On google type in Colossal and find the movie poster featuring the two main characters backed by the monsters. The answer below is in response to Section 2 of the National 5 Media paper but with a different poster. We’ll keep working on these by swapping out the poster…
The movie poster is clearly designed to inform people that the film Colossal will be released soon. It is appealing to an indie audience as the poster looks very artsy and plays on 80’s designs. It also looks like it could have a fantasy/sci-fi element because of the supporting characters of monster robots behind the primary characters.
The first thing we are drawn to is the text of the title. It is written in pink neon writing and looks like a road sign. The lettering is also very game-ish with letters that look pacman or simplified shapes – pacman for ‘c’ and a triangle for ‘A’. This shows that the film will have a fun quirky element to it. The pink could also suggest that the film will be focused on a female character as it is pink, but the word choice of ‘colossal’ for the title suggests that the storyline will be quite tough and epic. This suggests that the target audience would be those who like indie movies, possibly with a leaning towards females more than males.
The second thing we notice is the monsters themselves that take up the back third of the image. There are two of them and they are very large and imposing. They do not look ready to fight but they certainly look dangerous – one has glowing yellow eyes and the other is more robotic and metallic in appearance. This suggests that there could be drama or action in the film but it is not solely focused on this as the ‘monsters’ are in a relaxed position. This again suggests the target audience as being an indie one as it suggests an alternative monster-themed action film or sci-fi.
The narrative and representation are also hinted at in the poster. We can see clearly Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudekis’ character in the middle of the poster. They are facing away from each other which could suggest there is a conflict between them. Conversely, the fact that they are almost back to back could also suggest that they are a team fighting the world together and have each other covered. This creates a bit of an enigma code as we wonder what the relationship between them is. For those who like romance there is also the possibility that there is a love story between these two characters as they are male and female. Both the characters seem quite tough and alternative because of what they are wearing – she is in leather and has a heavy fringe, he has a beard and is wearing a denim jacket. This makes them look a little hipster-ish. This element of the poster would make the film appeal to a young hip audience who like indie films as this looks like an interesting story and the main characters look relatable to their target audience.
In terms of narrative this looks like it is a medium shot taken half-way through the story. There is clearly a build up to some form of imbalance (Todorov’s theory). The human character’s actions are being mirrored by their monsters. This suggests that the monsters are going to be controlled in some way by their human’s to do something. This would appeal to an audience as they are intrigued as to what is really going on. How were the monsters made? And what will they be used for?
The background colour is a pink blurring into a deep purple with stars twinkling across it. Tied to the fact that the poster is a photo that has then been made to look like a number painting, it actually gives the poster a soft feel to it. This again makes us think that although the film seems to be aimed at both sexes it might appeal more to a female one purely because of this softer aesthetic. It might also have been done to balance out the much more masculine appearance of the monsters in the background.
