Potential Photos for my Poster

There is a range of emotion evoked in these five photographs, which is why I found it difficult to narrow them down even further. The first 3 are all framed in a way that keeps space in the top of the picture which could be an effective place for the title and tagline. The 3rd picture is one I like very much in that Dylan is looking upwards with a thoughtful expression, one that is hard to read. I like the ambiguity of it but also the significance it places on Dylan without losing the importance of the Father in the background. The bottom two create a very intense look, and in my opinion the 4th image is my favourite  of all the ones in this post. I think that the mid shot, facial expression and body language all combine to form an evocative image. 

Dylan is still the most significant character in these photos, despite not being in the foreground. I think that the balance between Dylan and the Father is very equal here, and the conflict is well expressed through Dylan's eyes. The 1st image clearly suggests that Dylan is the main focus, whilst the other two have a greater depth of field that creates a more juxtapositional position. Keeping them on either side of the frame maintains synonymity whereas the 1st image leaves a lot of open space on the right hand side. 

The blurred overtone of the image above helps to tease the audience, since they cannot clearly see the facial expressions of the characters. However I think that the poster would lack an emotional connection due to this, even though it would place more emphasis on the text in the foreground, audience engagement would be lost due to the insignificance of the characters. 

What I love about these two photographs is the symbolism of the pathway down the middle, distancing the protagonists. The emptiness of this ongoing path helps to represent how you never know what's around the corner. In my narrative this applies to how Dylan doesn't anticipate the appearance of the Son and doesn't expect to find himself forgiving instead of avenging. What I don't like is the actual positioning of the characters. They feel too disconnected and unrelated to one another, whereas the other photos seem to capture the conflict. 

These portraits are very basic and simple, which is why they work so well. It doesn't look like the Father is hiding anything, instead its as though he is contending with his own personal trauma. If I was going ahead with my character posters I will probably use the 2nd one because it seems to mirror the angle used to photograph Dylan's below. 

The landscape photo at the top doesn't convey the right tone. It is at a slight low angle which makes Dylan look heroic and in control, whereas the two portrait shots are at a slight high angle which gives Dylan a subtle inferiority. His deadpan expression helps to make the photograph look like a mugshot, hinting towards criminal activities. This way the individual character posters could look like mugshots, similar to the main poster for the Usual Suspects. 

The characters are perfectly aligned at the centre of the frame, so I love the physical contrasts shown here. However it appears quite impersonal since we can't see enough of the characters' facial expressions, so the whilst the body language is complementary of the film's themes, there is an absence of emotional reaction.