Key Concepts: Film Poster Analysis

Film Poster Analysis:

LANGUAGE:

The film poster may indicate to its viewers the genre and mood of the movie, which in this case would be fantasy/action or adventure. It will also grasp the audience's interest from around the world and form a lasting first impression. Perhaps the main features in the film, such as portals and other universes, the denotations, will be added on to seize the audience's attention to the film and concepts. Connotations of the poster may show that it follows the main style and layout of a typical film poster, perhaps communicating to its target audience, which in this case may be teens or young adults.

INDUSTRIES:

Doctor Strange was produced by Marvel Studios, a hugely successful industry known for its superhero movies. Of course, its name, a verbal code, was included in the poster to show the audience which studio they can notice and understand. When a famous name is included in something, for example Disney in animation movies, audiences automatically associate a world-famous name with a successful film. It was very commercially successful, grossing in over $688.7 million USD, and being watched by 2.1 million US households within the first five days of release.  Doctor Strange is the second highest grossing film at the domestic box office and is the highest grossing film of the year so far.

AUDIENCE:

The content Doctor Strange is entirely fictional and centred around magic, alternate realities, and superheroes. This will connotate to the target audience, who mainly appears to be mainly male, though also female as well, that this was made around fiction which may be designed to show the audience the conventions and genre of the film. The age range is around teenagers or young adults and families, which makes sense due to it being rated 13. The content is fairly fantasy-related, which would appeal a lot more to the younger generation.  

REPRESENTATION:

The main picture shows Doctor Strange, a gifted neurosurgeon who found himself in a car accident, played by ever-popular Benedict Cumberbatch. In an attempt to heal his hands, he goes to Kamar-Taj in Nepal where he studies alternate realities and magic. He is shown stepping out from a presumed alternate reality, wearing his usual outfit, a blue suit and red cape. He is looking at the camera quite determinedly, perhaps reinforcing the strength and power he has. There is not much else around him except for the repeated pattern of buildings,which must represent a universe/an alternate reality.         

  

LANGUAGE: 

The advert is recognisable from its classic car design. It features upbeat music and zooms in on all features of the MINI car, such as its all-electric design, doors, interior and wheels. There are bubbles thrown about that make all the features pop and appear even more enhanced to the audience. The logo is shown throughout, and is expressed for slightly longer towards the end to truly centre it in the audience's mind. Pharrell William's 'Come Get It Bae' is playing in the background, perhaps telling the audience to, indeed, come and get the car. The upbeat music provides more interest in the advert and helps people to interact more with it, which connotates happiness and excitement. 

INDUSTRIES: 

MINI has created the new all-electric car which they advertised in early February 2022. It was viewed over 14,000 times on YouTube, and the firm's Oxford plant has built more than 11000 MINI Electrics since the hatchback's launch - around 3000 of which were for UK buyers.

AUDIENCE:

The audience for this car would be adults and over. Children may be intrigued into the car, but driving is mainly done by those aged eighteen and over, which would make sense for a car. Indeed, the upbeat music and colourful shots of the car are a subtle indication that it may be targeted towards younger adults, and because it also features actors/actresses in that age group. 

REPRESENTATION:

There are a wide selection of colours of the car, though mainly modern-ish, like grey and so on. This may have been done deliberately to once again appeal to the newer generations, such as those in their twenties or thirties who have grown up in less hyped-up and colourful places. There are also younger people in the advert perhaps to do the same thing. Of course, the car is electric, which would be liked by people trying to get rid of petrol or diesel cars to combat climate change. In addition, it would cost less in the long-term and might appeal to an audience who want to save money. 

LANGUAGE:

The film trailer features the protagonists of the movie, the Hogwarts Castle and the Hogwarts Express. Familiar dialogue from the film is also present, which might get the readers of the books to feel included because they can remember the events. The music in the background links with the theme, which is fantasy, and the conventions of a typical film trailer. Harry Potter, the protagonist, is shown throughout the trailer so the audience can understand who they can familiarise themselves with. In addition, questions and popular language are used to show the audience what the film is about, for example, "You're a wizard, Harry", "I'm a what?". This can reveal to the audience the main ideas that the film is centred around and what they signify. 

INDUSTRIES:

The company who distributed the film is Warner Brothers, and Chris Columbus, the director, is well known and has worked on many films in the past, including Home Alone. The protagonist of the film, Harry Potter, is played by Daniel Radcliffe, who at the time had worked on a few films in the past, such as David Copperfield. The actors are now multi-millionaires thanks to the film's whopping success. J.K. Rowling is worth £820 million, and is around the 196th richest person in the UK

AUDIENCES:

The main audience for the film is children and teenagers. It is a fantasy film which features magic, a [secondary] school and children. The film is rated PG-13, as it contains no particularly violent or bad themes (apart from fantasy violence, like Voldemort killing everyone). Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone's film trailer features the main characters of the original book, which can be recognised by each of their distinct character traits. Of course, the film is about things which do not exist, such as unicorns and a man with no nose and red eyes, which lets children spark their imagination and creativity. 

REPRESENTATION:

We can find men and women alike in the trailer, as the main characters are mixed in terms of being male and female. However, as the book and film are set in 90s Britain, nearly all the characters are white, except a handful. These include a few of Harry's friends, such as Parvati and Padma Patil, Lee Jordan, who is a couple of years older, and a few others. Some have argued that this is not very diverse, however, it would make sense as even today the majority of English people are white. In addition, Rowling used her own personal experiences to bring the characters to life, and as she was writing these books in the 1990s, it seems fairly likely she was around mainly white people as that was what the majority were in England back in the day.