Individual Research - Film Posters Analysis

Film Posters are designed to intrigue audiences and make them want to watch the film but also to advertise the film and get it out there because without them then there wouldn't be much advertisement for the film which would cause the film to preform poorly at the box-office.

Not all film poster designs are the same, they're most used to give you a sense of what the film is about and that's it, some show very little and leave you asking questions and others kind of give away the main plot of the film.

 The Exorcist (1973)

This film poster for William Friedkin's The Exorcist is designed to not give away any key information about the film such as; the characters, plot, locations etc. and leaves the audience with questions about the film. We're given a sense of what happens from the film title but apart from that the artwork doesn't really give anything away.

The genre of the film is a horror and the poster fits perfectly with that genre because of the use of dark, empty spaces and high contrast photography which creates a sense of fear and mystery for the audience and leaves them wondering but to also present a frightening and vulnerable atmosphere for the film.

The Avengers (2012)

This film poster greatly contracts to the one above for several different reasons, mainly because the genre is completely different to William Friedkin's The Exorcist as Joss Whedon's The Avengers is an American Superhero film. It also gives away a lot more information, for instance we know which Avengers will be staring in the film as well as where it'll be taking place and what will be happening (New York will be under attack and the Avengers have to stop it). It also tells the audience who the main actors of the film are.

The style of the poster also fits with the genre of the film as Superhero films often feature a lot of sci-fi qualities, action and destruction which is clearly visible in the background of the poster as New York appears to in ruins, it also features spaceships/futuristic crafts which is a feature of sci-fi films.

Both film posters feature things relating to the films and fit with the themes of the films to avoid misleading the audience into thinking the film is something different to what the poster shows.