A Movie Poster Analysis, in this case I analyse the poster for the low budget feature "Winter's Bone"

1. WINTER’S BONE
POST ER ANALYSI S

2. THE POSTER

3. THE TITLE
• “Winter” obliviously relates to the cold season, but by
saying “Winter’s Bone” it suggests that it is so cold, it
goes to the bone.
• It could also be suggesting that the characters are
incredibly cold blooded and are bad to the bone.

4. TAGLINE
• The poster’s tagline “Talking just causes witnesses”
adds to the films code of enigma, making the on-looker
ask “what does this mean?” As it leaves the viewer
confused and cleverly intrigued.

5. CRITIC STATEMENTS
• By having statements such as “Winter’s Bone is
unforgettable” it not only makes people more aware of
the film, but also brings more of a larger and possibly
wider audience.
• Another example is the statement “An gripping and
intense thriller” this again seduces the viewer believing
that the film is justifiable to go and watch now that there
is a favourable review.

6. THE JENNIFER LAWRENCE REFERENCE
• One critic writes “Jennifer Lawrence, 19, already
deserves a Oscar nomination for her role” this again
makes the viewer feel that they should go and watch the
film believing that it’s leading star performs brilliantly.
• This brings more in, and brings along with them the early
fans of Lawrence, adding to the ticket sales and revenue
the movies makes.

7. THE IMAGERY
• The young female is placed to the far right in front of the
trees, suggesting a rurally set film, possibly in the mountains
with big, spooky and intimidating trees. They could be
symbolising the characters’ attempts to escape from the
world’s harsh realities and instead fly away to safety.
• The character’s facial expression suggests horrors lay behind
the camera and that the film may offer the horrors. She oozes
confidence, suggesting her hard shell hasn’t been broken of
yet, but the tag-line maybe suggesting (in the film) it might be
otherwise.
• It could be interpreted that the female character is actually
blocking the sunlight. This could be suggesting that in the film
she isn't what she seems, or that she does something in the
film that can be questioned.

8. MISE-EN-SCENE
• The Mise-en-scene can be seen through the character’s
clothing. She is wearing a beanie hat and a long coat
which helps to emphasis the cold and harsh nature of
the landscape around her.
• The excessive amount of trees could be suggesting she
as a character is cut off from society that she is alone in
the cold wilderness. This helps to add to her
vulnerability.

9. THE COLOUR
• The poster’s colour ranges from black to white. The
bottom being the darkest, differing to the skies bright
white landscape. Which again suggests their life on
Earth is a dark one, and that death, maybe, seems more
beneficial to the characters.

10. THE BILLING BLOCK
• The Billing block is placed just underneath the tag-line and
is very hard to see. It doesn’t really promote the director, most
notably because he is fairly unknown at the point of directing
the film.
• It does it’s job by listing the film’s credits, but it isn't anything
spectacular. This allows the poster to promote the film in as
much space as possible.
• Next to the billing block are offers from cinemas and most
notably the film’s release date. This helps the audience to be
more aware of the film and plan to watch way in advance.
This makes it more easier to get more ticket sales, as it
relieves the watcher of trying to research when the film is
released.

11. TARGET AUDIENCE
• This poster presents a unique target audience. The main
character suggests a young teen target audience,
possibly consisting of 18-25 year olds.
• But the critics had stated “An gripping and intense
thriller” which does suggest that it should be of a older
demographic based on the fact that most teens prefer
comedies over thrillers (according to IDMB).
• So I would suggest a slightly older target audience of 25-
35 year olds.

12. IT’S USP
• The film is fairly unique it offers a chance to see the
growing star in Jennifer Lawrence performing in a role
which gave her much admiration amongst her fans and
critics.
• The film also offers a mystical plot which many don’t
acknowledge until reading about the film. The breaking
of the equilibrium isn't revealed either leaving a lot
unknown to the audience, making them more tempted to
go and watch it, feeling intrigued and fascinated.

13. ELEMENTS I WOULD REPLICATE
• Seducing critic quotes bringing more attention to the
reviews and positive feedback on the film.
• Intriguing and interesting tag-line making the film stick
in the audience’s mind long after the see the poster.
• Showing nature, not so much the trees but maybe
showing the disruption of nature and the impact humans
have had on Earth.