The way in which films are represented to the audience via a film poster is important. To get a good understanding of this, I took a film poster and analysed all the various factors contributing to the finished film poster. These factors could include; the text used, the colour of the text, the font and where abouts in the poster it is. The wording of the film, any slogans, quotes that help to resemble the storyline of the film. Also the colours used in the poster as well as any of the images used.
I chose the film poster of Due Date.
Using a basic font and a white font colour on all pieces of a text shows that the film is quite relaxed.
There are no special effects done on any of the images on the poster – shows that there are no special effects in the film.
Showing the actors names at the top rather than the film name is a way of getting people who like these actors to go and see the film just because it has them in it.
Peter Highman played by Robert Downey Jr.
By his stern facial expression and the emotionless posture this poster portrays him as a very serious man who takes things as they come showing very little emotion as he goes through life. He could be seen as the cooler one of the two, because he’s got more of a fashionable look to him with his sunglasses and shirt and jeans with a neat hairstyle.
He isn’t as clean as Ethan Tremblay, which is portrayed by the blood stain on the shirt.
You can see him wearing a wedding ring, which would suggest that his wife will also be a part of the storyline.
Through the film we find out he doesn’t like dogs – especially Ethan’s. In an accident Peter and Ethan’s dog get injured, Peter injures his right arm; Ethan’s dog injures its right paw. Showing this in the poster helps to show that there is a connection between them to which will be found out after watching the film.
Ethan Tremblay played by Zach Galifianakis.
The happy facial expression and his straight back while he is standing helps to suggest he is a cheerful guy who doesn’t mind showing his emotions, whether they’re good or bad.
Combining this with his style of fashion and how even though he’s gone through the same things as Robert Downey Jr’s character he has still managed to keep himself clean and tidy. Putting all of these factors together could give off the stereotypical ‘camp’ signs, and with no sign of a wife or girlfriend in his life could also help to support this idea.
The fact that he is holding the dog not just holding it on a lead helps to illustrate that he loves his dog and wants the dog to feel loved by him. Ethan is a bit too happy for Peter’s normal social group choosing; another factor that backs up the slogan ‘leave your comfort zone’.
Putting the names of these films in bold will help to attract the attention of people who like these films and persuade them to see a similar film.
This slogan for the film, gives us an insight as to what the storyline of the film could be. In this case it is talking about Robert Downey Jr’s character being out of his comfort zone while travelling with Zach Galifianakis and his dog.
