Poster research- Writing

The writing on posters is very important, as this is the thing that grabs the onlooker along with any pictures that are on the poster.

The Film Title

The title of the film is usually in the biggest font and the important words in bold. When researching we have found that most film posters change their font, boldness and colour for different words. For example in ‘The Proposal’ the word ‘The’ is in a black, thin normal font, as it is not seen as being as important as the word ‘Proposal’ which is in a bright red, bold and bigger font as this tells the viewer the main story line of the film even though it is just one word. The positioning of this title is in the middle on the right side of the frame and this gives it even more importance, as it is eye-catching and so draws your attention into the poster. In ’50 First Dates’ the same style of writing is used with the difference in boldness and colour in order of importance to the film. ‘50’ is in black and is bold so the viewer sees this first and because it has been written in number form it’s easier to read and so more people will look at it. ‘First’ is in red which could symbolize danger or love as red is associated with these things. Having ‘Dates’ last in white shows purity and also that this word isn't as shocking as the first two. Having only three words for a title brings people in as it is easy on the eyes and people don’t have to think about it much. This title has been positioned differently to the other poster as it is at the bottom middle of the frame; but because it is still bright and bold people can still see it and understand that this is the title to the film they want to watch.

Credits.

On the poster for ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ there is only one main name above the film title as Reese Witherspoon is the main character and, at the time the film came out, the most successful and known actor in the film. The names and jobs of the rest of the crew are at the bottom of the poster in what is known as a Billing Block, in a different colour to show that these people are different from the actors. It is also hard to read the names mainly because viewers don’t know the names listed. These names don’t influence whether they watch the film or not whereas the names of famous actors and actresses do. In ‘The Break-up’ the writing is much more simple, as the two main characters’ names are in white at the top of the poster in not a big font so they don’t stand out at you as much as some other film actors’ names do on their posters. The other peoples’ names are the same as the other poster and all the different posters we have looked at; they are at the bottom in a small font in a different colour to the rest of the writing, in an Industry-standard Billing Block.

Other Text.

Most film posters have other additional text, such as what other successful, well known films the director has made. However we can’t do this on our film poster as this is our first film. Also they have a sentence or just a couple of words for the viewer to read and think about either when they watch the film or in their own life. This is known as a ‘Tag Line.’ For example in ‘No Strings Attached’ there is a tag line between the two characters in white, and in a font that is smaller than the rest, which reads “Friendship has it’s benefits” so it give more clues to the film but doesn't give too much away. Another thing we have found that most film posters have quotes and comments that viewers of important industries have given. On the ‘Love Actually’ poster these are very big in just two colours, black and red to keep in with the Christmas theme and memorable colours to link with this film. Some of the more important words like “Unmissable” are in bold and some of the really important writing has been made bigger and is in red like “10/10”. We will have to put a couple of quotes on our poster to draw more peoples’ attention but we have to keep it neat and in theme. Finally, at the bottom of every film poster it says when the film is coming out to the cinemas so we can watch it or that it is coming out soon in a different colour or just simply in a bold font; we shall have this on our poster as well..