My Poster- Planning and Research

I am designing a poster to attract an audience to see my film. A poster is a marketing technique studios use in order to attract an audience.
My poster will or may include the following:

• Title
• Main Actors/ Actresses/ Directors names
• Studios name
• Tagline
• Main Image
• Release date
• Production Info/ Billing Block

I have designed 3 poster layout drafts all with different compositions to explore the possibilities for my poster.

Layout 1

I do like this layout however I feel that having the actors names at the top of the page won't stand out, so the audience will be drawn towards the bottom of the page. I have followed conventions found on well known posters so that I know that this layout is somehow successful at promoting the film.



Layout 2

I am not so keen on having too much information/ text at the top of the page as it draws attention away from the image. If all the interesting information (Title, Tagline) is at the top then I would be worried that the bottom would look a bit boring and the release date may be forgotten.

Layout 3

I like this layout the most as the composition is laid out nicely with not too much attention drawn to one spot. If the release date was placed at the bottom, it would need to be in a bright colour to make sure it can be seen, for example, I would pick red because this stands out whilst also being a convention for my theme of horror. There are pros and cons of having the actors names above the title, a pro is that the well known actors may attract a wider audience but a con is that the names may distract viewers from the title as they're placed close together. I like having the tag line at the top because it could be the first thing my audience read, I would need it to be catchy so that it is memorable.

The title on my poster will need to be the biggest text on the page as it is what I want my audience to see first.

My tagline for my film is "When the Angel leaves...the Devil arrives", this means that when the Angel (little boys "good personality" leaves), there is more space for the Devil ("bad personality") to take over, a bit like a possession.

The font for the billing block will be Steeltongs which is what is used for many film poster billing blocks as it is condensed allowing more space for all text needed in the billing block. My billing block will look similar to this:

MUTE PICTURES PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH LIONSGATE ENTERTAINMENT AN ARABELLA SMITH-JAMES FILM "LUCIFER"  SAMANTHA FAHY SAMUEL SMITH-JAMES EDITED BY ARABELLA SMITH-JAMES PRODUCED BY ARABELLA SMITH-JAMES WRITTEN BY ARABELLA SMITH-JAMES DIRECTED BY ARABELLA SMITH-JAMES.

My release date is 6.5.13, 6 for the start of the devils number (666), 5 for the number of points on the devils symbol below and 13 because it is known to be an unlucky number.











What will also be included what hasn't been included on the layouts are the website of the film and the icons of all production/ distribution companies involved (which will be placed under the billing block).

Below are three drafts of my final layout using the template of layout 3 which is the layout I have chosen to use.

Layout 1

I am not so keen on this layout as it doesn't have a central focus point that the viewers can focus on, however I do feel the image shows danger, panic and mystery, all conventions of a horror film.

Layout 2


Layout 3