Film Poster Research

A successful film poster must include a lot of things but the most importantly it must be eye catching and captivating to the audience. If the film poster does't attract the audience then the film won't be as successful as it potentially could be. There must be a focal image, obviously relating to the film, that will draw in the audience. The title must be displayed in a large eye catching font which matches the colour scheme of the focal image and the film. If the film is a horror with the title in bright pink it will mislead and confuse the audience. Another important part of the film poster is that it must clearly define the film's genre, this includes the imagery used, font and colours. The purpose of film posters is to obviously promote the film but to also help attract the largest audience possible.

There is usually an indication of when the film is being released - either a date or the words 'Coming Soon'. Although they are sometimes less specific by saying 'In Cinemas This Summer'. Film posters without a specific date build some small tension for the audience, especially if they are eager to see the film but don't know when it will be out. This works best for mainstream films which are guaranteed to be a popular due to star actors and horror films which usually have a good storyline full of suspension or a horror film which is part of a series for example 'Insidious' has 'Insidious 2' and 'Insidious 3'.

Information about the director, producers and production company is often displayed in a billing block at the bottom of the poster. The director's name is especially important because it can also be a selling point for the film. Like star actors, audiences will view films based on the director of the film. If the director is well known such as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino etc. then audiences who are familiar with their work will go see the film because they know it will exceed their expectations and standards.

The poster could also include reviews and star ratings from film critics, this gives the audience an indication of what to expect from the film. This is also another selling point for the film because a film with good reviews will defiantly reach a large audience. However, it isn't crucial for a film poster to have good reviews on it in order for the film to be successful.