CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF MOVIE POSTERS

BY JOSEPHINE

TITLE Film titles are almost shown on every film poster. This is an important aspect of a film poster as those who take interest in the posters need to know what the film name in order to be able to recognize and remember it. Also in most film posters the tile is either shown on the lower upper third of the poster of the middle as it is important for the image and title to not clash or block each other. Also notice that the size of the title is rather large and easy to read because the colours stand out but still match with the different colours shown on the posters.

However some posters such as this Harry Potter one do not contain the titles. This is because the film is so popular and the fans would have instantly known the film that it doesn't need a title.All it shows is the tagline ‘It all ends’ and the date in which it comes out.

IMAGE

The images used in movie posters are usually in reminiscent to the genre of the film. Therefore anyone taken an interest of the poster would be able to tell from the poster what sort of genre the film is. For example on the poster on the left we see the poster for the film ‘Shrek’ the audience would probably straight away be able to tell that it is a children's animation fairy tale story because of the different characters and bright colours shown (princess, dragon, castle).

Images shown in film posters nearly always show the main character (especially movie stars). This is because it is a massive selling point which is the whole point of having a movie poster – to help promote the film.

Most film posters will contain an action shot where they are not looking at the camera for example the ‘Sherlock Holmes poster. However there are times where they are looking directly into the camera like the poster for the film ‘Star Trek’.

A massive trend that tends to happen in film posters is the fact that the images tend to fill the whole poster. This is because the posters reveal or help portray the narrative of the film, therefore they have to be clear and stand out.

RELEASE INFO The release date is also a

common convention used in film posters. Sometimes they contain the actual date of the release like from the example of ‘Inception’. However other films choose to just put ‘coming soon’ as a teaser like the example from the film poster ‘The Dictator’. Release information is an essential part to a film poster as without it the audience would not be able to know or have an idea of when the films get released in order for them to watch.

The dates on film posters depend on how well known the film is before it comes out and whether or not the promotion company will benefit from releasing the posters months prior to the film’s release or only a few weeks before.

ACTRESS/ACTORS

Most posters will include the actors names or directors names on them. Usually they are the main characters names and they can be placed either on the top of the posters or towards the bottom of the film poster. Putting the actors names on the poster are a good selling point for promoting the films especially if the are well known. This is because members of the target audience may perhaps recognize the actors and may have enjoyed a previous film they worked in or they might just in general like the particular celebrity.

Sometimes the Directors names are put on the top of the posters instead of the actors/actress’. This is because again the target audience may recognize the directors and enjoy the directors previous films therefore have an interest in watching the film promoted in the poster.

Occasionally like the example above instead of having names of actors or directors they list there popular and successful films. In this case the film Avatar's poster says ‘From the director of Titanic’. Some film posters have this because the target audience may not always know the names of the directors that have previously made a successful films but will identify the films names.

BILLING BLOCKThe billing block is most of the times towards the bottom of the film posters. This is usually the hardest thing we can see on the poster because it is the thing on the poster that the promotion company feel is the least important thing for the audience to notice first. The billing block includes: •Director•Screenwriter(s)•Producer(s)•Executive Producer(s)•Director of Photography•Production Designer•Film Editor•Composer•Costume Designer•Visual Effects Supervisor•Casting director(s)•Main Cast

TAGLINES A tagline is a small amount of text on a movie poster which is designed with a form of dramatic effect. The idea behind the writing is to create a memorable striking phrase that will help the audience remember the film. Sometimes the taglines on the film posters are mentioned or repeated throughout the film.

As Seen from the different examples sometimes the tagline can be either above or below the title. Whichever way they are always in smaller font than the actual title.