Film Posters: Layout and Composition from GeorginaGilbey
Is it important to keep to expectations or break away from them?
After investigating the different layout and composition techniques, I can definitely see that there are many benefits to each. Depending on the elements that are featured, different layouts can emphasise and draw the viewer's attention to specific areas, for example using a non-describing background style to make the viewer concentrate on the characters, props and costume.
While I believe that layouts should be chosen so they are appropriate for the elements featured, I think it is important to break conventions because it allows the film to stand out from the crowd in a sense and get the target audience's attention. Since my genre is crime and a lot of posters for crime films display similar iconography, this will be essential for my own.
The idea of a close-up appeals to me, but in order to make it different from others and convention-breaking, I could perhaps include some other features such as small, almost transparent images in the background. Additionally, because my film doesn't have a specific protagonist as yet, I could opt to feature the antagonist instead, both because they are the main driving force of the narrative and because I think this would get my target audience's attention (I defined them in my audience research as people who enjoy unconventional films). Audiences are undoubtedly aware of the iconography of all genres, due to the volume of films that are released every year, and so marketing campaigns have gotten more and more extreme to accommodate this. Therefore, I will need to ensure that my poster emphasises the difference in terms of the storyline and really gets the viewer's attention, perhaps through stark, disturbing visuals or a sense of enigma. To conclude, while I think it is important to clearly communicate the genre and keep to the audience's expectations in a sense so that there isn't any chance of a misinterpretation, I think it is even more important that my film in particular should break away from some conventions to ensure it is engaging and intriguing, especially in the marketing stage.
Is it important to keep to expectations or break away from them?
After investigating the different layout and composition techniques, I can definitely see that there are many benefits to each. Depending on the elements that are featured, different layouts can emphasise and draw the viewer's attention to specific areas, for example using a non-describing background style to make the viewer concentrate on the characters, props and costume.
While I believe that layouts should be chosen so they are appropriate for the elements featured, I think it is important to break conventions because it allows the film to stand out from the crowd in a sense and get the target audience's attention. Since my genre is crime and a lot of posters for crime films display similar iconography, this will be essential for my own.
The idea of a close-up appeals to me, but in order to make it different from others and convention-breaking, I could perhaps include some other features such as small, almost transparent images in the background. Additionally, because my film doesn't have a specific protagonist as yet, I could opt to feature the antagonist instead, both because they are the main driving force of the narrative and because I think this would get my target audience's attention (I defined them in my audience research as people who enjoy unconventional films). Audiences are undoubtedly aware of the iconography of all genres, due to the volume of films that are released every year, and so marketing campaigns have gotten more and more extreme to accommodate this. Therefore, I will need to ensure that my poster emphasises the difference in terms of the storyline and really gets the viewer's attention, perhaps through stark, disturbing visuals or a sense of enigma. To conclude, while I think it is important to clearly communicate the genre and keep to the audience's expectations in a sense so that there isn't any chance of a misinterpretation, I think it is even more important that my film in particular should break away from some conventions to ensure it is engaging and intriguing, especially in the marketing stage.
Very good.
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