Analysis of film posters

(click to read annotations on each of the posters on Flickr)

What I have noticed about the common conventions of film posters:

Mise-en-scene From researching other horror film posters I can see that the mise-en-scene is usually quite simple with little going on.  Make-up and props appear to be the most overt parts of the mise-en-scene to draw attention on them.  And few use a location unless it is instrumental to the plot.

Image It appears that close-ups are the most popular shots perhaps to allow the audience to relate to the character and to make the shot appear more interesting and detailed.

Lighting most of the posters use low key lighting to make the images appear more natural.  There is limited lighting obviously to create a dark and sinister tone meaning that there is a lot of            

   shadows and dark space which are key to show the horror genre.

   Composition The composition is quite simple and the classical            

   conventions are clear.  Usually the title is in the centre of the 

   poster in a large bold font, the billing block is the bottom centre in        

   a contrasting colour to the background with the release date 

   underneath along side the company logos, actors names are 

   usually at the top centre, and a tag line on top of the image.

   Billing Block is usually centred in the middle in a small, long thin 

   font contrasting against the background colour.  It usually   

   mentions the main companies first, then the cast and then the 

   crew.

  Colour Scheme the colour schemes are relatively simple 

  mainly using either black or white as the main colour and 

  having a contrasting colour to draw the audience in.  Usually 

  this colour is a red colour, mainly as this is iconography of the   

  horror genre as a whole and also as it connotes danger, 

  death, blood and passion which are themes in most horrors.

  Tag line is usually used.  It is a memorable phrase which is 

  attributed to the plot of the film to give a clue about the 

  narrative and can be very effective.

  Quotes sometimes on the poster is a short review of the film usually from a newspaper or magazine which occasionally has a rating in stars (***** 5 stars) to show their audience what others opinions have been of the film.

 Overall this has helped me to design my film poster as I can see what works well.  For my poster I will use a close up of the victim or killer with simple mise-en-scene (but enough to make it clear it is a horror).  I will use high key lighting to contrast with the darkness and create interesting shadows, use a simple and balanced composition  using the usual conventions and have the billing box at the bottom.  The colour scheme will be simple and use a lot of empty black space to make it more mysterious and I will use a memorable tag line.