Molly Owens A2 Media Studies

Insidious Poster Analysis

Main Image -

From what is presumed to be the main character, the poster has used a medium shot to indicate this. You can see a house behind this character which indicates that this is where the character lives and where most of the plot's main events will be set around. So to conclude, from the main image I can recognise that this is the films main character and all of the events that will take place in this film will happen in this house.

Text -

The film title is clearly shown from being much larger and bolder than the other text. All of the text contrasts the dark background to make it stand out more so it can be seen from afar. Other than the film title, the release date is the most striking piece of text as it is in bold and this is because it is arguably the most important piece of information. This is because it is often the information that people want to find out first, again, other than the title. Smaller and finer text is used for crediting as this information is still important enough to be on a poster but is not the centre of an audiences' attention. Finally, another typical convention of film posters is the production companies logos' to show who was involved with the production and creation of the film itself.

Layout -

The layout of the poster is very simple and sticks with common codes and conventions of films posters which makes it look more professional and clean. Everything is evenly spaces and sized to match conventions but doesn't distract from the main image.

Film Companies -

The logos of the film companies that are involved with the film are displayed along the bottom of this film poster to show that they were involved with its creation, it is also used for advertising also. It is also for audience reassurance, for example, if a well known production company released this film people may feel more inclined to see is as the production company could have a good reputation.

Colour Scheme -

Overall the colour scheme is very dark and dull, this is to intentionally create a sinister and weary feel to the poster. The sky in the main image is very dull, gloomy and grey. The pyjamas the boy is wearing is the only true colour on the whole main image. The skin tone of the boy looks deathly and his face is showing no emotion or expression. The only bright colour on the whole poster is the bold white text to convey the sinister nature of this film to the audience.

Direct Address -

The poster uses direct address in a very obvious way as the main character is almost staring directly into your soul, as they are looking right at the centre of the camera. This along with other elements of the poster create one whole sinister feel and creates a true sense of fear for the character.

Lighting -

The chosen lighting in the poster is meant to look like natural daylight as the character is stood outside but it is much darker to reinforced the sinister and gloomy feel to the poster. From this lighting the audience can immediately tell that this film is not going to be a light-hearted comedy but something that strikes fear. The dark lighting also makes it more difficult to see smaller details on the posters main image, this will make audiences more inquisitive to find out what happens in the film.

Hook -

This text at the top of the poster could be used as a hook because if the audience are already fans of the films 'Paranormal Activity' and 'Saw' then they may enjoy watching this film but they may not have though this if they didn't know about this prior to seeing the poster.