the relationship with her father
• Then a road map appears with signs of colleges/universities in certain areas and the voice over mentions the road trip
• Then there are shots of the main character and his daughter travelling on the main road
• Then are shots of the colleges they visit with shots of them travelling in different vehicles
• Then text appears about the movie on a white background and with a yellow lines to represent a road
• Then there are shots of the two characters a college
• Finally the title of the movie appears as if you were travelling down a road to the main title with the voice over saying the title with the music in the background

Romance Trailer: Letters To Juilet

• At the beginning of the trailer there is romantic/italin style music and a shot of the main character (Amanda Seyfield) and her boyfriend in the movie
• Then there the logo for the company appears with a shot of the flight they went on
• Then there is a voice over from the main character with shots that represent what she says and what the character is doing
• Then there is a shot of the main character reading a letter but with a voice over from the main character of what the letter reads
• Then the music changes into a more romantic beat with a shot of the main character meeting the women who wrote the letter
• Then the music changes again but it is more of happy/search type music when they go to find the women's old lover and when the two characters are talking to each other
• Then text appears about the movie where the music changes and becomes more romantic again and with a shot of the main character talking to the son of the woman
• Then Love Story by Taylor Swift plays with shots of the woman finding her old lover and finally seeing him again
• Then the songs continues when there are shots of the main character and the son having a laugh which could represent their relationship and the text about the movie appears
• Finally the songs starts to finish when the title of the movie appears on screen and then fades out to the end of the trailer

Sports Trailer: The Game Plan

• At the beginning of the trailer there are different shots of the main character (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) playing football. There is a voice over from him explaining what is doing in the shot and talking about himself
• Then the sports type music starts to stop and then it is revealed that his character has a kid when she appears at the door step. There is a voice over explaining who the characters are and what is happening at point.
• Then there is a shot where the kid explains that she is his kid but he doesn't believe her. There is no music.
• Then the logo fro Walt Disney logo comes up but is set as football text and has a football pitch.
• Then it moves onto different shots of both the main characters getting into trouble and causing problems for each other. There is a voice over explaining what is happening in the scene.
• Then there is a scene where he has to pick from a line up of nanny's and the music is stop when a young nanny appears and is shown as being a little bit crazy. There is also snip it's of music but stops when she is fired.
• Then there is shot of a group of his friends watching the football when the little girl changes the channel. There is no music at this point which make the scene more funny and more dramatic to the trailer.
• Then there is a shot of the girl filling up the bath with a lot of bubble bath and music plays over when Dwayne's character appears to look for the little girl which is funny music. This stops when he enters the room and people laugh.
• Then there are different shots of both the characters and the music is happy and fun and continues on to the water fight scene but when the main character gets annoyed the music stops making ti funny and over the top.
• The rest of the trailer has funny shots of the characters and the text appears the same way as the logo at the beginning and the music stops during the funny scenes. There is also shoots of the characters playing football. 

Superhero Trailer: Batman Forever

• At the beginning of the trailer there is a shot of the film company's logo which is Warner Brothers Pictures. There is no sound at this point.
• Then the theme music for Batman plays quietly in the back ground when Jim Carrey's character (The Riddler) says a riddle that mentions Batman which then helps describe his character and Batman.
• Then there is a short sequence of the Batmobile with a voice over the top describing what is happening and then mentions Batman's mask and there is a shot of Batman in his car.
• Then the sequence continues of the car chase and the music starts to get louder and then changes to show the Batman making an entrance. During the entrance Jim Carrey's character talks about the entrance made by Batman.
• Then it changes to Nicole Kidman's character and the voice over continues mentioning love between Batman and her character.
• Then there is shots of Batman and the Riddler and it shows the main prop that is involved in the film. It then continues on to a shot of Batman being attacked by the Riddler.
• Then it introduces the other main characters Two Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and Robin (Chris O'Donnell) and the shots are with the other main characters aswell.
• Then goes onto title sequences with the name of the characters and the actors names underneath to then give a shot of that character in action on the film with music playing quietly during the scenes.
• Then goes onto show some action scenes and then between that there is different shots of all the characters.
• It ends with Batman and Robin running slow with a voice over which changes to the Batman logo and the title of the movie appears with the voice over continuing.

Supernatural Trailer: Hansel And Gretel Witch Hunters

• At the beginning of the trailer dramatic yet supernatural like music and shoots of the woods where the film is set. It then goes on to show a shot of Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arteton) when they were younger.
• Then goes onto both the characters finding a candy shaped house and killing a witch and with a voice over from Hansel who describes what has happened to them when they were younger.
• Then goes onto a couple of shots of them as grown ups and them attacking witches with the voice over continuing. The music continues over these shots.
• Then it goes onto a dramatic shot of them setting fire to wood and then walking away with the music changing at the end of the shot.
• Then the theme music kicks in and logos of the film companies appear to then go to an establishing shot of the town.
• Then goes onto Gretel introducing them and shots of them are shown and then shows how good they are when they are being questioned by a towny. Then there is a shot of another towny asking how to kill a witch and then gives shots with a voice over of what is happening.
• Then there are shots of what the main plot is but not giving to much away and then has a voice over explaining what is happening.\
• Then goes to title sequences about the film and then shots of both Gretel and Hansel in action with the theme music over the top.
• Then there is shots of Hansel and Gretel walking towards the same place and knowing where they are say what is happening and ends with an action shot.
• It ends with the title of the movie appearing with a sound of gun shot to change to the date of film and the theme music continues and then stops at the end

Thriller/Suspense Trailer: The Hunger Games

• At the beginning of the trailer there is a shot of the main character Katniss (Jennifer Lawerance) with suspenseful yet simple music behind her with a start of a voice over from another character.
• Then goes onto a shot of showing what Katniss can do which continues with the simple yet dramatic music. It then stops when something is happening that changes the mood of the trailer.
• Then the film company logo appears and then the theme music comes in and continues over a shot of people gathering in the centre of town.
• Then there are shots of the town waiting in suspense of what is happenign and the music changes as the scenes become more dramatic with the theme music in the background.
• Then there are shots of the character talking about the games with dramatic music changing and turning quiter by the end of the shots.
• Then title sequences appear with shots of the film in chronological order and with the theme music playing over the top.
• Then there is a voice over from the person who is talking about the games and with shots of all the characters in the game.
• Then there are shots of them in training which continues towards the actural game shots with the music getting louder.
• Then goes to the shots of the games about to beginning of the games with the music coming in at short bursts.
• It ends with the title of the film appearing with another theme song in the background and then logo and then finishes with a whistle

After looking at each trailer for each genre I have noticed the following things that need to be included and presented in the trailer:

• The company logo at the beginning of the movie
• Shots of the main character(s) and what they have to do with the film
• A couple of possible action shots
• Text about the movie has to match the title sequence
• The name of the actors appear before shots of that character
• The release date is always at the end of the trailer with other information