Poster Analysis - Jacob Knowles

Short Film Poster Analysis

Notes On Blindness Poster Analysis:

Audience: The audience that this poster targetted is more likely to be an older audience of an age between 18-35. This is because the film present a fairly mature theme that is most likely to be well understood by people within this age range. The poster also has a certain amount of depth to it which is most likely to be understood by people within this age range.

Narrative: This poster is giving a certain amount of narrative to whoever observes it. We can see that this man is blind, as described by his face being shrouded in darkness and his glasses combined with the title of the film. We are also told through this poster that this is the main character of the film.

Genre: The moody tones that the poster sets indicates a 'slice of life'/drama genre of film, these are also the genres that apply to the film. The simple font is also indicative of a modern day drama.

The layout of this film poster is very simplistic, with the majority of the poster being taken up by an image of the main character. This is very typical of short film posters, with the title and informative text being small and the imagery being prominent. The billing block is featured in the footer of the poster, unfortunately, I cannot make out the companies in this billing block ad cannot find an image with greater clarity. The directors are listed under the title in smaller text but with the same font. An award/feature from the sundance film festival is also featured at the top of the poster.

The title uses a very thin typeface which remains consistant with the simplicity presented by the rest of the poster. The title is also positioned towards the top of the poster just under the awards (of which there is only one), the award is very small taking up little room at the top of the poster. The title is also very small in proportion to the rest of the poster, however it is still very readable. The font is very simple and smart, keeping theme with the rest of the poster.

The main image in this poster is a medium shot of the main character's upper body with his face shrouded in darkness. I think that having his face covered in darkness is to indicate and emphasize the fact the character is blind. This image of  the character is on a blue tiled background which shows a heavy contrast between him and his surroundings, further emphasizing what was indicated earlier.

There are no taglines, reviews, certifications, websites or wider cultural references featured in this poster, I believe that this is done in order to maintain the simple theme that the poster presents. There is a credit block just under the title, stating that who created the film. There is an evident relationship between the main text and the main imagery, the font fits very well with the theme of the poster. The font has a small spacing and a medium size.

The presentation of the directors names is immediately underneath the title, this means that the viewer's eyes will automatically skip to this after reading the film title. I think that it is well positioned because of this, it is included because the directors are recognizable and therefore it is effectively advertising the film.

The Imitation Game Poster Analysis:

Representation: The first major element of representation featured in this poster is a representation of class. We can see the main character, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, in a suit; this represents a high-class status and also is indicative that the character is a businessman through his costume. His hair is also neat and his skin unblemished, which is another representation of class present in this poster.

Narrative: The narrative in this poster is mainly shown through the slogan which is spread across the page, 'BEHIND EVERY CODE IS AN ENIGMA'. This slogan is based around Alan Turing: Enigma Code, a book by Andrew Hodges. This slogan expresses the initial narrative of the film, showing that it will be related to the enigma code, or more specifically the Andrew Hodges book which it's based on.

Audience: The audience that the poster is targetting is an older audience composed of people between the ages of 18 and 35. This is because it is for a mystery based drama which is likely to be best understood and enjoyed by people within this age range.

This poster's layout is very clever, there is an image of Benedict Cumberbatch in the background, while the foreground consists of many circles each one containing a letter for the slogan, and some being empty. The title, actors, and billing block are all at the bottom of the poster.

The title is positioned at the bottom of the poster as mentioned earlier, it is in the same simple, easy to read font as the slogan and all other text on the poster. The title 'The Imitation Game' has a double meaning, the original meaning as presented by Turing was that the imitation game was a means of investigating whether or not machines might one day be able to think. The actual film presents the main character imitating his colleagues in order to gain their respect and make them like him.

The tagline in the poster is "BEHIND EVERY CODE IS AN ENIGMA". This slogan is in reference to the Andrew Hodges book: Alan Turing: The Enigma. This quote will allow anybody who has read the book to recognise what the film is about, however, it also shows people that haven't read the book that it's related to the enigma code.

Above the title are the names of the two main actors; Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightly, showing these two reputable actors are in the film in the poster is likely to encourage people to go and watch the film as they already know these people.

The spacing of the font is large throughout this poster. This gives an effect which makes the text look like it may have been printed with a typewriter, setting a possible time period or setting for the film which is consistant with the imagery on the rest of the poster.

There is no certification, credit block or reviews contained on this poster. I think this is because the poster would have looked too cluttered with them and it is not necessary information.

Operator Poster Analysis:

Media Language: In this poster we see a close up shot of the main character in the film. It is a side on shot with dark lighting and highlights on the front of the main character's face. This makes the scene very intense. The character's costume consists of a headset that an emergency phone operator would normally use, the look of urgency in the character's facial expression is also indicative of this.

Genre: The intense nature of the colours and expressions in this poster indicates that it's a drama film. The name of the film, 'Operator' further indicates this as the term operator generally refers to telephone operators for emergency services.

Narrative: The narrative of this poster suggests that the film is about an emergency services telephone operator and their response to calls.

This poster primarily has the title on the bottom right side of the poster, with the left and top sides of the poster containing awards from many different film festivals and film awards. This includes very reputable film associations such as BAFTA and BFI. There is also a list of actors and directors at the bottom of the poster.

The title is in a thin simple font, white with heavy spacing and a slight feathered glow. This creates dramatic effect and is effective in emphasizing the mood of the poster. The title positioning is very different to usual as it is at the bottom right of the page, this is likely to make space for awards and suchlike around the edges of the poster.

The Credit block of the this poster shows the names of a few actors and directors, the film has some big names such as Kate Dickie which will have encouraged people to see the film since it has well known names.

Subconscious Password Poster Analysis:

Narrative: This poster gives the viewer a small amount of narrative relating to the film. It shows and represents the inner subconscious of the main character as a person inside of his head. There is also french on the poster which suggests there are elements of french culture and a french setting in the film.

Audience: The audience for this film is likely to be between the ages of 18 and 35 as it tackles more mature themes and discusses the deeper meaning of the subconscious and other hard to understand topics.

Representation: One of the main features of representation in this poster is the costume of the main character and how it represents a middle class man. The suit and glasses are indicative of someone working an office job, both of which are present here. His scruffy haircut and beard are also indicative of this.

The layout of the poster is dominated by the primary image, filling most of the space. A large amount of space is also taken up by the title which is positioned at the central bottom of the poster. Underneath the title is the credits box and the billing box. In the top right corner there is an award that the film has won.

The title is in a big top style circus font, with a red and yellow colour scheme and text covered in bulbs. This style of font is also heavily present in stereotypical representations of game-shows, of which this film features. The position of the title heavily emphasizes the image that's present above it, making both the image and the title the collective main focus of the poster.

Underneath the title there is both a credit box and a billing box. The credit box lists actors, producers, the director, and the animators. The billing box lists contributors to the film. There is also an award in the top right corner of the poster.