Evolution Of A Movie Poster Essay

Since the late 1800s movie posters have been used exclusively to exhibit the movie that the poster was created for. Beginning as placards listing the program of films being shown they then, by the early 1900s, began including illustrations of a scene in that film and this evolved into today’s movie posters. It was said that movie posters were “the backbone” on which the film industry was built on. Movies are a huge business and a lot rides on the success of movies. Movie posters were easily understood by the public with their limited text and colorful (usually) pictures. Compared to the other ways movies were advertised, they were also easy to place around a city. The posters varied in size and varied in content as well; based off of what the

The first is to use some of the movie’s main characters or major plot points to encourage the viewer to look at it but without getting too much information. Movie posters must be able draw one’s eye in as they walk past. The Hangover movie posters show a great example of this by the big, well lit, head and shoulder photographs of the characters that are seen in that movie. Those posters are not necessarily “beautiful” or “iconic” but are simple yet eye-catching. The second is to show the movie’s theme without giving away exactly what it is about. Designers use imagery, “whether a close-up of a character or item that’s a major plot point, or a simple graphic, to establish the film’s plot” (7 Elements of a Great Movie Poster Design). This, integrated with an appealing design, can be extremely effective. The Jennifer’s Body poster uses sex appeal, contrast and spacing to grab the viewers attention but also it subtly tells you what that movie will be about. The third element puts the viewer right in the midst of a scene from the movie, this creates interest and incentive. It makes the viewer feel as if the only way they can resolve the situation shown in the poster is to go see that movie. The movie poster for Inception is a perfect example of making the viewer need to see that movie. The scene shown only makes sense if one has seen that movie, therefore, making it an effective movie poster. The