Conventions, analysis and genre differences of film posters

After looking through a lot of different film posters I identified that there were two distinct styles for ether attracting a large audience or a target audience. The latter is most commonly used by short film and indie film producers who’s films commonly only attract a niche audience. The former is most commonly used by blockbuster films (action, drama, adventure etc.) who just want their film to sell and so produce a more general flashy poster showcasing there spectacular scenery and special effects. Subsequently the conventions naturally differ for each marketing type.

Identified conventions

Eye-catching (lot’s of colour, particle effects etc.) to draw an attract the audience/reader.

Large, defined title to make it clear what the poster is advertising/promoting.

Bold central main image that occupies the whole magazine to draw the reader in. Often features a main character from the plot who’s often centralised.

Tagline used to anchor the films plot and bring context to the main image.

Film release date – either set date or indication (e.g. ‘coming soon’ or ‘coming soon in may’.

Main actors names - helps sell the film as people are more likely to go to film where they like the actor.

Further information about main producers in a billing block; director, key actors, production company, costume designer, visual effects producer etc. - Gives credit to core people involved.

Blockbuster film poster conventions

Title is majority positioned in the middle-bottom section of the poster.

Tagline varies in positioning; usually either place just below/above film title or at the opposite end of the poster to that of the title.

Film release date often merged at the bottom of the page along with the billing block.

Main actors names positioning varies considerably. I have noticed that they are almost always aligned horizontally to one another (e.g. Dark knight/Avengers poster on the previous slide).

Blockbuster film poster (layout)

Main actors names in order of role importance

Billing block

Film title

Tagline

Release date

Main imagewith main character centralised

Effects of layout and design

Famous actors helps sell the film.

Short memorable and intriguing and so makes the reader want to watch the film.

Use of an accent colour to make the batman iconography standout.

Use of batman icon has developed into a symbol for the batman film series and so draws in an existing fan base.

Core element of the films advertising campaign that utilises cross media convergence (e.g. batman logo projected on to skyscraper in New York, used with Video Game title and The Dark Knight website campaign.

Low angle shot connotes that the character has power and is important. Having a solo character on the poster emphasises his importance within the plot/film. Main image illustrates the action within the film and the special effects used which will draw in a certain type of audience – the action film lover.

Simplistic style – limited amounts of content, a lot of ‘free space’.

‘Strict’ colour palette (applies to imagery also)– set use of a few core colours that work well together. Often with a matte feel to them.

Large, defined title. Further information about main producers in a billing

block– director, key actors, production company, costume designer, visual effects producer etc.

Indie film poster conventions

Generically indie posters are very vague and simplistic, in the sense that they leave many factors ‘unknown’ and so get the reader thinking. ‘Never let me go’ is a good illustration of this.

Effects of layout and design

The 3 characters on the beach could mean anything in relation to plot. The film title ‘never let me go’ acts as anchorage to bring context to the films blog – they are travelling somewhere. However, this element is still left very vague as it’s still not apparent to the reader what the film is about. Similar to that of the blockbuster film posters the actors name are aligned horizontally.

Effects of layout and design

Similar to that of the blockbuster film posters the actors name are aligned horizontally.