Analysis of Romantic Comedy Film Posters

Layout, codes and conventions etc

-The bright colours of the background contrast the black and white of the actor’s clothing, suggesting this is a happy, positive film, as the title says. The flowers imply the romance of the film and would also attract the female audience as they are stereotypically associated to women.

-The fact the female is wearing a white top and the male a black one hints they are opposites, which could relate to the romantic saying that opposites attract.

-In the terminal area there are the film’s credits, which will be the last thing the viewer will see.

-The actors’ body parts are shown in the hotspots which represents the love and closeness of the characters. The females arms are in two of them, the middle of her body and the male’s head in the others, suggesting their bodies are an important feature of the film.

-The primary optical area contains the females head and nothing of the male, implying she is the more dominant character. This could also be shown by him being upside down so we focus on her face more than his.

-The tag-line of the film is also in the centre to show more information to the audience who will take notice of this.

-Following the line of the eye you see her body follow on from his which gives the impression they are connected to each other.

-The font used also attracts the typical female audience because the ‘k’ in the title is longer than usual, giving it a girly appearance.

Poster 1

-The light colours suggest it is a light- hearted film, attracting the target audience.

-The body language tells a lot about the film, as the female is turned towards one man with her back to the other. It hints the storyline isn’t simple as the character on the left is trying to get her attention and the character on the right appears to have her attention, whilst she is looking at the camera implying she is unsure.

-Along the line of the eye there are the actors names, the female character in the centre and the credits along the bottom, giving important information about the film.

-One of the hotspots contains the male’s hand on her shoulder, as it is important to the story.

-The female is in the primary optical area telling the audience it is about a woman and she is the main character.

-Behind the three characters you can see the backdrop of a city, which gives information as to where the film is set.

-Hints as to the differences between the two males are evident in their clothing, as one is wearing a plain t-shirt and the other is wearing a suit, indicating the woman is torn between them.

-The ‘accidental’ in the title is in a different, brighter colour and isn’t capitalised, placing emphasis on this word. It contrasts the white of the flowers behind it and the fact it’s pink will attract the female target audience.

Poster 2

Poster 3-The fluffy pink coat, big earrings and sunglasses suggest she is very girly and into fashion. This would appeal to the target audience which is predominantly females.

-The black of the guy’s coat also contrasts the pink of hers, indicating they possibly have opposing natures.-The light blue of the background adds to the girliness, and once again there is a city skyline behind the characters which tells the audience about the setting.

-By having the girl in the foreground and the guy in the background you get the impression she is the main character. He is also looking towards her possibly meaning he is more interested in her than she is in him.

-The way the girl is winking relates to the film’s slogan ‘in the wink of an eye’, suggesting this is significant to the film.

-The line of the eye tells you that it’s made by the same people who produced a famous romcom- so it’s likely to have more appeal to the audience. You also see the title and the credits at the bottom so you get the important information.

-The girl’s face is in one of the hotspots, emphasising the wink and the fact she seems to have control of some sort. Again, the film’s title is highlighted as it too is in a hotspot.

-The primary optical area contains the girl’s head in the forefront and the guy’s behind her, further indicating she is the focus of the film.

-As with most female orientated films the font of the title is in pink and quite curly writing, so it will appeal to their stereotypical love of such girly things.

Codes and conventions I have found in Romantic Comedy posters

From analysing these posters I have found that are certain elements which are included in the majority of them. These include:

Feminine colours such as light blue, pink and white to attract the female target audience. Placing the female character in the centre or foreground to show that she is the main character, perhaps with control over the male characters. The use of props to identify the themes of the films, for example flowers and sunglasses, also attracts the target audience as they are associated with females. Having short titles, as the three I analysed each had 3 words. This tells me that I should consider this when it comes to naming our film. Placing the credits at the bottom of the poster and into the terminal area, as it is the last thing the reader will see and will therefore remember some of the cast and crew. This could influence them to see the film if they know the people involved. The clothing of the actors tells a lot about the storylines, such the opposites of black and white in the first poster, which gives the audience more to consider when deciding whether to watch the film or not. The background of each of the posters also lets people know the theme of the film, as the flowers in poster 1 have connotations of love and romance, and the city skylines of the other two suggest the city plays a major part in the story.

By analysing these posters I now have a better idea of what I need to include when I produce my own poster. Also I have more knowledge of the possible ways I could identify a new target audience, because I am aware of what has already been done in existing romantic comedies.