Common Codes and
Conventions within film
posters
Joanne Mullen 14H
Character image/ A List Celebrity
Unique Selling Point
Many movie productions will have a unique selling point which is
commonly a high profile actor/ A list celebrity. As these well
known people have already became likeably established within the
celebrity world; this will increase the audiences attention to the
movie. USP is an effective marketing technique used to gather the
maximum amount of viewers for the film.
George Clooney could be described as the
Unique selling point for the ‘Descendants’
movie as he is the centre focus within this
movie poster. Also his name is placed directly
above the title making it visible to the reader
that he stars in the movie.
Tagline/ Catch line
The ‘Taken 2’ Movie poster includes a tag line
across the left third of the poster; in keeping with
eye line of the reader. The tag line states “First
they take
A Tag line is a variant of a
branding slogan typically
used in marketing materials
and advertising. The idea
behind the concept is to
create a memorable phrase
that will sum up the tone and
premise of a brand or product
(like a film), or to reinforce
the audience's memory of a
product. Some movie tag
lines provide a hint to the
movie's narrative, however
provide very little knowledge
to what the actual movie plot
is about; therefore leaving the
audience member hungry to
see the movie.
Main Image
‘The Grey’ main image covers maximum capacity
of the poster, allowing the emotional/dramatic
facial expression of the main actor; Liam Nesson
to be observed interestingly. Close up images are
often associated with movie’s of the
thriller/horror genre as close ups allow the
audience to focus on the character’s emotion,
creating a dramatic effect for the audience.
Depending on the type of movie genre, the main image can differ is
size, however, the most commonly designed movie posters have an
imprinted main image of a character or characters, taking up maximum
capacity of the page. Studying ‘Media’ at A level, we have became
aware as students that the main image/photograph you choose to
imprint on your poster is the most important concept, therefore much
thought and consideration must go into photo shoot planning when we
go to create our own movie posters.
Film Title
The title of the film is also another extremely important concept when
it comes to movie posters as audience members need to become aware
of the name of the movie if they wish to go witness it in the cinema.
Titles are often imprinted in large fonts; commonly written in capital
letters to allow the title to stand out flamboyantly on the poster.
The ‘Bridesmaids’ title is imprinted on the top
half of the movie poster in block, capital white
letters. Commonly, film titles are written in
capital letters to allow them to stand out
vividly for the audience.
Colour scheme
• Movie posters often have a certain colour scheme
throughout which corresponds in parallel with the
film’s genre. For example, if a particular film is
produced around the genre of ‘Horror’, it’s movie
poster will more than likely be composed of dark
colours such as black’s, grey’s and blood curdling
reds. A colour scheme can also be used to appeal to
certain niche audiences, for example; a romantic
teenage romcom poster may be created using light
‘girly’ shades such as peaches, pink and lilac's – which
will automatically appeal to a feminine audience.
Billing/ Credit Block
• Many movie posters will contain a billing/credit block
at the bottom of the poster highlighting the key
composers that developed the Movie, such as the:
Publishing Company, Production Company, Film
Writer, Star Actor’s, Music Composers, Costume
designers, Editor, Production designer, Producers and
Directors. Commonly, billing block’s are imprinted in
a minimal font at the bottom of the movie poster in
white block capital letters. Nearly every movie Poster I
have viewed contains a billing block, therefore to
enhance the professionalism and realism of my poster;
I will develop a billing block, typical of modern day
film posters.