Journals / Türkiye Film Araştırmaları Dergisi / 2025 / Cilt: 5 Sayı: 2

Visual Promises: Lobby Cards, Film Promotion and Cinema-going Experience

Görsel Vaatler: Lobi Kartları, Film Tanıtımı ve Sinemaya Gitme Deneyimi

Aslı Gön(BASKENT UNIVERSITY)0000-0003-1036-2673
Pages
117–136
Publication Date
2025-12-31
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

This is paratextually significant in spectators’ film selection, film interpretation, feeling excitement or disappointment and formation of film taste.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Cinema related ephemera, both in academic and popular context, play an important role in our understanding cinema history.
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Key Findings & Data:At first sight they resemble posters with their 2D designs and paper-based material.
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Conclusion & Impact:This is paratextually significant in spectators’ film selection, film interpretation, feeling excitement or disappointment and formation of film taste.
🔬Design:Review & Systematic Survey
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Lobi kartları · film tanıtımı · sinemaya gitme deneyimi

Abstract

Cinema related ephemera, both in academic and popular context, play an important role in our understanding cinema history. Based on literature review and randomly selected examples, this article analyzes lobby cards in terms of cinema industry, formal aspects and spectatorship practices. These historical publicity materials were used to promote films and attract potential audience. A set of lobby cards was put up in front of the movie theatres or displayed in special glass cases. At first sight they resemble posters with their 2D designs and paper-based material. However, the way they were displayed and their interaction with the audience enable us to approach these materials as an early form of trailers. As a result of digitalization and decentralization of exhibition, trailers today do not have specific or fixed space. Yet lobby cards, without leaving their actual context, generated a sequence to tell stories off the screen and became an active part of cinema-going experience. For these images, not far from the big screen, were probably seen by the spectators before and after film viewing. This is paratextually significant in spectators’ film selection, film interpretation, feeling excitement or disappointment and formation of film taste.

Özet

Hem akademik hem de popüler bağlamda, sinemaya ilişkin efemera sinema tarihini kavrayışımızda önemli rol oynar. Literatür taraması ve rastgele seçilen örneklere dayanan bu makalenin amacı lobi kartlarını sinema endüstrisi, biçimsel özellikler ve seyircilik pratikleri kapsamında incelemektir. Bu tarihsel reklam materyalleri filmleri tanıtmak ve seyirci çekmek için kullanılmıştır. Tanıtımı yapılan filmden alınan sahnelerden ya da sette çekilen fotoğraflardan oluşan bir grup lobi kartı genellikle ya sinema salonu girişine yerleştirilmiş ya da bir camekân içinde sıralanarak fuayede sergilenmiştir. Lobi kartları kağıttan üretildikleri ve iki boyutlu tasarlandıkları için ilk bakışta posterlere benzer. Öte yandan, kartların sergilenme biçimi ve seyirciyle etkileşimi bu tanıtım materyallerini fragmanların erken tarihli örneği olarak değerlendirmemize olanak tanımaktadır. Günümüzde gösterim mekânlarının merkezsizleşmesi ve dijitalleşme ile birlikte fragmanların özgül veya sabit bir mekânı yoktur. Oysa lobi kartları bağlamlarını terk etmeden perde dışında hikâye anlatmak üzere bir dizi üreterek sinemaya gitme deneyimine etkin şekilde eklemlenir; çünkü seyirciler perdeden çok da uzakta olmayan lobi kartlarını film izleme eyleminden önce ve sonra sinema salonunda görebilmiştir. Bu şekilde lobi kartları yan metinler olarak seyircilerin film seçiminde, olay örgüsünü yorumlamalarında, heyecanlanmalarında veya hayal kırıklığına uğramalarında ve film beğenisi geliştirmelerinde önemli rol oynar.

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Cite This Article

Gön, A. (2025). Visual Promises: Lobby Cards, Film Promotion and Cinema-going Experience. Türkiye Film Araştırmaları Dergisi, Cilt: 5 Sayı: 2, 117–136. https://doi.org/10.59280/film.1585200

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