Harry Potter Film Poster Analysis

As one of the most popular global franchises, I wanted to analyse the final Harry Potter movie poster as it depicts the typical codes and conventions of a film poster. This was the official movie poster for the final film however it is also notable the amount of teaser posters that were also created. This is a common promotional technique to keep up the hype about the film and as this was so popular it acts as a constant reminder for the audience as to the films release soon. For big franchises or blockbuster films, this is probably a beneficial advertising technique, however I won't be doing this for our trailer because it is a much smaller scale film and as it is a low budget film, companies who create similar ones like this tend to stick to social media to promote their product due to insufficient funds.

From the film posters to the left, these were just a few from the masses of film posters created for the final film. Many teaser posters were created with different characters on the poster but all had the same vital inforamtion: the release date and available in IMAX and 3D with the same tag line 'It All Ends'. Although my partner and I won't be creating teaser posters we found this is becoming a much more common technique to advertise a film and create an ongoing interest with the audience.

The official poster follows the typical conventions of a film poster for
 example the main image. The protagonist is placed in the centre of the poster making it clear what film is being advertised. Either side of the protagonist are his two main friends and important characters in the film whom are also easily recognisable. In the background of the poster is the outline of Hogwarts castle indicating the recurring setting for all of the films and other students although these aren't distinguishable facially, it creates the idea of chaos combined with the rubble in which they are standing on and giving the sense of a big battle at the end of this film. The main colours in the poster tend to be quite dark; there is a mixture of blue and green creating an idea of fantasy linking to the genre however these are tinted with black and grey darkening the poster. Contrastingly, there is a tint of yellow and white in the background by the castle as if the sun were rising suggesting an element of hope. The characters clothing are fairly neutral colours however muddied and stained reinforcing the chaotic atmosphere and idea of a battle. One of the characters is also wearing a muted red which could connote danger.

The title of the film is included in the bottom centre of the page and is written across the main protagonist linking the character with the name of the film. The typography of this is the same font as all of the other films have used with the jagged edged writing making it clearly identifiable. Underneath 'Harry Potter' is the name of what film it is in smaller writing conforming to the layout of all the other movies and reminding the audience of the franchise. Underneath the title is the billing information. This is in a much smaller font and a darker colour making it harder to see therefore showing it isn't of much relevance in this instance in order to promote the film. However, underneath this, the tag line used in the teaser posters is also repeated 'It All Ends' followed by the released date. The tag line has already been seen numerous times on the teaser posters so audiences are familiar with this already and the release date being repeated acts as a constant reminder for audiences to not miss out. The text is in a bold font, place in the bottom centre of the poster and a slightly different font to the title making it stand out showing this is important information for audiences. Also on the poster, the fact that the film will be available at IMAX and in 3D is also stated in a small font as it isn't the most essential information but it may create more hype for the film as audiences can now experience the movie in more immerse ways.

At the bottom of the poster, red dots seem to accumulate. This has also been used on the teaser posters therefore coincides with this theme. The red could connote danger and the red seems to resemble fire, as if the sparks are flying off an explosion. This reinforces the idea of chaos and destruction creating more anticipation for the film by evoking a sense of lack of safety and fast paced thrill that will be present in the film. This also hints to the genre of the film, showing it will be dramatic and there will be a lot of action included in the film.

- Emma