Poster Analysis by Shannen

Grabbers

Grabbers is a short film directed by Jon Wright. I have seen this film when it was premiered at the 2012 Encounters short film festival in Bristol. It's one of the longer short films at 94 minutes (around an hour and a half).
Grabbers is one of the rare short films that has a film poster. On top of this, it actually has a lot of film posters. Aside from the one "main" poster - which I found on Grabbers' IMDb, it has 6 other English posters which each feature different characters, as well as some international posters too. Below is a selection of these posters:

An international Grabbers poster example:



These posters are not so much the main, detailed film posters, as they tend to just have a picture, the film title and a phrase to grab your attention. I'd call these posters "awareness" posters as they tend to just make the audience aware of the film rather than give details about it. The poster which I feel is the most detailed is below:

• The actors' names appear on the poster, but only as part of the credit block, which is small and hard to read. This is suprising as there are some well known actors in the film, such as Richard Coyle and Russel Tovey.
• The main image is a mixture of an actual photograph and computer imagery - there is a picture of the pub and scenery, with the computer imagery of the Grabbers' arms, and then on top of this are the images of the characters. The characters' image is right in the centre of the page so it stays the focus. The title is made part of this image, with one of the computer generated images being part of it - an arm wrapped around it. This title lays over the image of the characters, but only over their legs. The colour of the title is bright red - which is also the colour of the release date - which is a popular signifier for blood. This is relevent to the film.
• There is a website for the film at the bottom of the poster, which could show us that the film is quite well publicised, even though its a short film.
• There is a tagline which says "Erin island is under attack... and the locals are getting pissed!". This shows us one of the genres of the film will be comedy as this tagline has a double meaning - "pissed" as in angry and "pissed" as in drunk.
• There is a credit block at the bottom of the poster which blends in quite nicely with the poster - it doesn't stand out but it isn't hard to find.

Genre

The genre of this film is a hybrid of comedy and horror. This is quite a popular genre convention for short films. We can tell this from the poster as there is a comedy tagline, and the characters are in quite comical poses with odd props. Their facial expressions are also quite humorous, which can also lead us to this genre. The horror element can be connoted from the use of red on the title and release date, but more importantly from the imagery. There is lightening at the top of the poster which can suggest quite a dark theme. Then there is the supernatural element made the computer imagery - there are no other genres which incorporate the supernatural.

Representation

From the poster, we can tell that the film represents local communities as in the tagline it mentions the word "locals". Also, the characters on the poster are quite a wide variety of ages which could also suggest this.

Audience

The poster can suggest that the film is for a slightly older audience as the tagline suggests that the film is about drinking. Also, there is the monster-looking computer imagery which might not be suitable for younger audiences. From the poster we can also decide that the film would be for audiences who enjoy comedy and horror.

Media Language

• The use of a long shot and an extra long shot for the main images on the poster creates a sense of mystery as you cannot clearly see the characters/setting in detail.
• The props, hair, makeup and costumes lead to the idea that the characters are just normal people. This is different as in a lot of film posters the characters will look glamorous and attractive.
• The characters' body language and facial expression is both comical and defensive, which can lead us to different thoughts about the film - that there could be violence/action, and that it could be funny.
• The colour and lighting is used to make the poster look dark and scary. This helps generate the genre of the film (comedy horror). This also makes the poster quite exciting to look at.

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina is an independent feature length film directed by Joe Wright. It was shown in some large cinemas, but mostly in small cinema houses such as the Duke of York in Brighton and the Bristol Watershed. Like Grabbers, it also has a series of publisising posters which feature some of the main characters. A selection of these are below:

When looking for a "main" poster, I found the two below. The poster used depends on the location - for example, poster 2 would've been used in multiplex cinemas such as Cineworld, and poster 1 for independent places such as the Watershed.

I chose to study further the poster that would've been shown in smaller cinemas.



•  The actors' names appear on the poster - some on the credit block and the two main "stars" quite large above this. This is to attract fans of those actors.
• The main image is actually a mixture of images. The most prominent scene is of a seemingly trashed high class theatre. Then, where the stage would be is another image of a steam train in a snowy mountain scene. These two images are connected together by the snow - snow is coming out of the image and into the theatre. The picture of the theatre is stunning; it's grand - even though it's trashed - with vibrant colours. In contrast, the snowy scene is pale and distanct, but quite mysterious to look at because of this. 
• The main characters are all on the poster, with "Anna Karenina" herself in the centre, and the other two main characters in the background.
• There is a cultural reference on the poster - "a bold new vision of the epic story of love" is stated on the bottom of the page. This suggests there has been at least one version of this film before.
• There are references to the directors' achievements - his other big films - "Pride and Prejudice" & "Atomenent". This is to attract fans of these films to this film.
• There is a tagline - "You can't ask why about love". This suggests the genre of the film is romance. This tagline is pink which is a strong signifier of love. The release date is also in this colour.
• At the bottom of the poster there is a release date. However, it is quite general - saying only "November 2012". This suggests that this poster is being used internationally/nationally, so this vague release date allows for the different release dates in different countries.
• The title is the largest text on the page, right in the middle on top of the "stage" area. The tagline is directly under this, but quite a lot smaller. The text used is quite a fancy, serif typeface which fits with the rest of the poster well.

Genre
The genre of this film is romance. This is derived from the use of words and colouring. The tagline is "You can't ask why about love" which immediately leads the audience to the assumption that this is the genre of the film. Furthermore, the colour of this is pink, which is a signifier of love and romance. The release date is also this colour.

Representation
From the poster, we can derive that this film represents the upper class. This is due to the choice of costume, hair & makeup, props and the mise en scene of the background. The main female is wearing a very fancy dress with expensive looking jewelry and her hair and makeup is done in a very expensive looking way. The men in the background are wearing suits which look very expensive and look like they could be army related. The decoration of the theatre is very beautiful, with sparkling chandeliers, red velvet chairs and gold architecture. This also is a signifier of a higher class.

Audience
The main audience for this film would be people who enjoy romance films. Also, people who enjoy films about the olden days and how everything used to be more glamourous for the higher classes. We can derive this from the poster because of the features I have mentioned previously. The other film references would also reinforce this audience as they are the audiences for those films, which are very similar and of the same genre.

Media Language

• The use of Anna's body language can lead us to think that something dramatic will happen during the film - she looks like she is open mouthed with shock and her arms are up in defence.
• This conclusion can also be made from the mise en scene - the chairs are knocked over and it looks like something has happened which could involve violence.
• The use of lighting in the poster makes it look overall quite dramatic. The centre of the poster is very light as it is a snow scene, but then the further out of the poster you go the darker it gets - especially towards the bottom of the poster. This could signify the snow scene being purity and then the darkness being the purity being destroyed.

Nowhere Boy

Nowhere Boy also has a variety of posters. They all look very different, however they all have the same image on them somewhere. A selection of these are below:

Some of these posters show us that the film went international as they are in different languages. 
Below is the poster I chose to analyse. I chose it because I find it the most interesting to look at.

• The actors' names are right at the top of the poster, quite bold, but they are not too prominent.
• There are 3 images of the main actor in character, with a few of other characters in the images too.
• The main text (title) is above the main image, but the tagline is sandwiched in between this and some other images. The credit block is at the bottom, out of the way.
• There are no references to other films, but there is a thumbnail image of another film poster for the same film in the bottom right hand corner. 
• The tagline is a sort of cultural reference in itself; it states a key cultural aspect of the past (John Lennon) whilst giving some of the genre of the film - love. 
• There is a website on the poster, yet it ends in ".NL" which means it might not be a mainstream site. 
• There is no overall background - it's white, with text and smaller images placed on top. 
• There is no age rating on the poster which could suggest it's unrated. 
• There is a FILM 4 logo beneath the credit block. Paired with the fact that there is no release date, this could suggest this film was made for television. 

Genre

This film is a hybrid of social realism and romance. We can decipher this from the poster because of two reasons - 1, it mentions John Lennon, and he was a major landmark of the past, and 2, love is directly mentioned in the tagline. 2 of the images on the page also could reinforce this, as in one, the main character is waling closely with a girl, with loving facial expressions, and in a second there is a boy being cradled by a woman (supposedly his mother) lovingly. 

Representation

From the poster we can decide that the film represents people from the 1960's due to the costume, hair & makeup, props and settings used in the pictures. Also, we can decide this as the film is about John Lennon as a teenager, and he would've been a teenager in the 60's. 

Audience

The audience for this film would be people who enjoy the romance genre or fans of John Lennon. This is because from the poster we can tell that these will be the main themes of the film. Music lovers would also enjoy this film as John Lennon was a musician, and also in 2 of the 4 pictures on the poster the main character is holding or using a guitar. 

Media Language

• The use of the props in the pictures help towards making them look authentic to the time being represented in the film. For example, the cars are very old and are less likely to be in a film poster presenting a film from the 2000's. 
• This can also be said for the hair & makeup, props and costume used in the pictures. 
• The body language and facial expressions in the pictures used on the posters also leads us to the genre of the film. In two of the pictures loving postures and poses are seen - for example strolling closely with a woman. 
• In the main picture, the main character has a carefree attitude which can be denoted from his body posture and facial expressions. This leads us to make conclusions about both the film and John Lennon himself.

Broken

For this film I could only find the one poster.

This film poster is in French so this suggests that this film is a French independent film. However, there is a small BBC logo at the bottom of the page, which could suggest British influence on the making of the film. 

• The names of the actors and the director's name appear on the poster. The two main actors & the director's names are placed around the title, and the rest of the cast are just above the credit block at the bottom of the poster.
• The poster is an image with text on top of this. This image is a long shot of the two main characters.  
• There is a film festival logo at the top of the poster, suggesting that the film won or was nominated for an award. 
• All of the text on the page is white and a plain, sans serif font. This is very simple yet effective against the bright background. 

Genre

The genre of this film is not clear from the poster. None of the text on the page helps us derive a clear genre. However, looking at the image we could decide that it is a plot-driven drama. From the looks of the image it seems like it could be something to do with a father and daughter relationship. This lack of clear genre leads to a sort of mystery about the film, and it makes me want to learn more about it. 

Representation

From the image we could derive that this film represents a father and daughter relationship. This is the only clue to what the film could represent. However, this image could be misread, and it could be about something completely different. 

Audience

I'm not too sure on who the audience for this film could be. There are no clear clues as there is no age rating or clear genre. However it would probably be a more serious/elder audience due to the film most likely being about the two characters on the poster. 

Media Language

• The costume, hair and makeup can suggest that this film is from an earlier time, for example the 1990's. This is because no one dresses like that anymore and the girl's it is quite a dated hairstyle. However, this might not be the case because it is a French film and that might be how they dress in the place the film is set. 
• The background behind the characters doesn't lead us to where the film is set, which builds a sense of suspense towards the film. 
• The body language and facial expressions suggests the film is about the relationship of the two characters.

My favourite poster out of the 4 is the Grabbers poster as it uses both photography and computer imagery. Also, I like the variety of the posters as they all use different characters and pictures, whereas the other films which have a variety of posters seem to use the same picture in all/most of them.