PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2007) - Poster Analysis #2

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

Media Language

Representation

Audience

Narrative

Genre

Although Paranormal Activity was extremely successful and made a lot of money, the budget was only $15,000! I have decided to do an analysis on this film as it is interesting how such a low budget film has become so successful, also I can gain inspiration how it generated such a huge spectator response all over the world. 

The main colours that are used within this film poster are black, blue and red. These colours are very fitting to this type of horror film, as black represents darkness and the unknown, red represents blood which is a typical horror convention and blue which is a implementing colour towards black and red. The blue filter on the centre image is acting as a film lens, generating a 'reality effect', making the film become more truthful to spectators, therefore positioning spectators to believe the film is real, creating intense and anxious emotions throughout. 

The main characters, all of whom are visually present, are the young couple Katie and Micah sitting in the bed with bolt upright body language, which represents the fear through the poster. The shadow in the doorway is the demon looming towards them. Both visual and verbal messages are present: the screenshot used for the body of the poster is derived from the fact that most of the film is comprised from home videoing from a camera set up in their bedroom at night, which is when most of the attacks occur on Katie, also a quote from the critic which is featured just below the title, is a chilling tagline saying "Don't see it alone." 

This quote could be indicating the type of audiences they are targeting. I believe that this home video horror film is targeted towards 15-25 years olds of all genders. 

The persuasive techniques employed for this film are very unique and different from any other horror film. Here is how:

• The are no celebrities or famous figures showcased in the poster which is a common and unique selling point for films nowadays. The unknown actors in this film allowed spectators to relate to them as 'normal' everyday people making it a more thrilling experience. 
• The picture used in the poster which is also used to represent the film is taken from the film itself, acting as a home video capture, conveying its low budget and raw footage, making it feel like iconography of the everyday.
• The poster reveals a slight shadow in the doorway generating enigma, rising questions from spectators, making it audiences more eager to watch the film. 
• The tagline on the poster "Don't see it alone" really emphasises just how scary the film is. In turn this generates popularity as people want people to know they have seen the 'scariest film ever!' This is otherwise known as the bandwagon effect. 

Paranormal Activity's film poster really contributes to the theme and genre of horror, it also builds normalcy, it does by techniques such as, the ordinary couple in normal costumes, in a regular house setting and it being filmed with a video camera which is not hollywood quality. All these micro and macro techniques used in this poster creates the believability that these events could actually take place. 

This poster communicates well with spectators and how it establishes the main characters. It also allows us to understand the genre of this film, making it easier for horror fans to identify and relate. However, the problem with this poster is that you can pretty much guess how the entire film will play out just from the poster, so we can argue that it is giving away too much context of the film. However, this poster is a perfect example how persuasive techniques, no matter how low the budget is can make it a successful product.