Film Poster (Research)

Film posters are an integral part of marketing a movie, as it is able to advertise in numerous places and has a wide range of applications. It has been one of the longest and most used forms of advertisement of movies, with examples being seen all around city's, buildings and newspapers. They are used to intrigue and inform audiences on different aspects of the film, such as who is staring in it, a small amount of information on the plot and when it is being released. All this is done without giving to much information away to the audience, creating a want for more, influencing them to go watch the film.     

An example of a minimalist type of film poster is seen with Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979), which shows very little about the overall plot of the film, but manages to interest the audience with a simple but effective look. 

None of the main characters are seen within the poster, as well as any indication of to what the plot of it is, but by having a key prop, the alien egg, clearly visible it creates interest in the film itself, as its bright green hue and unknown appearance make the audience want to learn more about this alien egg. The poster also manages to elude to the genre of the film, with the dark background and futuristic look, conventions seen in the horror sci-fi genres. 

An example of a more informative poster is Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Rian Johnson, 2017) which presents almost all of the key characters, some of the props used, as well as a small sequence of the film its self. 

All of the main character's are seen clearly in the middle of the poster, showing potential audiences who is in this movie, with many of the well known and big names being a pulling factor for people wanting to watch the film. It also uses contrasting red and white colours, which catches the eye of the audiences, as well as the lone blue from 'Rey's lightsaber. At the bottom of the poster, a small sequence from the actual film is shown, which not only eludes to what is in the film, but also to the genre of the film, with the action oriented depiction showing a action sci-fi film, which is what the 'Star Wars' franchise is well known for.  

Film posters are still an integral part of the film making process, with the different types being used to match the tone of the film. The contrast between the two examples shown above highlights the different effects a film maker wants from their poster, with one showing very little to the audience, and one showing much more. However, both have the intended impact of creating intrigue and a want for more from the audience, effectively using the poster format.