The purpose of a film poster is to advertise/ promote an upcoming film. This lets the audience know that a new film is about to be released making them aware of the date that it will be showing on. When a person sees a poster of a film that they find interesting they will create public hype by spreading the news to others. A film poster provides a range of information on an upcoming film such as; the name of the film, the release date, the stars/actors and actresses who are in the film and many more. Also the image and graphics of the poster can suggest a particular genre and narrative that the film will follow which gives an insight to what the film may be about and therefore helps them to decide whether this film is something they may be interested in seeing. Conventions of a film poster:

It must be eye catching and captivating to the audience There must be a picture that will draw the audiences eye The title is displayed in a large eye catching font Poster should be designed to attract the largest audience as possible Released date or coming soon Information on the Directors and Production Company is often displayed

on the bottom of the poster There could be reviews or titles of other films that the company has made

Examples

The slogan of the film starts of with a rhetorical question, straight away this gets the audience asking questions such as what the film is about.

Image of the poster is a plain doll it is plain and simple yet has a message behind it that could blow the audience away. It starts getting the audience thinking about the narrative of the film and so on.

This is the name of the actors and actresses starring in the film.

The title of the film text is not bold but the text DOLL is bold emphasizing that the film revolves around some doll.

Information on the Directors and Production Company displayed on the bottom of the poster as well as the logo of the company.

From this poster it is obvious that the film is either a horror/ thriller genre. This is shown through the use of dark colours and the image of the doll that is being put on the ground. This poster makes you want to see the film because it doesn’t give much out about the film making it a mystery which intrigues the audience. Also the slogan ‘Do you wanna play?’ plays with the audiences mind as it makes you think what will happen in the film and what has the doll got to do with it.

This little catchphrase gives me the shivers, it rhymes at the end. From this you could already imagine that the film will contain some gruesome scenes will gore and blood.

This image of a scarecrow doll look looks extremely scary you can see that it is a horror/ thriller movie. On the floor theres blood splattered giving it a violent atmosphere.

The title font colour is glowing red. From this it is evident that the film will be shot during night where all the children come out to take part in. The red colour symbolizes evil and danger.

This is the information on the Directors and Production Company displayed on the bottom of the poster.

This is the logo of the companies that produced and directed. Warner Bros Pictures and Legendary.

From this poster I have come to a conclusion that the film is thriller/ horror, this is because of the use of colour’s that have been used for example the colour red which symbolizes danger and evil. Also there is a shadow effect on the poster which tells the audience that something sinister is going to happen. The best part for me is the catchphrase it plays with your thoughts and makes you want to watch the film to see how the antagonist takes a life. Posters are important for a film to be successful because it is what makes people attend cinemas so if the poster lacks what the audience want then people will not attend where as if it has everything a person wants then it will have many people attending to watch it.

‘From the writers and directors and producers of ‘SAW’- writing your previous hit movie on the poster gives the film an advantage as people who thought that SAW was worth watching would think this movie is too and will go to watch it.

The image of a plastic wax like doll looks scary; it gives the feeling that something bad will take place in the movie with this doll being the centre of the film. The cuts on the dolls fingers give it a brutal look.

The title of the film font colour is white but has the distorted two effects to it. I like the fact that the font colour is white as it contradicts what the film is about as white is referred to as being angelic which goes against the typical horror poster.

Release date: Coming soon. It contains the names of the companies’ directors and producers.

The poster is one of my favorite posters; this is because the poster has an image of a plastic puppet like doll that looks evil. The fact that the doll has its finger in front of his lips telling to keep quiet makes it look sinister. This poster makes me want to watch the film because it looks frightening and I feel that it will give me a good scare with all the suspense and fast pace of the movie. The poster helps determine the success of the movie, if the poster doesn’t attract the audience it doesn’t guarantee any viewings. Depending on the target audience the poster should target that specific audience by having things that will create a center of attention which will make them spread of the news to others who will look into it.