POSTER: Setting up mise en scène

Aswell as including the main conventions, that i have closely analysed, the mise en scene of the main, still image is very important. In relation to our film genre and storyline, my partner and i thought about and discussed different ideas for our poster. Most film posters include the main character{s} of the film within the main image. The audience should be able to sense the mood and atmosphere of the movie through the image they see e.g the characters facial expressions, props or things that are placed in a certain way. The analysis of a film poster can help us gain ideas and an understandment by closely looking at how the amount of thought and design that has gone into the poster can be effective and a good representative of the film it is advertising. Advertisment is very important in the film world, as this is the main factor of attracting the target audience so that they come and view the movie, which will make it successful.
Within 'the silence of the lambs' film poster, the image clearly shows the audience the facial expression of a women that looks slightly apprehensive, especially within her eye expression, which is deliberately made to be focused on as it is a 'close up' that only shows facial features. The pale face and bright lighting can symbolize innocence however in contrast to the dark background, this can also represent death and evilness. The tint of red in her eyes can also be a representative of danger. Another obvious main focus is the butterfly that has been placed over her mouth. Within the butterfly is a skull, which if the audience look closely, they will be able to see that this has been made up by womens bodies. This creates a contrast, as butterflies are beautiful. A still image can show a film's genre and the audience can gather ideas of what the film is about. I get the sense that the women is being stopped from speaking by something evil. This creates an eerie silent feel.

When taking the main image, we had to think about the setting. We wanted to use ambient but high-key lighting so that the happy side of her face looks bright but realistic and natural at the same time. Artificial lighting wouldn't create the same effect. We had to think about the position of the hand, making sure the sad/depressed half facial expression is slightly darker, which will be created by the hand's shadow. This will show a natural contrast between the two emotions. We thought about how the fingers should be placed, either stretched out or clasped. We decided that clasped fingers would show that the person is being grabbed and would represent an act of violence. We also had to think about background. We wanted a dark, plain background, as this would be symbolic to the type of world she feels she is within, dark and lonely.

Another example is the recently released film 'Black Swan'. This caught my eye as the image creates such a contrast with the fact that she is a ballet dancer. Ballet consists of soft and light movements which people wouldn't think of if they looked at the main image featured on the poster. I thought that this was very effective so i decided to analyse it, which always helps to develop analysis skills. The character's eyes appear red in the picture, which symbolizes evilness and danger that she is facing or feeling. This poster is also similar to 'the silence of the lambs' poster, as the lighting around the females face is very bright. The title and the tiara on her head informs the audience that she is a ballet dancer. As a result of this, the lighting can represent her innocence but dark side at the same time, as the redness within her eyes and dark make up contrasts with this. It could also possibly be symbolic to a spotlight on stage.