Poster Analysis 1: Casino Royale

• This poster is used to whet the audiences appetite for the film, by this I mean that it is used to attract their attention and get them interested in the film, but it doesn't actually give much of the narrative away. This technique is commonly used in film posters as the company in charge of promoting the film doesn't want to give too much of the storyline away in case the audience lose interest as the plot becomes too predictable. Also, people are attracted to mystery and always want to learn more about a film they are interested in, and in order to do this they will watch it, therefore showing a few key elements from a film, but not enough to give away much of the actual narrative, has proven successful in encouraging an audience to watch a film. 
• The genre can easily be identified by the presence of the gun as part of the films mis en scene in this poster. Guns and weapons in general indicate the action genre as many action films involve fight scenes or gun/violence scenes. Therefore it is conventional of action films to use guns or weapons in their posters to grab the attention and interest of their target audience, who have been proven to enjoy this genre in the past. 
• This poster is a character because it includes the main character of the film on the front, positioned in the centre. It successfully uses the star system as a way to interest the targeted audience and play on their desire. The actor used, Daniel Craig, is a well known actor and therefore the audience will recognise that he is respected and skilled and that this will hopefully be reflected in the film. They will be more persuaded to watch if the film has a good cast as they know that they can trust the actors to deliver a good performance as they have in the past. 
• 'Casino Royale' is the title of the film. Casino's are often used as locations for action films and this therefore represents the link to the genre further. In the background of the poster there is a building called Casino Royale, this links closely to the title and most likely the narrative, so is used to give the audience a slight insight into it and to therefore provoke curiosity and interest in them. Throughout the poster there are continuous links to the genre in order to attract a wide and assured audience. 
• The graphics for the film's title are hugely effective as the 'O's' in each word are used to spell out '007'. This gives connotations of the genre and is a symbol used to represent the Bond films as a collection (saga). The use of the 007 reference as a symbol will attract the fairly niche audience of people who watch Bond films and then the use of the gun to spell out the number '7' will attract the more tent-pole audience of anyone who enjoys action films in general. 
• In the background there is a silhouette of a female, the long hair and the way she is positioned, facing away from the camera with her shoulders and bum clearly outlined, is used to emphasise her sexuality and therefore appeal to a more male target audience. Also, the bond girls play a key role in the narrative of Bond films and therefore they are symbolic and used in the poster here to represent the film and grab the interest of the audience as they will hopefully see the numerous icons used and recognise the film. 
• Another use of mis en scene in this particular poster is the use of the fancy car as an icon. Fancy/expensive cars are iconic and give conventions of action films as the main protagonists or villains usually have them, especially if they play the wealthy and powerful character type. 
• The main character's stance and positioning on the poster makes him look very masculine as he is the main protagonist, this is to appeal to a female audience and a male audience as he could almost be seen as a role model or an aspirational goal for the male audience as they may want to be like him and have what he has. The way he is holding a gun and walking shows off his abilities as he looks confident and powerful with the gun, showing his experience and skill set. 
• The colours in this poster play an important part, the stock colours in the poster are white and black. The male characters costume is black and so it clearly stands out on and is emphasised on the white background colour. This symbolises the characters importance to the audience and focuses on the idea that he is wearing a suit which gives connotations of professionalism. White is quite a neutral colour to use on posters and can be used for almost every genre, it has been used here to emphasise the importance of the other aspects/colours in the poster. For example the female silhouette and the building inside is emphasised because it is in front of a simple background. 
• The layout of the poster is representative of the film's narrative. The main character is positioned directly in the middle and at the very front (further forward than anything/anyone else). The female character is sightly behind and is facing away from the audience indicating that she may be important to the narrative but not as important as the male. The car and the casino are also further back showing that they are still key in the plot but the male character is the most important in the film.