MEDIA TIMELINE: ANCILLARY TASKSRhiannon Jenkins

History of Film Posters

History of Film Posters• The first film poster was created

by Jules Cheret in the late 1800s, who in the advertising world is known as “the father of the modern poster”.

• In 1896, M. Auzolle designed the poster for the first generally considered fiction film ever made. These posters were popular because their bright colours and little use of words provided a means of communication within advertising that reached the majority of the illiterate public.

History of Film Posters• By 1900, motion pictures were rapidly

increasing in popularity throughout Europe and the US which meant that advertising was needed to broadcast the release of new films.

• The film industry had began by borrowing advertising paper sizes from other entertainment areas like Vaudeville, fairs and the circus. While the sizes that these entertainment platforms used were popular, there was a need for much more specialised material just for cinematic theatres, which is when the larger sizes of papers were added.

History of Film Posters• Edison set the standard size for a movie poster (27” x 41”) which

became known as the “one sheet”; designed to be used in glass display cases inside and outside film theatres. These posters depicted the company identity, plot description and the film’s title.

• The one missing component that is hugely evident today was the names of the films starring actors and actresses. Until the early 1900’s, many chose to remain anonymous as they were embarrassed to be associated with the new medium of cinema. It wasn’t until Carl Laemmle managed to steal “Biograph Girl” and presented her with her real name, Florence Lawrence, to a mass crowd of adoring fans that film studios realised the real selling tools of their films were not the films themselves, but the stars. It was at this point that posters began to be designed with the main focus reflecting the size and status of the leading actors/actresses.

History of Film Posters• The posters of the 1920’s were amidst the

golden age of silent cinema and with this came a change within the film posters. Instead of depicting scenes, they showed portraits of the starring actors or actresses.

• The 1930’s saw the birth of the “Golden Age of Movies” , from which emerged Hollywood musicals, gangster films and the horror genre. With this, the use of “art deco” style was applied to film posters, leaving behind dense backgrounds and introducing creative placements and sizes of letters and words as well as using more white space.

History of Film Posters• The look of film posters stayed

relatively similar until the 1960’s, where after the Great Depression in America and World War II the social climate rapidly began to evolve. A lot of the most popular films in this timeframe were teen oriented and action movies. The posters in these years featured full body or detailed shots of the stars or the hero of an action film. This is when the use of photographs slowly began to replace the painted artwork that was common up until this point.

History of Film Posters• 70’s film posters were a continuation of the

60’s, where they began to use photographs more often than illustration to depict the film’s stars.

• The 70’s became the springboard for the blockbuster era, with films such as Jaws breaking previous revenue records, meaning that more space was dedicated to the advertisement of film posters.

• Special effects were born in the 80’s leading to the success of films like Back to the Future, ET and Batman.

History of Film• The 1990’s bought the computerisation of

special effects, making them more realistic than ever and creating believable creatures and places that are featured on the films posters. An example of this is Pixar’s A Bug’s Life which is entirely made of computer animation.

• CGI is also now widely used in conjunction with real life cinema in films such as Avatar, as well as depicting the CGI alongside the real-life actors on the film poster.

History of Film Magazines

History of Film Magazines• Some of the first film magazines

were born in the early 1900’s such as The Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly which focused of business developments within the film industry but also provided short reviews of current films. It is said by the BFI to be a distant ancestor of todays Screen International.

• Picturegoer which was established in 1913 until the 60’s, was one of the earlier consumer magazines about film and featured articles such as “How to get a job in Hollywood”.

History of Film Magazines• One of the only magazines to

remain is Variety, which was first brought to publication in 1905 and still remains a prominent platform of entertainment news today. This magazine originally covered vaudeville events but as times changed, so did the magazine which began to include features on film and motion picture. Nowadays, the magazine exists on an online platform as well and includes not only film news, but news from all platforms of the entertainment world.

History of Film Magazines• A popular current film

magazine is Total Film which was launched in 1997. It is available in print magazine as well as an interactive website, iPhone app, and various social media platforms. The magazine features a range of interviews, making-of pieces, future releases and an interactive section where readers send in letters.

History of Film Magazines• The most popular film magazine of today is

Empire, founded in 1989. Their very first issue featured an article taking readers through the life and death of Freddy Kreuger from A Nightmare On Elm Street. On the right is the front cover of the first ever issue of Empire, and underneath is the most recent, showing how the cover has changed with the times through special effects, layout and colour scheme. Regardless of this, the masthead has remained relatively similar to keep the continuity of the magazine. Features in todays magazines include interviews, reviews, quizzes, blogs and competitions.