Main conventions of film posters in terms of technical codes

There are many conventions of film posters in terms of technical codes. To start with all film posters have a title, the idea of putting the title in a film poster is to make the audience aware of the name of the film which could relate to the genre to make them aware of them theme; additionally the can utilize full awareness from the title by making it bold and colourful hence it stands out from the background to stand out from other competing film posters. Furthermore the titles font can reflect the time era of the film or add effect to move the narrative forward.

Secondly persuasive language is used in the tag lines to attract the reader to the film and help them memorise it. The best form of tag lines is those that come in three's better known as the 'rule of three' where a film poster has a tag line that has three short effective sentences. The rule of three is a principle in writing that things are funnier, more satisfying and more effective. The reader of this information is also more likely to consume the information in the poster through the tag line. A series of three is often used to create progression in which tension is created then built up and finally released. An example of this is 'The good, The bad, The ugly'.

Another convention of a film poster is the use of the predominent image, as we seen earlier in the film poster 'The Fighter' we clearly have a victorious struggle stance represented by a a-list actor, the use of such a powerful image and a famous actor would entice a much greater audience because it not only shows the main actor but also could represent the genre of the film.

The BBFC is also shown on the poster this is to inform the audience of the content in the film also by having the age limit stated it targets the audience they want to attract.

Additionally the use of promotional features like the actors names and directors are normally shown in billing blocks at the bottom of the poster is used to show the consumers who is in the motion and who created the film incase theyve liked the directors others films so would like this one it makes it more formal.

Finally the background image normally shows the location or theme or other characters present in the film which moves the narrative forward.

I have annotated one film poster to represent what is seen above: