Sightseers: Film Poster & Trailer Analysis

How does Sightseers attract an audience?

Director: Ben Wheatley

Release Date: 2012

Poster:

• Bright colours
• Both characters clearly shown
• Summaries of reviews by different media companies, showing their opinions and ratings
• Big, bold yellow title
• The director and executive producer are shown in yellow too, to show how they are renouned
• Iconic landmark in background (Settle-Carlisle viaduct), which will give some of the audience an idea of the location
• Many elements of comedy; such as the badge, the expression on the female character's face and the opinions of the reviewers
• Obvious that it is a typically British film; the knitted jumpers and rolling hills in the background
• The caravan next to the title gives away a small part of the film, as it has blood on it, implying death
• The tagline also mentions killers
• Both these points imply a twist in the plot
• Dog in background, could add to comedy element
• The poster sells the film mainly as a comedy film, there aren't many hints as to what happens
• Website at the bottom
• Contrasting expressions on the characters faces; he has a very stern, mysterious face, whereas she has a confused, comical face
• This feature reflects the genre of the film; Black Comedy.

Trailer:

• Starts off as a fairly light-hearted, bright film
• Has some comedy aspects 'The caravan bed isn't very long, but Chris is a sensitive lover'
• Main character is narrating at the beginning, as she reads a postcard
• Very strong Norther accent - it is very obvious that this is a British film
• Has a retro style to it - bold, 2D titles and 80's soundtrack
• Unexpected twist midway through, as a murder is shown, although it still has a comedy effect
• 80's music comes in - it is very fitting with the style of film
• Director is shown in bog bold yellow letters
• As each character is shown, their names are in the same bold yellow text
• Comedy is held throughout 'He's not a person Tina, he's a Daily Mail reader'
• It would attract the audience because it features an unexpected plot in a familiar place - the quiet hills of Yorkshire, in ENGLAND, of all places.
• Even though the characters commit murder, they are still seen as friendly characters, which holds up the light-heartedness of the film
• At the end of the trailer, quotes from reviews are shown 'Hugely entertaining - hilarious', 'Works sublimely' 
• Even at the end of the trailer it is still being portrayed as a friendly film, even though it is quite obvious what the main characters do
• Funny quote at the end 'Haha! Fuck you!'