Title:
The title is an extremely important part of the film poster as it should be the element that is catching the audience's attention and making them want to watch the film. Lots of different film titles are effective:
For instance, the JML film title is extremely simplistic. However, it is central on the poster and in a large font which makes it stand out. These are factors that catch the attention of the audience and encourage them to potentially watch the film.
Another simple film title on a poster is Love Actually's. The font used isn't too fancy. Instead they have used red font to portray the importance of love. This is a good title as it clearly informs the audience what the film will be about. However, the only problem with this film title is that it is displayed fairly small at the bottom of the poster, which may prevent a potential cinema goer/movie buyer from seeing the poster and watching the film.
However, effective film titles can also be decorative. For instance, the P.S. I Love You film title appears to be written. This is another effective title as it implies that the film will possibly involve someone writing to their loved one. It also emphasises the importance of love in the film. This film title is unique and creative, and most certainly catches the audience 's attention, as it is large and unavoidable.Strapline:
The strapline is another important element as it provides the audience with a little bit of information about the film before viewing it. A good strapline shouldn't reveal too much of the film's narrative, but just enough to encourage the audience to watch the film. Here is a good example:
Twilight Breaking Dawn Part II has a particularly good strapline as it plays on the fact that it is the finale, which is more likely to entice an audience into watching it in order to see how everything will conclude. The strapline is simple, it does not give away too much to the audience about how the film will conclude or what will take place. This is more effective as an audience is more inclined to watch it as they want to know more.
Who's in it:
An audience might be more likely to watch a film if it includes certain actors/actresses. Because of this, it is important to stress who is in the film on the poster. This should be big enough for an audience to see, but not too big that it distracts the audience's attention away from the film title and strapline.
Date it is released:
This is undoubtedly important as it highlight to the audience when they can actually view the film. Otherwise the poster would be pointless as it wouldn't have achieved anything, as no-one would watch the film.
Examples:
Images:
Images are crucial as they depict what a film is about. The most effective image to use would be a shot of the main character(s) as this would alert the audience of their importance in the film, thus providing them with knowledge before the film begins. Other images are also effective such as a shot of an object or location. These are effective when the film focuses on the importance of these elements, as it alerts the audience to the content of the film.
A good example is P.S. I Love You. It clearly emphasises that the narrative will revolve around the characters on the poster and their relationship. It allows the audience to decide whether they would want to see the film that would include these two characters and may encourage them to watch it to find out the link between the two. This is achievable as they are the only two characters on the poster, so straight away we are aware of their importance.
Mr and Mrs Smith is a good example of how using a shot of the characters can be effective on a film poster. This is a good use of image as it depicts to the audience who the main characters are and that they will be important. It is ambiguous as it doesn't depict the relationship between the two only that the narrative will involve them. The shot of the characters is also effective as it highlights to the audience their profession, as they both have guns on them, this suggests to the audience that there may be a link between them in this matter, possibly that they are in a conflict.
One example that doesn't use characters on their poster is Cloverfield. This is more effective for the film as the film focuses on the events more than the characters. Sometimes it can be more effective for a film poster to only display events that occur in the film as it provides a potential audience with some information about what the film will likely entail.
Billing block:
The Billing block is an important part of any film poster, it usually includes the main cast involved in the film, and the main crew members such as:
Writer, Producer, Editor, Director, Screenplay writer, and Costume Designer
The billing block is written in Steel Tongs in order to provide enough room for all names to be included as the condensed text allows the heights of the characters to meet contractual constraints while still allowing enough horizontal space to include all the required text.
Some examples of billing blocks on film posters:
