Conventions of Film Posters

The main conventions of a film poster are:

• Eye catching and captivating
• focal picutre which is intriguing
• Large title which is easy to read and a main focus
• Attracts a specific target audience
• Usually a famous actor/s to help sell the film
• Release date or coming soon
• Directors displayed
• Production company displayed
• Clearly defines genre
• Reviews or Ratings
• Caption in the form of a slogan, statement or rhethorical question
• Billing block

From first glace it is clear to see the genre of the film due to the image in back ground combined with the text in the foreground. This is a convention for a film poster for the audience to be able to see the genre by looking at the poster.

The use of limited colours throughout the poster is effective as it is not over whelming to look at yet the pop of orange for the flames and the red under the title makes the poster stand out. The combination of flames and the red are effective because of what people associate them with.  The colour red resembles that of danger, fear and blood. Because of the colour it helps the audience to understand the genre of the film. The flames are associated with danger, fear and death; this confirms the genre of the film.

All of the main actresses are positioned in the centre of the poster and the way they are all so close together implies to the audience there is a special bond/ friendship amongst the women. So in the film all there stories or situations are interlinked it is them against the rest.

Many conventions can be seen in the poster such as the billing block, title and release date which is important to give the viewer important and extra information.

I believe this film poster is effective due to the images and the title being in the centre making the viewer have a focus where they can see all the important and eye catching parts in one go. The use of colour is my favourite part because the simplicity of colour is what makes the poster most effective as red, orange, black and white are very striking colours individual so combining them all together works really well.

The poster is of one of the main characters who is the victim within the film and this is shown through her body language, and positioning. The actress has high key lighting around her and is in a clear view to the audience whereas the perpetrator are just dark figures to highlight to the audience there type of character within the film. This shows the contrast of all the characters.

The poster also sets the scene of the film: wooded area, which then also highlights the genre as a thriller because of the dark setting, surroundings and positioning of the characters.

The title ‘ Eden Lake’ is very effective because of the size and colour of the font. The colour red is very bright standing out from the image which makes it memorable and the colour resembles that of danger, fear and blood. Because of the colour it helps the audience to understand the genre of the film.

The tagline is effective as it leaves the reader dangling until they see the film. The tagline , ‘THEY WANTED TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL INSTEAD THEY FOUND....’  leaves the reader in suspense and even begin to make up there own scenario of the possible outcomes.

The review and star rating is important as it highlights to the audience to reassure them just how good the film is from a professionals perspective.

 

To conclude I very much like this poster as it is intriguing to those watching because of the striking and thought provoking contrast images. In addition I feel the use of space is used well with all text positioned towards the edges so that is does not distract from the image.

 

Examples of other film posters which I think are effective: