Composition of film postersSamuel Penn

Rule of thirds (Grid Layout)The rule of thirds is a classic gird layout. The rule states that the image is split into nine equal parts using equally space horizontal lines and equally spaced vertical lines. The boxes formed can be a grid for your main focal elements or images.It is usually the case that the centre box is the main focus of the poster; a poster that conforms to this rule is 127 hours, in which the main character is in the middle of poster .

Vanishing point A point where two receding parallel seem to meet when represented in a linear fashion. This creates a focal point for a specific element in the poster – helping to fine important elements. An example of this composition is on the vanishing point poster, in which two sides of the road, which are parallel seem to meet.

Z layout

The ‘Z’ form of the poster will naturally lead the viewer's eyes along the page looking at the details of the poster in a particular order. It is usually the case that this formation would lead the viewers past the actors’ names and then to the main anchorage of the poster and to the company credits at the bottom. An example of a poster that somewhat follows this is World War Z.

Circular layoutCircular layout. The idea of this is that it takes the audiences eyes around the picture and it often uses elements that are circular. Usually, the poster that contains a circular layout uses type along a horizontal straight line at the bottom. One poster that follows this composition type is 360.