Unseen Analysis Sleepy Hollow

Genre - Horror Black – connotations of death/fear Red – connotations of blood/danger Tagline “Heads will roll” is in uppercase and serif in the same font as on gravestones/typical font used in horror. Tim Burton – famous for horror films Gravestones relate to death/horror Headless horseman is a scary/conventional horror character. He is wielding an axe to suggest threat to life and murder in line with the genre. Full moon is a gothic horror feature Mist over the graveyard suggests dangerous setting.

Genre - Romance Two attractive leads suggest romance. Although not conventional but quirkily good looking They are very close/faces touching or almost touching suggests relationship

Tone - Sinister 2 main characters not smiling suggests serious situation Her eyes, glancing sideways as if looking for someone suggests fear Mist and fog suggests gloom and eeriness adding to the idea of menace and threat Darkness, shadows, shadowy figure, silhouetted gravestones are all examples of obscured images and this adds to the sinister tone of the scene.

Purpose – to persuade Depp and Ricci well established actors with large fan bases Both often take on quirky unconventional roles (e.g Depp in Edward Scissor hands and Christina Ricci in Buffalo 66) so targeting a particular audience. Paramount Pictures – Proven track record for popular and successful films including Indiana Jones. Both horror and romance fans will go because of the genre features on the poster e.g….

Anchorage Gravestones tie down the meaning that this is about death/ Axeman explains that this about murder by beheading Axe pointing to “will” emphasises that people will die in the film. The caption “Heads Will Roll” creates the preferred reading that this is about murder/axeman and ties the meaning of the picture down and we know that this is not a victim of a horrific accident for example.

Technical Codes Poster is divided into 3 main parts top, middle and bottom– Top is a close up of the 2 main characters. Middle is an image of the headless horseman against a background of a misty graveyard. The bottom section contains information about the film. The main characters are bigger than the shadowy axeman to portray in the battle of good vs evil that they will win. Close up shows off the attractive features of both leads to attract audiences of the opposite sex.

Technical Codes They occupy a lot of space on the page to signify their importance Johnny Depp’s head is bursting through the frame to emphasise that he will protect. The font used has a dripping effect to suggest blood. “Heads will roll” written in white to contrast with black background. “November” is written in white/upper case and is spaced out to stand out” She is looking sideways to the camera to suggest fear, worry whereas he is looking straight at the camera to suggest dominance/confidence

Cultural Codes Her hair is half down half up – windswept and more natural Red Lipstick suggests femininity/sexuality and romance “Sleepy Hollow” is written in red to suggest blood Characters’ dress is traditional suggests past setting. Girl is wide eyed and a lot of white can be seen in her eyes to connote that she is frightened and vulnerable.