2. The poster from the film ‘Dear John’ directed by Lasse Hallstrom and released in February 2010 is presented very
effectively for a romance drama film. It is immediately clear for the audience that it is a romance due to the image that
fills the whole poster. The couple that the audience can see are quite close and in a position that could be represented
as a relationship which again enhances the genre romance. This would attract the targeted audience whose preference
is to go see a film based on a relationship.
The font used in the poster is quite large so it grabs the audiences attention in comparison to the busy background
behind it. The colour of the fonts are quite camouflaging against the image behind it. Using neutral colours represents
the mood of the poster to be quite calming, which suggests to the audience that it is a sad story. As not using colours
such as red which is a connotation to represent blood and horror helps the audience understand the genre of the film
and therefore helps to meet the audiences expectations on what they are going to watch after viewing the poster. The
fact that the font is in capital letters and is called ‘Dear John’ informs the audience more on the narrative that it is
based on as in the film it follows the love life between the couple through the use of letters. Again this lingers on the
stereotype of romance and how it is created through the use of props. The small caption underneath the title helps to
create the impact on the audience and intrigue them to watch the film as again it corresponds to the narrative of the
film. This results that if the audience are able to relate to it then it means it is targeting the correct audience and will
entice them to watch it. It is placed just the right size underneath the title so that it looks neat and doesn’t take the
audiences attention away from the name as that is what the producer will want the audiences to remember.
At the top of the poster it has the name is the protagonists that the audience can clearly identify are the characters in
the picture. Using san-serif font tells the audience that it is a modern, recent film so therefore will help to encourage
the younger audiences to watch it. It is quite classy looking so reinforces towards the audience what kind of film they
are going to watch. Placing the names of the actor and actress at the top makes it more easer for the audience to see
clearly and will be more attracted to watching it due to them being famous. Again this is another strategy that directors
will use as they will be aware that some target audiences will strictly be attracted to go watch the film on the basis of
the famous actors and actresses that star in it.
At the bottom of the text with all the information about the film the word ‘February’ stands out amongst it because it is
in bigger font, in capital letters and in a different colour. This creates it to be more eye catching for the audience but is
also a key bit of information the audience will be looking for as it is the release date of the film. The choice of month
was a big success in order to emphasise the genre of the film being a romance due to February being known as the
romantic month; as on the 14th February is when Valentines day is every year.
3. ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ was released in June 2009 and was directed by Nick
Cassavetes. The image in this poster is the main focus for the audience to
look at; this in comparison to the text will attract the audience to look at
it. The way the poster is presented is by the image over mining the title of
the film which is placed just under the image of the two females smiling at
each other. This works effectively as the audiences attention will be on the
image due to the characters faces as the audience will be able to relate to
their emotion being expressed.
With the two characters looking at each other looking happy with the
young child looking up to what can only be assumed from the image as
her mother; this suggests to the audience that it fits in to the drama
genre. The young girl blowing the bubbles at the bottom of the poster
helps to symbolise the morals of the narrative in the film: as the audience
are able to tell that she is young due to her blowing bubbles which is
represented to what initially kids do. This helps to relate both young girls
in the picture together because of the title being ‘My Sisters Keeper’
which will insinuate to the audience that they are the siblings.
The effects that are used around the image help to promote the genre of
the film. As bubbles that are edited to look glazed/blurred as they would
not be represented for a horror genre etc… This creates the appeal to the
audience that it has quite a positive effect. The colour scheme helps to
compliment this as green is a colour that can be negotiated to be quite
calming; this implies to the audience that there is no action or horror
within the film, so the audience have that bit of identification of what the
film will consist of.
4. ‘Twilight’ was released in November 2008 and was directed by Catherine Hardwicke. The poster for the film
represents to be quite dark looking and so therefore from the first glance by the audience isn’t particularly clear that
the genre of the film is a romance drama. Again like from the poster ‘Dear John’ they are quite similar in the fact that
the main image is of a couple together; although in this image they look more scared than they do happy like the
‘Dear John’ poster suggested. This challenges the codes and conventions found within a romance drama film.
The main colour that is found in the poster is black. Black has the connotation of evil, mystery, death anything along
those lines that aren’t expected codes found when thinking of a romance, as it is more thought of as a thriller or
horror. However it will intrigue the audience as it will create tension. This is because the audience will be more
inclined to want to know what happens in the film as to why they don’t look happy, this is due to the poster not
meeting the audiences expectations of a happy ending that most films include.
The image of the couple positioned where the male looks like he is protecting the female is a key symbolism of the
genre drama within the film, so therefore creates a bigger impact on the audience when they look at it; it helps to
inform the audience more on the narrative of the film where the male protagonist is trying to protect the female
protagonist. This already can be certified by the audience that they are aware of the hero – however that is yet to be
challenged when the audience go watch the film, as the director plays on the different roles of the characters of good
and evil.
The font used in the poster looks quite mystical and magical in comparison to other similar genre film posters, as this
film also includes fantasy as a genre. The use of font makes it look more interesting o look at and really stands out
amongst the dark back ground. As the use of a white font really enhances the opposing colours. However the colour
could be quite symbolic to represent the title of the film being ‘Twilight’. This creates eeriness and again helps to
create the tension that the director has intended the audience to feel.
The small caption on the poster is found higher up the poster rather than the positioning of the title. This works well
as it gives the audience that slight bit more of information to be intrigue them in before finding out the name of the
film. The caption saying ‘When you can live forever, what do you love for?’ is very open and leaves it for the audience
to judge what it means before they go to watch the film. Using a rhetorical question makes it more personal for the
audience as they will ask themselves that. The font of the caption is more basic and standard in comparison to the
title so it does have a modern edge to the film although it still looks classy and formal; it helps to target the right
audience that the director plans on targeting.
