This document discusses various codes and conventions used in film posters, including written language, typography, photographs/illustrations, lighting, camera angles, and color schemes. It provides examples of how each element is used to convey information and entice audiences. For instance, it notes that taglines are used to describe the film's genre and tone in a catchy way, actor names draw on star power, lighting and camera angles can set moods and symbolize themes, and color palettes align with the intended genre.
2. Written Language
‘A comedy about
growing up … and
the bumps along
the way.’
This dialogue is
ironic, because from
the iconography we
can see that this girl
is a pregnant
teenager. As the
quote from a critic
situated in the right
hand corner of the
poster tells us, this
is a comedy, so the
snappy tagline
supports this and
may encourage
people to watch the
film.
Some of the actors
names are running
along the top of the
page, which is a way
of trying to entice
people to watch the
film as if they like
one of these actors
they may want to see
them perform.
3. Typography
The text at the top of the poster tells us that this
film is ‘from the directors of…’ However, the text
is smaller than the rest as this information may
entice people who have enjoyed the other films
to watch it, but is not the most important part of
this particular film.
A colour-change here is used to make the phrase
‘but her life is,’ stand out from the rest of the
sentence. This tells the audience that the film is
about Georgia’s ‘mental’ life, the word mental is
funny as it is unusual, so it may make people
interested in the film.
The words ‘angus’ ‘thongs’ and ‘snogging’ are all
in larger font than ‘and perfect.’ This makes the
themes of the film clear to the audience. The fact
that the word snogging is larger than all of the
others has connotations that there is possibly a
theme of love in the film.
4. Photographs and illustrations
This film poster has
used a doughnut
ring shape in
exchange for the
letter ‘O’, which
creates comedy.
This is effective as
Homer Simpson,
one of the main
characters, is known
for his love of
doughnuts.
The fact that
Homer’s hand is
reaching up and
taking the doughnut
is also funny
because from one
simple image we
can see everything
that is loved about
the Simpsons, the
yellow skin, Homer’s
body size and his
greediness.
5. Lighting
The lighting in this picture seems very
peaceful, as a bright yellow sunset is low
in the sky, covered by blue/pink clouds
overhead. The blue gives a calm sense,
whereas the yellow sun signifies peace.
However, the dark clouds rising
overhead give a sense of something
looming over the main character which
suggests that something may not be as
it seems. This is supported by the bottles
of alcohol underneath the man’s sunbed,
as this is not normally associated with
peace, more so chaos and trouble.
6. Camera angle and shot
The straight-on, extreme close up shot
enhances the baby’s foot, which is an
important way of symbolising ‘the tree
of life.’ This camera angle allows it to
be the main aspect of the poster
design, while the extreme close-up
enhances each line on the baby’s foot,
paying attention to the detail and
relating to the themes in the film.
7. Colour schemes
The colour black
can symbolise
death, loss of
hope,
spookiness, fear.
The colour
scheme in this
poster is red,
black and white.
The colour red
can symbolise
danger, blood,
death and
murder.
The colour white
symbolises
ghosts, mystery
and the unknown.
The colours in this
poster all relate to the
thriller/horror genre,
due to their
connotations.
