Research: Poster Analysis - Paranormal Activity

Introduction –Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American independent horror film written and directed by Oren Peli. The movie centers on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. The movie is presented using "found footage" from the camera set up by the couple to capture what is haunting them. I will explain in detail the conventions of this poster and there meaning/representation.

Camera Work – The camera angle used in this poster is a wide
shot. This enables the target audience to see the whole scene/ surroundings and have an understanding of what is going on. The image shown seems to be taken from a film camera due to the time shown at the right hand corner. This adds enigma as most other posters such as The Blair witch project and The Eye are all shot by cameras. This shows the conventions of this poster to be different from others. The image also shows ambiguity, it’s clear to see that this image was taken from a scene in the film, however compared to other poster the conventions of the image or person is usually shown in a medium shot facing the camera. However in this case the couples are not looking towards the camera and seem to be looking at something. This therefore shows ambiguity as it’s not made clear to the target audience what they are looking at. The lighting used in this poster appears to be night vision on the film camera. This gives a connotation of darkness, isolation and fear all these show the genre of the film (horror)

Colour – The three predominate colours used in this poster is red, black and blue. The black is used as a background colour which indicates death, evil and dullness. The use of the black also makes the image and the title stand out more clearly to the target audience. The red used in the title “Paranormal Activity” indicates strength, devil and blood all these connotations can be related to the image. The red would attract the target audience as its eye catching. The last colour used is blue this together with the white used shows purity in the poster. The white is used above the image which allows the text to be seen clearly and easy to read. This is same with “The Blair Witch Project” as they also used white text against a black background in their poster. All these colour tie in together and individually have their own connotations. The overall colour of the image is a blue light this signifies to the audience that its night time. It also suggests a feeling of coldness from the use of blue.

Typeface – The Typeface used in the title “Paranormal Activity” is very bold and eye catching. The title is written in uppercase lettering which suggest strength and power. It’s also trying to state the emphasis on the title. This convention is the same as “The Blair Witch Project and The Eye” as they also have their title written in uppercase letters. However the typeface used in the title appears to have a shadow behind it. This could be trying to represent a ghost or sprit which could be what they are looking at in the image. The typeface therefore gives a little insight to the image which may encourage the target audience to want to watch the film. The typeface used in the text near the title is also in uppercase. The use of the question in uppercase “What happens when you sleep?” could be used to make the target audience think about that particular question and therefore creating enigma. The typeface used in the text above the image appears to be written in the old fashion format of a type writer. This could be trying to portray the target audience which the film is aimed at.

Layout – The layout of this poster is one similar to “The Blair Witch Project” in that the image is placed in the middle with the text at the top and the title of the film below the image. However the use of the lines shows the break up between the three different sections. This could have been done to make it clear and more understandable to the target audience. The layout of this poster shows three different divisions which are very different compared to other posters. The footage is filmed therefore they may not have enough to create an entire poster; this also cannot be reproduced as it is real and they are dead.

Target Audience – The target audience for this audience would be teenagers aged 16-18. The target audience which this poster is trying to attract is modern teenagers; this is shown through the use of new technology such as the video camera being used as an image as they know their target audience is up to date with the latest technology. It more likely that boys/men are more likely to be attracted to this film through the media language such as “scariest film” and “nightmares guaranteed” all these words wouldn’t attract a girl/women as much as it would to males.

Media language – The language used in this poster is informal and straight to the point. The use of the language attracts its target audience by using interesting terminology which would make the target audience think and react for example “you will be affected as it’s hard to ignore “this line would leave the target audience wondering whether this statement is true therefore resulting in them watching the film. The use of the language “Don’t see it alone “can be seen as a marketing aspect as it’s informing the target audience to bring someone else along therefore resulting in more sales.

Representation – The representation of the image is that they are a young couple. They are represented to be well off i.e. fairly rich due to the surroundings shown. They portrayed as being scared and frighten of something which can be suggested to be the shadow shown near the door. This can therefore link to the size of the image which appears to be shown quite small. This may indicate that they are insignificant and less powerful.