Poster Influences

I researched and discovered these two appropriate thriller posters to base our own work on.  Due to the recent release and success of the Batman ‘Dark Knight’ films, I chose to model our poster on these designs, as they both share a relatively simple but powerful message, as both posters portray Batman standing away from the camera, masking his identity. This is relevant to our original idea of a poster, as James is standing on the train platform awaiting the oncoming train, whilst a man in a black hood is standing behind him, oblivious to James and instantly telling the audience that the film follows the conventions and iconography of a stereotypical thriller- mystery, death and excitement. Like Batman, I am dressed in a black hood, symbolising death and danger, and signalling I am a powerful character throughout the thriller. The Mise en scene of the posters are also based in a dark environment, linking to our thriller poster in which we have James standing isolated on a desolate platform, unaware of my presence.

On the left hand side, the poster shows batman looking out over the city. This could symbolise that Batman is in control and owns the city, similar to my character in our thriller, who knows exactly what he wants to do and is in control of his territory and surrounding area.

I have also noticed the slogan at the top of the poster on the right hand side. This short sentence is effective and powerful, as it gives the audience a taste of what to expect in the film and adds to the poster, in an attempt to engage with whoever reads the poster and encourage them to watch it. We are considering adding this technique to our poster, as it gives a short synopsis of what to expect in our film, and should draw the reader in.

 Joel Guest