Conventions of horror film posters

Conventions of horror film posters from magrethx

Target Audience of film posters

There is not an specific, exact target audience for a normal film poster, this is because, when it comes to the target audience of film posters, it all depends on the genre and form of the actual film featured within the film poster. So for example, for the animation/cartoon genre, the target audience and demographic for them would be young children, therefore, the film poster would represent this by using codes and conventions from the genre and evident things to signify that this a children's film, so for example, using bubble handwriting for the title and for example for a film aimed for schoolkids with the context of growing up as a teenager having graffiti handwriting for a title?

Therefore, my target audience for my film poster is based on who my target audience is for my overall short film and also the horror genre. As horror's have a typical age audience of 15 - 30 year olds, that will be my 'age target audience' for my poster (it will also be mixed gender, however most likely males would show more interest in the poster due to the fact research shows men are more interested in horrors).This is because, as the horror genre has this target audience, it would make sense that the same group of people would be looking at the poster.

Despite this, the horror target audience applies mainly to a mainstream, full length film. Because my film is a short film, it would limit the target audience even more, however, not drastically. So although my short film would still have the 15 - 30 years demographic, the target audience would be more specific to people most likely wanting to get into the industry. This is because people who watch and produce short films - in most cases - are people who are interested in a future within film, or students starting up aiming to get inspiration or creating beginner, amateur work - as a lot of creatives start with short films.

So overall, my film poster target audience is specifically mixed gender, 15 - 30 years of age and also in most cases going to be students or people interested/passionate about film.

Purpose of film posters

The purpose behind film posters is usually to promote and advertise the film in a visual way. Usually, the film poster should be a visual representation of the film. So when doing a poster, it is very key to use colours, fonts and mise-en-scene that will give off the tone and overall vibe of the actual film. For example, if your film is within the horror genre, it would generally not be appropriate for the poster to include things such as light colours and things that do not connote are not associated with horror films. Of course, if the producer really wanted to, they could do all of this if they want to, however, it would make it hard for the audience to identify the genre of the film - which links up to my next point. The film poster should make the genre easily identifiable for the audience, so just like within the actual film you would include genre conventions, this should be the same for the film poster.

What makes a film poster successful? : As a film poster's main purpose is to promote the film, it should include things such as a range of information such as; the name of the film, the release date, the stars/actors and actresses who are in the film and the BBFC certification. This information both attracts a viewer; through naming the stars who are popular and well known, aswell as a catchy film title, and at the same time informs them of vital information they may want to know about the film such as the release date and the certification- which will determine suitabity, in such cases as an adult wanting to take a child to see a film.

Draft layout of film review.

In my draft layout of my film review, I've tried to fit in as many conventions of film reviews as possible such as screenshots from the film used as the images, the overall verdict, rating system, tagline, quotations and even the extra details in a box.

In order to increase the realism even more, I decided to even create my own faux website and magazine company "MMD Films". I even went as far as designing a logo for this company, which you can see on the first page in the top right hand corner.

The name of the review section of the magazine is called 'La Revue', which is the french version of 'Review'. I wanted a unique, different way to represent to the audience that this is a review page!

First paper draft of film review

General analysis of a film review.

The main image is a screengrab is used from the film, this being  a big convention of movie reviews. The screengrab included is usually the snapshot from one of the best scenes from the film or the ‘highlight’. This is used to draw the reader in and give the audience a visual representation of what the film is like/will consist off.

A qouation from a part of the article is featured in big, bold, blue handwriting. This is also a convention of film reviews. The qouation in most cases is usually a really important part of the article that the producer wants you to notice. In this case, it is a negative comment about the film, claiming it "borrows so many ideas from previous genre films.", this already suggesting to the audience that the film review is generally going to be negative, mainly based on this idea.

The colour scheme of the article is blue, black and red. What I have noticed for film reviews is that in general - unless the company/brand where the review is featured in having a set colour scheme - the colour scheme will match with the context of the review. So for example, in this review it clearly states that the context is based on divers, so the main colour being blue would link up as blue has connotations of water and evidently divers dive into water.

There is a verdict and a rating system within this article, which is also a typical convention of film reviews. The purpose of verdicts and a rating system is to summarize basically the entire article. This is if the audience just wanted to get a quick answer to whether the film is worth watching or not. The 5 star rating system is a well recognized, global convention in all types of reviews.

Underneath the rating, there is a box underneath which is used to highlight extra information which could be helpful to the reader. Such as reading who the director is could suggest to the audience what kind of film the review is about. Or just reading the plot summary can help them decide alone on whether they want to watch the film or not. Just like the verdict section, it can give the audience a quick answer to whether the film is worth watching or not.

Lastly, there is a tagline/slogan :"Going deeper underground.". A tagline or ‘slogan’ that goes directly underneath the title of the film. It is used to create a memorable dramatic phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of an audio/visual product.

Analysis of Film Reviews

Horror movie review analysis from magrethx

Purpose and Conventions of film reviews

A movie review gives a brief synopsis of the film, mentioning specific details such as the director/screenwriter, name of the actors, running time, age certificate and the plot. Overall, the purpose of a film review is in the name, to review the film and give advise to the audience if the film is worth watching or not. Within a review, the producer is not meant to give away the entire plot, but highlight the most important and interesting information about the film. Film reviews can be found in most magazines, however, there are some magazines specific to just film reviews, and in those magazines they will try to convey a variety of opinions about the film, this ensuring the audience that the magazine is unbiased as your receiving both positive and negative aspects of the film. 

Conventions of typical film reviews:

• To summarize the film so that people have more information with which to gauge their interest in the film.
• Qoutes and Taglines
• Intro and Summary
• To analyze the film in terms of its artistic value and technical skill. This includes things like acting, direction, cinematography, writing, and other aspects.
• To do comparisons similar films so that people have a frame of reference.
• Rating/overall verdict