The bold Film poster to the movie ‘Red’ uses multiple cases
of mise-en–Scene and other vehicles to connote ideas.
The main color featured in the poster is red, which has a
connotation of aggression, blood and danger. Also, the color repeats and
emphasizes the title. The feelings and thoughts we connect with the color red
are all definite trademarks of an action film, which is defined as “a genre wherein
physical action takes precedence in the storytelling. The film will often have
continuous motion and action including physical stunts, chases, fights,
battles, and races. The story usually revolves around a hero that has a goal,
but is facing incredible odds to obtain it.“
The Poster designers made sure that the audience is aware of the
film being action themed, by incorporating mise-en-scene props like the guns,
ranging in sizes, and presenting them in an actively used way. Also an
‘unfeminine’ font was used to catch the male audience’s attention. The Font is
bold, simple and presented against a black background, which again the contrast
of Red and black creates a connotation of danger and death.
As a persuasive technique to attract an audience, the producers
of the poster used the famous actors and their genre label they are famous for.
The list of the celebrity cast is located horizontally along the top of the
poster; listing stars like: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich,
Mary-Louise Parker and Helen Mirren. This provides the viewer with trust in
what quality and what type of film they are dealing with. The actors are used
as USPs, by displaying their names and huge prints of their close ups.
The poster introduces the main character by portraying them
photographically, with strong facial expressions that makes the viewers project
the stereotypical characteristics, related to the genre, onto the characters
crating outlines of their personalities and their fore of the style and tone of
the film.
The primary messages conveyed by the poster are verbal since the
poster reads the catch phrase: ”STILL ARMED. STILL DANGEROUS. STILL GOT
IT.” The phrase indicates that the characters
featured in the movie are of a certain age and professionals in their professions.
Another nonverbal but visual aspect of the poster is the way the characters are
placed in the for and background, their spacing indicates their importance in
the film.
Another effect the actors have on the film poster is to express
how big the budget of the movie was and therefor what quality can be expected.
This is simply another way to comfort the audience, since the viewers enjoy
knowing what to expect before seeing the movie. Displaying the production
company creates the same effect.
The poster also displays the date of release, which is obviously
an important piece of information; in this case it is the 15th of
October.
I personally think it is a simple, however well planed poster;
fulfilling the desired effect of stating the genre and attracting the according
audience. I find it to have a very powerful and well-composed use of colour and
its connotations, which is one of the main attention hookers. Also I like how
it is sectioned of into three segments, to allow the display of different
illustrations and characters.
In yesterdays (24.09.2015) practical media lesson we were introduced to the 180 degree rule and filmed a short sequence of Katie entering, sitting down, checking her phone and exiting the shot.
 practical media lesson we were introduced to the 180 degree rule and filmed a short sequence of Katie entering, s...){kind=link}
