Poster Analysis

 

To create our movie poster, we have analysed the posters of films of a similar genre, and have discovered what the conventions are. To create our own effective poster, we will use these conventions ourselves.

IMAGES

Every poster has the focus as the main character, who is usually a well-known actor/actress. Their facial expression is stoic and often their eyes are concealed by shadow or glasses. This gives them an air of mystery and "coolness", which will appeal to the audience even before they see the film. They are usually dressed all in black, male characters - every film we have deconstructed has a man as the protagonist, or in the case of V for Vendetta, a joint protagonist with a weaker woman - in suits or black leather jackets. Again, this reinforces the "cool" image. Most of the protagonists are standing in a dramatic action pose, often carrying guns, or are striking a pose which reflects the nature of the plot (in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, for example, Smiley is standing in a strong, determined pose with his hands in his suit pockets, which shows his firm personality and his role in the plot as the investigator). Five of the posters have other characters shown, and these characters are always either the antagonist or the love interest, depending on their respective significance in the plot.

COLOUR

Each poster has the most predominant colour as black, with red, white and blue used as highlighting colours. The protagonist is always dressed in black, as are any other characters shown. This demonstrates how the genre tends to be set in a "gritty" area with dark elements to the plot. 

TYPOGRAPHY

Generally, the title is at the bottom or middle of the poster, and is written in a bold, capitalised font, usually in red or white. The actors' names sit above the title in white, or a contrasting colour to the title.

ARRANGEMENT

As this genre is very character-based, the protagonist is always the focus of the poster and takes up the most space, usually right in the middle. As they are usually played by high-billed actors, their names are placed at the top, to draw in the audience with the promise of well-developed and interesting characters. The title goes beneath the protagonist, or in the case of Blade Runner and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, to the side, but not detracting from the image of the protagonist. Credits, dates and tag lines are all beneath the title and usually right at the bottom of the poster.