Horror movie posters tend to use unsaturated shades of red, blue, green, and brown to invoke fear in viewers by playing on the colors' associations with horror. They often feature blurred titles and close-ups of faces or violent scenes. Action movie posters similarly use bright versions of red, blue, green, and orange to create a sense of adrenaline, with large action scenes and explosions in the background below the title. Comedy posters employ refreshing colors like blue, yellow, and green with images of characters laughing. Drama posters convey despair through dull colors and intimate portraits of relationships that pique curiosity.

1. Film Poster Research

2. Horror and Action Posters
Horror posters tend to use/overuse the colours: red, blue,
green and a grungy brown/grey. All of the colours will some
what be unsaturated. The reason for this is that because they
are used so widely in horror movies, as humans, we will
automatically be drawn to these colours and fear them more
as we know what they are associated with. The title will tend
to have a blurred/mechanical effect, along with a close up of
a face or a violent scene from the movie.
Action posters will also use red, blue, green and orange as
their main colour scheme. However, the difference between
these and the other ones, is that the action movie colours are
much brighter and strike the eye more. This gives the
audience a sense of adrenaline/excitement when looking at
the poster which coincides with the fact that it is an action
movie, and they are meant to feel hyped up to go and watch
it. The titles will usually be at the bottom to make space for
the massive action scene going on behind. This will include
some type of explosion, weapons/guns being used and a
futuristic element.

3. Comedy and Drama Posters
Comedy horror movies will usually use bright colours
such as blue, yellow and green. I have also noticed that
the main background colour that they choose to use is
either blue or white. This is because it is the most
refreshing colour for the audience. The image will have
a character/group laughing and having a good time.
The text for the titles tend to be simple and easy to
read.
Drama posters will use dull colours to portray some type
of despair which will happen in the film. There will be a
relationship between two people shown as this will hint
that there will be either conflict like in 'Warrior', or love as
shown in 'Safe Haven'. This makes the audience curious as
to what happened between them, and they will be more
excited to watch it.

4. The different types of posters
Teaser Poster-This comes out
before the actual film and will
only contain minimal
information such as the release
date and the title. This is done to
hype the audience about the
upcoming film.
Character Poster- will have
the normal information,
but will only focus on one
character at a time. This is
done to sell the
actor/actress.
Main Poster- will have all
of the information,
including credits. All of the
main characters will be on
it as well.

5. Where are they advertised, and why?
Films are usually shown in:
• Public Transport- Most people use public transport, so they can't miss it. They will either be stuck on the
busses, at the bus stop, or in the tube station.
• Billboards- These are massive, so again the audience can't miss it.
• Street walls- They will be stuck on the busiest streets, such as in central London.
• Cinemas- The can be inside, or outside the cinema. This is good when people are deciding on what film or
watch, or what they would like to see next.

6. Poster Sizes
The Standard poster size is called one sheet. It is 27" by 40"
(69cmx104cm). This is portrait format.
Bus stop or subway posters are usually 40" by 60"
(101cmx152cm). This is again in portrait format.
The standard posters for billboards are called 48 sheet. They are
240" by 120" (609cmx304cm).

7. Appeal and Attraction
Posters attract the audience as it leaves them with a sense of enigma as they
wonder what is going on and how will the story unravel. This is done by mainly the
MES EN SCENE because the image is carefully chosen to allow the audience to
know the genre and the actors, but not know any of the plot. Most of the enigma
will also come from the title of the film as the audience will try and make
connections between it and the image to try and figure out a basic storyline.
The poster must be aimed at a wider audience than the trailer. This is because it is
most likely that all ages will see the poster as it will be up in most places. However,
the trailer can be targeted to only their age group as they will most likely be the
ones to search it on YouTube.

8. Conventions of posters

9. Main Image Actors Names
The main image on the poster will usually be the main
character/characters. This allows the audience to see which
actor is playing what character, and this is make them
anticipate the film even more if the like particular actor. The
genre will also be portrayed through the MES which will
help the audience understand what type of film it will be
before they watch it.
The main actors names will usually be at the top or at the
side of the poster and they will appear somewhere in the
image as well. This is important for the audience so they
know who is playing in the film. It is also important for the
actor themselves as they will get more recognition and
publicity which will be good for future jobs. The order of
their names will depend on their status in the industry and if
they play a main or minor role, but are still well known.

10. Title/Credits Release Date
The title will be the biggest text on the poster as they want
the audience to focus on that the most as it gives away the
man plot of the film away but subtly. The typeface and
colour will match the genre. The credits are very small and
are always placed at the very bottom of the poster. This is
because there are a lot of important people and companies
involved and they deserve recognition as well.
The release date will usually be at the bottom of the poster
or underneath the film title. This is to inform the audience
of when the film is going to come out so they can anticipate
it and support it on social media.

11. Tagline
Taglines are used to give the audience more enigma to the
storyline as it hints to the plot but not directly. They will be
placed at the top or at the bottom and it will leave an
impression on the audience.
The three most
prioritized features?
• Main Actors in Image
• Title of the film
• Credits
This is because the audience must know the title and
the characters/actors involved as this will give them
an idea of how appealing the film is for them. For
audiences they more 'judge a book by its cover' and
go by first impressions.

12. Reinforce or Challenge?
Posters will reinforce the conventions by the MES EN SCENE e.g costume, makeup and setting in the
background. This will give the audience a feel for the film without actually watching it.
We know that this will be
an action movie due to the
guns being shown. We also
know that it will be set it in
a while back and in the
'wild west' era as they are
wearing the hats and coats
for that era.
This poster challenges the
conventions by not including
the main character as the focus
of the poster, but the place
they stay instead. This gives the
audience a better
understanding of how the film
will be like as they know the
surroundings.