Man on Wire (2008) Theatrical Poster Analysis

With regards to camera angles and shot composition, our view of the poster is a point of view shot- looking down upon the isolating drop. The rope looks thin and fragile in this shot despite being fairly close to the camera itself. The black appearance of this character – something associated with death or pain, could also be used to contrast the titles- with one of the most important ones being “ A film by James Marsh” with the last two words being in bold to emphasise his role in the film. This pattern is continued with the information underneath also being black, but its size is considerably smaller therefore showing the insignificance of this information to the reader. 

The information underneath the main title states “ Dancing on the rooftops of the world” it appears to be in the same font as the main title, which sheds a sense of hope and belief that there isn’t going to be any problems. And if anything the title itself creates an enigma for the audience as they want to see if the outcome of the film is positive (as the white titles represent) or negative – portrayed through the blood red titles. The poster itself is well lit given the white clouds, however at second glance these become daunting to look at due to the darkened appearance of the top right hand side of the poster.

 However we are also aware that the main title is not only a blood red, but also the boldness and font of the title hints at the bluntness and potential consequence of the narrative. Given that red is commonly associated with death/pain and suffering. Therefore there is reason to believe that (along with the story line) the film is not mainstream and could appeal to a more reformed target audience. In spite of this the poster sets out to show its achievements, which is shown through a contrast between the gloomy white clouds and the official white titles. Which would of course occupy a large majority of the poster as this may be one of the USP's for this film (Ultimate selling point)

We can tell that this is a theatrical film poster because it contains a wide array of information regarding the film whereas a teaser poster would contain very little information as it is just trying to intrigue prior to the films release.

However I have decided that I will not try to emulate this style of poster as, for me, the poster comes across as boring despite the setting. Instead I would look to include brighter colours to make my poster seem more interesting and generally nicer to look at. Rather than using dark ,and dull colours. I also made the decision to limit my analysis of this poster simply because I found it boring and uninspiring to look at.