Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince Analysis

The poster has a blue tint throughout the image. The colour blue connotes sadness or coldness and therefore creates a cold feel or atmosphere to the poster. This suggests the film has a cold, dark side to it, which are the expectations of the film; as this is the 6th film of a series.

Three of the four characters are leaning forward in the image, which suggests they are leaning forward to counteract another force- maybe evil or a villain. It also shows they are ready for action or a challenge. This could reinforce stereotypical views of teenagers as being fearless and reckless. In contrast the other character is leaning backwards with a wind-swept beard. As he is old, with a white, long beard, he would be stereotyped as a wise, powerful man or wizard. Seeing him lean away with fear, would show this power/force going against him is too much for him. The audience would question why such a powerful man would seem afraid, and want to seek more information by watching it.

The title of the film is very large; so much that only the “Y”, “P” and “O” from Harry Potter are clear. As the characters and the film are so well established, and the font is unique, the title is easily recognised and known.

All written text is angled diagonally, which gives a sense of confusion or chaos, which might reflect the film. Again this is an audience expectation from the film. The tagline and the release date are white, while the institutional information is a blue-grey colour. The white stands out more because it is important information that the audience should pick out and remember.

The main character takes up a third of the whole text: the subject matter and shows he is the most important subject to remember. He is positioned to the left and therefore would be the first character seen, as we tend look from left to right. After the audience recognises who he is, the title of the film then becomes clear.

There is depth in the image, as the image of the main character (subject matter) would be classed as a medium shot. However the other 3 characters would be classed as a long shot. This depth makes the whole poster feel dramatic and hopefully reflects the film.

In the mise-en-scene, in the background there is a famous London landmark which visually states the setting of the film. The characters have serious facial expressions which show the film contains action and/or drama. All the characters have wands (props) in their hands which also show they are ready for action- or to battle.

There is a contrast in light and dark in the poster. This is because low key lighting is used and adds mystery to the poster.