Poster Analysis

The posters were marketing designed to widen the audience being targeted

Posters shown on:

• Bus stops
• Tube stations
• Billboards
• Buses
• Cinema foyers

Poster 1 (Most recent)

Denotation:

• Dark, low key lighting
• Strong blue colourscheme, broken by green eye
• CU of right half of a young male, grisly skin with intense determined look
• CU of left half of Na'vi male, smooth, sleek skin, bright green eye and determined expression
• VLS of Na'vi female, crouched down, tribal clothing
• Blue glowing text, 2/3 down the poster
• Left-hand side background is Pandora jungle scene
• Right-hand side background is equivalent jungle as on left but burnt and smouldering

Connotation:

• Lighting gives mysterious, sombre feel and allows other features to be accentuated (e.g. the title and the eye)
• Blue colours brand the film and the green eye draws attention to the fantastical nature
• CU allows the expression to give maximum intensity. The grisly skin and determined expression work together to show the masculinity and action/warfare aspect to the character and film
• Smooth skin represents the peaceful purity of the Na'vi. Showing the Na'vi character creates awareness of the fantasy/sci-fi genre
• Showing the split between Na'vi/human juxtaposes the two races, enhancing their similarities and differences
• Crouching shows the fighting side to her character, and the VLS keeps the focus on him
• Title is brighter so it stands out and the style is mystical but the metallic edge maintains its strength
• Background sets the scene as an isolated jungle, showing the action adventure genre as this is a key signifier
• The burnt forest foreshadows the narrative of the film, and the conflict between the human and Na'vi races
• The poster gives more information about the film's characters, setting and narrative

Poster 2 (Teaser)

Denotation:

• White text ("from the director of Titanic") at top of poster
• Blue glowing text at bottom of poster
• BCU of half of female Na'vi, seductive, powerful expression
• 1/3 way down green eye with thick, long black eyelashes and a slightly drooped eyelid
• Black background, with the image blending in through low-key lighting

Connotation:

• Poster sells off director James Cameron's past successes, creating hype about the film
• Title is brighter so it stands out and the style is mystical but the metallic edge maintains its strength
• Woman is presented as powerful, following Cameron's trend of strong female characters, appealing to female audience. However her seductive look appeals to male audiences
• The features all work together to create an intense but still feminine expression
• The black background prevents giving too much information away in these early stages of marketing
• The low-key lighting creates enigma within the poster

Poster 3 (Initial design for original summer release)

Changes made from this original design:

• Bigger focus on the sci-fi over fantasy with the universe background and the "believe it, or not"
• James Cameron's role as director is more prominent
• The font and style of the title is more metallic, cold and sci-fi
• The blue colourscheme has not yet been established