Analysis of 2 Film Posters

This is the first film poster I have chosen to analyse; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. This poster is simply excellent in the techniques that have been used in order to advertise the film. The poster depicts the main protagonist (Harry Potter) and the main antagonist (Lord Voldemort) facing each other while the "Elder wand" is central. This is a technique used to create a feeling of a final confrontation between the two characters with a significant object from the film being the main factor. The appearance of the two characters that is shown is excellent in showing us the intensity of the film and the battle that will enuse presumably following this image. The text at the bottom of the poster reads "It All Ends." This short and simple collection of words works perfectly in its use of creating excitement and curiosity in the general public. It does not reveal any information about the film that could potentially ruin the story, yet lets the audience know that the story has reached its dramatic conclusion. The colour scheme used is particularly effective as it depicts perfectly the dark nature of the film, as opposed to the earlier films of the saga. This poster relies heavily on the audience being able to realise what the poster is showing. For example, neither Harry nor Voldemort are identified in any way, shape or form. Their pictures are merely shown facing each other with the same confrontational expressions. Also, there seems to be no mention of the film's title to be found, which again is an effective example of the poster assuming that the public will already be aware of what they are looking at. Overall, this poster has been superbly designed and achieves its objective of enticing an audience to go and see the film without revealing too much information about the story.

This is the second poster I have chosen for analysis; The Mechanic. This poster is a magnificently subtle yet informative design. The imagery almost immediately will make an audience realise the films action genre due to the smoke, fire and what appears to be a destroyed vehicle of some description. The caption at the top of the poster reads "Someone has to fix the problems." This is an effective use of wording as the somewhat sarcastic tone of the words mirrors the gritty nature of the film. The character depicted is played by action star Jason Statham; he is named only in small text above the title at the bottom. This is once again an example of the designers reliance on its audience being aware pretty much immediately of what is being shown. Statham's character is depicted showing the typical traits of an action film protagonist; rough appearance, serious expression, dark clothes and armed with weaponry. Keeping in connection with Statham's characters appearance, the colour scheme of the poster in general generates a dark and serious feel (with the exception of the title and actors featured). Overall, this poster has been designed perfectly in terms of achieving its objective of enticing an audience without revealing too much information regarding the story.

Analysis of 2 Film Magazine Covers

My first magazine cover I have chosen to be analysed is Empire's edition featuring Harry Potter 7. The magazine stays loyal to its classic house style in terms of colour scheme etc. For example; the masthead is written in large font and in red. The strapline at the top of the cover is particularly clever as the method incorporated has been used in order to generate interest in its audience. The strapline reads "Our Best Preview Issue Ever!" The words "Preview" and "Issue" have been presented in a bright yellow, as opposed to the words "Our", "Best" and "Ever!" which have been written in a simple grey. The protagonist of the film; Harry Potter, is shown so clearly that his image even covers a part of "Empire". This is the magazine relying heavily on the public being able to immediately recognise the character and therefore become interested in the magazine. Subheadings such as "Heroes" and "Legends" are featured in order to further potential readers' interest even more. Harry Potter is depicted being surrounded by shattered glass, shards of which show images of the other important characters. This is a highly creative connection that has been made with the subheading "Friendships Shatter. Evil Unites." The epic and intense feel of the film that Empire is trying to display is evident with the expressions found on the secondary characters faces on the shards of glass surrounding Potter. Pugs and Puffs that are available are an effective method of ctaching potential readers' eyes with words like "Plus!", "Must-See!" and "Exclusive!" Bold phrases and wording such as these are a highly effective way to attract readers.

The second magazine front cover I have chosen for analysis is Total Film's edition featuring the movie Max Payne. Much like Empire's edition featuring Harry Potter 7; this magazine cover features the protagonist of its featured film covering some of the magazine's masthead. This is a particularly effective method being used by the magazine; as it is confident that its potential readers will immediately identify the featured actor (Mark Wahlberg) and thus be interested in the entire magazine. The cover's use of a 3D effect is simply superb. The public will feel even more enticed by the feeling of realism that this method brings to the cover. The strapline featured underneath the headline reads "Wahlberg Finds His Bourne." This is once again the creators of the magazine relying on its audiences ability to understand the meaning behind the words displayed, which is very effective. The colour scheme for the cover is primarily of a dark and somewhat serious feel. This is an effective method used in order to emphasise the dramatic theme of the film featured. This cover uses an excellent method in order to entice readers; it barely reveals anything about the film.

History of Trailers

• Besides in front of theatrical releases, movie trailers have now become extremely popular on the internet. Of some 10-billion videos watched online annually, movie trailers rank #3, after news and user-created video.

• The first trailer shown in a U.S. movie theater was in November 1913, when Nils Granlund, the advertising manager for the Marcus Loew theater chain, produced a short promotional film for the musical The Pleasure Seekers, opening at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway.

• Up until the late 1950s, trailers were mostly created by National Screen Service and consisted of various key scenes from the film being advertised, often augmented with large, descriptive text describing the story, and an underscore generally pulled from studio music libraries. Most trailers had some form of narration and those that did featured stentorian voices

• In the early 1960s, the face of motion picture trailers changed. Textless, montage trailers and quick-editing became popular, largely due to the arrival of the "new Hollywood" and techniques that were becoming increasingly popular in television. Among the trend setters were Stanley Kubrick with his montage trailers for Lolita, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

• In 1964, Andrew J. Kuehn distributed his independently-produced trailer for Night of the Iguana, using stark, high-contrast photography, fast-paced editing and a provocative narration by a young James Earl Jones. His format was so successful, he began producing this new form of trailer with partner Dan Davis.

• Kuehn opened the west coast office of Kaleidoscope Films in 1968 and Kuehn and his company became a major player in the trailer industry for the next three decades

• Top trailer companies have all been run by former Kaleidoscope creatives, like The Cimarron Group (Chris Arnold), Ant Farm, Aspect Ratio (Mark Trugman), Trailer Park (Benedict Coulter) and Motor Entertainment, run by Greg McClatchy, who previously headed up the film marketing division at 20th Century Fox.

Trailer Terminology

Plot summary Most trailers have a three-act structure similar to a feature-length film. They start with a beginning (act1) that lays out the premise of the story. The middle (act 2) drives the story further and usually ends with a dramatic climax. Act 3 usually features strong piece of 'signature music' (either a recognizable song or a powerful, sweeping orchestral piece). The last act often consists of a visual montage of powerful and emotional moments of the film and may also contain a cast run if there are noteworthy stars that could help promote the movie.

Voice over Voice-over narration is used to briefly set up the premise of the movie and provide explanation when necessary ('in a world...'). since the trailer is a highly condensed format, voice over is a useful tool to enhance the audience's understanding of the plot.

Music Music helps set the tone and mood of the trailer. Usually the music in the trailer is not from the film itself ( the film score may not have been composed yet). the music used in the trailer may be:
Music from the score of other movies
Popular or well known music, often chosen for its tone, appropriateness of a lyric or lack-there-of, or recognizably.
'Library' music previously composed specifically to be used in advertising by an independent composer.
Specially composed music.
Songs, which may include knock offs of recognizable (but expensive to license) songs.

Cast, crew, and studio information A cast run is a list of the stars that appear in the movie. If the director or producer is well-known or has made other popular movies, they often warrant a mention as well. Most trailers conclude with a Billing Block, which is a list of the principal cast and crew. It is the same list that appears on posters and print publicity materials, and also usually appears on screen at the beginning(or end) of the movie.

Studio production logos are usually featured near the beginning of the trailer. Until the late 70s, they were put only at the end of the trailer. Often there will be logos for both the production company and distributor of the film.

Technical elements Sound mix: many movie trailers are presented in Dolby digital or any other multichannel sound mix. Scenes including sound effects and music that are enhanced by stereophonic sound are therefore the focus point of many modern trailers.
Video resolution: Movie trailers preceding feature films are generally presented in the same format as the feature, being in general terms 35mm film or a digital format. High Bandwidth internet connections allows for trailers to be distributed at any resolution up to 1080p.

Codes and Conventions of Trailers

The codes and conventions of trailers are about pulling in the audience to inform them on what a film is about. They will consist of selected short clips that will give away parts of what the film is about, this is meant to entice as the audience will want to see more. The shorter the clips, the more the film is desired to be seen and the audience will want to see more of what is happening. Unexpected twists in the movie will not be shown as you don't want to give too much away and what the audience to keep guessing. The limit for trailers are normally 2:30 minutes that was issued by the MPAA, sometimes trailers may run over this but this is very rare. On most trailers, music will play in the background to set the tone and ensure that it matches with the plot of the story.

Several points that trailers should achieve are:

Generate interest in the film

Show off the stars of the film

Show the film to its best advantage

Create excitement

Tell people what the film is about, e.g. the genre

Not give too much of the plot away

Tease the audience by setting up narrative enigmas

Showcase some of the best bits of the film

Give details about the production team

My group's trailer will be that of a horror film, so we will be generally using the codes and conventions of that genre. Our aim will be to raise the audience's intrigue and make them curious as to the terrible fate that falls upon our characters.