Prometheus: Film Poster & Trailer Analysis

How does Prometheus attract an audience?

Director: Ridley Scott

Release Date: 2012

Won 3 Awards including 'Best Art Direction'.

Cast:
 - Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw
 - Michael Fassbender as David
 - Charlize Theron as Meredith Vickers
 - Logan Marshall-Green as Charlie Holloway

None of the characters are huge stars.


The film grossed over $403 million worldwide, making it the 15th highest grossing film of 2012. It is also the 159th highest grossing film worldwide.


Released on June 1st, 2012 in the UK.

Themes:
 - 'Prometheus' is a Greek mythological God who stole fire from the Gods and gave it to humanity, allowing us to technologically advance majorly. As a punishment, he was made to suffer. This theme is apparent throughout the film when the characters that become curious must be punished.
 - One of the major themes is the creation of mankind, based around David's critical question 'Who am I? Who made me? Why hast thou forsaken me?'
 - Ridley Scott was interested in Greco-Roman Gods that would create man in their own image by sacrificing part of themselves.

Poster:

• Dark atmosphere to poster - conventional of horror genre
• Tinted blue, giving a cold feel to it - convention of sci-fi/horror genre (unnatural colour)
• Big title in white and bold, stands out
• Main character is dwarfed by statue, showing vulnerability
• Statue is a human head shrouded in shadow - mysterious and eerie
• Tag line, "The search for our beginning could lead to our end", small and centralised - people will have to move closer and look at the poster properly if they want to read it
• Release date is larger than surrounding text
• Formats are shown (IMAX, 3D)
• No certificate shown
• Clearly sci-fi genre
• Tag line adds to sci-fi genre, but adds an element of horror
• Director is clear above title (Ridley Scott)
• Franchise film (prequel to ALIEN franchise, fan-base will be attracted)
• Production company and other directors are in larger text
• Logos for production company is at the bottom
• Mysterious figure with light behind - ominous presence 
• Rule of thirds (information & title, main character, antagonist)
• Actor's names are small (no big stars in the film)
• The statue looks ancient, hinting at what the story could involve

Trailer:

• Tells basic story of film
• Information about the mission is given at the beginning (breifing)
• Starts off with a cheerful tone but gets worse and worse progressively
• Both the poster and trailer have similar colours (blues, blacks)
• These colours are conventions of sic-fi/horror films and reflect the genre
• Key quotes from the film are used "Prometheus has landed" and "If you don't stop it, there won't be any home to go back to"
• The quotes create mystery and questions, pulling the viewer in and persuading them to see it
• Sounds that resemble a heartbeat are used (deep, pulsing sound)
• Music fades in and gets louder and more uncomfortable (not so much as to deter audience) as the trailer progresses
• Each of the main characters is shown for a brief moment
• There are no names shown throughout the trailer (apart from the director), this is because the stars aren't well-known actors
• Lots of the more 'epic' shots from the film are shown (the foreign planet's scenery/atmosphere, and the ship landing)
• Shots of characters running from danger behind are used to pull in the viewer
• The final shot is a very quick shot that clearly shows danger
• The title of the film is shown after the final shot and as the music stops
• The title resembles the same 'animation' title as Ridley Scott's ALIEN, which is the prequel to Prometheus (fans of the franchise would notice)
• After the title vital information is given
• The release date is shown after the title, along with other information
• A Facebook link is also shown, as the internet is very effective for advertising