When researching film posters i thought it would be easier to identify the key features of film posters and what the entail and why most blockbuster films have a film poster to promote it.
Heres 7 elements that most film posters consider when aiming it to the public audience:
- Attention: The one most important features for designers, is attention – grabbing the attention of passers-by and encouraging them to look. This doesn't necessarily have to be by graphology however most mainstream films use a dominant image to grab the attention of the audience.
- Iconography: The most effective movie posters are iconic, presenting the themes in the film without resorting to flat out saying what it’s about. They use imagery, whether a close-up of a character or item that’s a major plot point, or a simple graphic, to establish the film’s plot. Combined with an eye-grabbing design, this can be an incredibly effective way to gain attention and create interest at once.
- Interest: Many of the best modern film posters use pictures that put the viewer in the middle of a scene from the film, creating tension and a major incentive. The incentive is that in order to resolve the situation, the person looking at the poster needs to see the film and find out what happens.
- Appeal: With film studios cranking out comic book adaptations at a rapid pace, it’s the ‘true fans’ that end up last in the marketing line. Studios can rely on them to see their new releases regardless of its review coverage or promotional materials, since chances are fairly strong they’re already aware of it. Great film posters, particularly those for adaptations, use this dual appeal to enhance their advertising.
- Style: Whether you’re marketing an art film or a blockbuster, style matters. Some of the most memorable film posters out there have used bold, unique artistic styles to their advantage.
- Lasting Appeal: Here’s the danger in getting too ‘arty’ and delicate with your film poster: it’s eventually, after release and theatre shows, going to be shrunk to a fraction of its original size for the DVD release. While a growing number of films now use different designs for their DVD cover than their in-theatre promo posters, most of the classics and high-budget blockbusters still use the same poster for both.
- Recognizability: From films that dominated both the commercial world and the awards scene to purely commercial releases, few films can guarantee studios income like a good sequel. That’s why sequel posters tend to be highly related to the first release, generally with a giant title in the top third of the canvas and instantly recognisable imagery throughout it.
When looking into a variety of film posters there are elements that are often included such as; the title of the film, actors name, tagline, director, production company, billing card and possibly release date. Here's 'Saving Private Ryan' which shows the distinct elements of most film posters.
When analysing film posters such as the mainstream film "Inception" it distinctly shows The main actors name, Leonardo Dicaprio located on the top of the poster, with the tagline in the centre just underneath it. By locating the actors names at the top of the screen will attract a specific audience which may be fans of the genre or the actor's individual work.
The image itself could suggest what genre the film belongs to as the darkening tones to the image and the prop of the gun in Leonardo Dicaprio's hand suggest that their could be something cynical about the film. The image itself shows connotations about the genre. It then includes the title INCEPTION in a dark red tone to stand out with the release date, production company and billing card underneath the title. Linking it to other films with advertising it with "from the director of The Dark Knight'" which could interest a wider audience by mentioning another mainstream film.
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