My first poster that I decided to analyse was from the film 50 First Dates starring Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. There were a few variations of the poster, so I chose to look at two of them and compare why they've decided to go for different appearances.
By having a landscape background, it sets the scene for the film. We learn that it is sent on a small island in Hawaii which is demonstrated by the rolling hills of scenery and blue sky. Everything that is seen visually on this poster either appears in the film (such as the penguin which links with the male's occupation of working with animals). The female's face is shocked and reinforces the fact that she has amnesia and isn't quite sure what's going on. The male is looking directly at her, seeming to try and woo her with his musical skills. This relates to the romance as music, picnics and exotic islands are all seen as ways to woo the opposite (or same) sex to begin/maintain a relationship. The tagline of "Imagine having to win over the girl of your dreams ... every friggin' day" links with the male as he literally has to win her over every day because she forgets what she has done, never mind who he is. He also uses slang in the film, so the tagline can be linked with him narrating the film as he uses the word "friggin''' a lot within it. The red connotes an element of love / romance and is part of the colour scheme of red, white, black and brown. The credits at the bottom are small and condensed and made to blend in with the sand behind them so as not to draw too much attention to them. The title of the film "50 First Dates" is the largest text on the poster to draw attention to the name of the film. The writing is clear and the different colours seperate the words not spaces as there is none between the words. By having "Remember the Date" and "Valentine's Day" at the bottom of the page in different colours, they are made to stand out as people may see the names of these films and believe that they will enjoy this film as it is similar because it is made by the same people. The names of the actors / actress' also draw in the crowds as if they like a certain actor - for example, Adam Sandler is popularly associated with comedy - then they will be more inclined to go and see the film. It is clear that the main visual of the poster is of the image of the people starring in the film and gives some indication as to what the film is about.
This is another poster from the same film. The tagline on this poster is different but explains more about what the film is about by saying "When your girlfriend has amnesia, you have to win her over ... every single day." The actors names are again positioned at the top of the poster and their second names are more distinguished as it is often the last names that people remember more. There are more pictures on this however they demonstrate the same message that the film is set in an exotic location with warm weather, and the female appears confused about who this man is. Her facial expression also suggests that it is a romantic comedy which will entice more people. By having the pictures presented as photographs, it links in with the "dates" as on dates you take pictures to remember the good times. The background is of sand again which reinforces the idea that it is set in beach town with clear skies and nice weather. The credits are condensed and are positioned towards the bottom of the poster. Overall, I believe the first poster is more effective as by having one singular image, it is less busy and in a glimpse of the poster, the audience are able to assume what the film is about without having to read anything or look elsewhere.
From these posters, I can assume that the conventions of a poster will show that:
- the title of the film is the biggest text on the poster
- the leading actors / actresses names will appear on the poster, either towards the top or are more distinguished among the writing.
- a tagline is important to help to sell the idea of the film to the audience and gives an indication, along with the image, what genre the film is.
- there will be a colour scheme of 2 - 5 colours, not many as too much colour would be too busy to look at.
- simple is effective by having minimal writing, either one or two images and less than 5 different colours.
From these posters, I can assume that the conventions of a poster will show that:
- the title of the film is the biggest text on the poster
- the leading actors / actresses names will appear on the poster, either towards the top or are more distinguished among the writing.
- a tagline is important to help to sell the idea of the film to the audience and gives an indication, along with the image, what genre the film is.
- there will be a colour scheme of 2 - 5 colours, not many as too much colour would be too busy to look at.
- simple is effective by having minimal writing, either one or two images and less than 5 different colours.
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