Film posters research

Their are many ways in which directors and producers exhibition a film once its ready to go out to the cinemas such as, Film trailers, Film posters, Radio adverts etc.... the list goes on. When producing such materials for the film their is many things which the producers will think about to include and what not to include in the poster. All of these aspects have clear visual links to the film. It is at mass importance that such materials are the best possible as these get the first reactions of the public which may or may not make them go watch the film once its released.


          
                                                        
Here I have gathered a selection of different locations where we are more likely to see such film poster. In the day of today we are beginning to see more and more of big screens on tall buildings for example in New York big blockbuster films like Batman 'The dark night' are displayed on such screens where everyone can see them. Much older uses of poster advertising use billboards in train stations, underground stations, billboard outdoors along side motorway or main roads and finally bus stops. These are all well used ways of advertising through posters by the producers of the films. They are all locations where they are instantly in the eye's of the public. From the example posters above we can see their standout appeal for example the poster  of 'Hereafter' uses a bright colour panel which standout well in contrast with the black background colour. This is really important when making a poster as it needs to have an exciting and standout appeal so that people do recognise it.

Other ways the producers sell their poster to an audience is through visual connections to the film. By this I mean giving links and clues to aspects of the film using symbols, characters, location,  mise en scene and always making it clear what the genre of the film is. For example looking at this film poster of 'Indiana Jones' If I wasn't to know what this film was I could easily link it to a genre of adventure and action through the list stated above. Mise en scene plays a big role here the action aspect of the genre which I highlighted came from the props which he is holding a weapon. The character placement/ pose also gives the audience a clear visual of his role in the film, in this poster he looks as if hes tough and brave by his stance clinching his fist tight shows this. Finally the background location of a jungle states to the audience that this film takes place inside a jungle/desert environment

 

One other key aspect of making a film poster is the lighting and colours of the poster give the feel of the film. For example the FILM POSTER OF 'Madagascar' is clearly aimed at younger children, the use of bright colours of blues, yellows and white complement one another and become more appealing to the young audience. This also sets the feel of the film giving a link once again to the genre of the film we know from viewing this poster that this film is comedy, animation, fantasy through the use of colour lightning. In comparison to the film poster 'Mirrors' we instantly see through the colour lighting that its a horror film. The use of lighting in this poster shows a hidden part of the characters face. Its dull and gives a horror feel to the audience instantly.

one other aspect which enables us as on audience to realise what the film genre is through the poster is the characters facial expressions and actions. In the film poster above we can see from the characters face that this film fits the comedy genre. We can tell this as he is showing a reaction which we wouldn't expect him to be showing in this scenario with the penguins pecking his face.

Finally through the placement of the characters in this poster we can see who is the main character/s in the film. For example in this poster we can instantly tell the front two characters have the main role in this film, as its their wedding they will obviously be the main characters in this film, in the background we see several characters placed behind one another this also shows the importance of the characters in which they come into the film. In film posters it is often very clear to spot all these aspects which I have covered when you take it all in and think about this its clear to us as the audience what the film poster is showing us and the importance of the people in it is often the case where they are the main importance in the film to all the other characters. 

In the following I have pulled out several examples of comedy films all the previously covered aspects standout in these examples:

This poster gives a clear link to the comedy genre through props. The baby dressed in class with a hat on. This shows comedy.

This poster gives us a different link to the comedy genre this time through Mise en scene props. A man dressed up in a elf suit isn't something the audience will see in day to day life. This makes the audience laugh which gives it a clear standout visual to comedy. 

Finally this poster also gives us a link to the comedy genre through mise en scene props. A man dressed up as a women with the other man holding up a dress and a wig gives it a comedy feel. Other props which also show another side to the film is the gun and ID badge, this shows that they may be detectives.