How do semiotics work as part of film posters in terms of visuals?

Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and the message we read in them.
Film posters are full of semiotics, this ensures that the audiences quickly process the just from necessary information just from the visual imagery contained in them
It is important to consider all the visual imagery in film posters, they consist of:
>Imagery
>Colours
>Titles and Fonts
>Layout

Semiotics are extremely important therefore many film posters rely on them heavily, as it gives the audience and understanding of what genre or theme the up and coming film take on, through the clever use of signs and symbols.

Analysing film posters in terms of semiotics:

By just looking at the Bridget Jones's Diary the audience gets the impression that the film may be a Romantic Comedy simply by recognising the semiotic aspects. Just like many british Rom-Coms, the background is traditionally white, emphasising on the fact that it is a Rom-Com, furthermore the characters expressions in inparticularly Bridget Jones having a smirk on her face, seem to imply that there will be perhaps an element of mischief surrounding the relationship, especially due to the fact that there are three people involved in the relationship, this links in well with the genre of the film. The use of the diary is also important as it symbolises, secrets which once again links in well with the genre of Romantic Comedies.

The film poster for Platoon uses semiotics very well. The background image first of all denotes war, with the various explosions as well as soldiers battling with guns, the use of palm trees in terms of symbolism is used very cleverly, palm trees usually represent peace and paradise, however in this case the palm trees are used to represent the pain and grief from the war in Vietnam. Placed right in the centre of the image is the main character, who is a soldier denoted by his uniform, the character comes across as if he has been shot due to his position and his face is not on show, implying that the victims of war can be anybody. The font for the title is a very solid and masculine one, suggesting strength, linking to the theme of war, dog tags are also evident in the title, replacing to O's, just like they replace soldiers lives and following on from the death of soldiers the tagline 'The first casualty of war is innocence' reflects the theme of death and war within the film.