Four Weddings and A Funeral - Poster Analysis

Media Language
Unlike the majority of film posters, Four Weddings And A Funeral doesn't comply with all conventions i.e. the title isn't shown in capital font but more of a handwritten style. 

The text is also shown in Pink, connoting love, perhaps more of a 'crush' or something that he can't have - red would be a more suitable colour to suggest passionate love. 

The props shown in the image also help to portray the genre:

• The sheep is very abstract, creating enigma and comedy (why is there a sheep at a wedding?) 
• The amount of people gathered around the piano demonstrate chaos 
• The vicar/priest pushed to the end shows a chaotic environment, he doesn't appear to be very involved. 

The poster is made up of a white background with the other features layed on top. The colour of white and the amount of blank space suggests that it is a lighthearted film, as white is a very neutral colour. It can also be associated with innocence and weddings so fits well with the theme and content of the film. 

The camera shot used for the image is very level and all the characters are shown at the equal distances from the camera, suggesting that it is a 'cheery' feel good film, a neutral shot. 

Genre:

The style of writing (a semantic code - Rick Altman's Theory of Genre) also conveys the humour and comedic genre, as it is accompanied by a heart with an arrow; the titling is somewhat more 'fun' than typical titles to enable the viewer to have an understanding about the film. 

The colours used in Romantic films is typically reds and pinks as they connote love, therefore supports Steve Neales Theory of Repetition  and people can associate the feature with the genre.  
The image together with the title immediately suggest that this is a Rom-Com film as it tells you there will be a wedding, and the props such as confetti being thrown reinforce that.

Audience:

This film is rated at a 15 certificate due to strong language and moderate sex references.

The name of the film tells you exactly what the film is going to include and for people under the age of 15, they may not fully understand some of the concepts. This is why i feel the target audience could be genralised to 15 years upwards. 

Some of the Actors such as Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Grant, would be more relatable to a slightly older audience such as 35-50 and as would the concepts of weddings and funerals. 

I think the social/class band of B-C2 would be appropriate but could also include people within A or even D. This is because despite it being an independent film, it became very popular meaning that the film would appeal to a variety and would be shown in cinemas too, unlike many small budget independent films. 

Representation:
The imagery used in the 'Four Weddings and A Funeral' poster easily shows the characters as they are all showed lined up. 

The character on the far right is presented as somebody who is ecstatic, shown by his body language; the jump itself implies that he is celebrating something, and the way his limbs are reaching out shows he is supportive and happy - and so is represented to be an excitable man.  

The Women to the left wears a yellow dress, demonstrating perhaps an extravagance to her persona. Her facial expression i.e. a pout, implies she is a women with a strong personality and very feminine, a bit 'sassy'.