Ancillary Products Analyses

Kyle Whittaker

The Ring 2 Poster Analysis

Titles: The main title font is conventional of the genre being shown as light flooding out of a black background looking as if the background has been cut or stabbed reflective of blood pouring out of a wound. This connotes gore and violence without showing anything inappropriate to any audience. The simplistic font used in the title seems to be representative of that of a little girl, as if the girl in the picture wrote the words. This reflects the film being about a murderous girl and its creepy take on an unconventional character.The “O” in the word “Two” is also part of the image showing a circle of light around the little girl’s head, this is possibly anti-representation as the circle of light above the head would suggest someone is saintly or a very positive character or as some might call a young child, a little angel. This contrasts the other connotations of the character as evil and also shows her as a person with a lot of power, possibly supernatural power as the halo isn’t a real thing but a gift from god to show someone of great good power.The tagline is in a more san-serif font and uses the alliteration “Fear Comes Full Circle” while reflecting the idea of “The Ring” this connotation along with the halo representation and name of the film all fit perfectly to be in the same film and raise questions to the audience about the film making them curious to go see it.

Image: The image used in this poster is very effective to immediately communicate the feel of the film and market it to its right target audience. The subject of the picture being a creepy girl with her hair covering her face creates the sense of contrast between the connotations of innocence and harmlessness from the female child character and the connotations of danger from the animosity and unknowing from her face being covered in black hair. The girl is wearing a white dress adding to the more innocent connotation yet this also is used to contrast the black hair taking over her head, this representation of danger being in the foreground when compared to the girl signifies its overpowering of the character.The setting of the image in an empty room with only a chair in the center focuses all the attention to the character shown to be the main aspect of the film, the emptiness of the room reflects her loneliness and possibly inability to be safe around other people. This all shows her as a dangerous character to be feared. This is a very conventional representation of the antagonist character in a horror film. Showing the killer as isolated and separated from human society connotes their dehumanization to make them easier to fear as they are expected to have no regard for human life.The lighting used look almost like a spotlight focused on the character highlighting the danger connotations and contrast represented by the girl. The way the outer poster is completely black surrounds the character in darkness signifying the character as maybe having a troubled past which will affect her actions in the film, actions which from the connotations discussed already may be hostile and scare the audience as expected from this genre of film. This is also very conventional of the genre, the low key lighting creates a sense of unease and danger surrounding the character in the poster and is used in many horror film posters.The gritty camera filter used on the image also tells of the character and story, the story being about an evil girl who kills her victims a week after they watch a cursed tape. The home movie quality image reflects the theme of the film and to fans of the first film is very recognizable. An imperfection on the screen on the tagline shows this very well as it almost makes it harder to read representing the film as something you must watch closely to get the full effect unlike other slasher films where the format can be broken down into sex scenes and murder scenes. This is less conventional of other films in the genre but shows the same effects they try to make, the gritty filter and editing and what it represents is the same as other horror film making it seem mysterious.

Nightmare on Elm Street Remake poster analysis

Image: The image used in this poster is very conventional of the genre, showing the main threat in the film throws the danger in the audience’s face to show them exactly what they have to be scared of, this is much more horror than terror as it leaves nothing to the imagination besides considering which horrible method of murder the killer will put his victims through in the film. If the poster showed that the film wouldn’t be worth watching. The close up of the man in the poster with the entire shot taken up by him creates the feeling of him being very close, invading your space and preventing escape, the connotations of trapping his victims are employed.The character retains some animosity despite being so close to the audience by tilting his hat over his eyes, the eyes of a person invite welcoming to them. Normally in a film the protagonist is shown with bigger eyes than the antagonist, Walt Disney discovered the phycology behind this years ago. This makes the representation of Freddy Kruger very conventional as a villain showing him as unwelcoming and therefore unfriendly with evil intent. The man is shown with his favourite weapon, his knife glove up and ready to strike, this connotes the danger around the character as the weapon is in view highlighted by the reflective light on the blade. This weapon is also a carried over from the original series of films with a pre-established fan base which this film will try to invite and impress. The clothing of the character uses this as well; the red sweater connotes the character of Freddy Kruger. The red colour represents blood and gore. The use of the recognisable images is very conventional of rebooted franchises, the use of recognisable images/props and costumes is a technique to make the films more recognised and come into the attention of a wider audience.The makeup used on the character shows off his burnt facial features, this is relevant to the story shown in the film but also represents him as the antagonist, the ugly face deformity connotes negative emotions towards it from both other people and the character himself. The idea that fire caused this character to become who he is now brings with it the representation of uncomfortable and dangerous heat as well as hell and other horrors pre-known to the audience.The lighting used is also very dark connoting the danger and negative area the character fills, this is conventional of the horror genre as it creates an uneasy atmosphere promising to scare the audience.

Fangoria Cover Analysis 1

The main image used in this magazine cover connotes the horror genre immediately. The position of Jack Nicholson looking up at the camera represents him as an angry and dangerous character to be feared. This is shown more through use of the close up and high angle shot. The black cloths he wears connotes the darkness around him and his dangerous presents, this is exaggerated by the white background of snow covered trees and ground. The title of the film shown uses an uneven font with an image of a shocked face embedded in the “T” connoting the horror genre. The font is also in a red colour connoting blood and death conventional of the horror genre.By the side of the featured image is other features in the magazine, this is presented on a film reel style background representing the style of the magazine and showing it clearly as an exclusively film publication. The images used on this background are very similar to the main image using close ups of certain characters from the films in the magazine showing unusual monster types and gory scenes.

Fangoria Cover analysis 2

The image used on this magazine cover instantly connotes the horror genre with the very unusual and excessive make up used. This is conventional of the genre as it tries to shock the audience and put them in an uneasy state ready to scare them. The low camera angle represents him as a powerful character to be feared, the showing of the over sharp teeth also show a non-human feature and connotes the danger of the character. The wide eyes on the character show him as seeing something he’s ready to attack representing him as a predator. The colour used in this cover image is also very conventional showing the character emerging from the darkness.The font used for the tagline of the image uses an orange colour to contrast the background and allow the main word “XTRO” to stand out more. The font of the main word is shown in a san serif capital font with the rips in the letters that connotes the damaged environment that would create an uneasy atmosphere.The secondary images on the cover are a lot like the previous cover with a film reel background connoting the magazine’s topic with three close ups of people’s faces showing gore and scary images. This all creates the conventions of the horror genre to show the audience the purpose of the publication.The lay out of these two magazines follow the same format with the masthead at the top with a main image being covered partially by the film reel design and secondary images down the left side. This repeated format creates familiarity within the audience. The masthead is also a repeated format of the same font and colour for the magazine name and a line of text above it. The font of the name of the magazine is shown in a slightly serif looking font in bold letters in yellow with a red border connoting the violence of the horror genre and also allowing it to stand out on almost all horror images which may be used allowing for the repeated format. The masthead also shows the price date and issue number in very small text by the side of the masthead showing the information but very small. This may be because the information isn’t very necessary and may take attention away from the main image that is normally a close up of a horror character.