Copyright 2020 by Gary L. Pullman
Movie posters are ads, of
course; they are designed to sell movie tickets. As such, writers can
learn from these posters what their designers believe the movie's
targeted audience is interested in. In other words, movie posters
allow writers access to free audience analysis research (or, at the
very least, expert speculation) on the part of industry insiders as
to what prompts moviegoers to go to the sort of movies the posters
promote.
Chillers and Thrillers
has already analyzed several horror movie posters (and may do so
again), but, in this post, we take a look at posters for movies that
are sold as thrillers.
Although
some thriller movie posters appeal to a few of the same elements as
horror movies typically feature, thriller posters stress different
focal points than many horror movie posters emphasize.
For
example, thriller movie posters frequently highlight the protagonist
and his or her dilemma. The size of the main character—often just
his or her face (i. e., head)—is not to scale, to say the least: it
is gigantic in comparison to the rest of the imagery; as such, the
face stands out from the rest of the images. On the poster for
Shutter Island, Teddy
Daniels (Leonardo diCaprio) is represented by a gigantic face
frowning out of the darkness; he is many times larger than the island
facility shown below him, in a dark sea.
The
protagonist is also emphasized over any other figures that are
present (although, often, the main character is the only figure shown
on the poster). On the poster for Law Abiding Citizen,
the face of protagonist Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) face is larger than
the body of the villain, Clyde Alexander Shelton (Gerald Butler).
There
is also a suggestion of menace; the threat or danger, however, is
often unseen. It is suggested by the imagery, including the
protagonist's facial expression; the colors; and the caption, if any.
The plight of the protagonist is indicated in various ways. First, he or she is frequently alone, which means that the main character is unaided. The protagonist must fend for him- or herself, must gather intelligence, must formulate a battle or an escape plan, must administer first aid to him- or herself, must fight alone.
The
very fact that the menace, if shown at all, is usually a dark,
shadowy figure, perhaps hooded, and frequently armed, also suggests
the protagonist's predicament: he or she is up against an unknown
foe. It is difficult enough to fight against an opponent whose
strengths and weaknesses one knows; it is much more difficult to
combat a totally unknown foe.
Not
only is the face of Jessica Allain (Lisa Walker) shown as huge in
comparison with the poster's other images, but the shadowy figure who
menaces her also wears a hood and gloves.
Thriller
posters deprive viewers of a context, rendering the protagonists'
situation mysterious. We don't know how the main character got into
the present situation, and we have no idea how he or she will get out
of the dilemma. To sharpen the protagonist's quandary, the poster's
caption might pose a question, as the poster for Law
Abiding Citizen does: “How do
you stop a killer who is already behind bars?”
A
poster may pinpoint the relationship that brings the protagonist face
to face with his or her adversary, as Cold Comes the Night
does: “She found a fortune. He found a target.”
Let's
wrap up this post by listing the design features we've seen on the
posters we've discussed:
- Make sure that your protagonist stands out from other characters.
- For as long as possible, merely suggest the menace that your main character faces.
- For as long as possible, withhold context: do not explain the cause of the protagonist's dilemma until the end of the story; this ploy keeps your readers guessing and maintains suspense.
- In dialogue or the protagonist's own thoughts, pose a rhetorical question or two (but not too many at once) to introduce or heighten suspense by hunting at the problems your protagonist faces or may face in the future.
- Deliver on the implied promises your use of each of these techniques creates in the minds of your readers.
There
are exceptions to these general techniques, but there is also a
reason that these methods have are
general. Designers have found them to be effective; they work. They
are adept at enticing audiences to buy tickets. They sell the work
they promote. As such, incorporating them into the action of the
thriller that you are writing can keep readers reading your stories
and coming back for more.
There's
more to learn from analyzing thriller movie posters. We'll do just
that in a future Chillers and Thrillers post.