Conventions of Movie Posters

Film posters have to grab the attention of the viewer, and somehow make them want to go and see your film with just a still picture. This means they must be quite creative and innovative in order to stand out from the crowd. Again, they must be aesthetic for the viewer, but also give enough information so they actually know what you're advertising. We looked at posters such as Titanic, The Grey, Jaws, Alice and Wonderland and a few others. Features included: 

• Main focus is the object that the film is named after. In this case a 'Ouija board' as the film is named 'Ouija'
• The title of the movie was on every poster we saw, obviously it is important to feature this or people won't know what they're looking at. It was usually in big bold text with contrasting colours to make it pop and really stand out. In this case, the word 'Ouija' is in big bold white text against a black background. 
• The theme and colour code of the poster normally reflected the mood of the film. This is important due to the fact that it helps people subconsciously categorise your film into a known genre, and helps them decide weather they want to watch it or not. If you are a huge horror movie fan and you see a colourful, cartoon themed poster, you will likely pay it no attention. And if you are not a fan of horror movies, you wouldn't pay much attention to a poster such as the 'Ouija' one.
• A tagline, usually at the top of the poster that compliments the movie and draws your attention in. It normally gives a little hint as to the theme or storyline of the movie.
• Some also had a line saying what other films the director or producer had worked on. On the Ouija poster it says from the producer of Insidious and Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• The names of the main actors in it. Could be just 1 actor, could be 5 or 6, depending on how big the cast is. If an actors name will help attract people to watch the movie, they will put it on the posters. 
• The names of the producer, director and the distribution company in thin, stretched out text at the bottom of the page.