Conventions Found in Posters

Poster Conventions


There are a number of generic conventions that I have discovered through my research into movie posters.

• Every movie poster has the title in a particular font in order to effectively represent the aesthetic of the film whilst also setting the tone. A lot can be inferred by the choice of font for a movie title. If a modern, simplistic font is used then the audience may assume that this is a comedy or romantic comedy due to the simplistic nature of it whereas action packed movies generally have much more dramatic titles and fonts. 

• Every movie poster will feature a release date no matter whether the movie is being released the following year or the following day. 

• Almost every poster will feature billing in some form although it is more often than not, the same on every poster. The generic font used is called 'Steel Tongs' and the billing is usually typed in a small size and placed right at the bottom of the page.

• Every movie poster has the production company logos somewhere on the page. They are traditionally placed at the bottom of the page as generally the audience does not care about the production company as long as it is an enjoyable movie to watch. However, some audiences care more about the production company such as superhero and comic book fans loving marvel movies. When this is the case, the production company logo is larger as it is being used as a marketing technique. 

• Posters generally feature a picture of the main character(s) and can be the protagonist the antagonist or even both in the same picture.

• Finally, the last generic convention is that if there are any famous cast members then their names will be placed somewhere on the poster.