"Twilight"
The commercial purpose of a film poster is to promote a film. They draw in target audiences by using key iconography that clearly establishes what genre the film belongs to. Film posters communicate through visual and verbal messages which provide clues as to the narrative of the film. Many people collect film trailers as they are seen to with hold aesthetic value.
Considering I chose to analyse the trailer of Twilight, I thought it would be a sensible idea to analyse the film poster also. This will benefit me in my own work as I can learn to establish the symbiotic elements used to link the trailer and poster together.
The commercial purpose of a film poster is to promote a film. They draw in target audiences by using key iconography that clearly establishes what genre the film belongs to. Film posters communicate through visual and verbal messages which provide clues as to the narrative of the film. Many people collect film trailers as they are seen to with hold aesthetic value.
Considering I chose to analyse the trailer of Twilight, I thought it would be a sensible idea to analyse the film poster also. This will benefit me in my own work as I can learn to establish the symbiotic elements used to link the trailer and poster together.
Allow me to briefly discuss the technical layout of a poster; when looking at a film poster, our eyes move from the centre of the page to the top to the bottom and horizontally from left to right. And so, in this order we acknowledge the centre, top centre, top left, top right, bottom left and bottom right. An onlooker would firstly acknowledge Bella as she is the centre of the poster, this indicates that she is the focal point of the narrative and she is therefore the main character in the film. Next, they would acknowledge Edward; whilst recognising he also plays a vital role in the film and that the two characters have a romantic connection. The tagline would be the next attribute noticed which presents Edward with an air of mystery (as the tagline refers to him) and further supports the assumption of a love story. Attention would then be diverted towards the bottom left hand corner, which shows Bella’s hand lightly touching Edward’s chest; as one naturally looks towards the bottom right corner, and to the eye it is revealed the title of the film.
The camera shot used for this film poster is a close-up of the two main characters, Bella and Edward. This shot is used to express emotion reflected through the facial expressions and the mood represented through body language and character positioning. Let us begin with analysing Bella; the expression on her face is one of content, she looks as if she is deep in thought and at peace with her surroundings. We can see her hand gently touching Edwards’s chest almost as if she’s touching the place where his heart would be, suggesting that these two characters are emotionally connected. She seems to fit neatly underneath him, enforcing this idea of a missing jigsaw piece that has finally been found and placed where it belongs. This ofcourse reflects the narrative of the story; up until they met one another they lived their lives feeling as if something was missing.
The camera shot used for this film poster is a close-up of the two main characters, Bella and Edward. This shot is used to express emotion reflected through the facial expressions and the mood represented through body language and character positioning. Let us begin with analysing Bella; the expression on her face is one of content, she looks as if she is deep in thought and at peace with her surroundings. We can see her hand gently touching Edwards’s chest almost as if she’s touching the place where his heart would be, suggesting that these two characters are emotionally connected. She seems to fit neatly underneath him, enforcing this idea of a missing jigsaw piece that has finally been found and placed where it belongs. This ofcourse reflects the narrative of the story; up until they met one another they lived their lives feeling as if something was missing.
Bella nestles into Edward and looks comforted by this act of affection, even though there appears to be space between them. The space here so clearly emphasised by the outline of light gives off this impression of the electricity between the characters and reflects a major part of the narrative. Bella and Edward so desperately desire to quell this empowering emotional feeling yet they are constantly forced to have to hold back. Bella’s hand may also symbolise her pushing him away at a distance, but the positioning of her fingers suggest she’s pulling him in closer.
Edward has been placed above Bella at a canted angle, which gives the impression that there is something extraordinary about him. Bella sits underneath him appearing vulnerable, as Edward towers over her protectively yet lovingly. The lighting used on Bella is very warm, as her pale yet peachy complexion shines radiantly. Her soft delicate auburn-coloured curls fall angelically past her shoulders; Bella is the image of innocence, youth and natural beauty. Edward’s use of low-key lighting highlights his perfect bone structure and angular features. The golden glow of his eyes, stained aubergine lips and the harshness of the lighting make him appear inhuman, but not evil. He looks like a vampire as he emerges in from the darkened top left hand corner, hovering above Bella in a bat-like fashion. Although he adopts the vampiric approach, he does not appear sinister or threatening; there is softness to his expression indicating that although he is a ‘monster’, he is one with a heart.
Edward has been placed above Bella at a canted angle, which gives the impression that there is something extraordinary about him. Bella sits underneath him appearing vulnerable, as Edward towers over her protectively yet lovingly. The lighting used on Bella is very warm, as her pale yet peachy complexion shines radiantly. Her soft delicate auburn-coloured curls fall angelically past her shoulders; Bella is the image of innocence, youth and natural beauty. Edward’s use of low-key lighting highlights his perfect bone structure and angular features. The golden glow of his eyes, stained aubergine lips and the harshness of the lighting make him appear inhuman, but not evil. He looks like a vampire as he emerges in from the darkened top left hand corner, hovering above Bella in a bat-like fashion. Although he adopts the vampiric approach, he does not appear sinister or threatening; there is softness to his expression indicating that although he is a ‘monster’, he is one with a heart.
The use of the black background symbolises night time as it creates a dark, mysterious and alluring atmosphere. The mood suggests a calming, tranquil peace and conventionally reflects the gothic genre, with the contrast of the black background and pale white complexions of the characters skin. Within the poster we have a pop of colour within the tones of Bella’s hair; the texture is soft and appears touchable, making the character look delicate and beautiful. The tones of her lips are tinted red, which can symbolise the love between her and Edward as well as representing life and humanity in comparison. The shade of his lips exhibit a bluish purple, embodying the manifestation of a corpse as his facial features are completely drained of colour. The uses of tones subtly inform audiences that this film follows the dark journey of a love story between a human girl and a vampire.
Symbolism has been used within the poster, for instance through the uses of lighting. The line of light that outlines the shapes of characters expresses the spark of electricity between them. Within mise-en-scene, Bella’s hand gently touching Edward’s chest suggests she leans on him, as he hovers over her it is established that he is her protector. His stance is bat-like and his pale make-up makes him look ‘vampiric’, which further indicates the gothic genre to the target audience.
The image has been photographically presented, yet has been edited to appear less realistic, and to resemble more of a magical and fantasy-like feel. This has been expressed through the exaggerated glow of their skin; this represents the sensation of emotion experienced between Edward and Bella.
Symbolism has been used within the poster, for instance through the uses of lighting. The line of light that outlines the shapes of characters expresses the spark of electricity between them. Within mise-en-scene, Bella’s hand gently touching Edward’s chest suggests she leans on him, as he hovers over her it is established that he is her protector. His stance is bat-like and his pale make-up makes him look ‘vampiric’, which further indicates the gothic genre to the target audience.
The image has been photographically presented, yet has been edited to appear less realistic, and to resemble more of a magical and fantasy-like feel. This has been expressed through the exaggerated glow of their skin; this represents the sensation of emotion experienced between Edward and Bella.
The intended target audience of this poster is clearly aimed at a predominantly female market that are in their teens. This has been established having Bella on the front cover as she represents the youthful image of the target audience. The fact that she is female and appears to be a teenager represents that this is a teen film. The combination of colour, lighting and mise-en-scene inform audiences that this is a teenage, gothic, romance film, which brings the traditional genre back to life, making vampires fashionable again.
Persuasive techniques are used to urge audiences to go and see the film. For instance, the tagline uses a language device of a rhetorical question, “When you can live forever. What do you live for?” for those who have read the novel (from which the film has been adapted), they can immediately recognise the meaning behind it, which triggers excitement and anticipation. As for those unaware of the story, they are left in suspense after reading the tag-line. Serif font has been used for the text of the poster as it is sophisticated and formal which ties in with the traditional gothic genre. The colour used for the font of the tagline is white, allowing it to stand out against the black background and to match the tonal scheme of monochrome colours. The film title which has been located in the bottom right hand corner contains this glistening silver tone which adds to the realm of coldness established within the persona of Edward. The only mention of any institutional context of the movie’s production is that it has been created by SUMMIT Entertainment.
Audience gratification has been used within the film poster, as the mise-en-scene of the characters promise to provide a love story. Attention is gained through the contrast of a darkened background and the chalky whiteness of the characters skin. As well through components such as camera, where we see Edward strategically placed in the corner at a canted angle. This catches the attention of audiences because it is an unusual composition, indicating the obscurity of this genre.
The poster is effective as it clearly communicates to audiences that this is a romantic teen vampire film, without using the most obvious iconography. It’s subtle and tasteful.
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