FILM POSTER AND MAGAZINE FRONT COVER RESEARCH

Chynia Teixeira

WHAT IS A FILM POSTER? A film poster is a piece of marketing that is used to advertise an upcoming film.

These posters can vary in different ways such as size and the content within them, however each poster is designed to specifically attracted the films target audience.

They normally contain an image and text, the image may be the main actor or actors or and image that links to the film. The name of the film is the biggest text on the poster, along with the names of stars, sometimes director and the film companies. Film posters can be found in a variety of different places such as outside cinemas, on billboards or on buses.

MAIN POSTER

This is a billing block, it includes the different film companies involved in the making and distribution of the film, it is also like credits as it includes names of directors and producers for example.

This is the names of the actors that are staring in the film, this is their to make people want to go because if they know an actor or actress that they like is in a film they are more likely to go and see it.

This is a tagline, this tells us a little about the story line without revealing too much for example this could mean that all may go wrong in the place that is set.

The title is at the bottom like on most film poster, it is in bold writing so that it stands out and also it has the Batman logo behind which allows people that the film “The Dark Knight” is about Batman.

This is the release date, usually on main trailers he exact date is put on it whereas on teaser trailers it may just say “Coming Soon” or “This Summer” etc. this allows for the audience to know when they can go and see it.

On all posters there is a main image, this could be an image of he leading character or a symbol that represents the film in some way, in this film poster this is both the main character and also a symbol that represents the movie. They both allow the audience to know more about the movie without revealing too much.

TEASER FILM POSTER A teaser poster is a poster that is an early promotion for a film. These posters are usually basic with one main image of the main characters or an image that is related to the film in some way. These images reveal very little about the film that is going to be released.

The purpose of teaser film trailers is to increase awareness of the upcoming film which once again does not reveal too much.

TEASER POSTER

The number “3” is in the centre to represent Toy Story 3. People will know that this is a poster for Toy Story because they have used the same theme. The release date allows

the target audience to know when it will be in cinemas.

The name of the distribution and film company allows for people to know who created the movie and also it also makes the title more clear as people will know that it definitely is Toy Story.

This is a tagline, this reveals very little about the film, or example it could mean that the toys will be in danger and may need to escape from somewhere

This is a very basic poster which is why it is a teaser poster because it reveals practically nothing about the film besides the film company and the release date.

SUCCESSFUL FILM POSTER There are a variety of different aspects that I believe film posters should include for it to be a successful film poster, these include:

A style or theme that is consistent or links with the actual film. A tagline that links to the film, revealing a small amount of the storyline.

Colours that link with the theme for example, dark colours for a horror film or bright colours for a children’s film.

Iconography that doesn’t reveal too much about the film but just enough to make people want to go and see it.

WHAT IS A MAGAZINE COVER? A magazine cover is the front of a magazine, it advertises what will be within the actual magazine.

Magazine covers are usually full of information about the different articles within it, also there is usually a main focus on the cover such as a celebrity, in the case of film magazines the front cover usually has the main character/actor from a film for example, Harry Potter/ Daniel Radcliff or The Mad Hatter/ Johnny Depp. By having a well known celeb/ character on the front cover makes more people want to buy the magazine and read more because there is a well known popular person on the font cover. Magazine front covers also include large bold titles, taglines and dates of publication.

The purpose of magazine covers is to allow people to know what will be within the magazine.

MAGAZINE FRONT COVER

Front covers include a barcode, this is so that it can be purchased, its presence symbolises professionalism. It is in the bottom right corner so that it is not in the way of the left side which is where most of the writing and features are.

This is the masthead/title. This is the biggest text on the front cover and is usually the boldest and in a different colour to most of the other text.

This is the tagline, this will attract the target readers as it guarantees good quality due to it stating its popularity, in this magazine the tagline is the same colour as the title to draw attention to it however not too much which is why it is in smaller font.

This is the main image is in the centre of the magazine cover, its there to catch the audiences attention. For this front cover, Daniel Radcliff is looking directly into the camera, this draws the readers in, by having a well known character on the front cover it will mean that the reader will know this will be about the film

The price is small and not in the way of any other text so that it does not take any attention from the other more important aspects of the magazine.

This colour scheme is somewhat plain however the important parts that the magazine company want to stand out such as the title an articles that are most important and more popular.

SUCCESSFUL MAGAZINE FILM COVER There are a variety of different aspects that a magazine cover should include to ensure that it is successful, these include:

Cover lines that appeal to the target readers Clear, bold master head Good colour schemes An equal amount of iconography and typography Strong background, top celebrities as this will draw a wider range of readers