To enable me to identify some forms of continuity between film promotion packages, I decided to analyse the same film for one of the film trailer analyses and a film poster analysis.
When looking at this film poster, you almost immediately would be able to identify the fact that it was a horror film. This is due to the demonic looking child featuring as the main image, which dominates the page. It is a common convention of film posters to have the image in the centre, dominating the whole page as this is what they use to lure in the target audience when they first catch a glimpse of the poster. The image is of Esther, the ‘Orphan’ who has been adopted by a married couple, who already have two other children. It is a medium shot which enables us to be able to see her facial expressions clearly, but also allowing us to see some costume, and this provides space for institutional information, date, website, tag line and so on.
She is staring harshly at the camera suggesting primarily to the audience that she is evil and that she has set out on mission to ruin and torment this family’s life. Behind the image, there is a dark green background. The colour green usually symbolises and represents envy and jealousy. This could therefore reflect ‘Esther’s’ envy of young children’s youth and happy childhoods as we learn that she did not experience this as a child. Lighting in this film poster has cleverly been used to make it look as if this child has secrets. For example, because of the fact that low key lighting has been used, shadows appear on her eyes, hiding them slightly, which could suggest to the audience that she has something to hide.
She is staring harshly at the camera suggesting primarily to the audience that she is evil and that she has set out on mission to ruin and torment this family’s life. Behind the image, there is a dark green background. The colour green usually symbolises and represents envy and jealousy. This could therefore reflect ‘Esther’s’ envy of young children’s youth and happy childhoods as we learn that she did not experience this as a child. Lighting in this film poster has cleverly been used to make it look as if this child has secrets. For example, because of the fact that low key lighting has been used, shadows appear on her eyes, hiding them slightly, which could suggest to the audience that she has something to hide.
Esther is wearing a blue, checked, collared dress. It looks old fashioned, which contrasts with the way the family dress in the film as this film is set in the modern day and they dress up to date and contemporary. It also looks ‘school girl’ like, possible to reflect her young age by, for instance, dressing her in a sort of ‘uniform’ and having her hair in pig tails is a very typical school girl hair style. She looks neat and proper, suggesting her high level of maturity that the audience are soon to find out when they watch the film. She is pale faced which could represent innocence, because she is a child, but then we see her thick, black, hair; which could reflect an evil persona too as black is the colour most associated with evil/darkness.
Thinking about the general codes and conventions of film posters, the title of the film is usually placed at the top, in the centre, above the tag line, but in this film poster, the title is nearer towards the bottom. The reason for this could be because the film makers want this to be the last piece of information that they take away with them, therefore, would place it near the bottom, as this is where our eyes go last. Conventionally, the tag line is placed at the top of the page, in the centre. This is commonly used in film posters because this is one of the first places we look when we first catch a glimpse of a film poster. This therefore has to be short and sweet, and also should give away some part of the narrative. Institutional information is placed at the bottom of the poster, which is where you will find it every time, unless it is a teaser, and will therefore not feature this information. The website is then printed directly underneath the institution information, alongside the release date of the film. As this is the last place we look when peering at a film poster, it will therefore be one of the last pieces of information taken away, so by placing the release date in this position, is a clever way of allowing the audience to remember this date, so that they won’t miss it, or forget about it.
The title of the film is written in a script font, and looks handwritten, or carved into the picture as if it was by a child. This suggests the fact that she is a troubled child, where instead of drawing on the walls of her bedroom (like a normal little girl would) she would carve her mark into the people who were trying to help her, both physically and mentally. The title in itself is self explanatory due to the film being about a couple who adopt a girl from an orphanage. The style of font could also reflect that of a child’s scribble, and the carving gives the audience the impression that it has been forcefully, yet carefully constructed, reflecting the destructive and logical thinking of the child.
The tag line reads ‘THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH ESTHER’ which suggests part of the narrative to the audience straight away. The fact that it is in capital letters makes it seem harsh and powerful, like ‘Esther’ is in the film. It is in a serif font making it easy to read and against the green background; the tag line is in white which again helps it to stand out to the readers who are looking at it. There is then an additional tag line, placed at the bottom of the poster that reads; ‘CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?’ this time in a red, serif font. This suggests to the audience that there is mystery and something that needs to be found out which would appeal to the target audience of this film as it is a psychological horror film and the target audience of this sub genre thrive on enigma and mystery. This tag line, again, stands out against the dark background and can be easily read from a distance. The red suggests evil, as this colour is the colour associated with hell, blood, evil etc. I think that ‘There’s something wrong with Esther’ is a brilliant tag line as it suggests the genre of the film and also, lets the audience looking at this poster know that this is no ordinary orphan. Also, when the audience are lured in by this poster, they might then want to go and watch the film trailer, to gain a greater perspective of the film. They will then realise that the same tag line is used in the film trailer, this time as a strap. This therefore creates continuity between the two media texts and makes us understand that there is definitely something wrong with Esther.
I feel that this particular film poster is successful in itself at promoting this film. Is suggests some of the narrative, but does not give too much information away. It allows the audience looking to be able to tell the genre straight away, so those not that huge horror fans can turn away, and so that the horror geeks can take a closer look. It is also a memorable film poster that will stick in the minds of those who have seen in, making them not rest until they have gone and viewed the film itself.
