2. Title
A common convention of short film posters is
that they have white font for the title. This may
be because it is simple and stands out, catching
the eye of the viewer, especially when it is on a
dark background.t
Another convention is to have bold typography
so create an impact and get interest from the
viewer.
4. Subject
We found that some short film posters don’t
have the face of a person in but instead either
their hands or feet.
This could show the importance of said hands or
feet within the film or to not reveal the identity
of the character as it a major part of the plot.
6. Facing away
A common convention of short film posters is
that the characters in the poster is facing away
from the camera.
A reason for the lack of direct mode of address
could be that the character in the poster is
trying to prove something in the film, like a
journey of discovery.
8. Anchorage
• A typical convention a film posters is to
have anchorage in a tagline, such as
Jurassic World
• However this isn’t the case when it
comes to short films as it isn't as much of
a convention.
10. Tone and Register
The tone and register of short films can vary
dramatically as they cover all subgenres,
however we are trying to focus more on the
seemingly romantic tone with a light degree of
formality, like young adults.
12. Previous credits is also a convention of film
posters and is used a form of guarantee and a
means of prompting audience expectations. This
couples with a positive quote, something a
newspaper, similar demographic or respected
critics write and give stars for the film, which
again is a big form of advertisement for the films
and can reference aspects of the film which are
not shown within the poster
Previous Credits and
Positive Quote
14. Barthes and Short Film Posters
The Proairetic Code is the idea that little actions
that do not particularly raise questions creates
tensions and builds suspense for audiences to guess
what happens next. This could be used in short
films posters, as little parts of the poster may not
straight away raise questions, but may have an
impact on the film as many short films contain a
plot twist at the end.
When a text is not being fully explained, it is
considered to be a Hermeneutic Code, as audiences
want to find what happens as so far everything is a
mystery. This is very common in film potters, as the
viewer does not have the whole story, so they are
curious to find out more.
15. This poster has an example of
Hermeneutic Codes. As the only
thing in view is a computer screen
and a chair. The audience wants to
know what it has to do with the
film and what is on the computer
screen.
It also has a computer could have
connotations with sharing and lack
of privacy which couples with the
title to suggest the plot to the
audience
Examples
16. The image of this poster is suggesting romance.
From the tree in the shape of a heart with a teenage
male and female (stereotypical, hegemonic film couple
– young and heterosexual) as well as the beginning of a
sunset with warm colours with has connotations of
love and romance. The framing of
the shot also speaks about the film.
Both male and female are taking up
the same space suggesting they are
equal however the tree in the
centre of them both splits them up
showing there will be a conflict of
sorts between them both. A
stereotypical romance seems to be
the preferred reading of the poster
