Assignment 8: Film Poster Research

Katia Martins

Give evidence of a range of film posters you have researched.

Oculus(2013)Horror

The Theatre Bizarre (2011) Horror

The Last Exorcism Part 2

(2013) Drama/Horror/

Thriller

Alice In The Wonderland

(2010) Adventure/Family

/Fantasy

The Unborn (2009)

Drama/Horror/Mystery

The Proposal (2009)

Comedy/Drama/Romance

Four Christmases

(2008) Comedy/Drama/

Romance

The Avengers (2012)

Action/Adventure/Sci-fi

Les Miserables(2012)

Drama/Musical/Romance

Skyfall (2012) Action/Adventure

Put your posters into film genre categories and identify some common icons in each genre

• Horror- the horror posters all portray abnormal things and extreme flexibility and bleeding.

• Drama- the drama posters all show the characters usually 2 this is so we see who the main actors are and also gives a small clue on the background of the film.

• Action- the action posters all show a lot going on and we can see their weapons which is what they use to protect themselves.

What are the different types of film posters?

• Character posters• -Little information about the film and usually just focus

on the character as a way of selling the film through this image.

• Main posters• -This poster usually contains the most vital information

that we need to know about the film such as the film name, the release date, the actors and the director of the film.

• Teaser posters• -Reveal very little information, and only ‘tease’ the

audience with given a hint about the film. Theses are promotional posters for the film.

Where do film posters get shown and why?

• Billboards

• Side of the bus

• Bus stops

• Train station walls

• These posters are placed in these places because they will be seen by a lot of people.

• There very big therefore they’ll catch peoples attention.

• They are placed where people are usually waiting meaning that they're will be bigger chance of them reading the information on it such as the title and the release date of the film.

What is the typical size for posters?

• The typical poster sizes is called “One

Sheet”(27inches by 41 inches)- portrait

format.

• Billboards- (246 inches by 108 inches)

• Bus stops and underground posters- (40

inches by 60 inches)-portrait format

How are posters appealing/attractive to the audience?

The posters are seen as appealing to the audience by the use of MES through the main image of the character. The audience are attracted because the poster only gives out vital information such as the name of the film and the characters in it, therefore the audience are left with enigmas such as, what happens in the film? What is the film about? What life does each character have?

Does the appeal/attraction differ than that of the poster?

The attraction of the poster is aimed at a wider audience than that of the trailer. Anyone can see the poster as it is advertised in public places. This means that the poster cannot be aimed at any particular audience therefore must be aimed at everyone to gain a wider audience.

What are the conventions?

Main Image

The main image on the poster is usually an image of the main character/s, this is so that the audience knows who the characters are.

Titles/Credits

Credits are usually placed at the bottom of the poster and they are used to give credit to some of the important people (actors/producers/distributors/makers of film). The director usually has a different place in the credits.

Tagline

Some posters have taglines to make the reader think about the message behind the film. They usually give the audience enigmas.

‘Fight.Dream.Love.Hope’‘You see What They Want

You Too See’

Release Date

The release date is usually at the bottom of the poster. Usually there is a specific date but some posters want to tease therefore they just have ‘coming soon’.‘The Last Exorcism Part 2’ has ‘March 2013’ this is the way of keep the audience involved on their website to keep an eye out when the release date is.

What are the similarities of conventions in similar

subgenres?

• Horror Thriller

-Follows one or various characters life

-There's always a problem or dilemma in a characters life

• Drama Thriller-Follows one or various characters life

-There's always a problem or dilemma in a characters life

What is the difference of conventions between

different subgenres?

• Comedy Drama - Funny episodes occur with a serious meaning

-usually follows a family or a group of friends adventure.

• Romance drama -Always someone or something against the relationship

-Main character falls in love

Priorities: What do some poster prioritise

• The 4 most prioritised things in a film poster is:

1. Main actor names

2. Film name

3. Main image

4. Release date

These 4 things are the most prioritised things in the film poster because they are what the audience needs to know the most before watching the film and they are also what will interest the audience in doing so.

Summarise how your film posters reinforce

conventions

• My chosen film posters reinforce their conventions through the main image. The film poster for Skyfall reinforces the conventions because the main image hints out to the audience that the film will have action and adventure due to the weapon and the red blood connoting death and crime.