Anlaysis of Blair Witch Poster

Colour and Meaning: Most of the colour used is black. This could be because black usually reflects darkness, anonymity and has generally negative connotation. This colour is used as the background behind the image of the person and the forest image is dark as well. This is so that the obvious convention of horror is portrayed to the audience, simply through the use of black. White is used on the writing, this could be because the white contrasts with the black background and stands out more against it. This is vital for the audience to see what the writing says clearly.

Media Language: The writing on the poster is formal; this is done so that the movie can appeal to an older generation as well as a younger one. It could also be formal because it wants to demonstrate the clarity of what’s the movie is about.

Layout: The layout of the poster includes the title at the bottom. This is so that the audience can see the image and the paragraph as the first attraction. Once the audience is drawn in then they will notice the title that is written more boldly at the bottom. A main image is used above the title with a setting behind it. This image is used at the bottom to demonstrate ambiguity .i.e. the image is of half a persons face, only showing their eyes. However it does portray fear and we don’t get to see the expression of their face. This is so that the audience is left in suspense and need to go see the movie to find out what’s happened. Also the paragraph that talks about the actual movie is placed in the centre.

Typeface: The typeface is small in areas where it is not significant .i.e. actor’s names, credits and there’s a small paragraph which tells you about the movie. Although the typeface for the title is much bigger and the letters are quite separate from each other signifying the importance of the name of the film. This is done so that the audience reads the main features of the film .i.e. the title as opposed to other features of the film that may not be as important to the audience. The writing is all in white except the website that’s in red. This points out the website so that if the audience wishes to find out more information about the movie then they are able to do this through going on the website

Target audience: The target audience is 18 year olds and above. This is due to the fact that scenes maybe unsuitable for those who are underage.ie violence. Also it appeals to an older generation due to the fact that the writing across the poster is all formal and doesn’t use slang that would be more appropriate for a younger audience.

Denotation And Connotation: The whole picture is filled with black except where there is a face and where there is a setting of trees. This could be because it represents the anonymity of the film and the suspense of the plot which is hidden within the darkness. The trees right at the top of the poster is used to point out the setting of the movie. Also a lot of trees in the darkness with no leaves may signify themes of isolation and a mysterious atmosphere. These are all important as they all portray obvious conventions of a horror movie. Then in the middle there’s white writing and a red symbol above it. The writing maybe in white so that it contrasts with the black background. This could be so that the audience can read the writing clearly against the black background; in turn this suggests that this paragraph of writing is important as it is placed in the middle as well. This bit of writing tells the audience what exactly the movie will be about without revealing the plot. Again it is significant because this attracts a specific audience that enjoys this genre of movie. The red symbol above could be some sort of sign to represent the movie or something that occurs in the movie. To find out what it means, the audience needs to go watch the movie. The symbol creates suspense because it has not been explained and its coloured in red. This colour reflects elements of danger, blood .etc. Therefore representing the genre of horror once again. Then a person’s face is at the bottom, however you can only see their eyes, nose and a hat their wearing. This is done so that suspense is created as we don’t know who this character is and it’s hard to tell whether it’s a male or female. This creates ambiguity and enigma which is vital for a horror movie. Also it looks like a torch is shone at the persons face so that we can see it. This could also maybe because this is a significant prop that maybe used throughout the film. Also we don’t see the prop but we can visualise it is a torch as there is only one source of light that’s a circular shape. Then there’s the title of the movie placed at the bottom. This could be because it’s less significant as the images and a above writing. Although the title has spaces between the letters and it’s written in white and in a bigger font. This is to make sure that the audience reads the title clearly and that it’s separate from the other writing which is in a smaller font. By making the font larger, this emphasises the significance of it being the name of the movie. Actor’s names and other names that helped make the movie are written at the bottom. These too are written in a white font so that the audience can read the writing clearly. Although the writing maybe placed at the bottom because it’s less significant as opposed to the rest of the features on the poster. Beneath this is the website, production logos and other logos. This is at the bottom due to the fact that the audience is not that interested in this as much as the other features on the poster. Although the website is written in red, this is so that its seen as separate from the white writing. This is because of the audience wants more information about the film, they can look it up on the website.