Analysis of The Dark Knight Poster

The Dark Knight poster concentrates mainly on the long-shot of the Joker, on a slight tilt. The tilt of the long shot is very effective as the joker looks off balance and therefore unstable, this emphasises the chaos in the poster, eventhough there is no one else in the picture.

The colours which are provided in the picture creates an eerie atmosphere. The cloudy/misty surroundings in the background produces an evil ambience.

The title is in a small, bold font at the bottom of the page with the batman logo behind it. The fact that the title is in a smaller font provides more attention to the main image.

The list of actors are at the top of the page in white, the same colour as the title, in contrast to the image which is darker colours. This shows the audience the actors in the film as there is only one actor on the poster.

Analysis of Trailer - Shutter Island

The trailer for Shutter Island which is 2.30 minutes long, keeps the audience off their seats, and intrigued to watch more. The trailer uses clips from the movie all the way through, providing the audience with sharp edits and tense, non-diagetic music. Throughout the trailer there are graphic captions showing the directors name, Martin Scorsese and the main actor Leonardo DiCaprio.


The trailer starts with the shot of the production company which is paramount. However the paramount picture logo has been edited black and white, this follows the conventions of a horror film, and so the film immediately appears eerie.



The shots used in the trailer are mainly close-ups showing emotion, however the location shots are long. Through the trailer we also see birds eye view shots, showing the isolated island and showing the gates abruptly being closed.

The fade-ins and outs are mainly used in the first section of the trailer, as the tense music gets louder the cuts appear sharper and more intensifying, as the last cut fades out and there is a sudden/frightening shot of a hand appearing from the rocks, this leaves the trailer with no spoilers to the end of the film.

Shutter Island Magazine Front Cover

Total film have advertised the film Shutter Island taking the bright red Title from the poster. Total film, which is the second best selling film magazine in the UK, has displayed a long middle angle shot of Leonardo DiCaprio, the leading actor of the Martin Scorsese film.

The red from the title is also used around the magazine to advertise different puffs and tag lines, this emphasises the main film being advertised. The tag lines which are above and below the title 'inside Marty's madhouse' and 'Leo takes over the asylum' presents the audience with the information of the director, the main actor and the location of the film, being in a mental hospital.

The long shot in the middle of DiCaprio portrays a lonely character. The image shows his leg in front, with the light shining just above his knee emphasising the gun which is placed on his leg. The way the light is shone upon DiCaprio's face shows his strong jaw line and facial expressions presents his masculinity. Also the misty blue/grey colour around him illustrates a typical horror/thriller theme. The shot of the lighthouse is in front of the masthead, this gives dominance over the front cover and also shows this is important in the film.