Poster analysis

1. Image: The lack of an image signifies the
build up of something bigger. The image of
the “4” is misty / static showing the
common use of the technology within the
film eg: hand held cameras.
Editing: It appears that Chiaroscuro lighting
was used to create the misty “4” which is often
used for thriller/ scary to build suspense
Actors name: There is no reference to the actor’s
name on the poster showing that there are no star actor
within the film. Paranormal activity films usually
avoiding using well known celebrities as it helps
audiences relate more to the film’s concept of a
supernatural force invading a “normal” families home
Tagline: The tagline “All the activity has lead to
this…” immediately builds suspense as there is a
sense of an unanswered question being answered
in this film. The use of the elipsies is effectively
used in order to create suspense. The tagline also
uses part of the film tittle this is effective as the
film re
Film title: It is evident that “paranormal
activity” is the title as it flashes in neuron red
lights. The title is also 3D as you can see the titles
shadow on bed. The use of the number “4” in a
different colour emphasises the fact that this the
fourth film in the series. The “4” is also between
the title making it evident that another film has
come out the series
POSTER ANALYSIS 1

2. Image: The main image is very ambiguous as
there is a figure, a child, in the shadows while the
girl seems completely oblivious to this figure
watching he from the shadows. The girl also
seems young (mid teens) The light reflecting
back on the girl’s face has a slightly blueish hue
showing that the girl is maybe focused on a
computer screen putting her in a vulnerable
position. The girl is also is clothing the suggests
that she is going to bed also again putting her in
a vulnerable position as she is wearing minimal
clothing
Editing: The image appears to be unedited
however the shadow of the young boy is
emphasised as naturally the light from the
outside the room would reflect on the boys face
and reveal part of the boys face.
Film title: It is evident that “paranormal
activity” is the title as it flashes in neuron red
lights. The title is also 3D as you can see the titles
shadow on bed. The use of the number “4” in a
different colour emphaasies the fact that this the
fourth film in the series. The “4” is also between
the title making it evident that another film has
come out the series
Actor’s name: There are no actors names on
the poster making it known that this is fact a
teaser poster and there is also no release date
Tagline: The tagline “it’s closer than you think”
works effectively with the image used. As
commented before the girl appears to be in a
vulnerable position due to the fact that she is
oblivious to the figure of the young boy watching
here as her attention is focused some place else.
The tag line also manages not to reveal too much
about the film as it uses the word “it” as the
audience we are unaware what “it” is building the
suspense. Supernatural horror fans would suspect
that “it” would be in fact the supernatural force
within the house; Paranormal activity fans would
also have a clue as to know what that “it” would
be in fact the supernatural force inside the figure
watching the young girl by the door. This means
that not only has the tag line not revealed too
much about the storyline but has also enticed
previous Paranormal activity fans as they have a
generic idea of what the film would be about
POSTER ANALYSIS 2

3. Image: The main image signifies that this is in fact a
supernatural horror as we can see the shadow of ghost-
like figure peering over the young girl who is sleeping.
The time and date at the bottom of the image shows that
the incident is in fact being filmed once again building up
the suspense as the time reads “01:26:18” am, majority of
people, as shown by this young girl, are sleeping by this
time as it is the early hours of the morning. The shadow
of the ghost-like figure creates an eerie effect on the
image as we can see the shadow but cannot actually make
out what the shadow is. Once again the young girl is put
in a vulnerable position as we are able to see her bare legs
as she is wearing “sleep” wear and there is a lack of a
duvet covering her showing that she is physically
defenceless as there is no barrier between herself and the
ghost-like figure
Editing: It seems that the image has been in fact
edited as we can almost see the picture as if we were
wearing night vision glasses. It is assumed that the young
girl is in fact sleeping in the dark. The way we view the
ghost- like figure also shows that editing has come into
play as the figure looks like a shadow but somehow
stands out in the room
Film title: It is evident that “paranormal activity” is
the title as it flashes in neuron red lights. The title is also
3D as you can see the titles shadow on bed. The use of
the number “4” in a different colour emphasises the fact
that this the fourth film in the series. The “4” is also
between the title making it evident that another film has
come out the series
Tagline: The tagline “it’s closer than you think” works
effectively with the image used. As commented before
the girl appears to be in a vulnerable position due to the
fact that she is oblivious to the figure of the young boy
watching here as her attention is focused some place else.
The tag line also manages not to reveal too much about
the film as it uses the word “it” as the audience we are
unaware what “it” is building the suspense. Supernatural
horror fans would suspect that “it” would be in fact the
supernatural force within the house; Paranormal activity
fans would also have a clue as to know what that “it”
would be in fact the supernatural force inside the figure
watching the young girl by the door. This means that not
only has the tag line not revealed too much about the
storyline but has also enticed previous Paranormal
activity fans as they have a generic idea of what the film
would be about
Actors name: There is no reference to the actor’s
name on the poster showing that there are no star actor
within the film. Paranormal activity films usually
avoiding using well known celebrities as it helps
audiences relate more to the film’s concept of a
supernatural force invading a “normal” families home
POSTER ANALYSIS 3

4. Image: Overall poster 2 reveals the most
about film as the image is the most prominent
thing within the poster. It is clear what order
these images were released as poster one only
shows a number yet poster two shows a full
size image signifying that image one is a teaser.
Poster two and three are different images but
both contain the same girl presumably in the
same bedroom. Once again we can see the girl
stuck in vulnerable positions as poster two
shows her lying down unaware of the figure
watching her and poster two shows the girl
lying down sleeping while the shadow
(supernatural force) is watching her.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Editing: The most edited poster is the
final poster, poster three. Naturally this
would be the most edited poster as this is
the key poster as it reveals information
about when the film is being released and
where it is being showcased.
Actors name: There is no reference to
the actor’s name on all three posters showing
that there are no star actor within the film.
Paranormal activity films usually avoiding using
well known celebrities as it helps audiences
relate more to the film’s concept of a
supernatural force invading a “normal” families
home
Film title: Poster one has
information about the title apart from
the flashing “4” however the tagline
“All the activity has lead to this” gives
audiences a clue as to what is being
released. Posters two and three it is
clear that “paranormal activity” is the
title as it flashes in neuron red lights.
The title is also 3D as you can see the
titles shadow on bed. The use of the
number “4” in a different colour
emphasises the fact that this the
fourth film in the series. The “4” is
also between the title making it
evident that another film has come
out the series.
Tagline: The tagline “All the
activity has lead to this…” immediately
builds suspense as there is a sense of
an unanswered question being
answered in this film. The use of the
elipsies is effectively used in order to
create suspense. The tagline “it’s closer
than you think” works effectively with
the image used. The tag line also
manages not to reveal too much about
the film as it uses the word “it” as the
audience we are unaware what “it” is
building the suspense.