How I have Used Conventions on My Poster

My poster uses many of the conventions of posters that I found during my research.

I noticed that the titles of films on posters are usually the largest copy - so I replicated that on my poster. I used a font associated with the horror genre (Trajan Pro) and put the name of my film (a location, something I found was common in the horror films I looked at) in uppercase.

I included a tagline, a feature that was common on many posters I looked at, placing it just above the film's title. It makes reference to both the genre and to the narrative of the film.

Some posters for horror films I looked at included reviews to help sell/market the film, so I included two on my poster. I used stars (giving the film 5 stars to suggest that it was critically well-received) and language that would draw audiences into the cinema. I also made sure that the language referenced genre, as this was something I noticed on the posters I looked at (such as 'terrifying', 'scariest', 'tense' and 'shocking'. Also, the publications are horror publications, to indicate the genre again.

I noticed that films were often marketed in relation to either other films by the same director, or in relation to other films from the genre. My director is James Wan, who is associated with making horror films, so I referenced two of his films at the top of the poster.

I noticed that the name of the director was often placed near the title of the film, as this is becoming an increasingly important way to sell movies to audiences. I placed the director's name just underneath the title (in smaller font which was typical of the posters I had researched).

Apart from teaser posters, all of the posters I looked at featured a billing block towards the bottom of the poster. I created this using the font 'steeltongs', and I used the names of crew who have worked in the horror genre previously to add further verisimilitude. I noticed that production company logos and sound logos were usually placed along the bottom line of the billing, so I replicated that in my poster. I also placed social media links (for facebook, twitter and a website) underneath the billing to show some of the other ways the film would be marketed (outside of the instagram account I have created).

All of the theatrical posters I looked at had a release date at the bottom of the poster. Because my film belongs to the horror genre I have chosen to release the film on Halloween.