This is about why film posters are effective.

1. Film Posters
Nicole Field

2. This is the poster for the first film of the
iconic film and book series, Harry
Potter. This poster is effective because it
captures the main elements of the film,
the castle and the main characters as
well as creating a magical feel with the
night time sky and the mist edges. This
is effective as the film is aimed at
children so the main character being a
child instantly shows that it’s USP is the
younger generation. This poster also
uses the theory of thirds, although in a
different order to the previous poster.
Our eyes are at first drawn to Harry’s
face as well as the castle on the left with
Dumbledore underneath it and Hagrid
on the right, then we are drawn to the
title, which is in a jagged font that
reflects the shape of Harry’s scar, as well
as the other main characters at the
bottom of the poster, next to the
Hogwarts Express. Then we see the
credits at the very bottom of the poster.

3. This is a poster for the iconic film Star
Wars. This poster is effective because
at the time that this film was made,
special effects was limited (mostly
costume and makeup) as this film
came out in 1977. The poster being
illustrated creates more excitement
about space and the potential of the
film. The theory of thirds can be seen
in this poster because at first you are
drawn to Darth Vader's face and the
ships in the background, then your
eyes move down to Luke Skywalker
and Princess Leia as well as R2D2 and
C-3PO as they are in in a golden light
as well as being on the next tier down.
Lastly our eyes are drawn to the title
of the film ‘Star Wars’ which stands
out because it is outlined in white with
a black centre colour so it stands out;
as well as this the typography is
futuristic.

4. This is the poster for the first of three
films based off of the book ‘The Hobbit’
which is a prequel to the older iconic film
and book series ‘The Lord of The Rings’.
This is an effective poster because the
colours are dark and sandy, which links in
with the previous posters for The Lord of
The Rings film. As well as this, the first
thing that we see on the poster is the title,
‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’
which is in the same font as the previous
films, again linking this to the main
series. The main feature of the poster is
Bilbo Baggins which shows the viewers
that he is the main character in the film.
This is effective because the actor, Martin
Freeman, is very well known and this
creates more interest for the film. The
inclusion the hobbits sword sparks
interest for the people who have read the
book as the sword is also part of the Lord
of The Rings and can be seen as a solid
part of the overall story.