Poster Analysis 1 - Civil War

The purpose of film posters is to grasp the attention of audiences long before the film is released. There are specific elements of a poster that help to directly grasp the attention of the audience, such as main image, the star vehicles and the company/brand that is producing the film. In this case it is Marvel. In order for the posters to promote the film, they need to be placed in areas with public awareness such as on buses, at transport stations and in cinemas themselves. By being placed in these busy areas it would be seen regularly by many people. 

When marketing and promoting a film, there are different types of posters that are released beforehand; these are teaser posters and classic posters. There could be several teaser posters for a film, for example there could be different character posters teased in the build up to the final poster which is released alongside the official trailer for a film. The features of a teaser poster can be different to a classic poster. For example this Captain America: Civil War teaser poster gives very little information, but enough to keep audiences interested in the poster. It features the two main and easily recognisable characters (Captain America and Iron Man) and they look like they are in a conflicting scenario due to the body language towards one another and their facial expressions (especially the angered expression Robert Downey Jr. is conveying through the character of Iron Man). The slogan used on the top third of the poster stands alone which draws more attention to and links well to the words that have been used. The slogan “divided we fall" helps to emphasise the potential conflict that will arise and will get audience members thinking and intrigued as to why they are divided. Other significant information is given such as the title and the release date which is essential for audiences to know.

On both posters, the font is rather bold and the ‘Captain America’ is in a bolder colour to contrast with the greys of ‘Civil War’. This highlights to the audience who the main focus of the film will be and whose franchise it belongs to. In the teaser poster, the title is placed in the bottom third of the poster, which makes it less of a focal point in comparison to the main image in the centre. However, in the classic poster, the title is placed in the middle third of the poster, in the middle of the main sides of the film. This could connote a large divide between the cast, suggesting to the audience that there is going to be an inner conflict between the superheroes rather than a villain.

In the teaser poster the slogan once again gives hints to the plot of the film. The use of the words “divided we fall” it suggests that there is a moral disagreement between the two characters which will lead to some sort of downfall for the characters. It is then revealed in the second trailer that this was only half of the slogan and as more characters reveal the “united we stand” is added to the slogan. This shows that as their two teams they may stand a chance but similarly, if there weren’t a dispute to start with they would still be a strong alliance. It highlights that although the teams are united they are all still divided.

The use of colour is very toned down; there are dark shades of blue, red and grey. The red and blue are split in the middle, alongside the two colours. These colours are easily identifiable for each character (Iron Man wears red and Captain America wears blue).  The dark, dulled down colours are common with superhero films as a whole and on the posters and in the films there are a lack of bright colours. It helps with the serious nature of the battles. However when bold colours are used it usually shows a lighter mood to the film.

On the classic poster, the cast names are revealed over the top third of the classic poster. These names are of highly well-known and feature star studded names such as Scarlett Johannsson and Robert Downey Jr. The use of showing these names helps to draw in the interest of the audience, as they would have already known of their work from previous films as they have had a long acting history. More production credits are at the bottom of the classic poster- this includes the director, sound, production companies and other teams that helped to produce the film.  This text is much smaller and narrow in comparison to the bold names of the cast. This is used to make it discreet and not distract from the main picture on the photo. The date is also placed here alongside the IMAX and 3D cinema release. The date is bold and brighter than all of the text to still draw attention to the release, as this is one of the most vital pieces of information for the audience.

The genre of the film is easily made known by the mise-en-scene in the poster: it is a superhero film and it is easily presented by the way the characters look.  The costumes that they are wearing are easily recognisable as the attire and costumes worn by superheroes, such as Iron Man’s suit, especially as these are well recognisable characters. Further down the line of characters, there is a character that has purple skin- this gives connotations or a supernatural or a mutant being which is common in superhero films, such as the X-men. Captain America’s shield is also prevalent throughout both the teaser and classic poster. This is an iconic feature in the Captain America franchise and it is what essentially defines his character. The serious facial expressions

The teaser poster shows the two main characters, Captain America and Iron man facing each other on the poster. As the title suggests, this is a film from the Captain America franchise, which would be biased to him in the film. This leads audiences to presume that Iron Man is going to be the villain. In the classic poster, more characters are presented to the audience in the clear divide. This will attract the audience as these characters are popular and would be largely recognisable to them.

Lighting plays a role in attracting the focus of the audience to certain aspects of the poster. On the teaser poster there is a major use of low-key lighting on the edges and on the faces of the characters on the poster, especially in comparison to the classic poster. On the classic poster, there is low-key lighting on the edges and on the characters, however in the centre of the poster, there is high key lighting focusing on the star in the centre of the poster, making it contrast with the title. This contrast helps to draw in attention to the title of the film for the audience to then remember the name.