Thursday, 24 May 2012

Analysis of The Vow- Promotional Poster


The Vow

The Vow is a romance drama, which was released in 2012. Starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, both who are from previous successful Romance Dramas, such as McAdams from ‘The Notebook’ and Tatum from ‘Dear John’.

The Promotional Poster shows the intimacy of the characters via the poster. This is shown by the proxemics of the characters. This is an ideal love situation that anyone who loves wants to be in. The proxemics of the character is limited as this shows that their love is close and inseparable. Furthermore the placement of the characters shows an imitate moment. For example where Channing is leaning over for a kiss from Rachel, this is an ideal ‘perfect’ couple situation where the male leans over for a kiss and the women shies away, by closing her eyes. This reinforces the stereotype of their love being like any ordinary couple. This is very important as this would attract the audience additional.
 
The colours used in romantic dramas are very bright and not threatening and not dull. The use of white shows innocence of their love, which is used in the background, this also can show that their love is like a fairytale. With the idea of a fairytale, can portray a romantic base for the film which allows the audience to understand what kind of film ‘The Vow’ is. Another colour used is pink, this shows caring, warmth and kindest, which represent their love, which would be portrayed through the film to the audience. The make up on both characters is very simple and again ‘cute’. With simple foundation used, this portrays the simplicity of their love. With Rachel McAdams having simple make up, conveys that she doesn’t need to put tons of make up on as their love is simple and the stereotype of loving someone for who they are instead of looks is being reinforced through the image.

The font of ‘The Vow’ is very simple as it again represents the love of the two love interests. The length of the font used in the title is very long which can portray that their love in the film, which is for a lifetime, which represents the ideology of loving once in a lifetime. Lastly, the font mirrors the films narrative, as the ‘The’ is not in bold, this represents the loss of memory for Rachel’s character and the loss of love for Channing’s character in the film. Then the ‘Vow’ is in bold which represents Rachel’s character regaining her memory of loving Channing, which is represented through the title.

The image used in the poster is a close up on both characters. This is to show that the whole film revolves around the love interests. Also this could also signify that nothing can get in-between their love, even if it’s an accident where memory is lost. Also as the image is in the centre of the promotional poster, this again shows that they are the most important people and rule of third is applied to this poster, which states that image is very important.

The layout is very simple, with the name of the film in the centre hovering, with the names of the main characters at the top. The difference is that the names of the character have been swapped around. For example the picture of Channing Tatum has the name Rachel McAdams and vice versa. This could represent that they both have accepted and consumed each other’s love. Also due to the lack of text, this shows that the love portrayed through the film needs no words to represent how much love there is between them.

The language used in the promotional poster is very simple. With just the film title, actor’s names and slogans, this represents that the image is a clear statement itself where words aren’t necessary. With single words like ‘February’ and ‘Inspired by true events’ attracts the audience to watch the film. With short and snappy words, it gives the audience the information straight with when the film will be released and where the storyline came from. Also there’s marketing promotion on the poster with a Facebook address, www.Facebook.com/TheVow , also there’s Channing Tatum’s own website which again promotes his own website via his own film www.channingtatumunwrapped.com. With marketing of social sites can increase the social marketing of the film. As people stereotypically see the poster first at the cinema, they would also see the two sites, which are promoting the film. With audiences who want to see the film can access these sites to get more information, moreover this increases the buzz around the film via the internet.

From ‘The Vow’ promotional poster, I have understood that in a romance drama promotional poster, it is very important to portray the two love interest’s love and intimacy through the images and language. With less text, makes the image a statement, which I would like to use in my poster as I feel it would give my audience a real feel of a romance drama.