2. The aim of a film poster is to advertise a film in
more diverse locations than a trailer such as on
buses or the underground; locations where
people are on the go. Usually, wealthy film
companies produce a number of different
posters to advertise a film.
These posters are placed in a variety of
locations including bus shelters, billboards and
outside cinemas in an attempt to raise support
for a film. Also, depending on the market,
different posters will be released.
3. They also feature in locations that are manageable for
the target audience. Text on the poster includes the
name of the director, the actors, a billing block and the
film name which regularly appears in a bold font.
As with a teaser trailer, the aim of a film poster is to gain
interest in a film. In a way, a poster can be seen as a
more effective way of advertising a film as it is cheaper
to distribute and can be seen in a wider range of
locations.
An effective poster, as well as a trailer, will draw
attention from the audience and generate interest for the
film.
4. Three examples of movie posters can be seen above. On the left is
the movie poster for the film Anonymous in the centre is the movie
poster for the film The Expendables and on the right is the poster
for Thor. These films are produced by major, wealthy film
companies and therefore they have the capability to produce
a various number of posters for different locations. Another common
feature is that all of the posters use a single image and have strong
fonts displaying the film title.
5. The Expendables
A bold font at the foot of the page.
Popular actors standing in the foreground with
a strong, action, 'tough-guy' pose. The use of
popular, recognisable actors will automatically
draw attention to the film from the public.
Only the surnames of the actors are used at
the foot of the page; as aforementioned the
actors are established names and therefore
only their surnames are needed.
The explosion in the background connects
well with the action genre of the film. Also, the
vivid colour of the explosion will bring attention
to the poster.
Use of pull quote from a review at the head of
the page "The most awesome action cast..."
provides the film with a sense of credibility
and will encourage the audience to go and
see it.
6. Thor
Use of a single, striking image and
simple short sentences does not
reveal too much about the film.
No pull quotes from a review.
The red colour used on the font 'Thor'
ensures that it stands out to the eye. It
also connects with the red costume on
the character.
This poster could be described as a
'teaser poster' as it does not reveal too
much to the audience on what to
expect from the film. The film comes
from the superhero genre and is a
recognisable name.
Reveal of date matches with short
statements on poster.
7. Anonymous
To draw the attentions of the audience,
a bold interrogative is asked "Was
Shakespeare a Fraud?".
The poster deals with a popular and
prolific historical figure and is
guaranteed to get a glance from
passers by depending on the location
of the poster.
The main image has an ink effect
surrounding it. This is creates a
cohesion between the image, the
subject (Shakespeare) and the prop in
the actors hand, the quill.
The title links with the posture of the
character; he is facing away from the
viewer and is therefore anonymous, an
unknown.
8. From the research and analysis of these selected movie posters, I
have come to a decision on what I would like my movie poster to
look like.
Out of the three presented above, I believe my poster will use the
conventions seen in the Expendables poster the most. I prefer the
Expendables example because I can picture the main character
from my zombie trailer standing in the foreground facing the
camera.
In the background will be a horde of zombies, outstretched,
screaming in an attempt to reach the character.
The decision I have made on my poster is that it will consist of the
main character (survivor) surrounded by a small horde of zombies. I
will then be able to use photo editing software such as Adobe
Photoshop CS3 to edit features such as the brightness or contrast
to make the poster more suitable for my genre. CS3 will also allow
me to add text to the image, allowing me to change what used to be
9. My poster will aim to:
Use all quotes from magazine reviews to entice
the audience to watch.
Have a certificate of 18 for a certain audience.
Have a billing block.
Have a single, main image.
Have the film date, institution and website.
Have the names of actors.
Have a tagline such as, ‘from the creators of’.
