2. The idea behind the image was to have the
book illuminate the characters face, I
created this effect by placing a light below
the book but not underneath it. This meant
that I could create a soft glow, but still light
up the characters face. As this is a main
character, their face is in the centre 3rd,
however not in the middle. I have chose to
leave a space in the middle for the title as
it is the most important piece of copy.
The expression on the characters face is a
fusion of emotionless psychopath and an
evil glare. I feel its important for the
characters eyes to look directly into the
camera lenses as the viewer need to feel
A book has been placed in the frame as although this is a feature in the and connection and need to be draw into
film it represents a story. As this is an object which occurs in the majority the story. The clothing used for the
of peoples life, the audience may begin to guess the significance of this character is black, this colour represent
particular one. As a result they are more likely to want to watch the film death and decay which I feel is relevant as
the poster is for a horror film. In addition
In fitting with the theme of blue, I used a
the black shows little about the character
blue light as lighting. This creates a
which is appealing to the audience as they
slower glow and isn’t as harsh as a white
will then want to watch the film to
light. In addition the blue if most obscure
understand the true personality of the
which the audience may link to a
character.
psychological horror.
3. The original photo wasn’t engaging nor did it
look professional. I used adobe Photoshop to
edit my image, first I blacked out the back
ground as the viewer could see a bed. This
allows for space for a credit box, in addition it
improves the over all appearance as the photo
looks darker which is one of the conventions of
horror. Apart from the background I also
edited the character face, I made her eyes a
sharper and brighter blue which stands out to
grab the audiences attention. Furthermore the
colour blue fits in with the colour scheme
which is effective as it creates consistency.
To create more definition in the characters
face I darkened her eye browns, this acts in
contrast to the light blue eyes which are
associated with innocence.
As previously stated, the black space in the middle of the image was for the title. Using Photoshop I layered text
on top of the image, I chose a similar style to text that it featured in the trailer to create a link between the two.
The font is simple and clear for the reader which makes it convenient, however the font could be considered part
of the images. The word deactivate is placed above the book and within the beam of light, this shows the
audience that the opening of the book has caused the disruption. It appears that the word has risen out of the
book.
In the original image the
character had a blue nail, to
keep in fitting with the
characters personality I used
Photoshop to refill the finger
nail with black.
4. The tagline it placed above the characters
head, this is because the tagline is an
important piece of text. It sets the mood of the
whole trailer, also because the film is
psychological if felt appropriate to have the tag
line near the characters mind. The font is the
same as the title as they are linked, however
its in small caps because it isn’t as important as
the title of the film. The colour pallet for
Deactivate it black white and blue, in order to
keep this consistent the tag line is the same
colour as the characters eyes, this creates
further links between the tag line and the rest
of the poster.
The next piece of copy to be added was ‘from the makers of Paranormal activity’ this is significantly smaller that the
heading, because its less important. The colour white was chosen to match the heading because both Paranormal
activity and Deactivate are from the same makers. In addition is has been placed closely to the heading because
Paranormal is an extremely popular psychological horror, therefore more people will want to come knowing that the
film should be similar.
5. To make the title stand out and almost look
like it is floating, I added a drop down
shadow. It doesn’t deviate far away from the
title, but it can be seen easily which is
effective as the word looks like its floating out
of the book.
I added the date below the book, this is
because the date it important so it should be
close to the image. To enhance the
significance of the date, I increase it size so it
bigger then the text about Paranormal activity
however it doesn’t take away from the title.
The date has been made blue to closely link it
with the film, the date and the tag line act like
the fame for all the important information.
In addition I added a credit box beneath the image, I looked at other
posters for inspiration as to what needs to be mentioned and what
doesn’t. two of the main influences were Attack the block and Eagle. By
looking at these I found out what needed to be mentioned, In addition
the Attack the block poster inspired the website featured on my poster.
As seen previously the book contained both blue and orange, I used
Photoshop and the paint brush tool to colour in the orange section with
blue. This meant that the overall look is more professional and the book fit
in with the colour pallet.
6. The last stage in completing my horror
poster was to add small company logos. I
chose several different companies which I
had seen to other horror poster, the main
one which is also featured in my trailer is
Blum house productions. This company also
help create paranormal which again was the
inspiration of my trailer thus also the poster.
These images are located at the very bottom
of the poster as this is what the viewer least
cares about.
In my final copy of my poster I have changed
the font to match the one featured in the
trailer, this is ……….. Although this has may
the date and tag line dimmer I feel that it
actually enhances the overall look of the
poster as the characters eye appear even
brighter which is beneficial as her eyes are the
main focus point.
I have edited the image in term of facial structure. Before
Considering that my poster is portraying horror, I felt that
the character looked too innocent. Naturally the model I
used has a button nose, this makes her look young and
innocent. In order to change this I used the liquefying tool
on Photoshop to decrease the span of her nostrils and the
bridge of her nose. After
7. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I have created a character poster, this is effective as the audience are given a small clue as to what the
film is about whereas a poster which includes a location may give too much away. This fits in with
the genre which is psychological as the audience are left guessing and anticipating where this
character fits in within the film . This also fits with my trailer which follows the psychological
conventions of psychological horror by using hand held camera shots so the audience are unsure
to the villain is.
Both my horror poster and trailer are effective together as they both use the codes and conventions of
psychological horror, this helps to reinforce the characteristics of psychological horror. The
audience can understand that the film will included an unconventional approach, with lots of
confusion but in the end an explanation. The combination of the poster and trailer help viewer to
decided whether this is their type of horror film, this is beneficial as I want to reach my target
audience in order to get the best response.
One consistent theme seen through out the poster and the trailer is the colour pallet I have chosen,
firstly the colour blue was use in the trailer as it represented the logo of Face book. As this is an
important aspect of the trailer I felt it only appropriate to carry it out through out the poster, this
helps create a link between the trailer and the poster. This is an important link as the audience can
begin to identify the colour blue with more then just a colour, though using it several times the
colour blue now represent social net working, teenagers and psychological harm.
I have only created one character poster, I have done this because there is only one character who is
different, and deviated from the social norms which are associated with teenagers. If I were to
create posters for the victims I don’t believe that they would be engaging as they purposely
represent stereotypical teenagers.
I think my poster along side the trailer will generate a buzz as the character is appealing, through
watching the trailer the viewer will what to know who this character it. The viewers can ask the
question ‘is she the murdered?’, this question helps to keep as buzz as the view will want to find
out the answer.
