Poster Research - Ben

1. Frank

Frank follows Frank (Michael Fassbender) in an eccentric pop music band. A comedic drama which pushes the eccentric tendencies of its characters with bright colours, especially here in the poster. Frank is centre justified with the A right in the centre of the poster. The title is a bold serif font in hot pink. It spans the width of the poster and is simple and straight to the point, quickly showing the audience what the film is with its high contrast colours. Above each letter is the name of lead actors which, going from left to right, ends with "and Michael Fassbender" so as to show his name as a highlight to the movie. He became a prominent actor after becoming magneto in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and has likely gained many fans through such a role. Finish the main cast list with him is to show him off. This poster has two side borders; one for the actor's names, title and credit block, and another for the reviews on top of the poster, the later being the larger. While it is not a huge difference, it is there. This likely done because of the Frank's hand reaching up into the top of the poster. The star reviews are spaced evenly fit Frank's hand so as not to distract from the subject of the poster, Frank, and the title, 'Frank'.

2. Fibs

Fibs follows Naomi, a very young girl who is trying to get back together with her ex-boyfriend in any way she can. The vertical poster reflects this messy, engaging and mysterious plot well by fragmenting the poster and shifting these fragments, creating a cracked effect. This could most definitely be used is our film to reflect our own conflict in the film. The cracks displace the entire poster, this includes the border where it has been distorted and is no longer in a straight line, however all the contents of the border like the credit block and logos are still well within them. The title stretches down, nearly fitting the entire height of the poster. The slightly transparent red colour could be referring to the sexual themes of the short film, or perhaps the primary colour of Naomi's costume in a pivotal scene. It could connote the colour red as danger or bad, something very relevant to the film. Above the title, blank space is left for the director and awards won by the film. The fragments are separated in a way that still highlights the main character's face. The fragments have been moved to do this and have contrast where they meet, so it is obvious they are there. Excluding the face fragment, they are all rather uninteresting, holding only hair and a jacket buckle. This completes the image but is left largely as empty space where the title moves into slightly, again to bring attention to the lead actress.

3. Locke

Locke is a very simplistic poster, largely made up of text on a black background. The protagonist's picture is only a very small part of the poster, but it is highlighted. The name of the actor (Tom Hardy) is the second largest line of text behind the title. This is showcasing the the actor who played Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, showing an image of him, likely relevant to, or taken from the film. This image, with its bright blue highlights, dimmer reflection (as if in glass) and shallow focus street lights and/or cars tells of the general setting of the film. The mix of dark and bright reds and blues further helps to show this film is likely set in a city in the dead of night. The text is very and tightly formed together. Being justified to the right, the Sans-Serif text is faded into the poster ever so slightly with an orange colour gradient. This evens out the colours of the film, instead of everything being a glaring white, acting as a distraction from the title. It is subtly blended into the poster, but still plenty far enough from black to be easily read.

4. Versus

The poster for Versus is centrally focused on this character. Presumably the a key character in the plot, the movie follows an assassin as he is hired to kill the murder of a mafia member. The poster reflects the finding of the truth in the film by hiding the character behind the drapes, peeking in with a scowl as if saying "I didn't sign up for this". The high contrast image shows the colours of a micro thriller with deep black and blue tinted whites. This plain palette leaves plenty of strong colours to place the text, which here as been justified centrally. The text is very minimalistic, with only the title, tag line and review standing out. The rest, like the block and the actors are a darker grey, hiding in the character's black coat. This brings more attention to the title by decluttering the space around it, thus removing the need to make it any larger.