Film trailers and film posters are advertised in very different ways, despite both having similar themes and ingredients - Analyse the ways each medium is used and ways say how they communicate to their intended audiences.

At the bottom of the poster in a small print text is the credits of the film. No one can see this section of the poster from a distance and nobody really bothers to read it. These are here for copyright purposes and so that if people wanted they could find out who the director, writer and producer of the film is.

At the bottom or in the left hand corner of the poster is the release date of the film being advertised.

The poster is usually in colours that stand out from the competition without loosing the theme of the film. E.g. A comedy would not be in dark black colours. The writing on the poster has to stand out in a font and colour that will attract people's attention. It must be easy to read.

I am now going to look at the above issues on a film poster advertising

"THE BOURNE IDENTITY"

The main piece of anchorage is a large picture of Matt Damon from the top left corner to half way down the poster to the centre. This is good because many people know what Matt Damn looks like and know most of his films are good. This will lead many people to see this film. To make the poster fit the theme of the film Matt Damon is dressed in dark clothes which gives the feel of a spy/espionage genre.

Just bellow the main picture Matt Damon's name is clearly visible in a text colour that stands out from the background it is on. This immediately tells you who that main star is if you don't recognise his face.

Below the name of the star is the title of the film. It is shown in a bigger text size than the main stars name so it stands out more. It is in the same colour text but it is very effective. Next to this is the rating of the film. This is necessary on film posters to show the readers of the poster so they can see whether they are old enough to buy or see this particular film.

One quarter of the way up on the poster is three small scenes from the film one shows the main character of the film hanging on to a wall, the second shows the main character of the film kissing a woman and the third scene clip show the main character fighting another character in the film. All these together give the idea that this is a film with plenty of action and a romance in the plot. Below the scene clips is the credits of the film. These are necessary for people to see who the director of the film is, and to find other information related to the film.

At the bottom of the poster is a release date for the film to be released in the cinemas. This is necessary so people can find out when they can go and see this film. There is also a date showing when people can go and see advanced previews.

At the top of the poster is a quote stating that a popular and influential company in the public eye has called it "ROCK SOLID ESPIONAGE ACTION". This is telling readers of the poster what kind of genre the general public would call the genre of the film.

On the right hand side of the poster from the top to the middle is quotes from other tabloid newspapers and magazines. These are all saying good things about the film and describing what genre they would call it. One of the newspaper quotes states "A KILLER OF A CAR CHASE AND ONE OF THE BEST SCREEN FIGHTS IN RECENT MOMORY". This is a great advertising point for the film because it is making the target audience want to go and see what all the "fuss" is about so they can judge for themselves whether it does have the best fight scenes in recent memory.

I am now going to talk about film trailers. Unlike posters film trailer can show moving images of the film it is advertising. They are mostly shown at a home or at a cinema. Film trailers are clips from the film specially edited to look faster or slower depending on the film. For an action film the clips from the film would be edited faster that the clips would be for an animated children's film.

The clips from the film are usually not in the order they are shown in the actual film. This is to make the trailer look good to it's target audience. The reason film trailers work is because they show the viewer the best parts of the film and it gives the viewer a thirst for the film. Different types of scenes are used for different films. E.g. in a comedy film the person editing the film trailer would put the funniest scenes in the trailer and if the film was an action the editor would use some of the most action packed scenes of the film. All the scenes in the trailer are carefully placed where they are so they can make as much sense as possible without giving too much of the film away to the viewers.

No matter what the trailer is about it shares a common goal with all other competing trailers, to sell the film it's advertising. This is where editing comes in. Appropriate music is often added to the trailer to give the trailer a special feel to it. The song is used in the trailer from start to finish and is usually used somewhere in the film or is appropriate to the genre of the film.

Voiceovers are used in most film trailers. They are usually performed by a voice in the film or a voice that is easy to listen to. Some voices are even used to give a feel to the film. E.g. Anthony Hopkins voice was appropriate for the film "HANIBLE" because of the tone of voice used.

Film trailers are all shown at different times of the day. Children's film trailers are usually shown during the hours of 7:00am to 6:00pm. This is usually the time a child is watching TV with a parent. A film for older people like teenagers and adults is usually show any time after 7:00pm up until 6:00am. Film trailers targeted at teenagers can be shown on TV channels that are dedicated to teenagers like Trouble (digital TV channel) and film trailers for children can be shown on children's TV channels like cartoon network and nickelodeon (digital TV channels).

During most film trailers the names of the actors in the film are shown in separate scenes. The narrator doing the voice over will usually read out the names of the actors or actresses.

The name of the film can come in at any time during a film trailer but is usually at the end of a trailer. At the very end of the trailer is the credits of the film like on a film poster but these are shown very fast so not everybody wants to always read them.

Some times a release dates is shown at the end of the film trailer to show the target audience when the film is out to buy or own.

The film trailer I am going to look at is "BLADE 2". At the beginning the production company is shown E.g. Newline cinema presents...... Then it quickly changes to scenes from the film with a voice over saying "There is a world beyond the one we know. Where the powers of darkness fear nothing, but one man. BLADE". The voice chosen to do this voiceover has used the correct tone of voice to complement the film. After the voice over the music starts and fits in well with the speed of the scenes in the trailer. Because this film is an 18 rating some of the scenes have been adapted for television viewing. But this does not spoil the trailer or film.

The selected scenes have been sorted into an order that tells you part of the plot and the main idea to film but does not give too much away. The unique selling point for this film is it is a sequel. Many people want to see sequels of films to see whether is it better than the first and looking at the trailer it leaves you wanting to see more about the film. The trailer gives the idea that you don't need to see the first film because it sound like an all new plot and story line. Many recognisable faces are shown to be in the film such as Wesley Snipes who has been in many good films throughout his career. Just because Wesley Snipes is in the film gives his fans a good enough reason to see the film. The trailer also gives fans of the first BLADE film lots good enough reasons for seeing the sequel. One of them being a new breed of enemy and an alliance with the vampire race.

I have finished going over film posters and trailers. Although being different they both have the same goal of selling the advertised film for the purpose of entertainment and making money. Overall they are both affective to their target audience.