Sunday, 21 March 2010

Research: Film posters

I have some idea on what film posters should look like, however not much on what they should include. I want to follow the traditional codes and conventions so my film poster does not look out of place. To achieve this I looked at many film posters, this is one I particularly like and is a good example of using all the codes and conventions.



 
After watching the film ‘FROM HELL’, the first thing I immediately recognise is how well the mood of the film fits the poster. Like on a lot of film poster the background is blacked out and blended into the image. If this is not the case a setting reflecting the actual movie is placed in the background. Furthermore, the image is evidently airbrushed, giving it a sharp elegant finish. This could be a good idea for my poster. Also the two people in the image are the most important characters in the film. This is another common convention used in film posters. As well as showing images of the main actors, to emphasise them even more, their names are shown in the text. One reason why they do this is a high profile actor is not always spotted when in character. It is also not uncommon to see a slogan or tagline of the film placed somewhere on the poster. This frequently put under the name of the film, but as the slogan is so effective it is placed above the title, in the top left hand corner. Tag line help when promoting the film, as these are the things which sticks in people heads, and intrigues them to go and see it. Underneath the bold title, it includes the name of the production and distribution companies. Then comes the names of all the important actors shown in the film. Finally the date of when it is to be shown is placed somewhere, normally at the bottom. However instead of a date, the words ‘coming soon’ are sometimes used.