Film Poster Codes and Conventions

From these examples, the title is in the bottom third of the poster which makes the eye drawn to this last, therefore making more room for the actual image to be seen. This enables the poster to show the maximum amount of information available making the poster a success. In order for the titles to be noticed, the font of the title is the largest to make it clear that the poster is for that particular poster from far away perhaps, and to also make it stand out.

Actors names are typically shown in posters if the actors are famous to catch your attention to the well-known names featured in the film. This would enable the audience very quickly to judge what type of film the poster is advertising will be as many actors have specific types of film they are in. They are all, above the main title, either just above or at the very top of the poster. In the Suffragette poster for example, Meryl Streep's name appears very close to the main title, almost suggesting that the feature of an incredibly well-known actor is equally important as the films title itself.

Taglines are quite common in posters to give a little snippet of information about the film that the title doesn't. They are also typically above the title, similarly to the actors names. The use of a tagline can also be as a marketing technique if people remember the tagline they would be able to talk about it on social media perhaps.