Daisy
Campbell
What Makes a good film poster?
Film posters are an excellent way of persuading the potential audience to go out of their way to see a film. Alternatively, a film poster can be telling of what to expect in the film itself.
As well as the film following classic realist narrative. A poster can also follow Todorovs theory of basic narrative. War Horse (2011) demonstrates this perfectly. It centres on a boy and his horse. By centralising them, the audience can understand that they are most likely the protagonists. The audience notices that the young man is dressed in military gear. However it is an old British uniform, from this the audience gains knowledge that the film takes place during the Second World War. The backdrop of the film is the sky at dusk, half of the screen is the clear blue sky, but the second is covered by dark aggressive clouds. In the left hand side of the poster we see a bright light coming from behind the protagonists. From this, the audience can understand that hope (symbolised by the light) is far behind the boy and his horse. They are being forced to (literally) soldier into the foreboding unknown of the future. However, a negotiated reading of the light could be a heavenly afterlife as we can see silhouettes of soldiers marching towards this beacon. This trend can be seen throughout mainstream Western cinema from Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).
Traditionally, Film Posters were painted. Perhaps the most famous images of painted film posters are of the Universal and Hammer Horror franchises of the 50s. These posters do feature scenes from the film. The artist would be watch a rough cut of the film, or just given a promotional picture, then would sketch what he or she had seen. This would often be the climax of the film as the movie monster capture the damsel in distress. A great Example of this style of poster is Creature of the Black Lagoon (1954) which features the monster capturing the female protagonist and taking her under the depths of the lagoon
In my opinion, the most effective film poster is one that doesn’t even feature the film title. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) is a fantastic example of this type of film poster. The poster features the protagonist Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. Potter is on one half of the poster, Voldemort is on the other side. They are both cinematically staring at the wand, as it is the only thing that will destroy the other. The only way in which this style of poster can be used purposefully and effectively is when the film is part of a trilogy or saga.
Meaning that the characters and themes have already been established, and do not need explaining an audience. Similarly the Batman VS Superman (2016) also features the protagonist and the antagonist staring at each other with the batman and superman logo intertwined behind them.