Film Poster Research

A film poster is a poster used to advertise a film. There may be several versions for one film, with variations in regards to size, content and country of production of the poster. It usually contains an image with text, though this has evolved over time from image-free bill posters through to the highly visual digital productions of today. The text usually contains the film title in large lettering and often the names of the main actors. It may also include a tag line, the name of the director, names of characters, the release date, etc.

Film posters are displayed inside and on the outside of movie theaters, and elsewhere on the street or in shops. The same images would appear in a film exhibitor's press book and may also be used on websites, DVD (and historically VHS) packaging, flyers, advertisements in newspapers and magazines, etc.

Use of such posters goes back to the earliest public exhibitions of film, where they began as outside placards listing the programme of (short) films to be shown inside the hall or movie theater. By the early 1900s, they began to feature illustrations of a scene from each individual film or an array of overlaid images from several scenes. Other movie posters have used artistic interpretations of a scene or even the theme of the film, represented in a wide variety of artistic styles. Movie posters are produced in a large number of sizes to meet various advertising needs.

Examples of Film Posters: Jaws-

The focus of this film is obviously the shark so it has been at the centre of the poster, where it will grab the viewer’s attention. They have put a lady swimming in the sea with the shark which hints to the viewer the plot of the film.

The main colours of this poster are red, blue and black which all link in to the idea of the film. The black makes you think of something scary as it is a colour usually associated with the dark or something unknown. The red makes you think of a warning or could be seen as a connotation of blood, linking in to the plot of the film as people get killed by the shark. The blue represents the sea which relates back to the shark and the deep water it swims in.

The title of the film is in a bold font and is red so makes the viewer’s think of blood, death etc.

The promotional line above the image uses repetition with the word ‘terrifying’ which drums in to the viewer that the film will be scary and talks about the film being a no.1 bestseller. Below the image the names of the actors starring the film are in white, which makes them stand out and draws in audiences who might like those stars.