AFTER DARK

DESIGN YOUR OWN HORROR POSTER, USING YOUR OWN PHOTOGRAPHY.


DECONSTRUCTION OF AFTER DARK


I chose to do a two shot poster, due to the story line of the horror film about a girl who transforms into a vampire at night. The two images create juxtaposition as they show the difference between good and evil and the transformation that the young girl takes. The reason I cut around the images and discarded there background was due to wanting them to stand out to the onlooker and catch there attention which is the key intention of an advertisement. The mise en scene black and white shot was originally a wide shot showing the whole body and the photo in the foreground was a mid shot which just consists of the head and shoulders.

The background image is in black and white to show innocence this is also achieved by the angle at which the photo was taken. Plus the photo was taken from above with the girl looking upward toward the camera, which gives an impression of weakness and lastly it size compared to the photo in the foreground suggests insignificance and lack of power. These aspects are completely the opposites to the photo of the vampire which is a large image that takes up most of the poster this makes the image seem powerful and stands out. This is also achieved by exaggerating the redness of the blood, which was actually food colouring. This colour matches well with the background which is a photograph of silk. I chose this material as my background as it reminded me of flames and the phrase eternal flame which connects to the never ending life of a vampire.

I thought closely about the rules of thirds when making my poster, this involves catching the viewers eye in four key areas, top left and right and bottom left and right(point one – four). I placed the girl at point one, the vampires head at point two, the itel and slogan at point three and the bloody hand at point four. Another thing that stands out are the eyes which are near centre in the poster they show that it is not a light hearted film, catch the viewers attention and could also be said to create fear which is the films intention.

I used four different font sizes, for the title, slogan, film company and the director and the actor. I did this to bring verity but kept the same font (silom) and the colour black. I did this as I felt the text would stand out well with the other colours on the poster for example the eye catching red of the blood and background. I placed the texts in the position that I did as they seemed the most obvious place for a large amount of space and does not distract from the powerful image beneath. The position of the title was also a wise choice as it is positioned at point three.

The most important thing in the poster is the signifier giving the viewer an idea of what the film will be about. Without a doubt the signifier in this poster is the image of the vampire. A vampire signified make a person think of images such as blood, teeth, fear, death, danger, immortal etc. I think my poster defiantly sets the tone of After Dark and makes it quite clear what it will be about and its genre.