Film Poster Layout and Composition

There are various ways posters are composed, posters with good composition are appealing at first glance, which is quite important in order to gain a larger amount of audience. I will be analyzing the composition of various 'different' looking posters to see what kind of 'composition' would suit my future poster.

Close up/ extreme close up is a popular poster technique because it allows the viewers to feel more personal towards the character. However, using a face does not explain a lot about the plot unless it looks different in some way or another (more original). For example, there are different kinds of close up face posters that do in fact, tell something about the film. For example, a film called "One Missed Call" features a close up of a person's face speaking on the phone, but its eyes are replaced by screaming mouths using Photoshop. Unlike "Bearded Borat", there are various ways to make a close up unique, related to the genre/plot and/or personal. In this example, the main character is facing the camera with a simple expression wearing sun glasses that have an american flag photo-shopped onto it. Since this person has sun glasses, it makes it more difficult to feel personal or relate to the character since a lot of his face is hidden. I believe that the creators wanted to emphasize his beard and hair because that what makes this character unique. His beard also matches with the film's title.

Other close up types include; two person close up (romantic), two person close up and three person. 

Z, ∆, O, X - Composition 

Using simple shapes to lead the eye is a successful technique to composition, every 'shape' has its benefits. Most of these shapes are usually used for action films as there could be a lot going on within the poster. For example, shape 'Z' leads the eye from the top to the bottom using text and a 'line' leading to the second part of the text usually featuring the character and also giving hints about the plot.  In this case, the poster for "THOR: The Dark World" features the protagonist as well as supporting roles in the background which are arranged in such a way that creates a steep line that leads towards the title of the film. "Krrisa 3" is a great example of an '' shape composition. It resembles that shape because of the protagonist's pose (and his cloak that further Finally, an 'X' shape creates a sense of stability (similarly to the triangle shape) because its symmetrical and displays the amount of detail equally on the poster. For example "Guardian of Galaxy" poster creates this shape by pointing into 4 different directions using action/dynamic lines or poses. 

Rule of Thirds Layout

"Rule of Thirds" technique is a basic composition rule in any photograph. Placing objects on the horizontal and vertical lines creates an organised and simple look which is easy on the eye. Mostly, the points where both horizontal and vertical lines meet are one of the most important points for placement. For example in the "Ted" poster both vertical and horizontal lines are placed perfectly between the characters and the film title and the points focus on these particular aspects as well. For this type of composition it is useful to have posters that have a simplistic style, which could be divided into simple shapes in order for this technique to be more visible. Horizon posters can also use this composition technique and place the horizon on the bottom line of the "Rule of Thirds". This type of composition are in particularly popular with comedy films as it usually features a lighthearted duo and bold text with vibrant colours. Posters like "Mr. Right" and "Dumb and Dumber" also seem to use this particular technique for their films. Overall, "Rule of Thirds" keeps the image balanced and prevents it from looking disorganized, it is easy to use and is effective meaning that it's extremely widely used by photographers and photo editors.


Horizon Layout 

A horizon poster is when a horizontal line cuts through the image (mostly used in posters with an environment).This type of visual technique gives the viewers a sense of perspective which makes them feel as if they are in the scene. It is also an effective way to divide the poster into several shapes using lines and contrast. Therefore, the film title can be seen below the horizon line most of the time. For this poster in particular (Inception) the poster is divided into 3 vertical lines and one horizontal line. The middle shape that the 3 vertical lines create are great for character placement as it creates symmetry and the bottom shape that is created by the horizontal line is a great place for text as it provides a solid and a simple base with no shape distraction. 






Grid Layout

Grid layout posters seem to be quite organised and unique. However, there is usually a reason for this type of layout as it should match with the film's context. In this case, a lot of different people are in each square image making it look like a family album. The film's title is "The perfect Family" therefore that statement would make sense. However, each square photograph is quite individual giving the viewers a glimpse of the story, for example some of those people seem unhappy such as the top left photograph. This emotion doesn't quite fit with the film's title suggesting it might not be the 'perfect' family after all. In other words, Drama, Mystery and Family films are likely to use this composition technique for their posters even though it's not that widely used in the film industry. 

Is it important to follow the expectations or break away from them?

After my thorough investigation into each of these compositions, I have come to realize that there is a thought out pattern in most modern posters. Each technique seems to be successful in order to gain attention from the audience and make the poster visually appealing overall. However, some posters seem to be too similar as if they are copying each and every previously made poster taking away the creativity and originality for profit and time consumption. Perhaps, following conventions too much will lead to copying a previously made posters which is not wanted by the public as people generally dislike remakes.

I believe it is still important to follow composition rules but I would personally stay away from widely used types such as 'blue against orange' or 'female dragging man by the tie' types. Since most thriller posters use 'close up', I will likely to use it too but I will make sure it doesn't seem copied by anything in order to keep the originality and my audience interested as most of my audience are aware of the repetition used by the film industry. I will most definitely follow some aspects of design as most thriller films  use dark colours as it fits with the genre, if I would have used 'happy' colours, It would deceive the audience into thinking that it's a different type of genre which might cause a bad feedback. I will also possibly use the "Rule of Thirds" as it's an effective way to organize text and image simultaneously.

To support my statement about poster repetition, I've found a video on YouTube covering the similarities in layout, composition and colour scheme.  For example, the protagonist facing it's torso away from the audience while looking back pose or female legs spread across the poster with a group of people standing in the distance (in between of the placed legs). Colour scheme "Blue and Orange" is also shown in the video, it's a colour combination my poster should most definitely avoid.