Analysis of Film Posters

In order for me to make my own film poster it is important to look at the common conventions of film posters, as I am doing a horror genre movie I am going to analyse posters from the same genre. It is important that I have a good understanding of the conventions to ensure that I have can make my product look as professional as possible. Following what Bentley said (1997) "Remaking of the old by re-arranging of the new"

This would appeal to the target audience of the sci-fi, fantasy genre, the target audience being children with the film having PG certificate. The secondary audience will be the parents of the children these will be the main people who will see the poster as they are usually on the back of buses, in bus stops and train stations. The attractive woman will appeal to male audience, the males that are taking their children, brother/sister or family member to the cinema. Also the big strong male will appeal to the female audience, it will also attract the younger male audience because they will want to be like him.

This poster demonstrates Holmes and Halls (1998) theory 'any media text is meant for a particular audience.' The male and the female are connoting romance and love which would attract females to see the film. The props of weapons and the mise-en-scene of the poster is what would attract the male audience because men are usually associated with fighting and violence.

The images have been layered in order to create a 3D feel to it which is a really good feature and I would like to use this. The main image is very clear and at the front of the poster so it is obvious that this is the most important thing to look at as they are the main characters. The use of iconography has been used with the two main stars at the front of the image, this will promote the film and make people want to go and see it if their favourite actors/actresses are in. The image would create emotions of excitement and anticipation because of all that's happening in the image. The image in the background is faded to emphasise the image at the front. You can tell it is a fantasy film from all the mis-en-scene of the image including the swords, mallets and costumes. Another feature is that the villain of the film is at the top of the poster looking down on the protagonist. The colour palette of the poster is blues and yellows which suggests the sci-fi genre even though it is also a fantasy genre. 

The photo is a medium long shot at a low angle looking up at the two characters. The female is lower down than the male and is holding on to him looking for protection whereas the male is having no contact with her and is showing no emotion on his face.  This would link to Laura Mulveys theory of the women are looked as an 'object of erotic desire',  the man is not looking at her or paying her any attention therefore she is just an accessory to him but the male audience will be looking at her in a desirable way.

The editing of the image is done to make sure that the protagonists are at the front of the image and the rest of the image is at the back making them less important. The opacity has been changed and edited in Photoshop to make the image more transparent, this has been done so a lot of the images can be merged together so the poster is a lot more action filled and will make the audience want to go and see the film. I will use Photoshop when I create my own poster as I feel this is a good feature to make the poster more exciting. 

The common conventions that is on all film posters is the name of the film, the main stars of the film, the release date and the distribution/production company. The name of the film is usually a lot bigger than the rest of the font because that is what you want the audience to see the most, it is also in a different style font to the rest. The main stars names are positioned at the top of the poster and are less important because of the visuals to support it, people usually recognise actors rather than know their name. The release date is mixed with the distribution and production information at the bottom of the page. 

This poster has the colour pallete of blue, black, red, green. The background being dark is what makes the characters stand out from the rest of the image. The dark colours connote power, strength and mystery. The red on the costumes connote passion and danger. Another connotation of the dark colours is the sci-fi genre. The colours are important to the composition of a movie poster because the colours create the tone and mood of a film.

The film certificate for the film is 12a meaning that people under 12 can go and see it with an adult with them. This means that the poster must also appeal to both the parents and the younger audience. 

The Avengers is part of the Marvel franchise which is very popular among the younger audiences particularly boys between the ages of 8 and 12. There are lots of toys and other merchandise to go with the film which is associated with the younger audiences. There is also the older audiences that have grown up reading the Marvel comics that will be interested in going to see the film.

This film poster links to the theory of Hatz and Holmes (1998) ' that any media text is made for a particular audience' the connotations of the image suggest power, action and excitement. Which would link to a male audience because stereotypically males are interested in those types of things. The males used on the poster are attractive which potentially could attract the female audience.

The editing on the poster has been done to create a certain effect. The 3D effect suggests the villians and the good characters in the film. The mise-en-scene of the image has been edited to create emotions of excitement and anticipation in to the audience. I will use photoshop in order to create similar effects for my own film poster. The use of iconography is used to attract people that would be interested in the different celebrities and stars that are featured in the movie. The 'bad guy' is positioned at the top of the image  looking down at the good characters that are lower down the poster. This method of editing is to position the protagonists in the fore front of the poster to make sure that they are more important than the villians at the top. The image is a medium-long shot at a low angle looking up to the cast of Avengers this is done in order to be able to have a clear view of all the characters.

The common conventions I have found are that film posters all have the name (of the film), distribution information, main actors and release dates. These are all essential pieces of information to include on a film poster so that the audience know what  they need to know. I will ensure that i include these things on my poster. The font that is used is usually a custom font made for the film itself, for example the font that is used for the Avengers poster is unique to Marvel and it is quite recognisable to the audience.

Common Conventions of  a Film Poster

Where would they be seen? 

• Cinema Foyer

• Back of buses/bus stations (Often in big cities e.g. London)

•  Train Stations

• Billboards 

What are the common conventions of a film poster?

• Main Image- Star actors/actresses use of iconography

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• Names of actors, actresses, directors, production companies

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• Often a star rating from an iconic magazine/newspaper

• Release date