A Comparison of Short Film Posters with Feature Film Posters

Whilst analysing both feature film posters, and that of short films, I recognised some conventions of each, and how the two types of films made their posters similarly and differently. 

I noticed that in the imagery of a feature film, the stills used for the poster often feature wider shots which create a larger amount of negative space for text. This may create more of a scene or perhaps introduce more characters to the narrative than the conventional short poster, which usually features closeups as opposed to wider, longer shots which establish the nature of the film a little more. The short films challenge this convention of leaving vast amounts of negative space, usually with just solid colour, and instead use a still image that comes in the format of a closeup that fills more space than what is needed for the text in the space. Therefore, the text found on a short film poster is conventionally superimposed on top of the main image, compared to a feature, in which there is a solid area of negative space to place the text. 

A further convention I identified within the short film poster that differed to the feature film poster was the billing block. Traditionally, the billing block for a feature film poster features the same or similar compressed text in order to fit the credits for the main cast and crew onto the front. This is usually hard to read from even a fairly close distance, and therefore doesn't allow the creators a lot of credit on the poster. On the other hand, I recognised that some short film posters subvert the convention of using a commonly used, compressed font, and instead remain consistent in the font they are using throughout. Usually these fonts are more spaced out and are larger, perhaps to show higher respect for the cast and crew by giving them a credit that is easier to read, which therefore raises recognition of their work.

I noticed also, that feature film posters often include a more clear and vibrant colour palette as a part of their list of conventions. It tends to vary a bit more than short films, which usually keep to a neutral colour scheme where the colours do not vary and contrast quite so much. This may perhaps be because of the profit involved in feature films, and the potential they have to entice an audience through an eye catching poster. Meanwhile, short films don't earn quite so much money, and perhaps only seek to attract audiences that are educated and media literate, and so quite often look past the aesthetic choices of a poster, and instead more towards the information. It is also likely that short and feature film posters both differ in what their main purpose is and where they are likely to be found. For example, the feature film posters I analysed are mainly landscape and therefore suit a billboard more than a magazine, whilst the short film posters I analysed are mainly portrait in page orientation, which may suggest a magazine, or an electronic press kit ready for the film's release.

Overall, there are many shared conventions between film posters, although the difference in the feature film and short film formats comes with differences in the conventions used by each type of film's poster.