Codes and conevntions of film poster

1. By Phoebe McCarthy

2. A Film poster is a form of advertisement and promotion for the film.
The poster allows people get an insight to the film and from the way
the poster is designed the genre and tone. A main benefit of a poster
is that it is not a film piece therefore can be displayed in multiple
different places, including at bus stops, large billboards, on buses,
underground stations, cinema foyer etc. This allows the film to be
noticed by a much larger amount of people rather than if the film
trailer was just shown in the cinema, meaning a lot more people will
be aware of the future or present film release and be enticed to spend
their money to see it.
BILLIBOARDS
UNDERGROUND
STATIONS BUS STOPS
BUSES
CINEMA
FOYER’S

3. Any poster whether it’s for a film, product, restaurant etc. Is
designed to be able to engage with the audience and want them
to go out and buy the product, go to that particular restaurant
and is this case go to see the film.
ROAD SAFETY POSTER
FOOD POSTER
VIDEO GAME
POSTER

4. Film posters always contain a main image that
makes the film recognizable as this is audiences,
passer-byes and people see which catches their eye.
The image can be a still from the film, a character
shot etc. however all film posters contain some kind
of iconography which enables the audience to asses
what kind of genre the film is and enables the poster
to reveal something about the film. Horror film
posters usually are of a person usually either the
protagonist or the villain. The image normally takes
up the whole page and is eye catching so it stands
out from the crowd.

5. AN IMAGE OF A PERSON:
Horror films especially use an image of a person as direct eye-sight from the
person on the poster creates a personal relationship towards the audience
(Uses and Grats) therefore enticing the reader to see the film. Furthermore
direct eye sight is especially beneficial on horror film posters as it creates an
eerie feel for the audience as it can make them feel uncomfortable as if the
person on the poster is looking directly at them. Along with the dark
background and horror tone the person will not only feel intrigued to see the
film they will also instantly know the genre just from the poster itself.
SCREAM
SILENCEOF
THELAMBS
BLAIRWITCH
PROJECT

6. ICONOGRAPHY:
However like any other genre Horror films also use iconography in
their film posters to again show individuality and to make the poster
unique and stand out. After researching multiple horror posters I have
came to the conclusion that this convention is not as commonly used
as a person on the poster, however from the posters I have found to
use iconography they have all be for highly successful films and
thoroughly stand out from the rest.
THE
PROTAGONIST
BLACKSWAN
The images to the left are examples of
horror film posters that use icons instead
of characters. Both these films icons
contain images that are relates to the
film, for instance the black swan poster
has feathering on the sides and then
when you look clearly a black swan is
noticeable these features both enable
the audience to identify what the film
may include.

7. An important convention in horror film posters is the house
colour scheme. From looking at multiple posters they all include
bold colours weather they be bright and dark e.g. red, black,
purple, oxblood etc. or just simple black and white. From
analysing many me and my group have come to the conclusion
that the colours used in the house scheme relate the poster to
the meaning/ story line of the film. This is an important
convention that we are hoping to use in our ancillary task of
creating a film poster for our short horror film.

8. USE OF DARK/ BRIGHT COLOURS:
Particular horror film use dark and bright colours in their posters
such as different shades of red, black, purple etc. We have
concluded that these shades of colours are mostly used in gory,
violent horror films where there main concept is to scare the
audience.
BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF THIS:
Skeleton mouth;
To convey death
Use of red;
To connote blood
Black background and eyes;
Depicts fear
Broken glass; portrays a weapon/
violence
Tag line to replicate R.I.P- Death

9. USE OF WHITE&BLACK/ MORE NEUTRAL COLOURS:
Horror films that are more dramatic than gory and contain a
deeper storyline tend to use a more neutral house colour
scheme or the simple Black and White design. From re search
we have found that this is to portray individuality and make the
film itself stand out from the rest along with possibly connoting
a more emotional/sympathetic storyline.
BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF THIS:
White background;
Conveying a more emotional
storyline
Use of brighter red;
Again suggesting blood
but in a more reserved way.
No effects on the text (such as
shadowing)-
Connoting a unique horror film.
Use of lighter image;
Still full of fear but is
more exposed of light, again
Showing individuality.

10. The title is a main part of the film poster and the way it is presented is a main
convention of film posters. From analysing various horror film posters, generally
the fonts used are bold and our in a contrasting colour to make them stand out.
Many film posters use a ‘times new roman’ font as they appear creepy and eerie
which again portrays the horror genre to the film. However an interesting concept
we found was with ‘teaser’ posters which are created for a film that has created a
lot of talk or a franchise film such as ‘Scream’, this also adds to the horror theme as
it is mysterious as there is not much information which also gives off a fearful tone.
An old fashioned font;
Depicts an eerie tone, adds
To horror genre.
White font colour;
Stands out, easily noticeable
No title, only a skull face and
A number five; connotes
Mystery and horror.
Only info; film release date.
Red font colour depicts blood
- horror genre.

11. A tag line is a commonly used feature in all film posters, however it is
especially important in horror genre films. Taglines are used within film
posters to emphasise a point about the film as well as hint to what will happen
in the film for the audiences. This is an important feature in horrors as they are
used to create tension and have an impact on the audience. A few examples of
the use of a tag line are below:
‘The past never dies. It kills.”
A tagline from the horror film
‘The Return’, this abrupt and short
Tag line creates tension for the
Audience and includes daunting language
Such as ‘dies’ and ‘kills’ obviously linking
To the horror genre,
‘If you believe in God, you must believe
In God’. This particular tag line again
Relates to horror language however also
Used direct address language; ‘You’ which
creates
A personal relationship between the
poster and audience, depicting
The Uses and Gratification theory.

12. Now that our group has analysed various horror film posters, we
can now apply media theories to them.
Roland Barthes Media Theory:
The Action/ Proairetic Code is the idea of little actions that do not particularly
raise questions, which creates tension and builds suspense for audiences to
guess what happens next. This can be applied in horror film posters as with
the use of type of font, tag line, image, colour etc. combined all are used to
engage with the audience and make them want to view the film from the
small hints and enticing features on the poster.
The Enigma Code: This pushes audiences to ask questions about the films plot
which the audience can do from the hints on the film posters.
The Semantic Code and Symbolic code: This theory looks at symbols and
connotation and the meaning behind the symbols. So on a horror film poster
the audience will look at the features and work out firstly the genre of the film
and secondly the storyline from what the symbols imply.