film posters and film reviews

1. CONVENTIONS OF FILM
POSTERS & FILM REVIEWS

2.  Film posters must be eye catching and captivating to the
audience
 There must be a focal picture that will draw in the audiences eye
 The title is displayed in a large, eye-catching font
 It clearly defines the film’s genre
 The poster should be designed to attract the largest audience
possible
 There is usually an indication of when the film is being released
– either a date or ‘Coming Soon’, although they are sometimes
less specific, for example they might say ‘In Cinemas This
Summer’
 Information on the Directors and Production Company is often
displayed in a billing block at the bottom of the poster
 There could be reviews or titles of other films that the company
has made
CONVENTIONS OF FILM POSTERS

3.  For my own film poster i used a textured grey/black plain
background to create a very dark and intriguing image,
particularly the middle get’s lighter where i place the
shadowy figure which makes it stand out and contrast
against the light and dark. The title is placed in the centre
with the figure and is boldly written and can be seen very
clearly, which makes it easier for audiences to acknowledge
the genre of the film. Nonetheless i did not use dates of
when the movie may be released instead i used a tag line
which suited my poster more. I created a billing block with
the directors, producers and production company to make it
look more professional. I avoided using reviews as i thought
it did not fit within my own poster as it made it look less
effective.

4.  Film Name & Year of Release - Having the Film name and year of release is conventional on
Film Reviews. This information is then followed by the films genre and then its credits such as
director, screenwriter, soundtrack and main actors
 Quotes - Of ten a review begins with either a quote or reference from the actual film. This is
utilized as a good introduction for the reader as is common in film reviews; although its not
seen to be used as much in Short Films as they don’t have key ‘Quotes’ etc. within them.
 Intro & Summary - It is very conventional for the first paragraph to contain a short summary of
the film. Which will include aspects of the timeline, location and the actual narrative. This is
of ten proceeded by a personal view of the film, from the Writers perspective.
 Plot - Its quite conventional that the second paragraph continues the synopsis of the film with
emphasis placed on the actual plot of the film. However, there are usually few references to
the ending, so to avoid ruining the film for readers that have yet to watch it.
 Aspects - Its quite conventional for the next paragraph to feature the positive aspects of the
film itself. This of ten features a personal opinion of certain points of interest within the
production. This of ten focuses on points such as – the story, setting, mise-en-scene, the
ef fects used and the films music. This paragraph is then followed by one which focuses on the
negative aspects of the film.
 Characters - Its sometimes conventional for Short Film Reviews to Focus on the characters of
the Short Film and explain their good and bad qualities. However, This isn’t always present in
Short Film reviews because they have very little amount of characters.
 Ratings - In Film Reviews it is conventional to summarise the review in the Final Paragraph
giving a star rating out of 5. However, this isn’t as conventional in Short Film Reviews.
CONVENTIONS OF FILM REVIEWS

5.  In my own film review i used the title of the film to fill up half of the
page as i think this is the most important part and what the readers
would be intrigued by. I included quotes from other sources and from
the directors themselves to make the reader feel like they are talking
directly to them and make them understand the perspective of the
producers viewpoint on their own film. I used half formal and informal
language to attract mainly young adults as this is the audience that
we decided to aim for due to the actress that is in it. Also i
summarise the plot quickly without giving too much away but making
the reader be interested enough to want to go and watch it. I place
my own opinions as a writer in there to have more than one viewpoint
and also give credit to the actress/producers/directors themselves. I
also included a 4 out of 5 star rating below the title to let the reader
know instantly whether the review will be positive or negative. I used
a two page spread and on one side i had the writing and the other i
used images from the actual film itself to attract the readers eye
instead of having a full page of writing with no visuals, as well as i
use previous films that are similar to my own film to let the reader
know of what to expect and if they liked those films they will
definitely enjoy ‘Oblivious ‘.