Poster Drafts

In respect to the audience research I have conducted, I can start drafting posters for my promotional package.

I've been rethinking the title of my film from 'The Other Girl?' to 'The One That Got Away'.

'The Other Girl?' gives the ideology that the male protagonist is having an affair. 'The One That Got Away' has a better connotation with the storyline that the male protagonist chose the wrong girl to marry and let the right one get away. It also provides a clichéd title to a romantic clichéd storyline.

I also need to consider taglines.

I have several so far;

'What happens when your happily ever after isn't so happy?'

'What would you do if you married the wrong girl?

'Find them this Summer'

'Tony Brand made a decision. One year later he discovered it was the wrong one.'

'Everyone has a long lost love... But would you try to find them?'

'Midlife crisis or true love?'

Film Title:

The texts must have a coherent link between them, which includes the title.

To create the title I have been experimenting on Photoshop CS3 with the text tools to create these titles.

This is my first attempt on Photoshop. I made 'The One' larger as it is a vital part of the title which is quite long. The colour is similar to what I have been using for the text in my trailer and will be similar to the colours used in my ancillary texts.

Aqua, as a colour, suggests emotional healing which is representative of the film's storyline.

This is similar to the one before but 'The One' is slightly bigger and the colour is different as purple usually connotes romance and nostalgia.

Draft Layouts:

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Sources:

http://www.1001freefonts.com/handwriting-fonts.php

http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

Audience Research on Film Posters

To begin my research, I used a questionnaire and asked people who were mainly aged 16-20 the questions below.

In the sample, there were 67 people. 30 were male and 37 were female.

• What attracts you to a film poster?

Actors

Colour

Title

Review quote/star rating

Tagline

Images

In my research, the sample said that they were first drawn to the actors in the film. This could be through recognition of the actor or the image on the poster. Title was the second most popular vote and so in my own drafts, I may emphasize the title.

• What do you believe is the most important feature of a poster?

Title

Image of actor

Images relevant to the genre of the film

Tagline

Date of release

Actor/character names

Colour connotation

Billing block

The sample thought 'Images related to the genre' was the most important feature of a film poster for example, hearts for a romance, explosions for an action film. 'Image of actor' was the second popular which in all, means that the images on a poster are the most important features. This means that I'll have to make sure I use the right images in my poster and use them as a main focus point like in the posters I have analysed.

• When you see a poster, what stands out first?

Image

Title

Colour

Review quote/star rating

Awards given/Nominations

Tagline

The image and colour are the things that first catch the attention of the sample. This means that my poster will have to be eye-catching as well as connote the narrative and genre.

• What style of poster do you prefer out of these two?

a)

b)

The chart below shows the percentage of what the people asked preferred between the poster A) 'complicated' poster and B) 'simplistic' poster. As you can see, 57% of the audience preferred Poster A) rather than Poster B) due to the busy style used with the photos.

Textual Analysis of Film Posters in the Romantic Comedy Genre

Recent Film Posters.

500 Days of Summer

Released - 2nd September 2009

Institution - Fox Searchlight Pictures

Directed by - Marc Webb

This is one of the promotional posters from the film "500 Days of Summer" which I analysed the trailer from earlier.

From the trailer and the poster, I can see that there are coherent styles in the promotional aspects such as the theme of the blue colour scheme and the text font. The blue colour scheme links to the idea of Summer as the season rather than just the other main character, Summer. This is also suggested by the light clouds behind the main image, suggesting a blue sky and a romantic idea. The blue colour scheme also goes against the ideology of how the colour represents a romantic comedy which are usually represented by bold and intense colours like pink and red for example. Blue however connotes a cold and depressed atmosphere which would actually represent the storyline of the film and the atmosphere better than the colour pink for example.

The main image is of the main actor but his face is unclear as he looks down at his t-shirt. This twists the conventions of a main image as it usually shows the audience the face of the actor clearly and shows the emotions that link to the tone of the film. However, he is looking down at the film title and photo-style print t-shirt suggestion an adoration for the woman which links to the idea of a romance. In respect, the t-shirt he is wearing can be seen as the main image/images and creates a sense of romances with the characters emotions within and with the scenery. For example, one photo is of them at the cinema together suggesting they're on a date. There is also another with the two main characters kissing.

The title, in comparison to the quote at the top left, is slightly smaller and your eyes are drawn to the quote which gives the film a good review as well as four stars. This could be purposeful and used to entice the audience to give the poster more attention. The source of the quote is in a smaller font than the actual quote itself which is positive towards the film.

The tagline "Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't." suggests a romance that's doomed to fail by twisting the commonly used narrative "Boy meets girl. They fall in love." The bluntness of the tagline suggests that the film is a comedy as well as the quote which also states what genre the film is.

The Ugly Truth

Released - 5th August 2009

Institution - Lakeshore Entertainment

Directed by -Robert Luketic

This is a promotional poster for the summer film "The Ugly Truth".

So far the poster is quite conventional:

• the title is in the centre of the bottom half of the poster


• the names of the actors are above the image of them and at the top of the page so the audience recognises them


• a billing block is used like in most posters and is at the bottom of the page in lighter toned writing than the rest so the attention isn't drawn to that.

The image is a play on the ideology that men love with their penises and women love with their head. This is shown by how the actors are holding the heart: the woman has it close to her head and the man has it below his waist. This also relates to the storyline.


The colour that stands out the most in the simplistic style poster is red which can connote passion and romance. The use of hearts is also iconic and connotes love and romance, and are often used to promote romantic genre films.

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Released - 21st August 2009

Institution - Fox Atomic

Directed by - Chris Columbus

The text style of the poster suggests a teenage romantic comedy with the use of handwriting styled font and graphics to make it look as if it were written on a notepad which presents the ideology a high school crush where the crusher writes the name of who they fancy in their notebook.

The focus point is the image of Hayden Panettiere who plays Beth Cooper. The fact that the boy behind her is slightly obscured by her suggests his character is the one who loves Beth Cooper as well as the fact the title looks like a thought bubble coming from him. The actress is also shown as ‘effortlessly gorgeous’ with bland clothing and little make-up suggesting a stereotype of a high school cheerleader or popular girl. It can also be seen as voyeuristic as Hayden Panettiere is well sought out woman in reality. The crown above the actresses name also suggests that her character is higher up the high school social ladder than the protagonist which may create comedy when he tries to get her to notice him. The broken hearts around the title also suggest comic value as they contradict the title.

The title is also conventional to other traditional film posters as it is in the top centre of the poster. The images are also conventional as they are in the centre of the poster and also look out at the audience. This can be seen as a persuasive technique to get the audience to see the film as the characters look out of the poster which involves and creates an active audience.

The main colours in the poster are blue and an orangey red which don’t connote love or romance. The orange however, makes the title stand out from the lined paper background and the images.

There is no tagline for this poster but on other posters promoting this movie the taglines are; ‘Five little words can change your life’, ‘Still love me?’, and ‘Popularity is nice. Popular girls are not’ which all relate to the plot and the stereotype of a high school crush.

More Film Posters....

50 First Dates

Released - 9th April 2004

Instition - Columbia Pictures Corporation

Directed by - Peter Segal

This poster is promoting a film with a storyline set in Hawaii which is suggested by the pineapples and sand in the Polaroid style photos. In each of these images, there is a photo of the two main characters in ‘date style’ situations which relate to the title of the film. In each the female character looks confused which relates to the tagline ‘When your girlfriend has amnesia you have to win her over... every single day’. This provides the film and protagonist with a dilemma within the plot. The tagline is also in the centre of the poster and written in the margin of one of the photos making it look like photos discarded on the sand.

The fact there is a penguin in the middle image suggests comedy especially as it is dressed in a Hawaiian shirt. The poses of the characters in the images also suggest romance and comedy as they are on stereotypical dates but the woman's facial expression looks confused especially in the image on the bottom right.

Annie Hall

Released - 20th April 1977

Institution - Rollins-Joffe Productions

Directed by - Woody Allen

The image on the 'Annie Hall' poster differs from that of the others because it is in black and white and also the main character cannot be seen clearly. This image could portray a photo taken from a far and the closeness of the couple suggests a romance. The tagline 'A nervous romance' also suggests that that is where the comedy will come from.

The poster uses some conventions which seem to be coherently used in film posters as it contains a billboard at the bottom centre of the poster which includes the institution who have produced the film, United Artists, and the age certificicate the film was given, PG. Unconvetionally, the title of the film is featured at the left-hand side of the page, close to the bottom. In other posters I found that the title of the film usually appeared in the centre of the poster, either at the top or the bottom end.

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Sources:

www.google.com

http://www.imdb.com/

http://www.catsandbeer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/poster-i_love_you_beth_cooper.jpg

http://www.posterpalace.com/categorysearch.lasso?-Token.category=comedy

Textual Analysis of Film Posters

With this post, I will look at film posters of different genres to better understand the conventions of them as well as looking at film posters of a similar genre to my trailer; romantic comedy.
Film posters are a main part of a films promotional package as they are used to attract the audience with forms and conventions such as;

1. Title of the film in a bold and large font to attract the audiences eye


2. One main image is usually used in film posters (usually of the main character/s) or something iconic of the film


3. Contrasting colours to make it clearly visible


4. Names of the main actors


5. Logos of the film company who produced the film


6. Tag line or pull quote


7. Certificate of the film and a billing block

The Purpose of Posters

The film poster is representational of the film and usually connotes the narrative of the plot through the conventions and codes above. There are often more than one poster promoting a film, all varying in size and content. For example, each poster could be showing a different character from the film or the poster could be landscape rather than portrait as it is a billboard poster. Sometimes, in order to create hype for a film earlier, a teaser poster is released and contains basic information so not to give away too much of the plot away or the characters and theme.

The poster on the left for Astro Boy is a good example of a teaser poster. It plays on the audience’s knowledge that they know the characters iconic hairstyle and the fact he is a robot/android this creates an active audience and also creates hype with the dark lighting of the image, ‘shrouding’ the characters face and not giving away any of the plot. The teaser poster or advance poster in comparison to recent posters of Astro Boy such as the one on the right doesn't show much about the film.

Character posters are also used and often contain one main image of the character and either the actor or character name with a tagline related to the character. For example, the film Kick Ass has used character posters that include a tagline related to the character.

Conventions.

1. Title
The title of the film is usually a key feature of a film poster and the style of the text is usually repeated throughout the promotional texts used (trailer, posters etc) and sometimes becomes iconic of the film. The coherent use of the title can help the audience link each part of the film's promotion. For example, the Harry Potter films.

The title of the film is conventionally at the top centre or bottom centre of the poster. However, in postmodern times a lot of films go against the standard stylistics and place the title in the centre or in a corner. Examples of posters with a conventional title layout can be seen above with the Astro Boy poster on the left and also the Kick-Ass posters.

2. Image
The image is reflective of the film and can be the main character of the film or something iconic, for example the Batman logo from the 1989 Batman film. The image also promotes the actors and characters in the film as well as what genre the film is.

3. Colours
Colours usually connote the tone of the film and aid with the atmosphere the films creates. For example, the colour red can connote blood and danger or love and romance. The lighting of the images in the poster can also apply a certain tone and atmosphere. For example, a dark lighting could connote fear and suspense. The Wolfman poster to the left has dark lighting and neutral and dark colours promoting tension and suspense in the thriller/horror film.



4. Names of actors or characters
Generally, if the film is set to be a blockbuster, there will tend to be some famous actors in the cast. The actors who play the main characters in the film are usually credited on the poster and the film trailer.

5. Logos
The logos of the film production company are usually featured at the bottom of the poster. But other logos could be the film logo which ideology is iconic to the film, for example the 'S' logo of Superman.

6. Taglines and quotes

Taglines are relevant to the film and may actually be a quote said by the character or relevant to the narrative. For example, the tagline for Flash Gordon (1980) is "Pathetic Earthlings... Who Can Save You Now?" This tagline has sci-fi related words such as 'Earthlings' and the interrogative suggests the hero, Flash Gordon, will have to save the day.

The tagline is usually catchy and short to entice the audience, used to promote the film. So for a comedy the tagline will usually be funny.

7. Certificate and billing block

The certificate is usually made by the BBFC in the UK and certifies what age the film is appropriate for.

Poster Sizes

There are different types of posters too.

Posters that are often used to promote a film outside the cinema or on a board for example are quads and usually measure 30 inches x 40 inches in landscape format.

The double crown and one-sheet are both in the portrait format but are in different scales. The double crown is usually 20 inches x 30 inches and the one sheet is 27 inches x 40 inches. These sizes are usually seen in bus stops or used as a product of the film and sold in shops.

Major film releases usually have a larger promotional campaign and use billboards to reach a wider audience. The size usually measures 106 inches x 234 inches and are usually placed on main roads which have many stops on them, for example traffic lights.

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Sources:
http://www.filmsite.org/taglines.html
www.google.com

http://www.dimensionsguide.com/poster-dimensions/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_poster#United_Kingdom

Ancillary Texts

As well as the trailer, I must also create two of these ancillary texts:

• a magazine front cover featuring the film


• a poster advertising the film


• a homepage website for the film

To gain more understand of each of these ancillary texts and to help choose between the three, I will conduct research into each text before making my decision and apply LIIAR to each.

Magazine Front Cover.

L - Language

The main image on a film magazine front cover is usually a key convention and feature used through out the genre and usually shows the main actor/character of the main film being promoted in the magazine. The magazine audience will usually recognise the actor on the front cover in order to influence to buy the magazine especially if the consumer is a fan of that particular actor or film.

The Dark Knight was a highly anticipated film of 2008 and made even more popular as it was Heath Ledger's last and legendary performance. Using Ledger in costume would have been a good example of how the convention is used.

I - Institution

The institution is the publisher of the magazine. For example, Bauer Media who publish Empire, Grazia, more!, Zoo, Mother & Baby and many more.

I - Ideology

The ideology is usually the ideas and opinions of the institution. This will be the review from that magazine and the interviews featured.

A - Audience

The audience is the target and main consumer of the magazine. The magazine will usually contain key features or concepts to entice the audience to buy the magazine. For example, some magazines provide 'freebies' in order to sell the magazine to a larger audience.

R - Representation

With the magazine above we can see that the representation of the magazine is shown through images like the main image of the Joker and the headlines. From this we can tell that the magazine represents films rather than beauty through the use of the main image which is used in the posters advertising the film. The face paint Heath Ledger is wearing is iconic of the character from Batman and the gun he is holding also shows the connotations of violence which were featured in the film.

Film Poster.

L - Language

Language is usually shown through connected images or one main image as well as colours and taglines like the one above in The Dark Knight: 'Why so serious?'.

The main image is a face graffited on a wall. The graffiti connotes anarchy which is part of the main characteristics of the villain, the Joker. The lips of the face is made in the shape of the Batman logo which is iconic of the franchise and so will be a key feature to show what this film is about.

The dark colours suggest a seriousness to the film as well as violence which is shown through the red paint which could signify blood. This sets the mood and tone of the film.

I - Institution

The institution is usually the film companies who produce the film. The logos are usually featured on the poster and on the one above, the logos are featured along the bottom of the poster: Warner Brothers, Legendary and DC which holds the rights to and were the creators of the Batman franchise.

I - Ideology

The ideology behind a film poster is to create hype for the film conveyed through the language and representation on the poster. The main idea is to inform and persuade the audience and to create anticipation for upcoming films.

A- Audience

Film posters are usually mass produced and made visible to a large audience with posters on the side of buses or on billboards. This is to help entice those who aren't die hard fans of the franchise and who haven't been kept up to date by magazines or the internet.

R - Representation

The genre is usually represented on the film poster as well as the actors starring in the film.

Colours usually set the tone of the film (eg pinks and reds for a romance, dark colours and reds for an action film) and the actors portraying the characters, their emotions setting the tone too (eg serious for a thriller, happy for a romantic comedy).

Film Website Homepage.

http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/dvdsite/

L - Language

Each text from the same film have similar features; colours, images, text/taglines.

The website usually contains the trailer for the film as well as options only available online. For examples; games, sign ups for newsletters, and an option to enter the site which leads to more links.

I - Institution

The institution, the film companies, are also featured within the homepage and sometimes even in the website address like the example above. There is also a link to the film companies main site featured somewhere on the page.

I - Ideology

The ideology is similar to the other two texts; to inform and persuade the audience to see the film.

A - Audience

Because this is on the internet it is available to a much larger audience and allows them to become active in the way they can chose when to view the trailer or find out more about the film. This convergence has allowed wider and cheaper publicity for films in recent years.

R - Representation

Again, this is similar to the other texts as it wants to promote the film.

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Sources:

www.google.com/images

Finished Trailer

Analysis of Trailer

The trailer starts with a memory. I decided to show this through different effects as well as the setting of the scene; a park. This setting is used to represent the ideology of a past memory and nostalgia as well as innocence. The effects I have used with this clip also help to add to this idea. I have slowed down the speed of the shot and added a grain effect to better show the audience that this is a memory. The voiceover from the main character - which also acts as a sound bridge between the memory and the dining room scene and introduces the main character - supports the idea of a memory that he is telling his friends. The fade between these two shots reinforces the ideology of a dream or memory and suggests the narrative is coming back to the present.

The non-diegetic music playing in the background of the memory scene is ‘I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ by Andy Williams. This is an old and classic love song with a slow-paced introduction which I thought would suit the narrative of this beginning scene.

Humour is intended to be created through the character performance from the main character’s friend, Jeremy and his reaction to Tony in this shot-reverse shot. There is then a close-up of Tony to show his disheartened reaction. This quick exchange is intended to show the audience the main character’s idea which is the narrative of the trailer, and Jeremy’s attitude towards it.

Another non-diegetic song begins to play to introduce the text title and the name of the character. The colour pink is used to represent the genre of the film. In this title the text is centred and together which differs from the others in the trailer. This is because the titles after the disruption within the narrative as he loses his job and wife in the same day which changes his everyday routine and provides a barrier that he must overcome. The disruption within the narrative is reinforced by the change in music from a the Ordinary Boys ‘I Luv You’ to a faster, more upbeat song by the Barenaked Ladies called ‘One Week’ which is about a break-up. The change in the title style also helps show the audience this. The text becomes diagonal to show the disruption.

From 00:22 until 00:39, mise-en-scene is relied on to show the narrative as props are used to show that Tony has lost his job – the desk plant and box of stationary and papers. The bin bag thrown down is another use of props to provide the narrative of Tony being kicked out. This is then reinforced by his wife slamming the door in his face.

The next shot is a medium close up of Tony singing and drinking from a glass which is used to suggest he is drinking whiskey. The lighting in this scene is dark to reflect the characters depression and create an atmosphere. In this scene another shot-reverse shot is used to create humour at the reaction of the friends he is staying with. The non-diegetic music starts again at the end of this shot, similar to that used earlier in the trailer. This repetition is intended to create humour.

The medium shot in which the characters are playing Scrabble is intended to create a homely and slightly classic atmosphere which Tony is intruding on.

The next scene in which Tony is emptying out the bin bag of his belongings and finds the letter, contains a series of close ups that start from a high angle and slowly become low angled shots. This is to show Tony’s growing confidence now that he’s found Hannah. The cut-away shots of the letter which are transitioned over a medium close up of Hannah create a connection between the letter and the earlier shot of Hannah. This continues the narrative and shows a change in the storyline.

The non-diegetic music changes again to ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ by The Proclaimers. This music signifies the journey that Tony is about to start and the singing of the song kicks in when he’s looking through phonebooks in order to find her.

The scene before this shows an exchange and Tony telling his friends about a phone conversation. The quick shot-reverse shot technique that is used shows the conversation which is happening in different places. Tony and Alison are on different sides of the shot to represent this too.

To end the trailer, there is quick editing of medium close-ups of the cast which is a convention I had found when analysing other film trailers. There are also titles that I created on Photoshop (the film title, billing block and soundtrack information) that were similar to the conventions that are in film trailers. There is also a title for the release of the film with the tagline 'Search for it, Summer 2010' which directly refers to the narrative of the film and informs the audience of the release date.

Teaser Trailer:

I also created a 30 second teaser trailer. This would be distributed a month or two before the full trailer like the one above so audiences will become curious about the film.

The trailer contains a similar sequence to the full trailer in which Tony is being kicked out by his wife. This sequence creates a sense of hopelessness and mystery as it shows the audience him being kicked out but not what happens afterwards.
The text captions are intended to create humour and a juxta-position between the stereotype of a wife kicking a husband out and the humour created with the perfect life collapsing.

The trailer also introduces the main character, Tony as the protagonist and the close-up shots reinforce this. We also see the antagonist is introduced and the mise-en-scene in the shot where Alison is throwing Tony's stuff out also creates this. For example, she is wearing a red dressing gown which suggests that they live together as well as the colour connoting danger.

There is also an enigma created within the narrative of this 30 second trailer as it leaves the audience wondering why the protagonist has been kicked out, who the other girl is and how is he going to get his life back to normal because of this disruption.

Trailer - Editing and Refineing

First Edit:

Because this is a first edit, final touches like film production company logos haven't been edited into the trailer yet but instead I have used some text to show where it would be in the final edits.

I have also used text to highlight where I'm going to refilm due to poor sound, lighting and to use more shots in order to make the trailer 'punchier' as at the moment it is a little slow.

In the 'Going to Work' scene I want to use a close-up of the goodbye-peck-on-the-cheek to show the married couple. This may be difficult because Marianne, who plays the wife, might not be able to make it on the day I've scheduled refilming.

I may also rename the film something like 'The One That Got Away' which links more with the narrative than 'The Other Girl?'

Titles:

In my trailer, there will be text to give the audience information about the film; the release date, production information and title.

This is the title I will use in my trailer and also the ancillary texts to keeps a coherent link between the texts. The colours represent the genre of the film.

I made this on Photoshop which is what I will produce my ancillary texts on as well. This can also help me keep a coherent link between the ancillary texts as I will be able to easily go from one to the other.

I also made this billing block on Photoshop. I used the same font 'Birch' and adjusted the size of the font depending on the text for example, the names are in a larger text than the titles.

I created the logos of my production companies which is a convention I found when looking at the trailers in my research.

Most of the names used in the billing block are either made up or a friend of mine.

Edit Log Sheet:

The sheet below details all the times I was on the editing suite using Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5. It also details what I did while I was on the editing suite and the changes I made over the five months I was editing. It is only a brief account and will help me when writing my evaluation as I will be able to see what I had done.