Film Poster - Codes & Conventions

For my project, as well as making a short film I need to make some ancillary tasks, one of these is a poster for my short film. Therefore I feel that I need to understand the codes and conventions of film posters to be able to create one of my own. This will have to be predominantly primary research that will focus on me finding and analysing 15 posters and concluding what elements they all have in common therefore I can use these common elements in my own creation. I also will be taking part in second dairy research into understanding the different types of film posters and any other information I can find.

Primary Research into the Code & Conventions of film posters.

Film Names:

Position: Centre at the bottom or lower third of the poster

Font: Conventionally a san serif font that reflects the genre of the film.

Size: Larger text on the poster

Colour: Contrasts the background colour and standout as the most dominant part of the poster

Actor(s) Names:

Position: Either around the actor head on the poster or above/below the title of the film.

Font: Conventionally a san serif font that matches the title font.

Size: The second largest font on the poster with the surname being larger then the first name.

Colour: White or matches the colour of the title.

Main Images:

Objects: The majority of posters contain floating heads of the main character/actors which key scenes/landscape or props that revealed the films genre.

Represented: The majority of posters are represented photographically instead of graphically, or illustratively. However older film poster are illustratively or graphically represented.

Tagline/Slogan:

Position: The conventional position for the tagline is at the top of the poster in the centre.

Font: Conventionally a serif font that is like the font style Trajan.

Size: Is the smallest size font on the poster apart for the cast and crew at the bottom of the poster.

Colour: White or matches the colour of the title.

Cast & Crew:

Position: Positioned at the bottom of all posters and centre to the middle of the page.

Font: Conventionally a san serif font.

Size: Is the smallest size font on the poster.

Colour: Grey or a dark colour that does not distract from the main content.

Secondary Research into of film posters.

Types of posters:

Teaser poster - This poster contains basic information to whet your appetite. It often does not indicate much about the plot, but may have a picture of the stars, and the name of the film.

Main theatrical poster - This contains information about the production personnel, the stars, and the distributors.

Video/DVD release poster - This one comes out when the film is released on DVD/video and often has all of the above plus short, one line reviews from relevant publications.

Genre poster - eg an action film will nearly always have images of guns/weapons, a Romance will always have the 2 lovers in very close physical proximity... etc...

Character poster - this one features the main character. Remember that the posters could be a combination of two types.

Teaser Poster The Hobbit (2012) Peter Jackson

Main Theatrical Poster Angels & Demons (2009) Ron Howard

DVD release poster The King's Speech (2010) Tom Hooper

Genre poster Hot Fuzz (2007) Edgar Wright

Character poster Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) David Yates

Unconventional Film Posters

The Truman Show (1998) Peter Weir

True Grit (2010) Carter Burwell

The Social Network (2010) David Fincher

The Matrix Reloaded (2003) Andrew Paul Wachowski, Larry Wachowski

Font for Film Posters

Reflection

After researching into film posters I have now been able to understand and gather together the main elements of film posters, that when combined together will create a recognisable advertise meant for a film. I can now take these elements and create my own poster for my short film that audiences will be able to engage with and hopefully interest and intrigued them about my short film. 

However I do not feel that my research is finished with as I don't have a full understanding of the  conventions for film posters as each genre had it's own conventions. Therefore I feel that I need to choose the genre that my short film will take and therefore again research the codes & conventions for a short film poster based around the genre e.g. Comedy.

References:

Websites:

Ferguson., K. (2007). Trajan is the Movie Font. [Online] Youtube. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t87QKdOJNv8&feature=player_embedded [Accessed 11 August 2012].

Portchester School. (2011). Film Posters. [Online] Youtube. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSTzM8p4tVE [Accessed 11 August 2012].

Dogberry. (2007). Analysing Film Posters. [Online] Blogger. Available from: http://asanda2filmstudies.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/analysing-film-posters.html [Accessed 11 August 2012].

Dogberry. (2010). How To Analyse a Film Poster. [Online] Blogger. Available from: http://asanda2mediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/how-to-analyse-film-poster.html#uds-search-results [Accessed 11 August 2012].

Wilson., K. (2000-2011). Analysing Movie Posters. [Online] Media Know All. Available from: http://www.mediaknowall.com/gcse/bbustermovies/movies.php?pageID=posters [Accessed 11 August 2012].

(2011). Top 10 Movie Poster Artists. [Online] My Favorite Waste of Time. Available from: http://myfavoritewasteoftime.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/top-10-movie-poster-artists/ [Accessed 11 August 2012].

Codes and conventions

Codes and conventions govern the way in which signs are chosen and combined.

For example , newsreaders sitting behind a desk as part of the set is a 'convention' of TV news. The choice of desks available, the meanings they create for viewers, and the way they fit in with other choices in the programme are all part of a 'code'. Conventions are the rules which describe predictable patterns. They govern which patterns a re normally appropriate, and can also predict the meanings which the patterns convey. A code is a sign, or system of signs, such as dress, speech or music, that make sense when arranged by a set of rules, or conventions, about how they are organised, for example conventional narratives (structured story lines) or themes (controlling ideas).

Consider as an example the filming of interviews. The traditional code of a TV or documentary film interview is to combine shots of the interviewee with occasional cutaways to the interviewer. The convention is that the shots of the interviewer show the putting of questions and the listening role the interviewer plays for the viewer. Behind the scenes in production, the interviewer shots are usually filmed separately, often after the interview has finished. The listening shots are called 'noddy shots' and are used to disguise edits.

Conventions can be broken and new or alternative codes set up . Recently some documentary film-makers have been making interviews breaking the traditional rules above. For example, they have been keeping the interviewee in shot throughout the interview and asking questions from behind the camera. This offers an alternative to the traditional interview code, and is developing its own conventional meaning as a new documentary technique.


References:
Books:
Nicholas, J., Price, J. (1998). Advanced Studies in Media. Nelson

Representation

The final key concept that I will research into is the concept of representation within the media. This concept is important as whatever media product it is it's representing an individual or group of individuals in society and therefore holds dominant ideologies of the institution. However I do not feel that I have a detailed enough understanding of this concept for A2.  I want to develop my understanding of - the term itself, it's key concepts, and the effect it has on society and with direct relational aspects to reality.

Table of Content

What is representation?

Questions of representation

Representations and gender

Representations and the real

Questions of positive and negative images

Reflection

What is representation?

Representation is about:
• how social groups, different subcultures, occupations, ages, social classes and places are portrayed in the media
• how audiences interpret these portrayals. Most academic work on representation has focused on gender and race.

Representation is concerned with the way in which the world, or some part of it, is portrayed in a media product. This is an enormous area of discussion and argument in media studies. The representation debate focuses repeatedly on certain questions, including:
• What are the representations of a subject that are repeated in different products?
• What is the truth or otherwise of these cliches?
• What are their effects, if any?
• Does the audience see through them?
• What are the factors which 'explain' the representations which are selected and how they are put together?
• How are people portrayed in large social groupings (e.g. by gender, ethnicity and socio-economic class)?
• Where are you represented in media products in terms of the type of person you are?

The word 'representation' implies that people are being re-presented by the media to others and to themselves. So in the case of women, for example, some argue that if images presented by the media concentrate on physical attractiveness, this reinforces sexism by encouraging us to think that the way women look is more important than what they do. This affects our attitudes to others and how we think of our own bodies and personalities.

The 'media play a part in the constant development of our identities. Our experience of the media offers us a wide range of models of behaviour and attitudes which we can copy or reject. We can become imaginatively involved in characters in a broadcast drama so that we understand their thoughts, actions and points of view. We can identify with famous people portrayed in the press and want to be more like them. We can recognise certain social or group characteristics and want to adopt or modify them.

Narrative

I have done some research in the past into narrative theory, however I don't feel I have enough of an understanding of narrative as a whole and the bare basics of the term. Therefore I feel that this research is critical in producing a short film as the narrative is a key element in creating a media product that has a story line and plot. Hopefully this research will reflect and impact in my understanding and later on during the creation of my short film.

Table of Content

Narrative Analysis

General theories of narrative

Narration, story and plot

Types of narrative code

Open and Closed Narratives

Classic Hollywood Narrative

The Classic Narrative System

Postmodern Narratives

Reflection

• Making narratives, or stories, is a key way in which meanings and pleasures get constructed and organised both in and outside the media.

• Both factual and fiction forms are subject to this kind of shaping. All cultures seem to make stories as an involving and enjoyable way of creating sense and meanings in the world. 

Two points about systematic study of narrative in modern media:

• Narrative theory suggests that stories in whatever media and whatever culture share certain features .

• But particular media are able to 'tell' stories in different ways. It is worth adding that you will hardly ever encounter a story separate from expectations about it, usually those of genre.

Narrative Analysis

Institution

I feel that I need to research into the specific area of institution as I have not investigated into it previously and therefore my knowledge of it is week. Also I feel that it is an important area as I broadly know what it deals with; areas relating to society but also relating to a structure and methods of creating an creation of media products.

Table of Content

Defining 'institution'

Classifying media institutions

Applying ideas about media institutions

Media institutions and society

Ethics and values

Reflection

The concept of institution in Media Studies sometimes gets rolled up with 'industry'. The concept of institution deals with ideas drawn from sociology, psychology and politics. As such, the institutional aspects of media activities are sometimes difficult to grasp because they refer to less tangible processes and relationships than, say, company balance sheets or employment contracts.

Defining 'institution'

“enduring regulatory and organising structures of any society, which constrain and control individuals and individuality - the underlying principles and values according to which many social and cultural practices are organised and co-ordinated - the major social sources of codes, rules and relations.” (O'Sullivan et al. 1994)

We all grow up within a range of different institutions. Some of these are 'formal'- education, the health service, the legal system. We are part of these institutions. We know what to expect of the services they offer; we know how to behave within them. We share their values. They are formal because we are often legally 'registered' with them. But we also belong to a range of social institutions such as the family, a church perhaps or just a group of friends who meet for social activities. Within this group too, our behaviours are controlled or constrained even as we may share ideas and values. We all act, to some extent, in an institutional manner. Everyone working with or dealing with a sector of the media industries will also be subject to 'institutional constraints'.

Many of the decisions about how films and other media products are made are economic, but others are institutional - they are concerned with how the production team work together, how they have been trained to think about 'quality', 'professionalism', 'art', 'entertainment' and the audience.

Cinema is also a 'social institution'- as audiences we share certain values with the producers and we behave in the auditorium in a particular way. In the UK we don't talk through the film and we watch it in the dark - it isn't like this in all countries.

The institutional nature of cinema means that we know how to 'suspend our disbelief' and enjoy a movie. The events of 11 September 2001 exposed the institutional aspects of cinema when distributors 'pulled' films that they believed were 'inappropriate'. Most of the time we watch buildings being blown up or hijackers taking hostages without a second thought - it is a culturally accepted form of entertainment.

Ideology

I know that ideology is an important concept within media studies but also for the creation of short films, and all media holds ideas and values that are conveyed and represented to the audience. However I don't feel that I have enough of a understanding of ideology and the key concepts. They're all feel that I need to research into this area in great detail as it is an important element to the creation of a product, as it holds the ideas and values that will be conveyed.

Table of Content

The Concept of Ideology

Ideologies and power

Origins of the term: Marxist approaches

The mass media and ideology

Post-Marxism and critical pluralism

Discourses and lived cultures

Bias and ideology

Reflection

The Concept of Ideology

The media represent the world to us and therefore it is important to study the ideas driving these representations. The view that these ideas serve the interests of dominant groups within society is basic to the concept of ideology. John B. Thompson argues that 'the concept of ideology can be used to refer to the ways in which meaning serves, in particular circumstances, to establish and sustain relations of power which are systematically asymmetrical - "relations of domination". Ideology, broadly speaking, is meaning in the service of power.' This approach to the concept is based then on the idea that social groups do not have the same amount of power in society because they do not have the same command over resources, and therefore do not receive the same level of rewards either in material terms (such as income) or in symbolic terms (such as respect).

Ideologies and power

The concept of ideologies is a key one for Media Studies, however is often now referred to as 'values' and as a result the term 'ideologies' gets reserved for 'fringe' or non-mainstream party political positions, such as environmental politics or extreme nationalisms.

Never the less ideology, refers to:
•  sets of ideas which give some account of the social world, usually a partial and selective one
•  the relationship of these ideas or values to the ways in which power is distributed socially
•  the way in which such values and meanings are usually posed as 'natural' and 'obvious' rather than socially aligned with or against particular power groupings.

Some ideas, though they form a system and are quite rigid, are not classified as 'ideological'. Someone may have obsessive ideas about personal cleanliness, and relate them systematically to the fullness of the moon, but these would not necessarily be called ideological since they cannot be shown to relate to the distribution of social power.

Genre

I have decided to research into genre as it is a key element within film and the classification of it. I also want to research into genre as it is one of the main starting points for consideration when creating a short film. However there is debate to how relevant and important genre is to filmmaking as it is considered to be more of a method of classification than a method of creation. Although there is this debate after my AS research into genre I consider it to be an area to begin developing ideas and the framework for a short film as the audience of any media products needs to have a understanding of the a film and genre provides this through familiarity and repetition but also the ability to engage audiences with variation. However I feel I only have a surface level understanding of genre and therefore need to go further to develop my knowledge.

Table of Content

Introduction

Why is genre attractive to audiences?

The Key Components of Genre

Approaches to Film Genre

Main Genres of Film

Sub Genres of Film

Hybrid Genres of Film

Reflection

Introduction

Genre - which originates from a French word meaning 'type' - was first used to classify biological phenomena. Since the nineteenth century it has been used mostly to define texts. During the 1930s and 1940s Hollywood made many films in assembly line fashion in classic genres, such as Westerns, gangster films, musicals, horror films, war films, screwball comedies and romantic melodramas.

One important difference between film and T.V. genres and those of literature is that in written fiction, genre labels were used by theorists and critics to compartmentalise literary output long after poems, plays and novels were in existence. In moving-image production, however, genres were in the minds of producers and directors as well as audiences, critics and academics from the start.

Genre relates to the three 'phases' of the film industry in different ways. To the producer, the genre acts as a template for the film; to the distributor/promoter it provides assumptions about who the audience is and how to market the film to that audience; and to the viewer (at the point of exhibition) genre acts as a label that identifies a liked or disliked formula and thus acts as gatekeeper and filters our tastes.

Graeme Burton emphasises the 'tight relationship between the media industries that manufacture genre products and the audience which consumes them'. Genres are good for media industries because their potential audience, and consequently their potential profit, can easily be accessed and measured.

A generic audience knows what to expect from a horror film or a comedy and judges it according to prior experience of the genre - in this sense they do not consume films as individual entities, but in a fundamentally intertextual way. Films make sense in relation to other films, not reality. However, genre texts do not work by simply copying other texts in the genre, but by adding their own contribution that strays more or less from the norm, depending on the director's intentions. Sometimes directors deliberately frustrate the audience by leading them down blind genre alleys. This frustration is not negative as usually it leads to a more interesting experience for the viewer, but for it to work, it depends entirely on whether the generic template is firmly entrenched in the audience.

Why is genre attractive to audiences?

Audiences find genres satisfying because they know that certain expectations may be fulfilled and they find pleasure in predicting what will happen next. Creators of generic narratives depend on a certain amount of immediate communication with the audience. They want the narrative to be instantly attractive and they do not want to waste valuable time setting up characters and plot and so genres using key components that are quickly recognisable are particularly valuable. The audience know what to expect from a genre but at the same time they want to find something they don't expect as it would otherwise be boring. Thus any text in any genre has a combination of the familiar, repeated and varied elements and themes of the traditional forms.

Audience

It is important to research into audience as they are the recipients of the media product, in my case, a short film and I need to be able to understand some theories and ideologies behind how the audience receive my product.

Table of Content

Who is the audience?

Ways to categorise an audience

Mass audiences

Communication models

Effects model

Classification of media effects

The agenda setting model

Two-step flow model

The uses and gratifications model

Cultural effects

The encoding/decoding model

Passive, Semi-Active and Active Audiences

Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Media Involvement

Reflection

In Media Studies the groups and individuals  who consume media products are referred to as the 'audience', they are addressed and often partly 'constructed' by media industries.

Who is the audience?

A media audience sits in groups or alone; next door to one another or spread across cities, towns and the countryside; and often consume the same product at different times or dates. The audience  think of themselves as a unique individuals, but this is not how media industries think of them. As far as the media are concerned, they belong to various categories which they share with other people, and they have money in their pocket which the media would like to know how they spend.

Ways to categorise an audience

A target audience is viewed as a segment of a consumer market by media institutions who use the following two' criteria:
 • Demographics - the consumer is categorised in terms of concrete variables such as age, class, gender, geographical area, etc.
• Psychographics - the consumer is categorised in terms of their needs and desires such as those who aspire to a richer lifestyle or those who want to make the world a better place.

There are different types or categories of audience, for example:
• an audience for a particular product (e.g. Channel4' s Skins)
• an audience for a type of product (e.g. the audience for the mainstream soap opera genre)
• an audience at a certain time slot (e.g. the early evening audience from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.)
• an audience which belongs to a group described by characteristics such as age gender and class (e.g. working-class males aged 20-40).

This audience might also be subdivided in a number of ways.
• Genres, product and station - By far the easiest way to define a target audience is by describing it in terms of a suitable genre or product.
• Niche and mass audiences - These audiences are categorised in terms of size.
• Narrowcasting - With the advent of satellite, cable and digital dissemination it is now possible to dedicate whole channels or stations to a specific interest such as the Sci-Fi Channel, Sky Sports 1/2/3 or MTV; this is referred to as narrowcasting.
• Scheduling - In the broadcast media, there is a great deal of attention paid to targeting certain groups of people throughout the day which is important because different groups will watch at different times.