Textual Analysis: Film posters;
As I have to create a film poster for my romcom trailer, I am analysing four different posters, of different genre's to help my knowledge of film posters, and also if I know the conventions of the different genre's, I could possibly incorporate them into my film poster. The second film poster I am analysing is 'Inglorious Basterds', a war drama film.

The conventions of war drama films, are pretty much the same as other genre's, they have the title of the film, a main image, stars names, credits and others, but a war drama poster is designed to shock the audience, and create an emotional response to the poster, as war films are quite unsettling to watch, they also want the poster to reflect that.

Inglorious Basterds:
This film is a 2009 war drama film, about the Nazi's and Germany.
Title/Name: The name of the film is in the middle of the poster against a red stripe, and Brad Pitts clothing. The title is a convention of film posters, and I have found that the title is often found at the top or around the middle. The name has a symbol for the o and has a swastika in the letter, and this conveys what the film is about and when it is set, and from this we can see that it is set in the war, and is about Nazi's and Germany, also as the o is in the word inglorious, it suggests to the audience that Brad Pitt and the people in the film are against the Nazi's and fighting them, as they think they're inglorious, and as that word goes with basterds, the use of taboo language makes it seem like they really hate them, and are going to kill them, and it also appeals to the people who fought in that war, as that is what they think of the Nazi's, and the spelling of basterds is different, and it represents how the Nazi's are not normal, and they go against the grain. The writing is over Brad Pitt, and because of this it seems like the title is his opinion, almost like he is just said it, and because of this it conveys to the audience that he is the leader of the group. Also it is against red, and this makes it stands out against the background, and the colour of the text also represents the colour theme of the poster of red, black and white.

Image: The image follows conventions of film posters as it takes up most of the cover, and the image also conveys the basic story of the film, that it is about soldiers and fighting, and war. There are two images of Brad Pitt on the poster, and the first one is a small image of him holding a knife, the first image is like he is getting ready for a fight, he is holding his weapon and is prepared, whereas the other image is like he has finished the fight, and is looking at what he has done. The first image is very intimidating, but his pose contradicts it as his pose is casual, like he isn't scared about what he is facing he is very confident he will win, but as he is holding the knife aloft, it is like a warning to the audience, that he will be relaxed and calm, until someone threatens him and then he will kill them. The outfit is an old military outfit, and this represents the time the film is set in, and it also shows him to be on the opposite side of Hitler and the Nazi's, as it is not the uniform we associate with the Nazi's, it also looks quite smart, and doesn't look like it has seen many fights, suggesting that he is high in rank, and he has other people to do his orders, the colour is also black, and that is the colour associated with death, representing how that will be one of the main themes in the film, and it also represents the genre because in war drama films there are always death. The second image is a medium shot of him with his hands on his hips, and that pose is always associated with someone who is confident and victoriuous, and the image suggests that he has won whatever he wanted, and is now looking over at what he has won, and as the first image is smaller, and the second image is much bigger, its almost like he has doubled in confidence and is now superior, and this is also reinforced by the way his chin is up and he is looking up, this signifies pride and status, and this again suggests that he is in charge, the outfit is also much smarter than the first image suggesting how he has gone up in rank. The image is also in red signifying blood, and death, and it shows him to be bloodthirsty, and conveys to the audience that he has shed a lot of blood, and that is his main aim to kill, and it represents the genre of the film, as it is all about fighting and blood. The red is also a code of danger used in many films, and this conveys to the audience that he is dangerous and will do whatever he can to win, and it also represents the time the film was set in, as the second world war was all about blood and death, the red is also in a strip, and it is like paint or like a hand that wiped the blood across the page, and this signifies how in the film a lot of people are in danger and will be killed. The image also represents the audience for the film, as it is about war and blood, it is aimed at men, and as the character on the poster is male you can see it is for men, as they can relate to him. The image follows the conventions of war drama posters, as they intend to shock people and create a response, and this poster does that, as you instantly know this film is about death.

Text: The poster follows conventions of film posters as it has persuasive text on it, to encourage people to come and see the film. The text says 'were in the Nazi Killing' business, and cousin, business is a-booming', this text is said in quite a fun jokey way, and this conveys that Brad Pitt and everyone else don't care about what they're doing, they just think it is a joke, and a regular job, that this is their business like everyone else has normal business's, this is theirs, and there is nothing wrong with it, and the matter of fact way they say they're in the Nazi killing business shows they don't think much of it, and also suggests they have done it before and it is nothing new to them, and they also say 'booming', and this conveys how they're are winning their fights, but as they say they're in the Nazi killing business it changes them, as many people do not like the Nazi's they feel less intimated by them then if they had been killing normal people, and as they're fighting what the Nazi's did, it almost makes them sound like they're fighting for the vulnerable people, and therefore makes it sound like they're quite brave. The text almost sound like a Southern American accent, and as you can imagine the accent it is almost like he is saying it to you, and as you can imagine his voice it makes you connect with him, and underneath it says who Brad Pitt is playing, Lt Aldo Raine, and as it says that under the text, it tells the audience that this is what he has said, and the Lt also goes with the image, that he is high in rank. The text is also in red, and as it is Brad Pitt saying this it reflects the image, as he is in red, and this again suggests that he is dangerous, as red is the colour of danger, and it also represents how he is about fighting and killing and this mirrors the text, the red also stands out against the white background.

Stars: A convention of film posters is for them to have the stars names on the posters, and this is another way in attracting people to the film. This film poster follows that convention as they do have Brad Pitt's name on the poster, underneath the text and it says who he will be playing, but it does go against conventions as posters usually have their stars names in big, bold letters so the audience can see who is in the film, and this film has Brad Pitt in, and he is one of the biggest film stars ever, so you would think they would have his name in huge,bold letters, and because they don't it suggests to the audience that this film is not about the stars in it, but is about the story of the film, and is not just some Hollywood film but a serious film. Brad Pitts name is in black though so it does stand out against the background, and you can see it. They also have Quentin Tarantino's name on the poster, and he is a very famous director, and this again is another way of attracting the audience to the film.

Website: The poster includes the website for the film, and this is a convention of film posters as most of them include their website on the poster. The website is at the bottom of the cover, and this is were most websites are placed, as the producers would rather the audience go and watch the film instead, but the website is there because if people go on the website, it still brings revenue to the film. The website is in quite small font, so it doesn't detract from the poster, and it is also in grey representing the colour theme of the poster.

The poster doesn't include credits on the poster, and this is a convention of film posters, as most posters include credits, and this shows the poster goes against conventions, and suggests that the film goes against conventions, as war drama's are horrible and do not follow rules.