The Poster and Artwork

The poster is probably the first image that we will see connected with a film. It must instantly give us ideas about what story the film will be telling and what genre the film falls into. A poster has to try to capture in a still image the excitement and promise of the moving images that you will see at the cinema. The poster for a film has to tell you as much information about a film as it can in one short 'look' at it.

The poster campaign is the primary medium for advertising the film and will generally start in the early stages of a film's production and continue during the weeks building up to the release.

The designer of a film poster has one of the hardest jobs in the whole marketing team - they have to sum up two hours of exciting film in just one image. Out of this 'Key Art' or central image come the cinema trailers, standees, ranges of posters, websites and advertising.

Artwork for a film poster can either be an original painting based on a key idea in the film, or it can be produced from the colour transparencies which are taken during the shoot. The aim in both cases is to find a 'narrative image' that sums up the film and gives audiences an idea about the genre of the film and perhaps also the storyline. The poster will need to show various elements from the film which might include the title, tag line, star’s name, director’s name, release date and any additional information which might attract an audience.