Poster 2 - Evaluation

The success of the “Ghostbusters” posters influenced me to create the first poster that did not contain the name of the film, the name of the director and the names of the actors. In this case study the first poster was released to create mystery and curiosity in the viewers making them remember it. The second poster was introduced some time later providing the details of the film. Because of the first poster’s mystery effect, people remembered it and their curiosity made them stop after realising that the second poster contains the information that they didn’t get to find out from the first one. This means that although the first poster couldn’t promote the film effectively on its own as nobody would know what film they are supposed to watch, it plays a huge part in the success of the second one. It is because of the first poster, that the people stop for longer and take time to read it to get the information as they are more interested in it.

Considering this research and the study of comparable products to mine, I have created another idea for a poster. The second poster to advertise and promote the film to the public is a continuation of the first one. This means it is going to be released as a second marketing product. Similarly to the “Ghostbusters” movie posters I have decided to use the effect of mystery that would catch people’s eye and make them remember it.

The most important thing is to make sure that there is a connection between the two posters so that when a person sees a second poster, he or she will immediately think of the first one. This would encourage people to look at the second poster to find out more about the mysterious film because they were not told anything by the first poster. I have done that by using the same phrase as in the first poster.

“Beware; it’s coming” is a phrase that the people would remember as it is the only writing in the first poster. By including it in the second one a connection is created. To make sure that people see the connection I have decided to use the same colour as in the first poster. Red makes it very visible as it is the most important thing that people have to see to realise that there is a link between the two posters. The metallic texture links to the science fiction genre making the poster suggest something modern and linked to technology and machinery. I have also decided to extend the phrase by providing more information. “Beware; it’s coming to cinemas soon”. This was an influence from a movie poster for “Hangover” where the phrase “Feel it” is used to engage the audience. According to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications” personal identity is one of the reasons for media consumption. This is why I have decided to use the direct mode of address speaking straight to the viewer. It allows the person to identify with the characters that are being attacked by aliens.   

To create a connection between the two posters I have also decided to use the same iconography. This idea came from my research where I have studied the posters for the “Ghostbusters” movie and I have noticed that they used the same image which became so popular that when anyone sees it they know what film is advertised making the marketing process very successful.  For the first poster I have used an image of an alien spaceship to link it to the science fiction genre and briefly suggest what the film is about. I have decided to use the same picture as a different spaceship would not give a feeling that the second poster is a continuation of the first one.

I have edited the image by reducing the detail and leaving just the shape. This means that people can still identify that it is a spaceship but they cannot predict anything as to what the spaceships in the movie will look like. This still creates mystery and encourages people to see the film. The whole spaceship is not visible in the poster connoting that it is obscure and unknown to us. This shows that the layout suggests that there are going to be surprises in the film. Roland Barthes’ Enigma Code is established through unexpected actions that create tension. This is a good way of appealing to the audience who consume media for entertainment according to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications”.

The first poster’s preferred reading is that people see that the movie promoted by it is full of action and therefore entertaining due to bright vibrant colour of the explosions in the background. The oppositional reading is that the target audience may feel that it is not for them. The film is targeted at young adults primarily and they may think that it is not targeted for them because the poster does not look serious enough. For that reason I have decided to make the second poster more serious. From my research I have found out that the films aimed at adults are promoted by posters with black background. The examples here are the posters for the “Black Swan” and the “Primer”.  This is because black connotes seriousness and grown up making it more suitable for adults than children. For that reason I have decided to edit the main image by changing the colours into black and white giving it a more serious feeling and therefore appealing to its target audience.

In addition to that black colour connotes mystery making us feel curious to find out what will happen in the film encouraging us to watch it. I have used black background and the use of it encourages people to go and watch the film because it suggests that the film is “unknown” to them meaning that they have never seen anything like it. I have created a questionnaire to add to my research and although I have used a small sample of only 20 people making my results less reliable I got an idea of what people expect of a good film. From my questionnaire I have found out that people are bored with watching something similar over and over again and that they would like to see something different. The feeling of mystery makes them feel that this film is different because they don’t know what to expect. In my research I have looked at posters of science fiction movies set in space like “Star Wars” and I have noticed that black not only creates mystery but it also suggests space linking it to the science fiction genre and appealing to the fans of this type of films. It also connotes evil linking it to the title. Black and white colour scheme creates binary opposition suggesting a battle between good vs. Evil and humans vs. Aliens. This creates intensity according to Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions” and therefore appeals to the audience who consume media for entertainment and fun according to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications”.

From my questionnaire I have learnt that people also look for good actors and directors when choosing a film to watch because these suggest that the film is good and this attracts them to see the movie. For that reason I have decided to provide the names of the actors. It is a good idea to make sure that the names that stand out are the actors who previously played in good science fiction genre movies because it will bring associations making this movie seem as good as the other ones. I have decided to use the names of famous actors who play in the film and locate them at the top of the page on the poster making them very important to advertise the film to the audience. Good actors promote the film as good and worth watching. Also there are male and female names which appeals to both genders suggesting that there is male and female gaze in the film. This promotes the film to a wider variety of people meaning that more people are likely to be interested in it.

In addition to that I have looked at different posters. I have noticed that there are a number of them that use lower case letters for writing the names of the actors. This makes them stand out less. I have decided to use that technique to make them less outstanding. Because they are at the top they are eye catching already and I had to make the note on the director of the film stand out more.  I have decided not to mention the name of the director but highlight the name of the most popular film that he has directed. I have done that because the director is not as famous as the film. The choice of the previous film is important. I have chosen the previous film to also be science fiction genre because it suggests that this is also a sci-fi and it appeals to target audience who enjoy it. The phrase is in red making it more visible as it is very important because from my questionnaire I have found out that people look for good directors when choosing the film to watch. Red colour is a vibrant colour on a black and white poster. According to Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions” it creates energy which is something that is lacking in the modern life and audiences can be targeted effectively using energy that gives entertainment, which according to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications” is one of the reasons why people would like to watch the film. The name of the previous film “Invasion” directed by the same director is in capital letters making it stand out reassuring that everyone sees it to make the promotion effective. The film directed previously encourages people to watch the current one because it is suggested that it will be as good as the first one.

The title of the film is the biggest writing on the poster making it the most important so people see it clearly and remember it. The font links to the science fiction genre because it looks modern and therefore links to the codes and conventions of science fiction genre. Through my research I have learnt that most of science fiction film posters contain the same white font. Examples are “Alien” and “Gravity”. I have decided to use the same font as them because it links and creates associations with other science fiction films. This means that the fans of them will also want to watch the film advertised by my poster.

At the bottom of the poster less important information is given. For that reason the letters are smaller, less visible and not very eye catching due to the smaller size and the colour. It is provided for people who are more interested in the film and it provides the information about the film such as who is the director, producer, co-producer and who wrote it, composed the music and other details about the film. The names of the people who made the film are bigger than the information as to who they are. This makes the names more visible and easier to notice. It means that if someone knows the name of the person listed and is a fan then there is a bigger probability of him or her going to see the film.

At the bottom next to the production company logo I have also added the web address making it bold compared to the information above it because it is more important and therefore needs to be more visible to the viewer. The film’s website is advertised on the poster so that people can find out more about the film if they want to. By providing the website the promotion of the film is more successful as it is bigger and people are constantly reminded that the film is going to be in cinemas soon and that they should go and watch it.