Film posters are designed to catch the eye and attract viewers. They must draw interest for the film and communicate information such as key actors and most importantly the opening date the film will be in theatres. As a way of evaluating these poster I will examine their effectiveness using the CRAP principles.
http://myfos.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/the-best-movie-posters-of-2007/
This poster for the film 300 is quite effective in its use of the CRAP principles.
Starting with contrast, there are several examples. The largest example is the light area on the left contrasting with the darker area that is the cliff. This focuses our attention on the two sides, one depicting action from the film, and the other side displaying the information they are trying to convey. There is also contrast in the Font Colour, text and size. The different colours of the text draw attention to different information. The title being the biggest in size is where the focus draws.
Repetition is also a key factor in this poster. The main area of repetition is the red text. The title, the catch phrase "Prepare for glory" and the release date are all the same colour which connects them all together. This makes it easy with a quick glance to catch all the important information since the repetition draws the eye to these three aspects of the poster.
The alignment of this poster does not play an integral role in this poster however it is still present as the white text is all aligned on the left side making it look organized and appealing to the eye as there is a clear line on the left side of the poster.
Finally proximity plays an important role. All of the information is located on one half of the page. This makes it very easy to find the correct information and creates good space throughout the entire page since they are grouped in a small area.
http://videogum.com/img/thumbnails/photos/batman_poster.jpg
In this poster for the film The Dark Knight the use of contrast is most evident with the red Bat sign against the the blueish building. This technique immediately draws our eyes towards the Bat sign as it becomes the focal point of the poster.
Repetition is less prominent in this poster, however the use of white font is repeated allowing us to connect the information all together and make it easy to locate.
The whole alignment of the poster is aligned to the centre which usually does not work, however this poster manages to use it effectively. Since the large building runs vertically on the whole page it is much more appealing to have the text of the whole poster aligned in the centre creating good visual space along the side of the page.
Again the proximity of the information on the page is grouped at the bottom making it much easier to locate.
http://eu.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-19409/Star_Wars.html
In this poster from the original release of Star Wars there is distinct contrast between the characters in the forefront which are light and the darker images in the background, which moves the focal point towards the two character that are lighter. There is also contrast between the image and the text on the bottom as well as contrasting texts in the bottom creating visual appeal especially towards the title.
However repetition does not play a large role in this poster.
Alignment also is not a key aspect of this poster although the text at the top of the poster is aligned with this light that is rising from the characters.
Proximity, is important in this poster because the information is grouped together allowing for easy access. Also the character groupings establish a narrative especially because of the use of light and dark to highlight the characters morale standing.
http://thecia.com.au/reviews/h/images/hot-fuzz-poster-1.jpg
The main area of contrast in this poster for the film Hot Fuzz is the sizing of the letters for the title. This draws our attention to the centre of the page and to the title. The costumes of the characters also contrast with the background allowing them to stick out as focal points.
There is very little repetition in this poster unless we consider the fact that there are two characters repetition although that would probably be stretching it.
As for alignment the two characters create two vertical lines on the page with the text aligned in the space created in between the two. What this does is centres everything and creates unity among the characters and the information of the posters.
As for proximity there is a cluster in the centre that has the title, the starring cast and a promotion stating past projects. This puts all the information that will attract viewers in one area central on the page.
All of these posters demonstrate the CRAP principles in one way or another to attract viewers attentions to one key point of there posters.
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