Conventions of Film Posters

In order for any film to be successful, it needs to be adevertised - part of this process is to have a poster to create a cover image that is recognisable for the film. The conventions of what is included on a poster are as follows;

• The title is displayed in a large across the poster - it needs to be prominent
• The poster a whole is eye catching and needs to have a focal point that will draw the audience in
• It clearly defines the film's genre
•  It should also feature some type of tag or sell line
• The poster should ideally be designed to attract the largest audience possible
• An idication of when the film is being released - either a date, a season/time of year or a 'Coming soon' line
• There needs to be a billing/credit block visible displaying the directors and production company - it is conventionally on the bottom of the poster 
• The poster may also feature names of the cast who star in it - these are typically the main characters on which the story centres, or the most famous
• There may be reviews of the film, this is typically one word or a rating

  

Example: Scream

The title is seen clearly across the lower half of this poster, in the boldest and largest text across the whole poster. The focal point, what really draws the audience in, is the eyes of the girl. This is because the majority of the image is in black and white, apart from the eyes - they are noticable blue, and are somewhat intensibifed by the lack of varying colour across the poster. Additionally, both the name of the film and the image give an idication to the genre of the film - it being horror, with the sell line at the top also giving a clue with the words 'scary movie', 'mystery', and 'murder' potentially indicating that it is more of a slasher horror rather than a gore. Also, because the poster features an attractive and obviously alluring young women, this would appeal to men (male gaze), as well as attracting to women because they would appreciate her looks, therefore it has been designed to reach a large audience. At the bottom of the poster it also features a time of release, as well as a billing block that provides information on the production company. Additionally, above this, it lists a number of the cast members who feature in it. Lastly, at the very bottom, it states 'The highly acclaimed new thriller from Wes Craven' - this is a type of review line, as well as offering who is the director of the film. This also links to the idea of attracting a large audience because fans of any of his previous work would most liekly want to see it too.