Film Poster Analysis - 'Shutter Island'

 

Shutter Island (2010) - Martin Scorsese

 

 

• The contrasting colour scheme of red and white that has been used demonstrates typical genre conventions of a thriller movie as the colour red typically connotes blood and violence, therefore is frequently used for this genre of films. This brightly coloured text also stands out against the darkly displayed background, which gains more attention from the audience viewing it.

 

• Featuring a bold font on the title, actor name and release date also aids the poster in attracting attention and makes the overall poster appear to stand out more.

• The tagline "Someone is missing." is the only bit of text featured, excluding the title, actor name and release date, therefore makes it stand out, especially seeing as a white font has been used to make it appear bolder against the dark background. The positioning of the tagline also attracts attention to it as it is placed away from all the other text featured and is positioned closer to the top of the poster.

 

• Another typical genre convention that has been used is the contrast of light and dark lighting, this makes it look more mysterious and frightening, therefore connoting the overall genre and storyline of the film.

 

• The close up shot on the main actors face makes the poster appear more intense and mysterious which also allows the audience to really see the characters facial expression, showing him to be frowning, conveying the overall storyline and genre, and his characters emotions of confusion and fright about what is going on.  

 

• He is also shown looking to the side of the camera rather than right at it, creating a sense of mystery and making him appear suspicious of what's happening around him. This makes the audience feel more suspicious and intrigued about the storyline of the film.

 

• The composition of the squared images of the mental hospital have been put together to create the overall image which makes it seem more disorientating and uneasy on the eye, due to the jaunted look that this composition creates.

 

• The image of the mental hospital appears to have a white glow around it from the top and from the waves at the bottom which makes it stand out against the dark background and makes it seem more mysterious and intriguing.

 

• The main image of the leading actor is partially in black and white which intensifies and enhances the brightly light match which also makes his eye that has been left in colour, look more vibrant and therefore will attract more attention against the dark background.

 

• An over layer of 'rain' has been used across the whole page, adding pathetic fallacy to the poster that something bad is going to happen, also the bad weather displayed further creates a sense of mystery and danger.

 

• Furthermore, using the composition of both images put together allows the audience to understand what the top image of the leading actor is facing during the movie by showing the mental hospital on the bottom image, which makes it look more frightening and intriguing.