Research and Planning: Codes and Conventions of a Film Poster

Title
Every film poster has a title. This film is 'The Dark Knight', the title has it's own font relating to the film and includes part of the logo for the film.

Slugline
The slugline for this film is 'Welcome to a world without rules'. This is the tagline that goes with the film and is a catchy line that relates to it. On this poster it is placed at the top of the page which is quite unusual as the slugline is often placed with the title.

Steel Tongs
The steel tongs writing gives all of the details of the production of the film, for example: the production companies, editors and everyone involved. In the order of the information the director always goes last.

Picture
The picture is obviously the main aspect on a film poster. It shows a lot about the film, gives an idea of the plot, shows the genre and hints to the narrative. This poster shows the main character of the film, and the logo burning on a building in the background shows that this is the type of thing involved in the film. The shot type of the main character makes him look really powerful as it is a low angle shot, showing that he is a powerful character.

Actors/Casting
Some of the main actors are usually shown on the film poster. The big stars will be put on to help advertise the film and make it appeal to the audience more if they know that big stars are in the film.

Release Date
Not all film posters include the release date, but they often do to advertise the film and give information about when it is coming out, the audience will then be aware of the date and will be more likely to see it at the cinemas.

Distribution/Production Company Logos
These are included on a film poster to show who made the film.