Codes & Conventions of British Drama Posters

In order to create a poster for a teaser trailer that fits the British drama genre, we must first look at existing posters of the genre and identify the codes and conventions. These need to be identified so we can stick to them when developing our final design.

After comparing these posters we came up with a list of codes and conventions for a British drama poster;

- Clear, easy to read font is used

- Protagonist is featured on the poster

- Any character featured on the poster is looking directly at the camera

- Title is in the center of the thirds

- A tag line is used

- Font colour contrasts with the background colour

- Patriotic British colours often used

- The clothing which the characters are wearing in the poster gives away their personality

- Background usually features an attribute of city life/the film's location

- Credits are placed at the bottom
- Other films created by the director are sometimes mentioned
- The first item the eye is drawn to is the title

By identifying the codes and conventions we can now start developing our original poster ideas. If we stick to these conventions, then our final design should be a successful poster for the British drama genre.