Looking at different media used to advertise films

I began by looking at different media used to advertise films within the genres of thriller and horror. A vast array of media is used to advertise and present the final product to the intended audience. They aim to capture the viewer’s attention and to intrigue them enough that they are willing to part with money to see the finished article.

First I focused on the posters. I found the main idea was to give the viewer a stimulating glimpse at the film. The posters’ dark atmospheric nature aimed to inspire some sort of emotion in the viewer, be it fear, suspense, shock or disgust. There is usually a statement about the film to stimulate the viewer leaving them wanting to know more. This statement usually contrasts the colour scheme of the page so it stands out. These posters usually implement a bold striking title that captures the viewer’s attention.

Here is an example of a typical poster for a thriller. The ghostly nature of the film is created through the darkness and use of monotone. The tag line “Before you die, you see [the ring]” grabs the viewers attention, it sticks it the viewer’s head as they wonder what is the ring? And what is the eerie circle of light? The unsophisticated handwriting used for “the ring” make the viewer think of a child. They ask what is an innocent child’s writing doing on a horror film poster . The ambiguity of the poster leaves the viewer in the dark in that the poster doesn’t give anything away in terms of the plot. The viewer understands the film will either be a horror/thriller as all the parts come together.

These are some more posters that I looked at:

What Genre?

We had a long discussion as to what possibilities each genre would offer us as a group. We decided upon a thriller/horror, we felt this genre suited our group best as we are all fans of this type of film. I like these types of films because of the emotions that they create, the nail biting tension and suspense that a good thriller creates and the shock and terror that a high quality horror generates.

A2 Coursework Introduction

For my A2 advanced portfolio I am working in a group of three with Jack Hector and Stuart Duddlestone. In a group we discussed the multiple brief options we had to choose from and how we felt about taking each one. We decided on:

A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

A website homepage for the film;

A film magazine front cover, featuring the film;

A poster for the film.

We chose this option because we are all very passionate about film and we have good access to the filming equipment and editing software that we need. I find it an exciting prospect to be able to create a well constructed and intelligent teaser trailer.