Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes fall into two categories, symbolic and technical; symbolic codes show what's under the surface of what we see, such as how a characters actions demonstrate their feelings. Technical codes are how equipment is used in media text, for example camera work and lighting. Some codes fit into both categories, music for example, is both technical and symbolic.
Conventions are the rules in specific genres. There are general conventions in any medium, but conventions are also genre specific, for horror posters, the colour red may be used to represent blood and gore.
As films have drastically changed over the years, I will still include older films in my research as they have helped adapt and shape the horror films we have today.
1930's Horror film posters
I have noticed the titles are quite bold and stand out, making the text the first thing the readers notice, therefore the text had to come in bold fonts and colours such as red to represent death and blood to make the audience realise the genre was horror (if the image didn't do so). The title "Frankenstein" has a fiery effect to it, this gives of a sense of danger. The actors in the film are placed in a noticeable position on the poster, this is trying to entice the audience into watching the film, well known actors/ producers/ directors will have their names larger than the rest of the cast as they appeal to a wider audience. The lighting on all the poster images are quite dark creating an eerie and mysterious atmosphere relating to the horror genre, the use of chiaroscuro gives the composition volume and perspective. You could also look at it as the characters have more to reveal in the film, acting as a metaphor for an enigma code. Looking at "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", the chiaroscuro is used to make the "monster" look evil, his body language also portrays this, however the light shining on to the Hunchback could represent he is just trying to help the girl, his face is also hidden which adds a sense of mystery to the poster. The other characters in the film appear on the poster in a smaller size showing they're less significant in the film but also hint what the film is about, for example, on the "Frankenstein" poster, the character to the bottom left is making a potion therefore relating to creation and science as well as the dead woman on the bed, this shows the film includes murder and death. I like the fact that older posters use illustration drawing and it still looks interesting and unique. I don't like the multiple images on the poster "Frankenstein" as it draws my attention away from the main image. I will consider using illustration drawing for my poster.
1950's Horror film posters
The posters feature cartoon like creatures, this could relate to the centuries art movement 'Pop Art'. On top of every poster, there are quotations (not common in 1930's horror posters) to entice the audience and make them want to watch the film, sometimes these quotes will involve the audience, for example, on The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms says "neither will YOU", this tries to enhance the thrill and horror and adds realism, also on this poster "beast" is a lot bigger font size and a different colour to the rest of the font to show its importance. On "The Blob" poster there are words at the top with a red background and the text is in capital letters, this represents danger and death. On "The Day The Earth Stood Still", the tanks at the bottom of the page point towards the robot indicating that it's the central image and it is what the audience should be focusing on. As audiences of the 1950's weren't as educated as audiences today, featuring creatures such as mythical beasts and robots would have seemed a lot scarier to audiences in the 1950's rather than today's audiences as they may have felt these creatures may be real however today our horror posters feature severed body parts, weapons and ghosts. The backgrounds on these posters are different from the 1930's because they have a lot more going on, showing more tells the audience more about the film. The actors, producers and directors names of the films run along the bottom of the poster, this is to appeal to the audience familiar with the actors, producers and directors but it's placed at the bottom as it isn't that important.What I like about 1950's horror posters are the the bright and attention-grabbing text, It is unlikely I will include this in my poster as I would like my poster to be modern so I would have to follow current codes and conventions of horror posters.
1970's Horror film posters
On the Halloween poster the repetitive knife creates the illusion of movement whilst also a connection to the holiday Halloween, because of the knife we know the villain will be using a knife to kill its victims. On the Jaws poster the audience can see straight away that the killer is a shark, the camera angle is interesting as it looks as if the audience are just watching the shark attack the swimmer who is helplessly trying to escape, this gives the viewer a sense of helplessness. On The Texas Chainsaw Massacre poster you can see the killer kills his victims using a chainsaw, also given away in the title name, the camera angle is also like the Jaws poster, a mid shot of two characters allowing the viewer to see the body language between the two. Looking at the film titles again 'Jaws' and 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' both are coloured in red representing danger, blood and death however 'Halloween' features a capital 'H' and 'N' which could represent what begins must end, for example when the villain gets hold of his victim he must kill them. The titles are located at the top to make the title of the film stand out and be memorable. I like how the 1970's posters have started to simplify their posters whilst making the images innovative. I would like my poster to be innovative and creative as it will make it memorable. I don't like the borders around the posters, or having a plain white background as I think it looks to clean and neat for a horror film.
1990's Horror film posters
What these poster have in common are the close up shots of the faces, mostly the victims, the emotion on the victims faces may have appealed to the audience as it creates a sense of fear and vulnerability. Another similarity is that the characters mouths cannot be seen possibly hinting that the characters have a secret that they're hiding. The Blair Witch Project is a high angle close up, like a hand held camera, only the eyes can be seen however you can still feel the characters emotion and that they feel scared, the high angle close up also shows the vulnerability of the character as you're looking down on them like they're a lower status. The face on the Scream is black and white whereas the eyes are the only colour, this draws your eyes towards the characters eyes, this makes the viewer feel more emotion as eye contact is a form of nonverbal communication, the hand covering the mouth is body language that represents the character is shocked or about to scream. On The Silence Of The Lambs poster, the eyes are the only colour on the face but the eyes are tinted red which could show they're trying to portray danger, murder, blood or death, the eyes look calm so not much emotion is shown . However on the face there is a butterfly/ wasp covering the mouth the butterfly wings portray elegance whereas the wasp portrays a more powerful and evil element to the film, perhaps the characters aren't what they seem. The butterfly/ wasp also features a skulls face portraying an element of death. All posters have chiaroscuro on the faces, this could show the characters portray an innocent personality but underneath that is a dark side or a characters disappearance. One thing The Blair Witch Project poster does that the other two don't is that it shows the atmosphere of the movie (symbolic code). On the Scream poster, the title Scream features the 'M' with a point in the middle which could associate the film with knife crime or other sharp objects as the main weapon. The dark backgrounds help the audience to focus on the central image. I like how 1990's posters have thought a lot about the message of the image, this is something I would like to demonstrate in my image and poster. I don't like how there is too much text on "The Blair Witch Project" as it can be hard to remember.
2000-2012 Horror Film Posters
The increased development in technology allows the posters to seem more 'real', allowing computer software such as Photoshop to improve the quality of the images on the posters. The images such as body parts, weapons, ghosts and dismembered people create a more unnerving and intimidating effect on today's audiences as in the media such as the news, stories alike the films are being reported therefore giving a much more realistic sense. Hostel is the only poster that doesn't give too much away on its poster, the title doesn't give too much away either whereas Saw and Shutter both have aspects such as the image and the title to give hints to the audience, this can be an effective marketing technique as the audience will want to know more. However all 3 posters represent horror through the use of colours such as red to show death and blood and props such as weapons and blood and the saw located at the top of Saw's poster. The poster for Shutter has reference to the director making the film appeal more to audiences who are familiar with the other films "The Grudge and The Ring". On the Hostel poster, the words 'Hostel' are the brightest thing on the page which draws the viewers attention directly to it, if there were sequels to the film then audiences will become more familiar.The prop on Hostels poster looks like a twisted piece of metal, this could represent that the film is twisted. The camera angle on Shutter shows a close up of a ghost face creating an eerie atmosphere but the images together make the ghosts face giving a sense that the film is about the images or the people in the images, a lot of people have images of family members/ friends so his creates a connection from the film to the audience. The white background on Saws poster creates a sense of the unknown and a mystery and could show emotions of feeling ill, how the audience may feel when watching the film, whereas the grey background on Hostel's poster represents fear and loss of hope. what i like about modern day horror posters are how the images, especially Shutter, look professional therefor to me they look interesting to watch.
By looking and analysing these posters I can now start to think about what my poster should represent and how it should do it.
