Fay:

Analyising Film Posters and Film Trailers 

This film poster advertises the new film, Identity Thief. Within this poster there are a multiple use of colour and lightning especially showing the split scene. This shows the contrast in many ways, one being the lighting of the photos, the female has loads of colour within her outfit and by far looks more happier then the male on the left. Secondly the contrast of colour for the male is more dull and unlike the females happy expression the male actor has a more harsher and confused look. The layout and design is not like most posters where for example there may be a key figure alongside a landscape behind. The font and typography can be described as quite thick, bold, and big. They only consist of a minimum of 3 colours, white, grey and yellow. However the use of yellow means that it highlights the important factors on the poster for example "Thief" can represent the genre of the film which could be partly action/crime but the photo of Melissa McCarthy can also suggest an element of comedy in the film. The poster sells as they have included Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman, 2 famous figures who are both successful in what they do. I would think that Melissa would be more well known as she starred in films such as: spy, bridesmaids, The heat etc, she also is known to play in a humorous role which helps the audience predict the genre of the film. The poster includes a tag line "She's having the time of his life" again this could be another clue given to the audience of what the film could be about and who's identity could be stolen. Although there are no visible promises of pleasure or expert criticism, there is a reference to who directed this film as it stated "From the director of Horrible Bosses", again referring to reassure the audience in the films genre. 

This can be referred to as an horror trailer called Annabelle which was released in the United Kingdom on the 10th October 2014. One important aspect of film trailers are there use of camera and editing.  Annabelle has many camera shots which vary from tracking shots to mid and close ups. The tracking shots are effective as it enables the audience to keep up with the characters. The main character seems to be the female alongside the doll (Annabelle), this is because she seems to be the one who is mostly affected with the paranormal activity she experiences. The genre can be said to be a supernatural horror film. This can be assured due to the pace of the horror themed music alongside of the couples racing heart and there scare. There is also a lot of dark lightings which can reflect on the idea that something bad may happen within that time period. There is also a reference to blood within the first 13 seconds of the trailer which shows there are bad things going to happen throughout the film. 50 seconds into the trailer it informs the audience that it is produced by James Wan but further throughout the trailer it again brings the fact that it was before the conjuring which shows that there could be a relevance or similarities between both films. Usually and it is also shown in this trailer, there are snippets of flashing lights with action going on for example a black screen would be shown then quickly changed into something different. In this trailer there are many dark and intense scenes  for both the characters and the audience, it can also be described as giving the audience the feeling of sitting on the edge of their seats. There are many horrific sound effects which match the scenes and also the fast paced music which can give the horror effect, can also identify or help the audience recognise that something bad may happen. Towards the end of the trailer, the films name is once again repeated to remind the audience, followed by information about the producers etc and most importantly it informs the audience of when it will be released.

This trailer shows aspects of the Semiotics theory which was created by Barther, this theory discusses signs (physical form) and significations (meaning we attach). An example would be the dark lighting in this trailer which can be identified as the form, but behind this there are many different meanings which is known as the significations. This includes the darkness within the scenes which connotes to danger,violence and sinister themes. To back this up the Annabelle doll and the reference to blood signifies violence, supernatural power and can connote to death. 

In addition the reception theory, created by Hall can be identified in this trailer. The reception theory can respond to a media text in 3 main ways, which are: A Dominant reading , Negotiated reading and a Oppositional reading. This trailer would cover most aspects which would link to an dominant reading, this is because the producer of this trailer wants to sell us as the audience a horror/thriller trailer which would meet the target of scaring the audience. From watching this trailer i can guarantee that most of the audience would agree on it being a dominant reading due to the dark and jumpy scenes.However this may not be enough for some viewers as they could refer it to being a negotiated or even an oppositional reading due to different peoples preferences, for example people who may love horror might not find this trailer scary enough or the negotiated, may like horror but might not be their type of thriller.     

This is the trailer of Identity Thief which has many similarities with the genre etc as in the poster. However the trailer helps sell the film to the audience in many ways. Firstly it's can be assured that many small snippets of some scenes which are believed to grab the audiences attention have been used. This trailer consists of mid, long shots and many other different camera and editing which helps to show you characters expression and details. It's mainly shows clips when it is daylight show bright lighting which can reflect the genre of it being a comedy. 59 seconds in,it informs the audience that it's from the director of Horrible Bosses, again like the poster it refers to another comedy film which can reassure the audience that this will be a comedy film suitable for people who want to have a laugh. When information is shown through the trailer there is two colours ,yellow and black chosen which are colours that Andre bold and bright grabbing people's attention. There are no such of vocal music however there are many uses of sound effects for example the gunshots and the guitar being hit over the head etc. The name is also brought to attention at the end of the trailer alongside a coming soon with a Facebook icon showing that there is an social element to which the target audience of 16+ could use. 

This is the poster for Annabelle which by looking at this poster, it can clearly show the mystery and thriller genre of this film by. The layout and design is prepared with a child holding her doll and a lantern in a creepy atmosphere. To convey the thriller and horror look, dark colours and lighting has been used but also the location can give the scary feeling too.  For example the scary looking tree,dark house in the background, the dark well and the element of fog added to the poster gives the sense of something horrific or terrible going to happen. In addition the costume and props used such as the white dress the girl wears and the use of the lantern is often related to horror films. There are tag lines used and a reference to the conjuring film which contains similar aspects to an horror film. The poster uses direct address "You don't know the real story" by using you it engages the audience within the stereotype as it gives the feeling that you as he audience is being spoken to. There are no such aspect of expert criticism however the poster includes key information on directors etc and most importantly the date the film will becoming out. Lastly minimum colour has been used in both the images and the writing. Black, grey, white and red are key colours which are used in this poster as they are the most suitable colours that can be associated with horror genres. 

In this poster it could be said that the Reception theory, created by Hall is used in some aspect.