Research into film posters

 In this lesson, as I was unsure on what to do( since I had written about all the topics that needed to be discussed) Miss Martin suggested that I should do some research into film posters and magazines; since we cant film at this present moment in time.The first website that I researched for film posters was Empire, as this is a renowned site for all aspects of the film industry.Firstly I looked at conventional film posters, to see how the presentation, layout as well as other contributing factors made the poster stand out, targeting its specific audience( whatever that may be). To look at conventional posters allowed me to go into more depth and just generally get an overview before finally moving on to romantic drama posters and see how this differentiates or conforms to traditional conventions.

Below I have included a poster for upcoming film 'The Hunger Games' based on the novel series, a series of televised death matches where Katniss the protagonist must endure cruel obstacles and eventually she falls in love with another character- but only one can survive.This is a very intriguing yet unusual poster, in which I will explain reasons as to why this is below:

• It's interesting to note that actors photos have not been included -as well as cast names -which suggests that they have used unknown characters.This may have been done to not only introduce new acting talent but also for the effect of ambiguity which this whole film is about.In my research I found that most film posters tend to include photos of the protagonist cast members and only occasionally do they not include the names of the actors.This poster therefore subverts the conventions of a film poster, so you must ask yourself the question- why do they do this? What effect does it give? I like this element of ambiguity and not using cast photos because of its uniqueness- but I don't think that we will use this technique, but it's just something to bear in mind.
• 'May the odds be ever in your favour' there is a lot that you can deduce from this tag line, each thought can bring a new connotation.For example my first thought when I read this was that it was quite sardonic in its tone, almost mocking in a sense.This interpretation I feel would probably fit the overall theme of the film the most, but there are other inferences you could make.This could also be viewed in a positive manner, the connotation being that despite the hardships that the characters will face, there is still hope for them.
• The poster in itself is mainly simplistic, the presentation is fairly straightforward.However in the center of the poster is a burning eagle emblem.To me an eagle represents brave/warrior like characteristics, suggesting that this is a time when courage is destroyed and all that is left in its place is a reeking sense of fear.This infers to the audience the narrative without depicting actual events and I really like how they have done this.Again they are using different techniques to appeal to its target audience.The fact that they have used the burning eagle suggests that there will be a great deal of graphics and special effects being used within the film adding to the genre of an action/thriller genred film. Also it is at a canted angle which suggests that there is a sense of the unnatural within the film, they wont know what to expect because there is no guidelines telling them what to do.
• Another good use of effects that they implement here is the brown expanding from the fire which is patchy and jagged in its format.The use of the brown to me conveys gloom, inferring that days of struggle leave a loss of faith but the fact that it is jagged shows that it is irregular- they try to restrain it as they know they have to keep optimistic but occasionally there are periods where they succumb to the 'darkness'
• The title is quite small for a film poster, as quite often it is the fundamental focus and here it has been placed significantly enough so that you will notice what the film is but insignificant in the sense that the emblem is the predominant focus

In contrast to ' The Hunger Games' is this poster below, another upcoming release ' The woman in black' based on the award winning West End play.This is another intriguing poster for the following reasons:

• This poster has used a cast photo of the leading protagonist, in this case Daniel Radcliffe, where his name is of course on the poster suggesting that it is its unique selling point- they feel they will generate financial income this way judging by the success of the 'Harry Potter' franchise. The use of the white font depicts the theme of the story- the supernatural so that all the items on the poster interlink together in order to be appropriate for the subject title in question.
• My favourite part of the poster is the picture that they have used of Daniel , which creates a sense of ambiguity and obscurity.This is due to the positioning of his face which is off-centre cutting off half his face.This makes the audience think as to why the creators have used this effect and makes them want to go see it.Evident use of airbrushing  has also been used here and certain features such as his eye have been enhanced whereas other parts of him are dark in shadow and I really like this effect.Although we are not doing a horror, our film is essentially the sub- genre of drama( romance) so we can use effects such as dark lighting to convey the overall  mood of the film.

Below I have included ' The Inbetweeners' film poster as it is completely  different in comparison to the other two posters which I have selected   for the following reasons:

• The first item on the poster that grabs my attention is the use of the slogan' THIS YEAR FOUR BOYS BECOME MEN' which suggests that this is a film about growing up, where they learn to become adults in their own right.However if you have watched the Inbetweener movies then you will have the pragmatical comprehension of this being a comedy series, so you would think that the film synopsis entails the ' lads' trying but failing to become ' men'
• The background shot behind the cast, suggests a sense of nightlife, further emphasised by the colours of purple and blue as well as the LEDS being used for 'The inbetweeners'.This adds to the effect of a party atmosphere and suggests that perhaps they are going abroad to party, considering the buildings behind them appear to be foreign.
• The use of a varied coloured scheme makes the poster stand out and makes the audience want to watch the film.In fact the film must have been a good source of advertising revenue, due to the film generating £45,028,695 million in the U.K despite being on a 3.5 million budget.This resulted in the film being number one at the Box office.

I then decided to look at Romantic drama genred posters to see the differences.However it proved difficult trying to find romantic dramas that were at least remotely linked to what we were doing based on narrative and themes ect.This suggests that Romantic genres such as the one we are doing are very infrequent and perhaps financially unstable e.g. not high grossing.This may be similar to the conceptualisation of postmodernism- the audience are wary watching films that go against traditional conventions.Their ideal film consists of traditional conventional films or those that reflect an artificial reality.

Marriage is a crazy thing

Although this is a foreign film I think it is a very good example of the passion and lust that we should depict in our own film.Here are examples:

• The sexualisation of the two characters is shown through positioning, e.g. she has her leg draped over his, costume - she is wearing a black leather slit dress designed to appeal to a male audience and facial expressions.For example he has his eyes closed in desire but appears to be looking straight at her whereas she is looking to the side as though she is hiding something.This may be an indication of her being secretive as a character. This is a common feature in romance films, of images that connote sexuality and is something I feel we should contain in our own film.For example we could have Amiee and Chris clenched in a tight embrace, kissing each other passionately and have similar shots in a montage format in comparison to unpassionate shots between me and Chris.However from my extensive research I have found that most film posters tend to use one full picture so we will have to see what happens when it comes to lit

• An interesting point to make, is the casting choice- an older man is coupled with a younger women suggesting that perhaps she is using him for his money.However it may of course be a mutual coupling so in this case, it may be a love which needs to be concealed and kept under cover.

This is probably my favourite poster out of all the ones that I have chosen  due to the following reasons:

• The feature that stands out the most to me is the use of a juxtaposed screen, suggesting that is an affair between three people e.g. a love triangle.The fact that appears as though it is a ripped page from a book suggests that the person has been cut out of his or her  life and they want to forget all about them.Or perhaps it could initially be the tale of a secret affair, where the third party is unaware of the occurrences that are taking place.
• The contrast between the two colours used is another interesting aspect of the poster for example the juxtaposition between black and sepia.To me black represents desolation and despair whereas the use of the sepia is unique and thus makes it seem more exciting, symbolising the passion between the two people in this particular shot. Another aspect of using these colours is that the Black and white effect is more artistic- every feature is defined whereas the sepia  highlights key features e.g. positioning of characters.What I especially like about the sepia effect is how it resembles the passionate lust between the two characters.This is also particularly shown through the yellow that is immersed within it- it appears as though a flame is being ignited and I think this is a very clever technique.
• As famous characters are being used, the names have been included on the poster to promote to the audience who is going to be in the film.This of course will attract financial revenue proven by its earnings of $266,614,059 despite being on a 38 million budget.
• The title ' Indecent proposal connotes denotations of an irregular love affair which defies the conventions of a traditional matrimony.

The notebook is a film which does not conform to the narrative conventions that we are entailing.However I have merely chosen this poster for the imagery being used:

• The use of calligraphy within the poster adds to the element of it being ' a notebook' an account of someones life, so that all the details interlink with each other in an appropriate manner.
• What I especially like is the use of rain to convey a sense of desperation and a passion between the two characters, they seem very much in love with each other and this is clearly conveyed in this poster.This indicates to the audience that this is a true love story which is further emphasised by the tag line' behind every great love is a great story'.This connotes that there may be obstacles that they have to overcome but they will do anything to remain together.The rain seems to be drenching the two characters suggesting that they are in oblivion because of their love for each other. 

This is another interesting poster, particularly for the photoshop effects used here e.g. watercolour background.Here are some interesting findings:

• The title ' up close and personal' has been used in appropriation with the image of two people hugging each other in the middle of the ocean.It is very intriguing as to the use of location.why have they chosen a beach it makes you think.Perhaps it is because the beach is a place personal to them where they can get away from it all and just spend time with each other, without any unwanted company.
• The same shot appears to be replicated at the top of the poster however through a canted angle closeup.To me this gives the impression of angelic tendencies suggesting that perhaps there will be a death? The use of watercolour ties in with the ocean theme, making the poster very colour co-ordinated as well as seemingly artistic looking.

Here I have also included a good film poster analysis that I found on slideshare, in order to give us ideas about our own film poster.

Film Poster Analysis

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