Film Posters

- Poster analysis

1. Copy what wording is used and what is suggested
2. Colour what does it suggest, why chosen? Does it link to genre?
3. Cinematography what camera shot has been used and why? Audience positioning?
4. Layout (composition) framing of different elements (importance)
5. Imagery
6. Tag line what the film is all about

The poster is a black and white picture with a red font to the wording that is highlighted. For example, the title, the date the film is released, the five stars the film has been given, the film festivals and awards the film has won. The rest of the wording is information in a black font against the white background snow. The picture is a scene from the film but it also represents the entire film and its narrative. The shot is positioned to fit in the main character on the right side in the foreground whilst there is a view of the background showing location and a little about the narrative. The building is a convent suggested by what Ida is wearing, a nuns uniform. The trail that Ida leaves and is following represents her journey she makes, that is the main structure of the narrative. The fact that no one is behind her and that she is leaving at winter time in thick snow, seems unwelcoming from the convent and portrays a bleak life as a lonely person. She looks like a child in the poster by the shape of her compared to the shape of a woman and it almost seems strange to see such a young woman dressed as a nun or to even become a nun. So these suggestions add up to the journey and maybe questioning her religion. As the picture is black and white, enhancing the non existent colours and by the style of clothing and environment, the film is set in the past communist time of Poland.

This poster is another shot from the film in landscape representing the narrative of the film. The only difference is the title colourisation in black, this may have been done so that the words don't overpower the imagery that is important to the film. As Pawlikowski said "The film I was after would be made of strong graphic images and sounds. It would work through suggestion rather than explanation.".

These two film posters are from biography documentary films, although they are documentaries about iconic people for a worldwide audience I still wanted to search the layout of a biography poster. The two are very similar but also have slight similarities to Ida. The colours used are white, black and red which create a sophisticated respectful poster for a simple biography. However, Ida uses the colours in a different way that creates more of a bleak look depicting to the bleak and controversial narrative towards religion and Poland's history.

Ida would be the better poster to take inspiration from because a narrative is shown surrounding the main character as the audience do not know who Ida is yet. For the biography documentary posters, an iconic face is all that is needed which doesn't apply to my film.