The Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 has very dark and depressing colours to make up the poster. There is a lot of greenish smoke clouding the background. This green smoke more than likely connotes the colour that emits from a wand when Avada Kedavra – the Killing Curse – is cast. Because this is the final instalment of the Harry Potter series, we know that there are going to be a lot of killings, both of Death Eaters and of our beloved people on Dumbledore’s Army and people working against the Dark Arts and the Ministry.

There are no symbols on this poster; there is simply no need for symbols because it is the biggest and most popular movie phenomenon of all time.

There are 3 people on the poster. They take up over 80% of the entire space. These people are Harry, Ron and Hermione – the three main characters of the whole series. Obviously, Daniel Radcliffe’s character, Harry, is front and centre with Rupert and Emma behind him. All three of them are sporting determined expressions on their faces and they have narrowed eyes. Emma and Rupert are both looking off into the distance as if scouting for danger while Daniel is staring straight ahead; brows furrowed. After seeing the movie, you could say that the look on his face is the expression he wears when he has to concentrate in order to look into Voldemort’s mind so he can decipher what the next horcrux is. They are all in states of disarray. After the Deathly Hallows part 1, it is obvious that this look is a result of their lack of amenities and the action from their horcrux hunt. Emma and Daniel especially, sport the most amounts of scratches and they look the scruffiest. Daniel’s glasses are cracked and their hair is very messy. All of these mentioned aspects of their appearances suggest a very action packed movie filled with spells, being on the run and danger. On the bottom of the poster there is a picture of the beloved Hogwarts Castle burning to the ground. This gives the audience an idea that this is where the Final Battle will take place and that Hogwarts is under siege at the hands of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We can see that one of the towers is making its descent to the ground.

There are no messages on this movie poster; the only messages we can acquire are visual through the images bombarding our eyes. However, as the movies have progressed, the ‘P’ in ‘Potter’ has got progressively longer. This could possibly be in relation to how Harry has grown over the years, both in age and height, but also in maturity and how he has had to mature quicker than anyone his age. From the first movie to the third, the movies were rated PG, but from the Goblet of Fire it was changed to 12. Therefore, even though there is no age stamp on the poster, we know who it is intended for. And of course, for all Potterheads everywhere who have been anxiously and not so patiently waiting for the final instalment.

With all action movies, the dark colours are a very popular convention – highlighting danger and suspense and thrill and of course, action. Including the image of Hogwarts burning and all the smoke and green signifies the highly anticipated Final Battle and all the action and danger and destruction of all we have loved that ensues.

All three of these stars have gotten their career from Harry Potter. They started the movies at age 11 and had been in nothing prior to that. Therefore, yes there are stars on the poster but they are and have always been Ron, Hermione and Harry. The image of them invokes ‘proud mama tears’ for all Potterheads around the world because of how far they have come and how grown up they are.

There were a lot of posters for this movie released in order to tease the audience. There was a poster for each character that plays a major part in the movies and/or final movie. For example, Draco Malfoy; Bellatrix Lestrange; Voldemort; Neville Longbottom etc... On all of these posters it had the date of the release and the caption: It All Ends. This is a very effective way of intriguing the audience and encouraging the audience to go and see the movie when it is released. By saying It All Ends, for those who hadn’t read the books, makes the audience think: who will die? Not just, the deaths of the fighters for the light and dark side, but also either Harry or Voldemort. After all, in the Order of Phoenix, the prophecy said: neither can live while the other survives; this implies that neither of them is going to survive – both are going to have to die. So, this is a major thing for the viewers who don’t know what is going to happen. The prior teaser posters that consisted of characters like Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom make the audience wonder what important role they play in the movie. For example, in regards to Neville, he has always been our little plump, wimpy and forgetful friend from the first instalment of the series back in 2001, so we wonder why and what he does that is so monumental and drastic that he should get his own poster. Also with Draco, with his parents being death eaters and in support of the Dark Lord, he has been put under a monumental pressure to follow the path that his parents have set out for him and to prove himself. However, even though he has been a jerk and a git to everyone since he arrived in his first year and we have thought that he is in support of the Dark Arts also, in the Half-Blood Prince, we see him start to unravel and we see the layers peel back and in the end we bear witness to what he has been forced to carry out: Kill Dumbledore; he can’t do it. Also in the Deathly Hallows Part 1, we find him sticking his neck out for Harry and protecting him when the Death Eaters bring Harry, Ron and Hermione back to Malfoy Manor and Hermione has disfigured Harry’s face so they will not know it is him, they ask Draco to confirm if its Harry; but when he goes over and inspects, we see the recognition dawn on his face but he tells Bellatrix that it is not him. Therefore, we see further goodness within Draco and we see he is not bad the way he has made himself to be all these years and that his loyalty may actually lay with the light side and not with his parents chosen loyalty. So, with this poster the viewers may begin to think about possible actions from our beloved Draco and who he ends up fighting with and who he fights against.

Finally, in my opinion it is a very good and effective poster. Even with the lack of writing and verbal communication, it still gets across its intended effect through the images. The close ups of Emma, Rupert and Daniel with their facial expressions and then the burning of Hogwarts gets across everything they need it to.