Font research

• For this horror film, the background is dark and sinister, so that the writing is the first thing that catches your eye. The font here is big and in capitals, so that it is very clear what the writing says. It is put in white as it contrasts with the black background, and by putting it simply in black and white, there is nothing to distract your attention from what is on the screen. For our trailer and film poster etc, we will keep the font simple so that it is easy to read, and so that it stands out against dark backgrounds.

• For this film, the font is in capitals again, but this time the 'Davis Entertainment' part of it is in a larger font to show the important of it. They have put it in a simple clear font so that the audience has no difficulty in reading it, and finding out who produced it. Personally I really like this font. I think it's simple yet effective, as the way it is all different sizes looks creepy and makes you feel uncertainty.

• The font is this film is a browny orangy colour and not in capitals, which is different to other horror films. The effect of this is that although it is not in capitals, it is still eye catching as the font used is one that is slightly different to most as it's not just clear and like a block. The 'Rogue' and 'Intrepid' is in bigger font than the 'and' and 'present' so that the production companies names are highlighted. The writing looks kind of ghostly - which catches your eye as it is different to most other films, and also makes the film look scarier. Although this font is different, we probably will not be using this style as we want our trailer to stand out. Although the title font is not something that appeals to us, the film poster font is very interesting and creepy, as it has a ghostly feel to it. Even though it is not in capitals, it is something we may consider.

• The font is this film, follows the typical horror conventions of white and bold. This is done to make it stand out and show the importance of the name. 'Twentieth Century-Fox' is put in a larger font so that your eye is more focused on to it. Like many other horror film openings, it has the black background, which makes it dark and mysterious, and engages the audience into the unknown. The film poster is simple, yet the white contrasts with the black on the word 'omen.' This is effective as it is clear, and by it being placed on the child, it is signifying that he is 'the omen.' This is also made obvious through his evil glare towards the camera.

'Nightmare on Elm Street' poster

I think this film poster is very interesting. The way the man is looking down makes you unsure whether he is the villain or victim, yet his body and everything about him looks twisted and burnt. The glare of light on the knife is the main object that suggests he could be the bad guy, and the fact that he is wearing a hat that conceals his identity. 

The colours in this poster are a lot of reds and blacks which connotate blood and death. The way the area behind him is darkened could suggest his bitterness and hatred towards everything around him, which could be the reason he is the way he is. The reds all over look as if he is covered in blood, so it could signify the blood he has drawn as he has killed his victims. The person has burns all over him, which could also be the reason his jumper has holes in.The darkness all around him could also suggest that he is someone that should be hidden due to his burns which could be how the world looks on him, which could also be the cause of his evilness and bitterness. 

The tagline 'welcome to your new nightmare' coupled with the darkness all around him, could be a form of hell in your sleep, which would explain why his face is hidden. In nightmares you don't generally see the bad guys facial features so by hiding him it is showing that he is waiting for you to have nightmares.

The font is all different sizes with 'nightmare' being the biggest. The font is displayed like this to ensure that the audience looking at this poster realise that he preys on nightmares, and that they should be frightened about how he manages to get into your nightmares. The whole name of the film is red in capitals, which could signify blood that he has drawn from his victims. It also is a common convention of a horror film as generally there is a lot of blood and death in horrors. 

The way he is displayed on this poster, and the darkness all around him, may be a good idea for our film poster. Our villains are always hidden so by putting our villain in a mask as our poster, with darkness all around him, it could create fear and unease within our audience. 

'the Silence of the Lambs' poster

This poster for the film 'the silence of the lambs' is very unusual. The close up of the woman's face in the centre of the shot draws the audience in because the character, Jodie Foster, is staring into the distance and could catch the viewers eye. 

The colours on this poster are mainly black and white which illustrate ghost like features on the main characters face. The pale ghostly face suggests that this character is pure and innocent. The eyes are a high contrasted brown which helps to draw attention to them and makes the audience wonder their significance. The dark background engulfs the woman's face suggesting that she is in trouble and fading into the darkness and the unknown. 

In the centre of the image is a brown moth across the woman's mouth. The colour of the moth contrasts with the pale features of Jodie Foster and makes her face seem even more white. In closer inspection of the moth a small skull can be identified on the central body. This highlights the genre of the film to the audience and may make them question the hidden factors of the story.

The title of the film is a orangey/ red colour which could portray the idea of blood and death. This again suggests the genre of the film and fits with the colour scheme of the poster. Above this main title are the actors names in white which show up well against the black background. However, the font size is very small in comparison to the film name. This could be because the actors are not very well known or they want the audience to remember the name of the film rather than the actor that are in it. The institution and credits are written at the bottom of the poster in bigger writing than the actors names.   

'The Strangers' poster

This poster is advertising a horror film called 'The Strangers'. The picture shows two characters looking up at the villains wearing masks which suggest they are intimidated and scared of the people above them. This may cause the audience to become very scared of the these character and empathize with their powerlessness. The camera angle used in this film poster is a mid shot to show all the characters and draw attention to the scary details of the villains. 

The main writing on the poster is written in shiny lower case letters which looks unusual and distorted. This writing is quite eye catching and will draw the audience in and makes them question why it's written like that. At the top of the poster there is a statement which says 'Because you were home' which is very general and sounds like they are talking to the audience. This statement may make the audience think that it could happen to them and want to find out what this event could be. The institution is written in small lettering at the bottom of the image which does not detract from the overall focus of the poster. The actors in the film are written just above the title of the film which could be another factor which interests the audience as they are big name stars.

The colours in the image are very dull and dark. This gives a sinister feel to the image and an eerie atmosphere. These colours could have been chosen as it makes the white masks stand out against the browns and greens in the image. This will draw the audience in as the masks look eye catching and abnormal. 

'The Ring' poster

This horror film poster for the ring is very dark and intriguing. The absence of people in the poster makes it seem more scary and frightening.  The round circle in the middle of the poster draws the eye into the centre and makes the writing more eye catching. The picture of 'the ring' could make the audience question what it is and why the ring is uses as the staple feature of the film. The angle of the picture is hard to distinguish it could be a low angle or a mid angle to display 'the ring'. The photo has been cropped so that the circle is in the middle of the image which makes it the main focus of the poster.

The black and white colours on the page are contrasting and dramatic. This could suggest to the audience that the film is also dramatic and has an surprising story line. Having the background all black makes he colours of the writing stand out better and makes the poster as a whole more unusual and diverse than other film posters.

The main writing on the poster which is directly in the center looks childish and perturbing. This juxtaposed with the idea of horror and violence would be scary and may make the audience feel uncomfortable as they do not understand why a child would be involved in such frightening events. The writing above is written in block capital letter and is reflected in the background. This statement could cause the audience to feel uncomfortable as they would start to become inquisitive and want to understand why this would happen. The institutions for the film are written at the bottom which makes the poster balanced as there is writing each side of the main title. This will make a pleasing composition for the view.

'The Uninvited' poster

This film poster is very spooky. The tagline 'fear moves in' creates unease as you are lead to question where the fear comes from. The use of someone outside a glass window, looking in is very simple but the fact you cannot see the face and it is blacked out, leads you to believe that the face is hidden for a reason. The picture along with the tagline is also quite intrusive as it looks as if the figure is trying to break into the house. 

The silhouetted image is a good idea for our film poster as it leads to wondering as to who the silhouette is and makes you worry about why they want to get into the house. The font is simple in white, but the way it isn't all on one line, but instead up and down makes it seem ghostly, and as if there is a presence there watching you. The way certain letters drag down on the page is like blood dripping from a body, which reminds you that this poster is advertising a horror film. 

We are going to try to reflect these colours in our own poster in the hope that people looking at it will be instantly frightened. Blacks, greys and blues are very common in horror films and create an empty, eerie feel, which is something we are aiming for. When making our film poster, this may be a good idea to use as the identity is still concealed which is something that is vital in our film. The silhouetted image is frightening and creates unease as you cannot see any facial features so no connection can be made to the person, which almost dehuminises them. The colours are also very dark and dull which is a convention of horror films, and the slight blue to the image makes it seem misty and foggy.








 

'Shutter' poster

This poster for the film 'Shutter' is a very spooky, well made poster. The font is simplistic, being just in white, with bold capitals. Essentially at first sight it is just a face, but when you look closely it appears to show many different pictures within the face. The darkness surrounding the whole poster is a convention of the horror genre, as horror films don't usually have bright colours as that wouldn't look creepy enough. 

By having the font very simple, and the picture very complex, this poster is very interesting and eye catching. It draws you in as at a glance you can see something within the face, but you really have to look in detail to see the full effects within the face. 

Although this poster is very creepy and would be brilliant for our trailer, we simply do not have the skills or technology to take a picture of a face and then edit it to make it look very spooky, and then later add in more pictures. This poster is very inspirational for us, as it gives us some new ideas to consider within our poster.

Something I really like about this poster is the tagline 'the most terrifying images are the ones that are real.' This line alone makes you feel frightened as it makes the events within the film seem more realistic and nearer to home. In a lot of horror posters there is a tagline, so we will definitely be including one in our poster.