Film poster conventions

As promised, I will be researching the general conventions of a film promo poster. Here we go!

• Film posters are a form of promotion that aids in drawing in the film's target audience before the film premieres. 
• The majority of film posters have an artistic value, which inclines the audience to purchase the poster and hang them up for their own eyes to see. 
• Iconography, or the visual images and symbols used in a work of art, is an important factor in film posters. 
• Iiconography always helps identify the genre of the film and aids in further intriguing the target audience.
• Main conventions of film trailers:
• Eye-catching poster to entice viewers
• Main image should focus on capturing the essence or a part of the film
• The title should be eye-catching and roughly take up a third of the poster
• The poster should focus on genre and follow genre conventions
• Poster should include tag line and/or release dates
• Poster should include main actors/actresses and directors/producers
• Symbolic colors

The movie, The Vow, is the perfect example for a demonstration of a romantic drama film poster.

As you can see in the image, the film poster for The Vow, incorporates many of the general conventions for film posters. The tag line is perfectly visible, and portrays the depth and importance of love in the film. The main image highlights the main plot of the story without giving away too much, which entices the viewers. The light background symbolizes the love between the two characters and sets the mood for the film. Overall, this poster incorporates many conventions.

Thanks to this research, I am able to open my eyes and start to plan on how Isabella and I are going to organize our film poster. Of course we still have to finish editing the second trailer, but it is important to multitask at times, since we don't have too much time left for this project! Stay tuned for our film poster story boarding!

-AC