Assignment 8: Film Poster Research

Courtney Buabeng

Thriller Posters

Horror Posters

Comedy Posters

Action Posters

What are the different type of posters?

• Teaser Posters: There are usually early promotional posters which don’t reveal much information to viewers

• Character Posters: These generally have a moderate amount of information on them, however, are more focused on the characters of the film to appeal to the audience of that particular character.

• Main Poster: This should normally reflect the genre of the film and have all the necessary information such as: the release date, the name of the film, characters names etc.

Where do film posters get shown and why?

• High budget films are most likely to be shown on:• Bus stops• Billboards• Bus stops• Theatres/cinemas• On buses themselves• Tube stations• Film magazines• Street walls

These posters are displayed in these locations as they very hard to miss on viewers daily commute. They’re big in size and have famous actors/actresses who can bring interest to the poster.

What is the typical size for posters?

• The standard poster is called ‘one sheet.’ • The size of a ‘one sheet’ is 27 x 41in (portrait)• Billboards are 246 x 108 in, which is equivalent

to 24 sheet• Subway posters or bus stop sizes are 40 x

60in(portrait)

How are posters appealing/attractive to the audience? Does the appeal/attraction differ than that of the

poster?

• The target audience for posters is the same gender and age etc, therefore they are able to be seen anywhere.

• The poster are appealing to audience as it leaves them with enigmas like who the character is or what they image represents which is created through the MES, font and colours of the poster itself.

What are the conventions?

Release Date

• The location of the release date on the poster is usually at the bottom.

• However, if it is a ‘teaser poster’, the words ‘Coming Soon’ are used

• Its purpose is to essentially inform viewers when the film of the poster is available to be seen in pictures.

Titles/Credits

• Credits are mostly found at the bottom of the poster as well.

• Names like the director, cast, website and social media are put to credit their assistance in the construction of the film.

Tagline• Only some posters have a tagline which is

basically a slogan for the film. • It tends to reflect a phrase said in the film and it

should represent the genre of the film as well.

Names

• Some posters have the names of the actors/actresses to pay tribute to their fans of the character.

Image

• The main image is usually the main character(s) of the film or a particular item which is significant to the film

What is the difference of conventions between different subgenres?

• Romance posters usually concentrate on the couples in which the plot is about

• Action posters generally focus on weapons or the skill of the character(s)

• Horror posters usually show blood and gore of the character(s) and focus on the isolation of the location

• Thriller posters display the hero(ine) of the plot or the main feature in the film

What are the similarities of conventions in similar subgenres?

• The all seem to use taglines which address the plot of the film

• All subgenres use their main character(s) and/or object(s) as their the posters

• The date is usually seen in the same location of the poster

• The credits of the film is usually at the bottom of the poster

What are the three most prioritised features?

The most three prioritised features: • The date in which the film will be released• The name of the film • The characters involved in the film

Summarise how your film posters reinforce conventions

• My film posters reinforce their conventions through the MES used.

• Thriller’s tend to focus on facial expressions and ‘All Good Things’ reinforces this convention.

• Also, the colour of the background and style and colour of the font should reinforce the conventions of its genre.

Give examples and explain how some film posters challenge the conventions of film posters

• This thriller poster challenges the convention of focusing of characters and their facial expressions.

• In this poster, the main focus is the house and not a main character.