Film Posters - Laura

When researching film posters, I looked at one for a short film ('Broken'), and the others were for films that involved domestic abuse, as this is the theme for our film. I wanted to see how they portrayed the violent, sinister elements. Whether they were subtle, or overt. 'Sleeping with the enemy' is a thriller, and so they showed the eerie, sinister element quite explicitly as they need to make the genre clear to the audience. However, 'Dogtooth' is much more subtle, the use of the blood and her facial expression shows there is clearly something wrong, and that there are dangerous elements in this film, however the focus pull does not show us the background, and so does not give too much away. For example, in 'Dangerous Intentions', we see the man is standing behind her. She looks nervous whereas he looks quite intimidating, so we immediately relate the violence to him. In our film, the audience does not suggest domestic violence straight away, so in our film poster we will need to make the abuse subtle.

Dogtooth

Ÿ  The focus pull in this shot means we focus on the face of the girl, drawing our attention to her expression. This is furthered with the way it is a big close up.  Also, the way it is blurred makes the character seem isolated, as we cannot see the background.

Ÿ  The make-up of the blood on her face is very dramatic, and as it is the centre of the frame and our focus is already drawn to her face, it stands out to us. It is enigmatic, as the red connotes danger, furthered with the way it is blood, making it enigmatic for the audience as they are already asking questions.

Ÿ  The other text apart from the title is very subtle, this is good as it does not subtract from the errie feeling of the poster. 

• Narrative: this poster does not give too much away in terms of narrative, as key elements of mis-en-scene have been left out, such as costume and lighting. This means we rely on her facial expression, which does not look happy; suggesting there is something more to the story. Furthermore, her eyes are closed. This is enigmatic to the audience as we wonder what secret she is hiding, but it is also suggestive of the narrative, and that perhaps something dark and sinister will be revealed in the film.
• Representation: the focus pull means we do not see the costume, which makes it harder for us to see which social group she is representing. However, we can still see white through the blur, which suggests youth. Furthermore, the actress that is playing the character is young, suggesting that teenagers are being represented. The use of the colour white makes it seem like a positive representation, also the way it is a frilly top makes it seem quite childish, thus having vulnerable connotations. Furthermore, the way she is a teenager, she is shown to be hurt through the use of blood, and the way she is the only character in the shot suggests that she is the protagonist. All of these elements come together in the poster to make it appear to the audience that we will be empathising, or perhaps even sympathising with her throughout the film.
• Genre: the use of blood in the actual image, and the use of the red in the credits suggesting this makes it seem gory. Yet, the way her eyes are closed, concealing her identity, suggests that there may be a sinister underlying narrative.  
• Audience: the image of the actress features heavily in the poster. The actress looks quite young, perhaps suggesting that they are tarageting a older teenager audience, though the sinister use of blood also shows that it may be quite horrific, so it also targets adults.

Sleeping with the enemy

Ÿ  The use of the tagline: “She is a stranger in a small town. She changed her name. Her looks. Her life. All to escape the most dangerous man she has ever met. Her husband.” The use of declaratives in this creates a harsh tone, portraying the serious theme of the film as it is about abuse in relationships. Furthermore, by using the pronouns “her” and “she”, the character is not given an identity. This suggests that her “husband” has taken this away somehow.

Ÿ  There is a masculine silhouette. The way it is a silhouette makes it very sinister, as it is dark and he has no features, therefore no identity. We assume he is the “husband” who is “dangerous”, and the way that the picture of the woman is confined in his silhouette could perhaps show that she is trapped by him.

Ÿ  Similarly to the ’Dogtooth’ poster, the colour red is used for the title. However, only for the word “enemy”. The different colour makes it stand out, and as it is next to the silhouette it makes us think of the husband. Red connotes danger so we then relate the “enemy” to her “dangerous…husband”.

Ÿ  Poster 2:

Ÿ  A silhouette is used again, this time with a spotlight on the door, creating an eerire tone, suggesting the genre of the film is perhaps a thriller

•  In both posters, the actress' name - Julia Roberts - is at the top. She is quite a highly respected Hollywood actress, so they have used a big font to make it clear to the audience that she is in it. Furthermore, this also targets a different audience to the actual film: fans of Julia Roberts.
• Narrative: she is in the bath, suggesting that there is an intimacy between the person in the doorway, therefore assuming it is her "husband".
• Genre: the low key lighting gives the poster a creepy and sinister air suggesting conventions of a thriller.
• Audience: in both posters there is an adult actress that is the predominant image, suggesting this is the age for the audience.
• Representation: she is in the bath, which shows vulnerability, suggesting that she may conform to the stereotpye that women are weak  

 

Dangerous Intentions

Ÿ  The woman’s body language in this helps to portray the theme of domestic abuse. She is biting her nails, which is seen as a nervous gesture. Her eyes are looking towards the side, and the man is behind her, suggesting that he is the one who makes her nervous.

Ÿ  The lighting has a yellow tinge to it, emphasising the dark strip that cuts across the woman’s face. This heightens the different appearances in her face, as one the dark side of it we see she has bruises. This suggests violence, then with the mans frightening expression behind we relate it to him.

Ÿ  The woman is placed below the man in the frame, which suggests vulnerability as the height gives him power. A power which her perhaps exudes through violence.

Ÿ  Alternatively, the way she has two appearances could suggest that she tries to hide this violence from the people around her

Broken

• Narrative: This is a short film. When creating designs for our film, we did some mock designs using the image of the hospital. However, we said (and our audience feedback page supported this) that this gives too much away. In terms of narrative, the poster needs to hint at what the film is about, however as the films are 'short' they cannot give too much away about the chronology or the events.

Ÿ  The focus pull that blurs the shot and makes her only relatively clear in the background confuses the audience, making them ask questions about the plot

Ÿ  The ellipsis in the tagline “what if your truth…were a lie?” creates tension, suggesting that it is a dramatic genre. Furthermore, the way it is a question makes the audience active, as they cannot answer it, and so they want to watch the film to answer the question

Ÿ  The format is standard, the picture-text ratio is much bigger as this reveals the most about the film, for example from the blurred screen we cannot see what the character is doing, making the audience already start to ask questions. The title is then the second most important, for practical reasons as well as it having implications of what the film is about, and so needs to be the second biggest. Then the other information is often not important for the viewer, so therefore it is in a smaller print.

•  Representation: they are representing a woman in this. She is tied to a chair, which could
  be conforming to the stereotpyical woman who is weak. Furthermore, her expression looks passive.