final poster

Here is my completed poster, as you can see I have made a few changes. After looking at the way the image is broken up, I felt that lines were needed to separate the sections even more. Using the line tool, I added thin white lines on each join. I also felt that in my previous draft, the joins between the sections were very untidy, I amended this by re-editing the original image more neatly than simply placing it back under the text. I also moved the headline down as I felt it was too near the middle of the poster. 

Now that I am happy with my poster, here is a detailed analysis of it: 

Main image:the main image is a medium closeup of the actor. This enables the audience to see the facial details of the character, this is further emphasized by the direct address the actor is making at the camera. Using sections from two image, one of the artist in a stable state and one of her as a z-ombie is further emphasized by white lines at the join to each section. The editing of the eyes makes the image look both shocking and intriguing, this invites the audience in and opens up the possibility for discussion. 

Headline: The headline, or main title is located at the bottom of the page, a typical convention for a film poster, this also ensures the image takes pride of place. I used a duplicate font technique to make it stand out from the page. Using a darker colour at the bottom makes the text three dimensional. Using a sans-serif font gives the poster an overall modern look, with a harsh edge, this relates to the harshness of the society my protagonist lives in. 

Tagline: I chose to use the popular idiom 'on the doctors orders' as my tagline. I subverted the typical positive connotations this phrase has and gave it a negative spin. This creates an almost shocking and intriguing effect of the audience, therefore they will want to find out more about the film. 

Release date:I decided to be fairly specific about the release date, stating the season the film will be released in. Unusually, I placed the date within the context of a tagline, this gives the date more interest. To emphasis the date even further, I made the text red. As the only element of red on the page, it is bound to stand out. 

Company logos and billing block:As these elements are typical conventions for film posters, I decided to place them at the bottom of the page as normal. However, I changed the colour to an off white, similar to that used in the headline, this creates a colour scheme and a more coherent poster.

Film awards:As a persuasive device, I included film awards that are commonly given to independant films. This will attract film fans of indepandamt or indie films and set high standards for the film without the audience having to watch it. 

Poster production

This prezi contains step by step processes for my poster. It shows all of my drafts as this prezi was an on-going document over the course of making the poster. I screen-shotted my poster every time I made a change and added it to this prezi.
Here the process of draft one and two is shown:

Creating a billing block

When creating the billing block I type the text below into a billing block generator. I will then edit the colour of the text on Photoshop if needed. Most of the names are fake as it would look ridiculous if I kept repeating Erin Harper.

PICTURE PICTURE ENTERTAINMENT _PRESENTS ‘REPLACED’ FAYE WIGGINS _WITH CHLOE BULLOCK _EDITOR KAYLA BLAIR _{PRODUCTION DESIGNER} TERENCE BRADLEY _{DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY} DAN SCOTT _{EXECTUIVE PRODUCERS} KATHERINE ROGERS RUSSELL THOMPSON MARIE ADAMS _{PRODUCED BY} ERIN HARPER ALAN TAYLOR GEMMA BECKETT _{SCREENPLAY BY} ERIN HARPER AND BETH LACEY _{DIRECTED BY} ERIN HARPER

As you can't download a billing block generator at school, I found similar condensed fonts of fireworks I wish to use. For my final poster production process, I will create the billing block using these fonts and condense as appropriate.

 

More editing of the z-ombie photo

After receiving some feedback from one of my media classmates. I have decided to edit the strip on the poster containing the eyes. My classmate said they need to look more inflamed and sunken in. Therefore I have used photoshop to do this.

 

Step one:

 



To make the eye sockets look sunken in, I used the burn tool to darken under the brow bone and in the inner corners of the eye. Then I increased the opacity (so the lines were not as harsh) and made dark circles under the eyes.

Step two:

 

Then, I used the paint tool to add a light line of dark red to the waterline, this ensures the eyes look more sore and inflamed, almost like their is an infection.

Editing of the poster main image

Taking inspiration from the posters of the films 'Rabbit hole' and 'Before I go to sleep', I have edited my main image for my poster by dividing it up into sections. The whole point of this distorted image is to create an almost optical illusion effect, thus creating a disorientated feel. My plan is to replace certain sections of the image with sections of the character as a z-ombie, this relates to the title as it shows an almost 'transformation' feel.

First attempt:

At first, I decided to section the image lengthways. I used fireworks to achieve this. I decided to section the image in reasonably small sections at first, this gives an optical illusion effect. I used the marquee tool to select the areas I need; then dragged them either a bit up or down using the pointer tool.  

 

After, I used the marquee tool to select and delete the top edges to neaten the edge.

 

Here is the final image:

 

 

Second attempt:

 

After receiving feedback from one of my classmates, it was suggested that I section off the image horizontally and to section off larger sections. This is because when I add the z-ombie sections, the audience can see more of the z-ombie sections, thus the poster will conform to the desired shocking effect. I used the same process as above; but I sectioned off the image horizontally and in larger sections.

 

Here is the final image:

 

Comparison of poster genres

Here I have analysed posters that are genre specific to gain a background into the conventions of each genre. I have chosen to analyse stereotypical elements of certain genres.

Results of Poster questionnaire

Here are the results to my FILM POSTER questionnaire, I decided to use survey monkey to ask the questions and converted the responses into tables using word. Click on the link to see the results. 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1541bv1gu0gv0vn4ze5Q0LN4V62DA8l_7BhFnIpCb4iU/edit?usp=sharing

Poster ideas moodboard

I have used pinterest, a visual discovery tool, to map out some basic ideas for my poster, this could be font, camera angles and iconography. 
Follow Erin's board Film poster moodboard on Pinterest.

Colour research of various posters

 Here I have decided to research the various colour schemes of posters of different genres, this will allow me to easily establish set conventions for the colour schemes of different genres.

Thriller: PRISONERS

 

The poster for the thriller film 'Prisoners' uses a muted colour pallet to establish various conventions about the film. Using light greys and dark greys creates a sombre tone, yet it adds mysterious connotations. White is used as an accent colour for the text as it stands out from the grey of the rest of the poster. Generally, thriller film posters deploy the use of monochromatic colours such as black, white and grey as various iconographic imagery needs to take pride of place to convey the films message. However, red is often used as an accent colours on important persuasive devices such as the release date, title or tagline.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Sci-Fi: AVATAR

 

For the sci-fi film poster of AVATAR, the colour blue makes a frequent appearance, it is mainly used on the main image as it is the colour of the skin of the alien. The colour blue is also used in the title, however it is glowing to distinguish it from the predominantly blue background.  The colour blue is often used in sci-fi film posters as it evokes 'alien themes' or 'creatures form another world', film posters such as TRON:legacy and Star Trek use blue to emphasise the obvious 'space' themes involved with the films plotline.



 

Romantic Comedy: Bridget Jones The Edge Of Reason

 

 In this poster, the feminine colours of pink and purple are used, this is used to reassert the fact that the film is from the point of view of a female character and deals with romantic issues. The colour pink features regularly in romantic comedy posters to emphasise the 'romance' element of the film. Posters such as '27 dresses' and '13 going on 30' use pink to attract a female target audience. Often in romantic comedy posters, the background is white, this is deployed to cement the characters framing on the poster while making the colour scheme more noticeable.

 

 

Horror: CARRIE

Horror posters use a pretty obvious colour pallet, red, black and grey most always feature, red obviously evokes violence and bloodshed, whilst the black creates an aura of mystery. This may seen a similar colour scheme to thriller poster, however the colour red is used much more provocatively in horror posters, often depicting crude representations of blood and gore. In the CARRIE poster, red is used on the actors costume, this is a key iconographic image for the film as the use of blood plays a vital role in the films plotline. 



Comedy: Grown Ups

 

Comedy films tend to take a more playful approach to colour, red, yellow and blue regularly feature as they are stereotypically happy colours. I have noticed that the colour pallets on comedy films are most likely strong primary colours that put a fun spin on the poster. For the 'Grown Ups' poster all three primary colours are used, this gives a sense of colour blocking, therefore giving the poster more structure.

Final tagline deciscions

Here is a mindmap displaying my various tagline ideas.


Overall, I feel that the 'on the doctors orders' tagline will be the most effective as is adds an element of dark humour to the film, this is because the typical connotations of the phrase 'on the doctors orders' are subverted.

Tagline research

Here, I have researched various taglines regarding various generic film genres.This will enable me to establish various conventions of the taglines for films of different genres.

ICT mockups of my poster

Here I have created 3 layout ideas for my final film poster. Having looked at various posters, I gave been able to gather that the billing block is generally located at the bottom while the tagline is more or less at the top, it is also a typical convention to have the main title at the bottom of the poster to allow the image the majority of the frame space.

IDEA ONE: 



For my first idea, I decided to place the cast at the top while adding the title and the tagline at the bottom. This follows the typical rule of thirds convention, thus allowing the image to take up the middle third, the text on the top and bottom third 'frame' the image, therefore giving it structure. The poster of the film Shutter Island  follows this structure, however the cast is at the bottom and the tagline at the top, this format allows the central image to be in full display. 

 

IDEA TWO:

Idea two does follow the same conventions in terms of text framing as idea one, however the title is at the top rather as well as the cast, this template would be used if the title was more detailed and was part of the imagery itself, therefore more attention will be drawn to it. The tagline would be located at the bottom as a small 'resonant' sound bite, this means it would be the last thing the audience will look at on the poster, hence it will leave a lasting impression. The jaws poster uses the rule of having the title at the top, this relates to the plot of the film as the shark is coming from below, like it is on the poster. 

 IDEA THREE:



Idea three subverts the typical framing conventions of ideas one and two, all of the information will be located at the bottom of the page, this will give the poster a more simplistic 'rule of halves' (may have just coined a new term their!) this will make the poster more simple to navigate as the text will be at the bottom while the image will be at the top. The pirates of the Caribbean poster has all of the text at the bottom of the page, this allows the iconographic logo to take pride of place, this makes the poster more recognisable as the logo is more clear.  

Overall, I am more inclined to go with poster idea one, simply because it frames the image well and follows the typical conventions of film posters. however, I may add the tagline at the top and the actors name above the title, this is because, in my posters case, the tagline will be more important than the actors name as my actor is not a 'star' like Robert de Niro or Meryl Streep, if actors like that were featured in my poster they would have top billing at the top of the poster, no doubt featuring a nod to their many academy award wins.

Final font desicion

For my poster I have chosen to use the sans serif modern font BARON NEUE,

 this is because it is a practical font. Because of its simplicity I can edit it with ease using photoshop, It will also integrate into any colour scheme I choose and can be easily applied onto any of the films promotional packages. Its sharp edges connotes to the harsh plotline of the film, also as it is not a condensed font, the spacing between letters allows the reader to absorb the title of the film easily. I will most likely use a simple, muted colour for the font, this will give the font an insignificant feel, connoting to the insignificance of the character.

Poster analysis: z-ombie

Here is an analysis of the poster of the z-ombie horror film 28 Days Later

28 Days Later Poster Analysis

Edting the z-ombie photo

After coming up with my final poster design, I realised I needed to use a photo of my actor as a z-ombie in certain sections of the film poster. I already took a photo of my actress with the full z-ombie makeup, however I found that after sectioning certain parts off, the whole z-ombie effect was lost, I needed to edit the image more using Photoshop to make it look more un-dead.
Here is the original image:

 

As you can see, the makeup is effective, but not effective enough to make a bold impact.

 

Step one:

 

Firstly, on Photoshop I used a mixture of the dodge tool and the paint bucket tool to create the typical glowing white z-ombie eye with a small pupil. The paint bucket tool was useful to create the white base colour, however I had to increase the opacity so the colour didn't look too harsh. Also, I had to use the blend tool to blur the harsh lines between the paint lines so they didn't look too fake. Finally I used the dodge tool to add a glowing quality to the eye

 

Step two:

 
I then used the burn tool with the 'shadowing' format to contour fayes cheekbones even more to make them look sunken in. This therefore adds more depth to the image to make it look three dimensional. I used the blending tool to blur any remaining harsh edges.
 
Step three:  

 
Then I used the burn tool again to create strong shadows under her jaw to give a gaunt, almost malnourished appearance. Again, this was designed to add more depth to the image.
 
Step four:

 

To emphasise her collar bones and ribcage, I used the burn tool in different opacities to create the illusion of protruding bones. It does look a bit fake, however, as I am only going to take a small section away from the image, this will not matter.

 

Step five:

 

Finally, I used the burn tool on the hairline and forehead to emphasise the sunken in look. Not forgetting, I also filled in the other eye with the previous technique.

 

 I feel the image will create an impact because the makeup coupled with the editing makes it look quite striking, this is key when it comes to posters as the image needs to grab attention.

 

 

Font moodboard

Here I have created two mood boards concerning my font decisions for my poster, I have produce a mood board of generic fonts of the z-ombie genre, these are mainly eroded and distorted in style and shape to give a sinister creepy look.

My second mood board will lean towards the thriller side of my hybrid genre, these fonts are more sans serif and simple, I will make it unique by editing it in post production. These fonts are also more modern, hence more discreet, this allows the main image to 'do the talking'.

Poster Billing Block research

The billing block is the list of names of people associated with the production of a film, they are usually located at the bottom of the page, they are usually found at the bottom of a film poster. They use a condensed font which is all the same height, the font is also capitalised, this enables the billing block to be noticed but still not overwhelm the poster.
The order in which credits are billed signify that person or companies importance. For example the first is usually the motion picture company, then  the producer, usually in the format of 'a..... production. Usually the director comes next, followed by the major stars and the supporting cast. After this those who worked on the film such as screenwriters, production designers, floor managers and sound engineers will be mentioned.

They tend to use discreet colours such as grey or black, sometimes the billing block is the same colour as the background to blend in.

Designers of the posters can use billing blocks to their advantage by using them in a creative way. Posters of films such as vantage point, 27 dresses and 4O days and 40 nights, incorporate the billing block as part of the main image,



A films poster campaign: WWZ and shaun of the dead

For my research into film posters, I have decided to research a specific film poster campaign regarding a film of a similar genre to my own, in this case, WWZ and Shaun of the Dead. These films features campaigns using various poster styles and types to build hype and to gain a wider audience.

The poster campaign for WWZ and Shaun of the Dead

Poster inspiration

From my film poster questionnaire, I have chosen three posters that were popular with my respondents, all of these films are thrillers, however I want to incorporate z-ombie elements in the style of a thriller poster.

Rabbit Hole:

 

This poster uses a form of split screening by dividing the poster in to sections, each section depicts the character showing a range of different emotions, the secondary protagonist also features in three of the sections. The sections are divided by white dividers to create a sense of separatism. The exposure varies in each sector, the central few panels have a bright exposure, therefore audience attention is drawn to this part of the poster. I intend to use various conventions from this poster in my own poster, such as the idea of dividing off sections and replacing them with another image. 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I Go To Sleep:



From this poster I intend to utilise the camera angles, the close-ups of the character fill the frame and make direct address to the audience. This poster also uses 'dividers' to separate the characters, suggesting their is internal divisions within the characters lives. I may also utilise the idea of certain sections being black and white, this will make the coloured sections stand out.











The Box:

 



From this final poster, I intend to replicate the colour scheme. The use of red, white and black is typical to a thriller poster, as found out by my questionnaire. The white makes the text stand out, the black background partially obscures the character, providing a sense of mystery, while the flash of red evokes bloodshed and violence. I intend to deploy certain elements of red in my posters colour scheme, this will probably be used in the text.

A film's poster campaign: The Hunger Games

To research into a specific films poster campaign,  I have chosen to look at the Hunger Games (2012) to see the types of posters they used and how it attracted their chosen audiences.
This slide share is under the account name of a friend from sixth form as I am having a hard time logging into my account, all of this is my work. Here is a link to her blog http://alicepaynea2media.blogspot.co.uk/