Film Poster Analysis 1 - Back to the Future

Back to the future is one of the most iconic and popular time travel films of all time, it is an ideal film to take inspiration from in terms of advertisement. The film was produced in the 80s so the poster lacks elements which would be included in a modern poster, such as a link to a website or hashtags which are now a crucial part of the advertisement campaigns for films.

In terms of content the poster does not include much information. The only members of the production team that are mentioned are the director and producer, the cast themselves aren't mentioned this could be because they are not well known and their names wouldn't do much to advertise the film. However Steven Spielberg is mentioned for he is a notorious director who's name would do much for the film's credibility. I find it quite odd that there is no mention to the production companies or even the distributor, this leaves the poster looking quite bare relying upon the elements of the narrative to advertise it.

The typography used in this poster is very unique and links into the Sc-fi genre and the narrative of the film and over time has become iconic and symbolic for time travel and has been parodied numerous times. The typography has a very exciting look to it, the colours have a very flamboyant and fiery look them, they use this to match the very iconic effect of the fire trail behind the even more iconic DeLorean. The text style is quite simplistic and square shaped, however the way it's angled gives it a very unique look, it expands at the start and narrows inwards to give it a more dynamic look, it's also bent and distorted to give it a time travel effect which is of course the distortion and transformation of time. The arrow is especially significant as it is used to hint the narrative which is of course going back in time and the arrow is pointing backwards to signifying this. In comparison the cast text is far less interesting, although it's angled adjacently to the main title.

The Delorean at the bottom it by far the most iconic feature of the franchise and the Sc-fi genre. It has been highly exaggerated in terms of lighting and clarity to make it more visually spectacular and to give it a more dynamic and scientific look in order for it to fit into the general conventions of a Sc-fi film, although due to this films immense popularity and originality it is likely that it set some of the conventions used. The effects used on the Delorean all correspond of what you would expect to see in a Sc-fi product, the front of the car is entering what appears to be a portal of some sort that is emitting electricity in a very spontaneous and dramatic way. The car itself has many scientific elements such as wiring and piping, and two large thrusters, this clearly indicates to the audience that this is not an average car. The fire trail is another key icon of the franchise and is certainly one of the most memorable elements of the film, it is used with the Delorean to hint to the narrative of the film and make the poster more visually compelling.

In the top right corner you can see the two main protagonists for the film, they are both acting out scenes which define their characters in the film. The figure on the left Marty Mcfly, is looking quite bewildered and shocked whilst wearing his stylish iconic apparel that the fans will come to recognize. Doc Brown is seen in his stereotypical look, holding a piece of advanced technology that contrasts highly with his shocked and confused facial expression really summing up his personality in the film.