Poster Analysis: This Is England

As part of our research into film and TV posters, we chose to analyse the poster designed for the 2006 film, This Is England. Although this may seem like a particularly odd poster to review, it would be accurate to an extent considering that it is set in Britain (Like our soap) and deals with relatively similar issues to that associated with soaps. For instance, drug taking as well as the hardships of being young and growing up in Society.

The poster itself makes use of simplistic fonts to denote the name of the film. This proves to be very effective in the sense that it doesn't make to much fuss over the title, as it is starightforward. This in turn connotes the meaning of the film itself suggesting it doesn't waste time on elements that aren't needed. When creating our poster for The Cross, we will need to create a similar effect if it is to be not only attractive but accepted by our chosen audience. For instance, it would be inappropriate to have 'The Cross' written in pink bubble writing as it completely subtracts from the idea of the soap as being realistic and something that the audience can relate to, which of course is what makes any good soap effective. Coronation Street makes use of the Rovers Return pub, which serves as a local meeting place for the community, which happens to reflect similar meeting places for the audience, and thus they develop a relationship with the program.

The general atmosphere of the image is similar in a sense to that of the title. It's not a particularly friendly cover to view, however this does have its advantages. Creating a Soap poster that emphasizes being aimed at a young audience, when the film itself isn't would clearly be completely pointless. This is a similar ethos we will need to apply to our own poster. The Cross as a soap will be aimed at a variety of age groups, as being a Soap it will focus on a large selection of issues, that in turn will impact the lives of all ages. For instance, drugs are particularly controversial with teenagers, whereas the effects of affairs and adultry are generally more reserved for that of the older generations.
The idea of featuring all the main cast members on one poster is very effective, however it does of course come with risks. Placing all the main characters on the poster might come accross as being too clichéd as it seems they are being placed there for the sake of it rather to achieve the desired effect. Of course, if our soap was to be seen as realistic and accepted, it would be inpractical to place all of the cast members on the poster, as the total ammount would be almost 40 if our Soap stayed true to the average cast count of Coronation Street and Eastenders.

Another major element worth noting about this poster is that its very specialised. It's aimed at a certain type of people that will find this sort of film interesting and as such be attracted to it. The aim of our Soap, being a soap of couse would be to create a generalised view of our cast, rather than narrowing it down to a certain group. The major risks of narrowing it down of course are that it will only be a certain group that are attracted to it, which in effect is the complete opposite of what we are trying to achieve.