I created a film poster for our film - Dodging A Bullet. I fist drafted my initial ideas on rough paper, before selecting my strongest poster - the one I felt best engaged audiences whilst conforming to the codes and conventions of film posters. I was aware of such conventions, due to my research on the film posters for Rocketman, The Joker and Skyfall.
I used photoshop to construct my poster, downloading the billing block font to make it look professional and using Cool Text for my title. The photos were taken using a cannon camera in front of green screen, allowing me to easily remove the background.
OFFICIAL DODGING A BULLET POSTER:
INITIAL POSTER DRAFTS:
 I initially created rough sketches of my poster ideas, using labelling of key features to make sure I efficiently included all the institutional requirements and conformed to the conventions of film posters. I knew I wanted to include the painting in my poster, as it is a major subject of the film. Equally, the saturated, primary colours of the poster are eye-catching and communicate the high production values of our film. I moved on from the second draft as, despite it being a significant image of Millie stealing the painting, I felt I wanted to include images of our majorly female cast to highlight our women empowerment angles. I therefore thought it was important to make the focus of the poster the whole group of criminals. Although the black, shadowed colour scheme for my first draft looked professional and signposted the criminal genre, I was looking to include the mansion and Sebastian Windsor within my poster to emphasise the female representation as a capable of challenging male power and aristocracy. |
WORKED POSTER DRAFTS:
The second stage of my film poster development was to play around with my ideas, roughly layering images on Microsoft Publisher to work out the spacings. I created multiple drafts, using different colour schemes and images. I enjoyed working with bright, saturated colours to make my poster eye catching and to appeal to mainstream values. Equally, I tried to showcase the mansion to boost production values and to use the sets historical and cultural status to appeal to more literate audiences who appreciate such values. I developed the idea of using a hierarchal structure to my poster, to showcase all our star talent as well as signpost the roles of each character.
RESEARCH
POSTER THE JOKER
ReplyDeleteA confident analysis of how the film poster functions: you pick out the visual codes that construct the Joker’s unbalanced menacing and powerful qualities through the showmanship of his posture, the way in which he is framed in low angle as the centre of visual interest, and the fragmented font connoting instability. You understand the way in which the setting positions the film as dark and gritty, with the unrelieved starkness of the grim city street. You note the genre conventions of a poster such as the billing block and you suggest why a tagline is withheld. You make thoughtful comments on the placement of the star talent, Joaquin Phoenix, as a key marketing strategy.
POSTER ROCKETMAN
ReplyDeleteAnother polished and assured analysis: you respond to the rich theatrical drama of the poster, which you astutely note, perfectly fits the Elton brand, and positions the film as a biopic: you note the showmanship of the confident open-handed central pose, the over-the-shoulder shot that invites us to see the audience from onstage, as Elton would in concert; you comment on the recognisable costume and how all of these factors would engage the target audience. You analyse the colour codes confidently, referring to the sparkly theatricality of the blue and the silver, and you draw particular attention to the visual connotations in the title font with the star cut outs. You note the placement of Taron Egerton’s name as star billing as well as other institutional conventions. Well done.
POSTER SKYFALL
ReplyDeleteIn your analysis of how Craig is depicted as Bond, you show good understanding of the iconic qualities of the brand – the dangerous sophistication, the bold power and the underlying danger. Only Bond wears a dinner jacket accessorised with a handgun! You correctly emphasise the Britishness, indicated through the London background, and note the importance of the trademark 007. You note the institutional conventions like the billing block; perhaps draw attention to the release on IMAX, always an indication of high production values and action /adventure big budgets.
To improve: discuss the brand’s trademark gun barrel image, always a feature of the franchise’s title sequences, that contributes towards brand cohesion and recognition. The use of monochrome and the harsh light on Craig’s face suggests that this is a tougher, darker film than some in the franchise.
You offer very detailed evidence of relevant genre research into film posters of a similar type and your finished result shows confident application of poster genre codes and conventions (including all the institutional requirements). You show clear evidence of the planning of your design, including how you integrated different elements. Your film poster effectively conveys the film's theme with its strong central image of the principals as the centre of visual interest and the building where the heist starts. The composition is complex, convincing and successful, although there is a little intrusion over the LH edge of one of the character's heads.
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