film poster: composition techniques

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COMPOSITION

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Page 1: Film Poster: Composition Techniques

COMPOSITION

Page 2: Film Poster: Composition Techniques

Rule of Thirds• The rule of thirds is a very common rule/guideline followed

in photography and filmmaking, when framing a scene. Using a 3x3 grid’s lines, and placing certain objects on those lines, or at the points where lines intersect, the image appears to look more aesthetically pleasing. This can also help balance an image. However, breaking this rule and placing something in the direct centre of the frame can make it look important too, focusing all of the attention there, and making that particular centred image look more dramatic. And considering the production we made is of the drama genre, the centralising of images may be beneficial to making the poster look a little more conventional to its genre. However, it is still important to consider that the rule of thirds composition technique has been in use for a long, long time and is sometimes considered one of the earliest composition techniques, so using this will make it more aesthetically pleasing.

Page 3: Film Poster: Composition Techniques

Vanishing Point/Leading Lines• When looking at an image, the eye is drawn towards lines seen in the

image. Leading lines that are seen in images can entice an eye to find out where they lead to. This takes the viewer on a journey into the photo, allowing the photo to gain depth and tell a story. A line leading to a certain object in the photo could be seen to emphasise the object; or leading a line between two objects might make a link between the two images. Using this technique to lead the audience through a journey on the poster, and including important/interesting/intriguing elements on that journey could make the poster more effective in marketing the film by more effectively attracting the audience to different parts of the film that might spark interest and cause them to find out more. Leading lines to a particular part of the image (another part of the image that may be important to the film) could achieve the same effect, so this is something to consider when making my film poster, which could make it more successful.

• When these lines lead and fade out into the distance of the photo, it creates a converging effect, which pulls you in to the image.

Page 4: Film Poster: Composition Techniques

The ‘Z’ Layout• The ‘Z’ layout involves superimposing the letter Z on an image and then placing certain elements in

such a way that they go along that line. This composition technique is similar to leading lines by the way that it uses lines for the audience’s eye to follow to tell the story of the picture and draw the audience in to the image. This may also be teamed with a ‘call to action’ at the end of the Z, giving the audience something to do at the end of it. A technique like this could be successful in the construction and composition of a film poster because the Z shape could be used to introduce the setting and characters in a particular order, giving hints to the narrative and allowing the audience to experience a more detailed and in-depth story about the picture. This technique draws the audience in more to the image and a ‘call to action’ at the end of the Z, like a website or ‘hashtag’, for example could be used further as a technique to persuade the audience to search further about the film, therefore making the poster more effective and fulfilling its purpose in persuading and informing the audience about the film in an attempt to attract them to watch the film.

• Interestingly, this rule could change with culture. Since the Middle East tends to speak in Arabic, which runs from, right to left, instead of left to right like English, French and other languages, the Z might change to adopt the Middle Eastern culture and become as effective in the Middle East as it is in other parts of the world. It would change by flipping/reversing the Z, so it could be read from right to left.

• This is an interesting composition technique, but it is still not entirely effective, because the human eye is still going to be drawn to the largest and brightest element on the product, with the highest contrast with its surrounding elements. Perhaps this could be teamed with the ‘Z’ layout by giving a starting point for the audience and they can be led on the Z-shaped journey from that point.

• There is another composition technique that uses the shape of a letter to effectively entice the audience into content. This is the ‘F’ layout. This, like the Z, uses the shape of the letter F to entice the audience into consuming more content. This layout seems more appropriate for use on websites, when listing some links. However, this technique could be applied to film posters. The ‘F’ layout gives two different distinct levels to advertise effectively on – the two horizontal lines of the F. These two levels could be used to place certain elements on a film poster to make the poster’s composition more effective. Perhaps the use of the top line to place a ‘selling lines’ or ‘tag line’ for the poster, so it becomes one of the first things that the audience reads. The second line could be used to place a title, or characters for the audience to look at, which draws them in further to the image. However, I can’t see an effective use of the vertical line of the ‘F’, since a technique like the ‘rule of thirds’ contradicts this, and is one of the most basic, (and perhaps effective), techniques used in composition

Z

Page 5: Film Poster: Composition Techniques

Balancing• Elements in an image need to be balanced to look more interesting/aesthetically

pleasing. If there is one element on the right of an image, there should be one on the left of the image, to balance it out and make it look more pleasing to the eye. Of course, the size and placement of this image could vary considering factors like perhaps how important the different objects/elements are in the image. In terms of a film poster, this could make the film poster more visually appealing to the audience and therefore more effective. However, this rule could also be used to the poster’s advantage by looking a lot more unconventional, and therefore would draw in the eye of the audience because of how unconventional it may look. It could be considered a risk because of how unconventional and aesthetically displeasing it looks, but the film poster is a form of advertising. And if the film poster advertises the film more effectively by breaking this rule, then the advertisement could perhaps be considered a success. As it often seems on TV, advertisements are not necessarily there to please the audience, but they are there to advertise a product/service of some sort, and are there to make the audience remember that product/service. The film poster is there to advertise the film and inform/persuade the potential audience to go and see the film.

Page 6: Film Poster: Composition Techniques

Conclusion• There are many different composition techniques that

exist to make images and products more aesthetically interesting/pleasing and more effective at taking the viewer on a journey. All of these should be considered when making my film poster by following these techniques or breaking those techniques to make the poster more interesting, introducing/informing the audience of the narrative/characters, and telling a story to the audience by drawing them into the poster, which will overall make the poster more effective, and complement the teaser trailer well to make a more effective marketing strategy for the film.