In order to create my poster I used a series of different pre-existing horror movie posters which I thought were the most effective. I chose the conjuring as my first option because it is a typical example of a modern day poster, the simple layout making the tone clear instantly. Just like a conventional horror movie poster, the title for the film is located at the very bottom of the poster so that it is in the shadow of the main image. The white font contrasts with the dark grey and black undertones well which makes it stand out against the centre image so that it is clear to read for the audience. The title itself also isn’t too large on the poster, and is just the right size so that we notice it but it does not completely dominate the poster. If there was too much going on, such as too much text, this would distract the viewer and give too much away about the film. Having a limited amount of text emphasizes the mysterious tone of the film which is a good advertising strategy as from research, it has been proved that most viewers would rather not have too much revealed to them. In my own poster I plan to replicate this technique, and I particularly like the way that the white text stands out amongst the rest of the poster as it leaves a long lasting impression on the viewer and will not get lost amongst other features. At the very top of the poster there is mention to previous films that the director has created which is an effective device as it appeals to the target audience that the poster is based around. If the viewer has seen and enjoyed some of the films that have been mentioned then they will be more likely to invest in the upcoming film as they will have associations from the other movies that have been created. Saw and insidious are both very well known films in the horror genre and are known for being relatively high budget films so with the release of the conjuring, viewers would probably use these previous assumptions to form an opinion as to what they would expect from this film in terms of quality. This feature is used in most movie posters as it is an effective form of advertisement, so when making my poster this is also a feature I would like to replicate in my own poster.Another technique in the poster was that there was a web link at the very bottom of poster which is popularly featured in modern day posters as it is a generation where social media is heavily involved with day to day life, and the majority of the target audience will have access to a form of technology that will allow them to access information on the upcoming movie. The main image itself works particularly well because of the connotations of both the girl and the doll. Young girls and dolls are a popular convention of the horror genre as they are linked to innocence and naivety, which makes it unnerving when they are put into a completely juxtaposing situation. In this example, the juxtaposition lies within the sinister nature of the dolls facial expression, and the grunge themed background which has an unsafe vibe to it, linking to the general tone of the movie that will be released.

Just like the previous poster, the title of the movie is towards the very bottom in comparison to the centre image which starts at the very top. We as the viewers are known to read from top to bottom so this device is used to subtly get us to notice the main image before we look at the title. Cleverly one of the “R”’s has been flipped around in the title to reflect a mirror, suggesting that there is some element of the film revolving around mirrors. Giving subtle little hints as to what could be in the movie, or summarising the film with a choice of lexis that is relevant to the plot, is beneficial to the distributers of the media as it sells well. If the audience can gather just a small amount about the film and are not revealed to too much of the plot, it can be very intriguing and cause them to wonder what entails in the film.

In this particular poster the designers have chosen to use a close up of a pretty terrifying looking facial expression. The choice of having such a close up shot of the face is very unnerving as it feels like it is invading our personal space by not being distanced from us at all. This closeness is almost threatening, and it is featured in a lot of horror films such as “Saw” and “The final Destination”, where there are similar close up shots which are the focal image. Just having one really large image to focus on makes the tone pretty obvious as it is isolated from the rest of the poster and we tend to notice it first, before looking at the text. For this poster, the facial expression itself gives us an example of what we should expect from the film as the subject seems to be screaming or in pain, which lets us know that there will most likely be violence or a shocking nature to the film. Her wide eyes also suggest that she is in fear of something, which we assume to be torture which is heavily featured in the genre. As far as mis en scene goes, there is also a blood drip going down the face of the woman, which ties in with the way that the title is coloured in red. Blood also is a representation of death and murder, which we can expect to see in this film, hopefully appealing to the audience who will be expecting to see such things.

“The Conjuring” had an effective grunge background but I feel as though the simplicity of this one is more unnerving, with nothing but dark tones and a small hint of red in the title itself. This colour scheme is something I would like to replicate in my poster as the dark tones will appeal to the target audience of my horror trailer. There is red used in the title itself, which obviously has a connotation of blood and danger which we instantly distinguish against the black background. Black also brings out the terror in this poster as it is used to fade out the main image so that we cannot fully see what is going on .I would like it to be instantly recognisable what the genre of my movie is and what can be expected from it. If my target audience were to pick up on all of these devices then it would hopefully be more appealing to them as they would link the conventions of my poster which previous horror films that are already pre existing.

A vignette gradient has been used on the main image so that it transitions well with the rest of the background, this creates a blur between the assumed antagonist and the solid black colour behind it. This kind of editing leads the viewer to assume that this film will be shrouded with the unknown, as we aren’t even revealed much in the poster for the film and the image itself transitions into darkness. The title also has this fading effect on it, which suggests that the film may involve morality with the links to disappearance and death. Minimalist posters like this seem to be the more professional as they don’t look like they are cluttered with content, and the main image addresses the audience directly which makes it even more unnerving. For the main image of this poster, a sub human antagonist has been chosen which links directly with the genre as monsters and spirits are conventional. There is Iconography of a woman screaming which is mirrored to create an appearance of eyes, and a sinister grin on the face of the character which seems to be as a result of inflicting pain. Eyes are heavily symbolised as they are stereotyped as being windows into a persons soul, Eyes are probably the most important symbolic sensory organ. They can represent intelligence, light, vigilance, moral conscience, and truth. Looking someone in the eye is a western custom of honesty so the fact that this antagonist has no eyes makes it very unnerving and reveals that they are not to be trusted. The woman screaming creates a sense of fear as in horror films, women are often presented as vulnerabilities, so we are more likely to worry for them. Even the expression itself of the woman seems to give off the impression of torture and violence, which would appeal to the audience if they enjoyed the gore factor of a horror film, and valued that when it came to their choice in movies. The colour pallet of the poster follows the traditional horror poster, using the sharp contrast of black and white which makes the text bold and easily distinguishable from the rest of the content. Black has connotations of the unknown, darkness and fear which has been used to the advantage of the poster as they are the vibes that first jump out to us as the audience. There is also a very light red colour used on the text at the very top, which is slightly faded so we don’t automatically notice it until further observation. It asks the rhetorical question of “What will it sound like when you die?” which is a device used to personally address the audience, making them feel like they are being directly targeted by the poster which can make us consider how we would react in such a sinister situation. Involving the audience like this could cause them to remember the catchphrase of the movie, which would mean they would more likely remember seeing the poster.Just like a conventional horror movie poster, the title is placed directly above the credits as it has the main priority as far as the text in the poster goes. The name of the movie is going to be what brings you in to the cinema so when I make my poster I am going to make sure that my title stands out more than any of the other text.