an explanation of traits found in posters and magazines

1. Codes and
conventions
of film
posters and
magazines

2. Film Posters

3. The titles that are positioned on the posters are the 2nd most noticeable thing the observer sees. They are placed most commonly
in the bottom area, middle and sometimes top. This is due to the creator wanting the image to be the prime aim so you know the
genre of the film. The font of the title can also determine the genre and style of movie for example dunkirk has san serif bold
writing showing it is a heavy action movie. Colour scheme plays a role in the font as well. It is often a plain light colour so it sticks
out from the dark background. You will often to see a dark background as action and scifi are the most popular genres at the
moment so that colour scheme links to them.
Film
Title

4. There is always a centre image as the audience focuses on that and is most likely to remember it. Blockbusters with famous cast will often
have the main feature using the star's face as the logo. In all of these three posters the main character is centred directly in the middle, perfect
for us to focus on. The position or post they create is often a reflection of their characters persona allowing the viewer an insight on how
series the film is comedy wise, this also determines the genre. Close-ups of the image normally can suggest there is a more personal side to
the movie as long shots show's other cast and agendas giving it the possibility it is ever action or sci-fi due to it not focusing on one character.
For example, Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2 is about universal destruction so includes characters (villains and heros) props and scenery,
showing it is an expensive blockbuster film.
Image
The same colour scheme
is used throughout the
advertisement of the
movie. Posters tend to
have a dark background
which is mainly black or
blue depending on their
genre. Often now we are
starting to see more use
of neon colors come into
play a sen in all three
posters. This is a very
bright attractive colour
and we are seeing a trend
which links to the 80s.
The font is often in white
as it's the brightest of the
colours so more
noticeable against the
large images.

5. The Billing Block is featured on the bottom of the poster and is in the smallest text compared to the rest of the fonts. It features all the
information on actors and directors followed by producers and screenplay writers. The font is unevenly sized as the names are a larger font
highlighting their importance. Underneath will be the release date or ‘Coming soon’ as well as the production company's logo. This advertises
to the viewer the quality type of movie as larger companies will spend more money on the movie as they have a larger budget. Now cinema is
moving forward the type of cinema it is viewed in is changing as well. On posters we are beginning to see informing underneath the Billing
block saying if it is released in 2D, 3D, Real D 3D, Imax 3D and 4DX.
Fonts
And
Billing
Block

6. Film Magazines

7. In all of the magazine titles here the main
characters featured on the front runs over the
top. This gives more of a focus on the films
main characters, such as captain America on
the right.
In some cases the name of the magazine is
altered to fit the film that they are covering.
This is usually only for big releases, such as
the hobbit in the bottom right, the text on the
front page has a gold effect and colour, as to
match the ring in the film.
In 2 of 3 of the empire covers, a puff is included on
the front cover. This is to showcase other
information about other films to make people
more interested in the magazine. Not everyone
would be interested in the hobbit, so a puff is used
to mention the dark knight rises.
Wolverines name is used right at the top of
this magazine cover in bold for a reason, the
name wolverine is so well known that this
helps to sell copies of the magazine, the use of
this star power from character names/ actor
names is something commonly found on
magazine covers.

8. Here the text is fitting to the film that is featured, the
classic style to it give a gritty feel that is similar to the
film. Furthermore the colour scheme of the text is white
or red, which is symbolic of blood and bone, this gives a
more gory effect on the film before you've even read
about it. This nitty gritty feel the cover creates is also
added to by the ‘blood smudge’ effects underneath.
In this cover the colours used also match the
film, the cover uses a large amount of white
in the text and bordering, fitting the films
cold, snowy setting. Also a puff is also
included in this magazine cover to show
people who might be thinking of buying the
magazine that it also has other exciting
content, not just the feature film. This is a
very common convention that i have seen
Yet again the main featured character is
brought forward over the ‘Sight & Sound’
title, this is something i have seen a lot in
film magazines and it's definitely a
trending convention for these types of
magazines. It gives the character more of a
3d effect, and gives more depth to the
image. Also i noticed that in most of the
magazine covers i looked at the
backgrounds are de-saturated or darker
colours. The reason for this is to make the
most memorable parts of the cover to
stand out most; the main featured
character and the title for the magazine.

9. Comparison

10. There are many similar advertisement
tricks the distributor has used to create a
brand through the poster and magazine.
For example, the colour scheme is the same
as shown in rogue one where it is blue,
white and grey. Also the facial expression
used by the main character in both the
poster and magazine are the same, as well
as the clothes she has on & hairstyle. This
consistency is vital in creating a strong
brand image for Rogue One. The title for
the film is also the first font you see then
followed by the star main characters. This
is the most memorable way the movie will
stick into the audience's head as this
repetition is very effective.
Comparison of
film posters
and magazines
The differences in these two however are quite clear; there is many more
characters in view in the poster as it isn't focusing on just the main character
like the magazine is. This shows more of what is going on in the film and in turn
gives a better overall idea about what might go on in the film. Lastly in the
poster there is a sinister, barely recognisable ‘darth vader’ in the top left corner,
a character that is known to be bad news. This is included in the poster to create
a hype around the film as Darth vader has his own star power almost.