Construction: Poster

Once we were done with our short film, we starting researching posters and analysed their codes and conventions in order to understand the basic layout of the poster and how its conventions attract the audience towards the media text it is promoting. When reviewing the conventions, I had the basic idea about how our poster will be designed. However, we required a very effective image to give a poster effect to it. For this purpose, Dua merged two images that she had shot during the shooting procedure. When taken votes on which one well-suited the layout of a poster, this image was chosen for the poster while the other image featuring Surraya was used for the 'main details' in the movie review page. 

When shooting with Surraya, the image was to give away a poverty-stricken child's emotions so as to inter-link the film with the poster and hence was deliberately shot under sombre but white lighting. The expressions of Surraya were also directed according to the mood that the image was to set. However, when laying it out in a poster, it just didn't sync so well. 

This image gave the poster a very modest look but it didn't hold enough power to provoke the audience. Hence, it was just too serene for something that is meant to attract the immediate attention of the audience. Contrary to the first image, the second images which were to be amalgamated into one were shot during the shooting process and low-key lighting as were used for the film was used, in order to create a relationship between the film and its poster. This image represented the concepts of hope, faith and struggle all in one image as the flickering candle signifies struggle, the hands encircling  it signifies faith while the low candle light itself conotates hope. Hence, presenting the main ideology behind our film to the audience. The image that this image was merged in with was of burning wood which looked like a real treat to the eye in the technological world, that we are living in.

Image 1

Image 2

Now that we had the images, we could easily decide upon our poster’s colour palette which was definitely going to be in contrast or combination with the image. Our title, we had decided very early on during the short film planning, would use the same font throughout the three texts to inter-link them. Next in line, came the formulation of a catchy tagline which we chose upon by amalgamating the poster’s analysis and the short films’ narrative and came up with the tagline; despair, hope, struggle. Secondary to this tagline came its connection with the short film as it stated –‘for a better tomorrow’ and that too in green to signify the colours relativity with the films’  local audience. Now that we had all the raw material that was to be edited in order to obtain a final product including the main image, colour palette, tagline and the title, all that was left was the usage of a conventional poster layout for the execution of the data available. So we began researching posters for the placement of taglines, casting details, titles and image in a poster and not only this but also the ideal page size required for the making of a poster on. It was quite interesting to find out through this research that the page size for a magazine cover and a poster differed. While a magazine cover is on a page of 8 by 10 inches, a poster is created on the dimensions of an A3 page. We came across a major trend in the usage of main images in posters to look at the audience directly in the eye, almost like as if forming some kind of relationship with them. The casting is placed on the very top of the poster, if it is not very extensive while casting details, if lengthy, are placed at the very end of the page. The title is usually very emboldened and large so as to highlight the title of the media text as a title is what rounds up its entire content.

Now, that we had all the information that was required, we began by placing the colour palette in the background and added boxes to the work space with guide lines to ensure efficiency and neatness. Having done this, we then added the image to the poster and began placing titles, taglines and casting information as per the conventional codes and conventions of media text. However, our poster still lacked something as its look and feel continued to look boring. When we consulted our Media teacher for views on this, he asked us to make a sparky effect in the background with a paint brush to represent the fast-paced times, this country is coming to and how it is effecting the under-privileged as they get robbed off their rights. When we added the required effect to this poster, it finally looked like something successful and meant for the audience.

 

                                       
                                                                        
                                    


                                   

When playing around with the placement of text in our poster, I realised the significance of placement of text as I re-developed the texts placement and made it look something like this. When I took feedback on this poster, however, I was asked to change the placement of the tag line in the poster and improve the versatility of colours. Hence, when this poster was  re-edited, we finally had a product that was approved by all.

First attempt

Final product

Ancillary Task: Poster (Analysis)

This poster of ‘Les Miserables’ represents a complete picture of what the film’s title entails. Dirty and sad, the main image in this poster comprises of a young girl with eyes that yearn for a luxurious living; the eyes of the needy and the envious. The tagline of this poster says ‘fight, dream, hope, love’ that almost gives the audience an insight into the narrative of the movie to be about struggling to make your dreams come true. The colour palette used by the designer is proportionately in dark hues hence not representing a very vivid and joyful genre, maybe drama as per the main image, title, tagline and the colour palette. The designer has very strategically used the film’s strong cast as to the film’s promotional advantage by putting it up on the very top, prioritizing it to some extent.

This poster for the movie ‘Black Swan’ is using the whitish hues hence creating a dream-like outlook of the movie genre. Hence the movie may be of fiction or a supernova genre. The main image of this poster has blurred edges all around hence maybe a burring of boundaries of the real and the fiction. Hence, with two aspects of the posters pointing in the same direction the audience can easily identify the main context of the movie. However the designer has hereby not disclosed anything about what the narrative of the movie may be by not giving out any tag lines. The title of the movie ‘black swan’ might give many the idea of something relative to the ‘ugly duckling’ or the likes. However, one can never ascertain this as in reality nothing like a black swan really exists. Moreover, some may assume the story line to be about good vs. evil; something that genre theorist Levi Strauss has always stressed upon as an important element of any media text.

This poster for the movie 'Shutter Island' gives an immediate impact of some kind of action and suspense in the movie. The colour palette of this poster is basically dark in blackish hues in the rain that somehow connotate hard times. The title of the movie and the release date are red hence maybe representing somebody's death or bloodshed in the movie. The poster is a collage of three images; the main lead, the island and the burning fire. The atmosphere shown is that of thunderstorm and high tides. Hence, a simulacra of maybe a dark setting with a very small hope of getting rid of something or someone. The tagline says,' someone is missing'. This may direct the audiences attention towards finding and searching for somebody. The how and why remain a mystery, though. The font used is somehow blurred horizontally, showing either the removal of memory or the passing of time in a prompt fashion. All somewhat linked to the search for whoever's 'missing'. 

This poster for the movie 'stolen' attracted my attention owing to its main lead and its tag line which is full of suspense and promises action. The main lead of this movie is Nicholas Cage who is basically famous for acting in action films, hence my derivative of being attracted to this movie. The main image comprises of a background and of Nicholas Cage running forth, representing action, violence and time constraints. The tag line states,' 12 hours, $10 million.1 kidnapped daughter'. This tag line basically gives away the content of the movie and the genre of this movie is hence decided as action. The movie is most certainly about the collection of money within due time to get probably Nicholas Cage's daughter back from the kidnappers. The movie would focus on fatherly love. The colour palette of this movie is smouldery and bluish hence a normal setting, probably the due time is limited to an evening hour. The tag line has been enlarged and emboldened, hence the importance of these three phrases is highlighted the most, even more so than the title. The title in orange comprises of a straight font, representing a no non-sense personality maybe of Nicholas Cage. The orange colour may represent a lot to do with fire or action if bullets are to be fired. 

This poster for the movie 'Burlesque' which by the way means 'parodying something in an absurd manner' is in appropriate a combination with the main image of the poster. The tag line represents fame and signifies that the movie will be mocking a legendary artist. The main images in the poster are quite materialistic and their expressions portray attitude and an absurd air about the two, hence a high street fashion or musicale maybe. They are in opposition to one another; this may be represented from the fact that the two women have different coloured hair, one is a blond while the other is a brunette. The title font used has been coloured pink in contrast to the black and white and is sparkling, hence a movie on fame and stardom.The font in it self demonstrates power and strength.