Part of Lesson Plan: Unusual views, filters turn used to make a Horror Movie Poster

Activity Overview / Details

Go over the slideshow with the whole class watching. Reinforce student observation about how item has been changed by color/filters, unusual views and composition and the use of a dominant element. Notes on what to say are included.

Notes on slideshow for teacher

1. - Jaws poster uses a bird’s eye view with a cool filter. The scale of the shark next to the swimming girl makes the shark seem large and with the blue color, very cold.
The red in the letters JAWS gives you a feeling of blood and draws the eye to the girl. The word JAWS seems to be the dominant element because of the color.

- Spiderman uses a bird’s eye view with a warm orange filter. The viewer is looking down on the subject, but right into his eyes. The warm orange and red makes the subject seem alive and hot. The character is the dominant element.

- Batman has been shot with a worm’s eye view, looking up at him with the moon in the background. Batman, the dominant element, seems larger than the viewer because of the angle. The dark blue colors combined with the black costume give the viewer a feel of a cold dark night.

- Here we are looking directly into the eye’s of the character from Avatar. It is an eye level view. The blue filter on the subject’s skin gives off a cool exterior, while the yellowish green eye color draw you into the mind of the creature. This is not a horror movie, but it has parts that represent good versus evil.

- The Hobbit is shot at eye level, but because the viewer can see the clouds, it may be considered bird’s eye view. The clouds give a scale to the giant dragon making it the dominant element. The dark purple and blue colors make the viewer feel the coolness of the atmosphere and of the creature.

- The Blob is an old fashioned horror movie poster. It is illustrated from a bird’s eye view. The scale of the Blob compared to the people makes the viewer feel small. The red filter on the Blob gives you a sense that it is alive and something to be feared. The red in this makes the blob the dominant element

- The Uninvited is shot at eye level but you can not see the eyes. That represents and unknown. The unknown can sometimes be scary.

-  Harry Potter is illustrated from a worm’s eye view, making the viewer feel that Dumbledore is bigger than life, becoming the dominant element. The dark teal filter is a cool filter giving the feel of darkness and magic..

- Sleepy Hollow lets the framing of the subject in the shadow create a feeling of nighttime and a full moon. Two elements that suggesting the unknown because of the darkness of night and a spotlight to point out the subject. The moon is there to give us a glimpse into what is happening in the night. The moon shape is dominant because of the contrast between dark and light.

- The Scream is shot at eye level. The eyes look out but not at us. The viewer gets the feeling of fright by the expression and direction of the eyes. There is a faint sepia tint over the skin and a very light blue color in the eyes.

- The Rogue is shot from a worm’s eye view but the eye staring at up at us gives the subject an odd sense of scale. The cool green filter on the face of the alligator is set against a complementary red filter on the teeth and gums of the alligator. The composition makes the viewer drawn into the mouth with the teeth framing us.

12. - The Eye is shot at eye level with a mixed message on scale. The fingers are usually much bigger than an eye but the photo illustrator reverses that concept making the viewer feel uncertain. The sepia filter on the eye combined with the gray color seems almost human, but a little dark and scary also.