Poster Genre Research

Alexander Simpson

Thriller DramaThriller/Drama

Thriller Film PostersTaking a look at the thriller film posters on the slide above, the first thing which really all of the film posters have in common in the consistent use of low-key lighting. As low-key lighting is a consistent convention throughout thriller films, this have translated into the film posters to help the audience get a feel for what the film might contain. Looking into the use of characters on the thriller posters. Each character I feel has a specific body language feature which hints to the audience a specific theme. For example, in the film poster for the film “Taken” (which can be seen below) there is a shot of the main character running away from something, This can be linked to Barthes narrative theory – specifically the proairetic code as actions aren’t being shown in a full. I believe that this connotes fear. Thriller film posters also generally have a lot of substance, I believe that this can be seen in the representations of characters show by the lower key light and editing/framing techniques used. For example, memento shows a photo, within a photo within a photo. This could connote that a character is a mess or has mental issues.

Drama Film Posters In complete contrast to what I first noticed about thriller posters, drama film posters have consistently been shown to have a more natural (in cases high key) light tone to them. I think this is because they are relying on realistic features to make the audience relate and engage with the story line. I also find that drama film posters don’t rely as much on representation as much as the thriller genre. I think that this can be seen by the constant use of plain backgrounds instead of a backdrop or setting with the exception of the film silver linings playbook, in which the poster represents the characters mental struggles, as well as the background, it can be said that less text is shown on drama posters in contrast to thriller posters. This may be because the appeal of drama films could be the characters whereas in thriller films people are more interested in the story and themes.

Thriller/Drama Film PostersFeatures which appear on both drama and thriller films again are evident in thriller/drama films also, these being the use of actor promotion and titles, this being said it can be argued that these features aren’t genre specific, but I still think it is worth pointing out. Key features which I have picked up from thriller genre which have appeared in drama/thriller posters include complex backdrops and representations. For example for the posters limitless and roommate is shows the characters standing still with an effect which makes the background seem active, this makes us feel as if the character is alone or different. This being said, the backdrops does have relevance to the thriller genre, as the use of familiar settings such as a city, or a university would be a relatable and realistic setting, which fits in with generic drama conventions. A mixed of high and low key lighting has been used. I think this could be an indicator on how prominent thriller conventions would be in relation to dramatic conventions. For example the poster for shutter island looks like it would have strong thriller themes such as suspense and fear.

Conclusion In conclusion I feel as if both thriller and drama conventions can be seen within a thriller/drama film movie poster. This being said I don’t feel that there are many strong conventions which will be prominent throughout a genre and the film posters produced. I think this is because each film has it’s own themes which it explores regardless of genre. I feel that these themes will be much more prominent then genre. An example of this could be for the film The Silver Linings Playbook. Although it is a drama I feel that the themes of mental health stigmas and how this effects the characters and how the characters feel towards each other (hinting to romance) are all there in the poster regardless of what genre it comes too. That being said there are trends which I will try to adhere too such a high/low key lighting and backgrounds to show emotion that tend to be conventional to a genre as it matches the films conventions. All in all, I feel that creating my film poster with the themes that I feel the audience will find most interesting in mind will benefit the promotional factor of my poster much more then if I just focus on adhering to genre conventions