What is a Poster?

A Poster is a method of distribution used by Film companies to deliver a quick message about the film and why the potential audiences/demographic should go and buy tickets to see their film over any others. The poster has to give the audience information such as the genre of the film, cast and crew, institution. Links to viral marketing such as website, Twitter and Facebook may be included on the poster.

Genre

The genre of the film can be conveyed through the imagery, iconography, font and colour schemes of the poster. Colours such as red and black can be used together to convey the horror genre. This would be confirmed in any font and imagery used. Red carries connotations of blood and sex, these are usually in abundance in the horror genre. Black symbolises death and night, much of the genre takes place at night- when people are most vulnerable.

Imagery can used to show genre but it can also be used to show that the film is based on a book/comic-book or is a sequel/remake of existing films. The imagery can be even more effective than the title of the film, especially for a teaser poster.

The font used on posters will also help to sell the genre to the audience, if the font is more scrawled or savage looking the audience will know it is more likely to be a horror film. If the font is colourful and basic it could be a romantic comedy or a teen/coming of age film.

Other Information included in Posters:

Release date

The release date of the film is usually included although the poster may just say "coming soon" this is to make the audience anxious for the films release. But, the release date could be referred to as "Summer 2014" or "Thanksgiving". But this is to get the audience thinking about going to see it and arrange with friends to go and see the film. 

Institution

The institution logos and names are also included, this is so the audience can research the film if they are interested and also if they have liked 

References
This is when a film is marketed using the success of the previous films made by the producers or directors. For example "from the Director of Inception"

Cast/Crew

Images of the cast may be on the poster. But if there are big names involved in the film they are also likely to appear on the poster, so fans of the actors may also want to see the film. The poster may also state if the actors have won an award "Academy Award Winning..."

Reviews

The poster may include quotes from good reviews or a star rating from various magazines. This is so the audience thinks the film is good and are more likely to spend money on something they know is good. 

I think this poster overuses the reviews, but in this case it is effective at selling the film, as it shows how hugely successful it is. But aesthetically it is not very pleasing, it seems too cluttered. 

Age Rating

These are not often included on posters. This is due to the genre that is shown through the poster. It is obvious what demographic it is aimed at.

Tag Line

Taglines are used to give a snippet of the plot to the potential audiences of the film and is also a memorable line that makes people remember the film and therefore they will be more likely to see the film if they can remember it. The majority of films have just one tagline but some films have a number of taglines which they use in teaser posters and character posters (like the above posters).

Teaser Poster

Teaser posters are made for films to help assemble a following for the film and also to build hype for the film. The Teaser poster will give key information such as the title, institution and a release date. They may also include more such as the genre (using imagery and iconography). The teaser poster for Frozen (dir. Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck 2013) shows the five main characters, they are partially covered so it keeps some mystery as where all the characters fit into the plot. The institution logo for Disney rests on top of the title which tells us this film is for children, families and fans of Disney. This is reinforced by the text at the top, informing the audience this film was created by the same people responsible for Tangled (dir. Nathan Greno & Byron Howard 2010) and Wreck-It Ralph (dir. Rich Moore 2012). The poster also states the film will be released around Thanksgiving but it does not give an exact date. This is so that they can postpone the date slightly if a film with the same demographic will be released then, it also keeps the audience interested and looking for more information on the film.

Main Theatrical Poster

The Main Theatrical Poster emphasises on the existing information known about the film and also gives more to the audience. The Main Theatrical poster for Frozen again relays the information about the creators and the institution but now gives the audience a full look at the main characters of the film. By the way the characters are dressed you can see the two on the right (Anna and Hans) are dressed well which tells the audience that it being a Disney film they are a Prince and Princess whereas the man on the right (Kristoff) is wearing working clothes- this shows that he is possibly the unlikely hero. The woman on the far left (Elsa) is wearing all ice related colours which suggests that the film is about her. Also, Elsa has a snowflake floating above her hand and this also shows that she has magic (usually a main element of Disney films). The exact release date of the film is also given so audiences know when to book tickets and go and see it. A Facebook link is at the bottom of the poster so the potential audiences can go on to gain more information about the film by being linked to the viral marketing.