Types of film poster

In the film industry their are a fair few types of film poster, here I will be talking about the general release types.

Teaser poster:

A teaser poster or advance poster is an early promotional film poster, it often contains a basic image or design enabling the marketers to build hype without revealing too much information. The general purpose is to create brand/film awareness as the poster often features a date at the bottom. A tagline may sometimes be included to create a sense of iconography, for example in 'The Dark Knight' poster, a catchphrase is used to generate audience excitement. They often contain an iconography symbol associated with the film, this will make future posters, trailers and dvd covers more memorable as they stick to a specific corporate image. Sometimes they just bear the title, this is often if the film is an adaptation of a well known source, recognition will be achieved by this. The use of simple fonts, imagery and colour blocking make the poster more memorable and symbolic. These types of poster often feature the main character, looking away from the screen but looking at something in the distance, or in the case of the Bond poster, a simple outline of the character will suffice to gain audience recognition.


Character poster:

Often, films with an ensemble cast may release a series of  character posters, each featuring an individual character from the film. For reference it includes the characters name and/or the name of the actor. This allows the audience to build up a relationship with each character. Also, the character may be wearing a particular symbolic costume or feature in front of a background/setting relatable to them, this creates a recognisable corporate image for that character.

Theatrical poster:

These are the posters that are shown nearer the date of the films release or when it is playing at the cinema. This type of film poster give away key info about the plot, characters, actors and location. They are the most vital type of poster for the marketing companies as the audience will take more notice of them, therefore the company has to go all out of effects and photography to bombard the reader with information.