Generic Conventions of the Film Poster

Having looked at several film posters, there are several conventions particular to the thriller/horror genre.

• Colour Scheme - Predominantly red, white, and black, because of the connotations of danger, blood, passion, violence, purity, etc.
• Title - Usually in the bottom third, uses a very large font to draw attention to it. Often in red, although sometimes white on a black background to make it stand out.
• Key Actors - In larger films, these are a way of guaranteeing an audience for the film, so you want to sell this to the viewer. As such these are usually at the top of the screen. This can also include famous directors or other creative crew members, e.g. "from the director of..." or even sometimes "from the producer of..."
• Images - usually one image taking up the whole background, almost always of one of the stars of the film. There will often also be one or more smaller photos in the frame, such as the silhouetted figure in front of Cameron Diaz above.

• Slogan - This varies, but usually in the top two thirds of the poster will be a 3 or 4 word slogan to sum up the film. 
• Release Date - Often placed right at the bottom of the poster, the release date will often be highlighted in some way, either being slightly bigger, bolder, or in a different colour to the surrounding billing block.