Research into Existing Film Posters

The conventions of a film poster are:

• Image of characters- The audience are aware of what the story could be about or the genre of the film by the way in which they are positioned or what costume they are wearing.



• The title of the film- Should be shown so the audience is aware of what the film is called and what to look for if they are interested in watching it.



• The date of release- So the audience know when they can access the film.



• Name of actors- This could add popularity to the film, because if the audience is a fan of the actor within the film, they are more likely to watch it.

For part of my media work, I have been asked to analyse and research the conventions of different film posters. I have chosen two different film posters: Toy Story 3 and Bruce Almighty. They are quite contrasting films and this is visible from the film posters.

In the film poster for Toy Story 3 there are many conventions to consider. The denotation of this poster is several toys displayed with comical faces and features. Bold fonts are used to promote the film.
The connotation of this poster is that the toys are secretly alive and act just like humans. They behave, think and feel like humans. There is a bubbly fun feeling to the poster as it attracts young audiences with it's popular characters. There is an order of dominance as the main character are clearly standing slightly more forward and exert more authority and importance. The film title is bold and shown at the bottom of the screen in primary colours that would attract young audiences. The tag line 'The breakout comedy of the year' makes audiences aware that it is a successful film, they are also aware that the film is a follow up to the previously popular Toy Story films. The characters are grouped, representing a team and this shows that team work is present in the film, this sends a positive message to audiences as it shows that team work goes along way, whoever you are, even if you are a toy. However there is a dominating character at the front of group who is seen as the 'dominant' 'protective' character who is guarding the group. The expressions upon the toys face portray fearful, worried and panicked faces, this temptation of not knowing what they are looking at is appealing to viewers as it explains part of what happens in the film.

The second film poster I have chosen to analyse is 'Bruce Almighty'. The denotations of this film poster is a man smirking, holding the the world on his finger. In the background the sky is shown. The actors name is displayed visible, as well as the title of the film. A slogan is used 'In Bruce We Trust?'. This makes audiences intrigued to discover what this slogan means and what link it has with the main character. The poster is bright and cheerful, the audience would be enlightened to watch the film as it grasps the imagination of the audience through its terminology and facial expressions from the character.
The connotations to consider are that the character dominates the poster, this shows that he a has importance in the film being the main the character. The actors name is shown clearly at the top the poster, this draws fans of the actor in because Jim Carey is a famous, popular actor, loved by many, which would attract a wider audience. Having a famous character in the film would boost its ratings as fans of the actor would be interested in watching the film with him in to admire is work.