Audience Feedback

I asked a group of peers what they rate my three media products out of 10. This has given me an idea of how my teaser trailer, magazine cover and film poster are percieved from an audience and how effective they are. The scores were given based on 10 being the highest and 1 being a low score.

Magazine Cover
Emma - 7/10
Mary - 6/10
Stacey - 8/10
Kirsty - 7/10
Alexe - 6/10

Film Poster
Emma - 9/10
Mary - 9/10
Stacey - 8/10
Kirsty - 8/10
Alexe - 8/10

Teaser Trailer
Emma - 9/10
Mary - 9/10
Stacey - 8/10
Kirsty - 8/10
Alexe - 7/10

Film Poster

Audience Feedback.

- "The use of the colours red and black throughout the poster work very well together"

- "I like the facial expression on the young girl's face, her eyes are very powerful"

- "There is not too much text, therefore an audience will want to stop and read the poster"

- "The use of famous actors names will attract more viewers"

I received one comment about a change that I could make which was that the scar on the girl's face could be made to look more realsitic. I agree with this opinion as I think that it would enhance the verisimilitude of the image.

Questionnaire regarding film posters

I asked 20 peers a range of questions about the forms and conventions of film posters and how they perceive particular colours and aspects of the posters. I aim to gain some useful information that will provide me with inspiration and ideas for my own poster, for example what colours would work best, the layout of my poster, types of font etc.

1. What do you usually notice first when you see any film posters?
- The name of the film llllll 6
- The image llllllllllllll 14
- Names of the actors
- The release date
- A slogan or subheading

2. How do you tend to perceive the colour red?
- Danger llllll 6
- Death lllllll 7
- Blood llllll 6
- Love l 1
- Beauty
- Confidence
- Vitality

3. Where would you find the name of the film most visible?
- Centre of the poster llllll 6
- In the middle (horizontally) lllllllll 9
- In the middle (vertically) lllll 5
- At the bottom of the poster

4. What aspect of film posters denotes the genre of the movie the most from your point of view?
- The colours used lllll 5
- Main image lllllllll 9
- The name of the film llll 4
- The type of font used ll 2

5. Where on the poster would you expect to see the text written? (slogan, release date, actors names etc)
- At the bottom lll 3
- On the right hand side lll 3
- On the left hand side l 1
- At the top ll 2
- In the centre ll 2
- In various places llll 4
- It depends on where the image is and how the text can be integrated with the image lllll 5

6. What aspects of the main image enhance the intended impression given to an audience?
- The lighting used in the image lllll 5
- The colours ll 2
- Facial expressions lllll 5
- Mise-en-scene lllll 5
- Background/setting lll 3

From looking at my primary research I can determine that the image/s of film posters attract a lot of attention from an audience, therefore this will be a very important aspect of my poster and I shall ensure that I make the image I use very dominant in the poster. I could do this by making the whole photo the size of the poster so that it fills the whole page.
Nearly half of the people that participated in my questionnaire feel that the title would be most noticeable in the middle of the poster, I agree as the middle would also be eye level.
The main image is important for the representation of the genre to an audience.
The lighting, facial expressions and mise-en-scene of the main photo are all equally important when it comes to creating the correct impression for the target audience.

Poster Image

This is one of the more effective photographs that I have taken for my poster. The position of the young girl in this image allows space for text to be on the right side of the poster (A poster that is A3 and landscape). The main aspect of this image that I prefer in contrast to the other photographs that I took is the intensity of emotion in the eyes of the young girl.

Magazine Front Cover

Click on the image above to enlarge.

Audience Feedback.

- "There is good use of bright and eye catching colours"

- "The name of the magazine stands out well"

- "The use of the words 'World's Best' makes me want to read it"

- "The image looks scary"

- "I like the part where it says 'horror special' because it looks like dripping blood"

The comments below indicate the changes that I would make if I were to produce the magazine cover again.

- "The edges of the font for the name of the film 'The Untold' would look better if they were straighter"

- "The text about the exclusive interview isn't very clear"

Analysis of Film Posters

This poster advertising ‘Matrix reloaded’ shows a symmetrical layout between the images and the text along with a bland colour scheme using mainly black, white and contrasting tones. The position of the two characters featured on the poster represents their equal status and also highlights the focus on the title that is positioned in the middle of both the poster and the actors. There is attention to detail in the reflection of the sunglasses and the background of the poster, however overall this poster is not too busy and overpowering. The main aspects featured include a main image, the title of the film and the release date.

The poster above promoting ‘After the sunset’ contains images showing five different actors and actresses, however the position of these images clearly shows that the two actors on the left are more significant in the film than the others. Unlike the film poster above this one contains more information including a list of cast members and the names of four main actors/actresses which is one of the main focal points of the poster. The colours used enhance the visibility of each aspect, for example the white font against the orange sunset and the title of the film against a dark background. This poster contains more to digest and the title is not as predominant as in the poster above.

Out of the three posters that I have looked at I feel that this one creates an equal balance between the images and the text, it is also the most memorable in terms of remembering the name of the film and what the film could be about. The image used along with the title of the film suggests that the plot of the movie may be about the couple featured having problems or disagreements with the elderly woman. The aspects featured include one main image, the title of the film the names of the main actor and actress, a list of cast members and a subheading for the film. The title and the photo are equally positioned in the field of depth of this poster.

The Features

There are a few basic features that are used for the vast majority of film posters, these include:
- One main image
-The title of the film
- The release date
-Names of main actors and actresses

Additional features that are not always used when promoting films via posters include:
- Short quotes from magazine and newspaper editors
- A list of the organisations and people involved in the production of the film
- The name of the website for the movie
- A slogan or subheading
- Recognition for awards such as 'winner of best film' or 'winner of best actor'.