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Film posters are made and shared with the intention of attracting an audience towards a film. In order to do so,
they must be designed in a particular manner. Film posters are usually displayed in spaces that allow a person to notice them from the corner of their eye for
only a few seconds. A great example of these displays would be billboards that are generally driven by rapidly.
A person passing these posters does not have the time to analyze them and make a thought-through decision weather they would like to watch the film or not.
Posters used to market films are therefore designed strategically to rapidly seduce an audience rather than persuade
an audience. What are some qualities of a poster made for a high-selling film?
Here is a site points out certain common visual aspects of “attractive” film posters.
Most commonly, film posters use photographs of main characters to represent the film. Along with the character comes an object,
background, costume… that reveals only slightly the film’s plot. A great example of the use of this strategy would be in the poster
for the film Titanic.
The poster presents the film’s main characters, Rose and Jack dancing and the ship, Titanic. Without having seen the film, anybody could see at the poster and deduce in a split second that the film is about a love story that takes place on a ship. However, the portion of the plot that is not revealed would be the tragic path the plot takes. Here is a summary of common film poster compositions and their themes. Titles in film posters are styled to ensure that they are seen and processed rapidly. They are generally written in Sans Serif fonts, which are legible and quick to read all while presenting the work with great importance. A good example of this technique is it’s use in the poster for the film Jaws. The title successfully captures attention being written in capital letters, large, in a Sans Serif font and in the color red which is complimented by the rest of the poster’s cool-colored tones.
