Analysis of 3 posters

 

In this poster for Passenger, the main images are separated into three grounds. In the background we see the protagonist with a bright searchlight, in the midground we see a snowy forest establishing the time and setting of the series and in the foreground, we see the silhouette of a deer. The time of winter and setting of a dark forest is perfect for a thriller as it adds to the atmosphere of mystery and suspense and because winter is a time of darkness more mysterious things can happen. We can infer from the tagline ‘what is going on in Chadder Vale?’ that this is a mystery thriller, and the use of the unknown will build suspense for the target audience of teenagers and young adults as it is a common theme in horror genres which are also popular with teenagers. The font is white and basic, and this contrasts the black silhouette of the deer and sort of blends in with the snow. The protagonist clearly stands out in her red coat and jacket identifying her as a key character in the narrative and the prop of the flashlight tells us she is the one trying to uncover the mysteries.

This poster for Slow Horses is advertising a detective thriller and this is established through he costumes. The suits and ties are synonymous with the detective thriller, and we can assume that the ensemble will solve high intensity crimes. The colour palette of grey, brown and yellow establish the setting as a city and we can also see it is nighttime and dark which adds to the mystery and grittiness of the thriller. The target audience would be middle aged males as young people might find the detective genre boring. The lead actor is named at the top of the poster to attract audience and Gary Oldman would be well known by the target audience having grown up watching the films he was in. The title of the series is in a degraded white font which could suggest that Oldman’s character is an experienced detective and the younger characters around him are rookies which is a common trait of detective thrillers. Through the colour palette, setting and characters we can establish this series will be serious and intense. 

his poster for McDonald and Dodds is still a detective thriller but takes a different approach to the genre. Instead of being gritty and serious it is instead coming across as more light-hearted. We can see from the background that the setting is a nice village which isn’t normal to the thriller genre as usually they take place in a city or run down village. The two main protagonists for this film are pictured front and center but there is a clear age difference. This attracts multiple target audiences as the older and younger generation is both represented, and they are differing genders, and this allows for a broad audience to engage with the series. The title is in a fancy yellow font which combined with the blue sky infers the series is set in summer. This is another trait not usually used in thrillers as summer is a time of warmth and happiness. Despite these traits, the detectives will still solve serious crimes and the narrative of a thriller will still be the same.