Film Poster Conventions

Poster Conventions

• An eye-catching image or images – often related to characters (and the stars in the film) or the setting of the film

• The title of the film, carefully constructed in terms of font style, colour, size and placement; a lot of thought goes into the title – it is meant to be memorable and also to suggest the genre of the film

• A tagline for the film –which is lie the catchy slogans of advertisements – offering another clue to the genre and main themes or content of the film

• The names of well-known or key people connected to the film. These are usually the lead actors but may also be the director or producer

• Endorsements from other media productions (for example EMPIRE magazine) giving their comments such as ‘an unmissable film’

• Details of any award nominations or awards that the film has already won. These will be placed clearly on the poster

• The production ‘blurb’ – called ‘The Credit Block’ – which lists in tiny print the production and distribution companies, the main actors and director and other information

• The certificate is often shown

KEY QUESTIONS

1. WHY are these the conventions?
2. Have you got example of each ready to use?
3. What is the PURPOSE OF THE POSTER?
4. How do these help to TARGET the audience?

HOW DO YOU RELATE THIS TO DISASTER MOVIES & YOUR EXAM?

Think about how movie posters for Disaster Movies use these strategies - what is typical?