Poster Analysis 2: Life of Pi

• This poster contains basic information about the film in order to interest the audience but not give too much of the narrative away. This type of poster is a teaser/full trailer poster as it gives basic information but doesn't list many details e.g. it doesn't mention the stars or the distributors. 
• The main image on this poster is not the main character but the shipwreck in the centre of the poster. This image has been used to attract the audience and play on their desires as it is a powerful and exciting image that instantly grabs the audiences attention. Immediately it persuades the audience to ask questions such as what will happen to the ship, what was onboard the ship etc. They will want to find out the answers to these questions and they are therefore enticed and more likely to watch the full film. 
• Genre is slightly harder to identify on this poster than on many others as it doesn't have that many clear and undeniable genre specific icons. The shipwreck indicates that the film may be of the action adventure genre as this is stereotypical of films of this genre type e.g. many pirate films are action adventure genre films and involve shipwrecks of some sort. The smaller image of the boy and the tiger in the boat gives the idea that the film might be of the drama genre as it could be about the relationship and struggles between the boy and this animal. 
• The image of the boy and the tiger in the boat is smaller however it is further forward (in the foreground) in the poster than the other image. This could be because the characters are more important or play a key role in the narrative. The male is the only human character that appears on the poster therefore we can imply that he is the main protagonist and he potentially builds some relationship with this tiger, however this is not certain just from this one image. Tigers are usually stereotyped as being antagonists or a threat to the protagonists because they give connotations of danger and of strength. Their teeth and claws are often emphasised as being sharp and dangerous, therefore many see them as scary. In this the tiger could play the role of the antagonist, however in the image the tiger is sat calmly opposite the boy and it looks peaceful rather than dangerous. Therefore the stereotype could be converted in this film and the tiger could turn out to be more of a hero or helper than a villain. 
• The main two colours used in the colour scheme of this poster are blue and white. These are used because they represent the colours stereotyped with the ocean and are iconic of it. From this poster we can see that the sea clearly plays a very important role in the film's narrative and blue and white are used as a way of representing and emphasising this to the audience. Blues can often be used in films of the adventure genre, especially those with predominantly sea locations, therefore the adventure aspect of the genre is shown even further by the colour scheme.  
• In the smaller image of the male and the tiger in the boat, the male is knelt in a stance and it looks like an animals stance. This hints at the narrative with the idea that the male is trying to mimic the tiger. The tiger is sat calmly and it looks almost like the position a human would sit in. This again reinforces elements within the narrative and the idea that the male and the animal are learning from each other and building a relationship. 
• The title is the largest text that appears on the poster which is conventional of film posters in every genre as the film producers want the audience to remember the title because that is the key thing that will make the film memorable and when they see the title or hear the title they should hopefully associate it with the films narrative and remember the poster. 
• At the top there is just a one word slogan "Adventure". This word appears boldly at the top of the poster and is effective as it links closely and is symbolic of the genre yet again, and it sounds exciting. It will instantly attract a target audience of people who like adventure films as they will see this word and be drawn to the poster. 
• The release date appears at the bottom of the poster. This is conventional of many posters and it shows that the poster was made before the films release as it says "In Theatres" above the release date so the audience know when they will be able to watch the film. 
• This film poster doesn't use the star system to promote the film in terms of actors as the main character appears on the poster but only in a small image and you cannot see their face. However it does use the star system in terms of the director as it uses his name and the phrase "from the academy award winning" showing off his talent and skill to the audience so they will have high expectations of the film and will be more likely to want to watch it.