This poster advertising 'Inception,' a science fiction action film. This promotional poster is in portrait format, and the dull colour scheme gives connotations of mystery, and that somewhere in the story line there is going to be a darkness. The poster doesn't really tell you much about the film, apart from the background of the poster tells you that it is going to be a confusing film, as what at first glance looks like the back of a building, turns into a street being flipped on it's side. You can just about see that the characters at the bottom have guns, meaning that there is going to be some violence throughout the film. This poster has been created photographically, and also graphically, as making the street curve up at the bottom would've meant that it was edited in post production. The typography for this poster is rather bold and in sans serif. This boldness tells us that it is going to be a hard hitting film that will entice you, the title for this film is unusually at the bottom in a small font, which allows more room for the image. I think this has been done to create an enigma, as 'Inception,' doesn't really give you much to go on, as inception means beginning. The font used for the actors involved is the same as the one used for the title, except that the text is in white instead of red for the main actor. 'Leonardo DiCaprio,' has been spread out very widely to fit the width of the names of the other actors below. This shows that DiCaprio is the key character in the film. The other actors underneath him have their first name in red, and their surname in white, as actors are more commonly referred to by their surname. There are no critics quotes on this poster, suggesting that is it yet to be reviewed, or that it is leaving you to make your own assumptions. The credit block at the bottom is in a small font which is typical of every theatrical poster. What I have found is that this is the poster for America, as the rating at the bottom is PG-13. The UK may have a different poster to this. Along with the certificate, all the other additional information such as the logos of the producers of the film, and it's website are at the bottom just above a small caption saying 'Experience it July 16 in theatres and IMAX.' Here the use of experience it gives the audience a suggestion that it is going to take you for a whirlwind ride that will keep you hooked. The tagline, 'Your mind is the scene of the crime,' hints to the audience that they are going to have a roll in the film, and they may have to figure the culprit of the crime for themselves. This tagline has again been used in the same font and in white, but it has also been aligned perfectly to fit in the middle of a street. This centralises the tagline, and also the rest of the text used. The messages in this poster are sent verbally and visually, as the taglines express verbally what some of the film is about, which is crime, and also the curved street tells you that something odd and exciting is going to happen. I think that the intended audience for this is teenagers and adults. I would say teenagers from maybe 15 and upwards though, as showing guns to PG-13 viewers might be a little risque, and also from what I've seen of the poster, I think the plot would be too confusing for them. Persuasive techinques have been used by the creators of this poster, these being the enigma of the image and why is has been curved, making it seem like the world is falling back on itself. Leonardo DiCaprio has ben used are a USP, even though you can't see him very clearly, unless you zoom into the poster. There isn't any pleasures promised with the poster, apart from you know that it is going to be a thrilling film because of the enigma of the image and the title, and also the stars involved. The poster tells us that a lot of money has been spent on the film, because of the stars involved, and also the director, Christopher Nolan. Also the visual effects used to make the building look like it's curving back in on itself are not cheap, and the poster shows us that this is going to have some relation to the film. The image seems to be the most important object on this poster, followed by the name of the film, and then the stars. The marketing campaign for a film is very important, as it promotes the film to the target audience. Without the marketing campaign the film wouldn't have a base to start from. The stars and directors from the film would also go and do interviews to promote the film, and there would also be reviews in magazines such as 'Empire,' which is a film review site. This poster looks like it could be a snapshot from the film, so it would've been expensive to create. I think that this is a good poster, because it doesn't tell you everything about the film, and leaves you with an enigma and a chance for you to wonder about the film. I think that it communicates with the audience effectively because of those reasons, leaving the audience clinging on and wanting more. I don't think that there are any alternative messages that could be passed through the marketing, and I don't feel that the poster could be seen as offensive. The only thing that s a bit risque is the use of guns, but guns are seen all the time in films and posters.
No comments:
Post a Comment