Wrong Number Film Poster

Here is the progression from my first draft of the poster and to the final product.
Below each draft there is an explanation of its positives and negatives:
1st:

Pros:

• Text looks very clear, uses same font as film effects and titles.
• Background links to the location, gives a clue.
• Characters are engaged in the mobile phone, linked with the storyline.

Cons:

• No Review.
• Pinlight effect may not be appropriate.
• Pink text with roles eg editor may not be fully visible.

2nd:

Pros:

•  Text is much more visible.

Cons:

• Pinlight effect may not be appropriate.
• Text may be too small.

3rd:

Pros:

•  Text is visible.
• More credits are better as shows more external involvement.

Cons:

• Characters look a bit unusual standing fully in the centre.
• Pink glow is not appropriate. 

4th:

Pros:

•  Characters position is much better.
• Text is much more visible.
• Clouds link well with other background image.

Cons:

• Clouds do seam to heavy and dark- not connoting happiness or love. Seem to angry?

5th:

 

Pros:

•  Characters position is much better.
• Faded clouds work well.
• Text size is much better and fitting with normal trends of movie posters.
• Credits are smaller which are more typical.
• Main parts of text are very visible and catch your eye.
• Text matches with film font/house style.

Cons:

• Still no film review? Waiting from other ancillary text...

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FINAL POSTER:


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz50ako95ggVzN13tQF-AZsnNyGO0jqEEI3A4kD3tMdabMe4vbZY1tBv2sdpc_jTkLXdgycQ7NOPd2tjuqGKG8vSCJhpj_BRF8iA_2H-fPqb4mtNaJBmMizncXVhcUUWxjwZvNf3kSPB4/s1600/Wrong_Number_Poster+(FINAL).jpg
CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE IMAGE IN A NEW TAB. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Improvements Made:

• Characters position.
• Faded clouds. Clouds link with background image but also 'dreamlike' quote and film plot.
• Larger text size and fitting with normal trends of movie posters.
• More typical smaller credits.
• Main parts of text are visible and eye catching.
• Text matches with film font/house style.

Film Poster Research

Short Film VS Feature Film Posters :

A film poster is a poster used to advertise a film. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. They normally contain an image with text layered over it. Today's posters often feature photographs of the main actors. Prior to the 1990s, illustrations instead of photos were far more common. The text on film posters usually contains the film title in large lettering and often the names of the main actors. It may also include a tag line, the name of the director, names of characters, the release date and more recently social networking links or website addresses for the audience to find out more about the production and share their thoughts using hashtags.

Film posters have been used since the earliest public exhibitions of film. They began as outside placards listing the programme of (short) films to be shown inside the hall or movie theater. By the early 1900s, they began to feature illustrations of a film scene or an array of overlaid images from several scenes. Other posters have used artistic interpretations of a scene or even the theme of the film, represented in a wide variety of artistic styles.

Poster Research:

Planning:

Idea 1:

Idea 2:

Idea 3:

In my opinion I prefer Idea 2 as it doesn't give too much away about location and characters. The text fits better on the page and is complex enough not to be boring and simple although sometimes simple can be very effective. 

POSTER COMPARISON:

Beating Hearts (short film) VS. Lucky You:

Beating Hearts:
Features: Film ratings and awards, very bold/large film title lots of quotes. Not many producer credits.
Design: Simple but effective, plain background, clever layering of images with text.
Colour: Red, Black & White.
Complexity: Fairly- Well planned layering of text behind images and layout of image.
Content: Very complex, lots of review information and awards. Clear text telling us who the producer is.
Overall Rating: ***** (5 stars out of 5)

Lucky You:
Features: Two main images, showing both characters and location. Gives two very basic hints to the storyline.
Design: Very simple, the background is plain black, the majority of text it white and some important text like release date, tag line and actors in red.
Colour: Red, white and black.
Complexity: Very basic, all central.
Content: Simple- Film name, tagline, actors, production credits small production company logos, two pictures relating to the film.
Overall Rating: *** (3 stars out of 5)

Romantic Comedy Film Poster Research

The Bridget Jones film poster is very typical of the romantic comedy genre. The use of the colours pink and purple appeals to the main target audience of women and with these colours on a white background it makes them stand out to attract the target audience. The pink and purple colour scheme is carried through to what the stars of the film are wearing to ensure continuity all of these features are used to attract their target audience of young women. 

Unusually the name of the film is at the top of the poster along with the producers credits below. These typical features are usually at the bottom of the poster so here the conventions have been broken. However the cast names are at the top to catch the attention of the audience. The use of different font and colour for the actors last name helps to make these stand out more and catch the viewers eyes.

In most romantic comedy posters the main characters are at the forefront of the poster to suggest to the audience what/who is going to happen/be in the film. In this poster the female character is in the middle with the two male characters either side implying that there is going to be come sort of conflict between the two male characters over the female character. Also the handwriting over each of their heads reminds the audience that the film is about the stories a woman writes in her diary.

The film poster for romantic comedy "Never Been Kissed" is similar to the Bridget Jones poster as it uses the same colour scheme of pink and purple to attract a female audience. They have also kept the main character in these colours to keep the continuity much like in the Bridget Jones poster. Although this poster is similar to the Bridget Jones poster it is clear that this poster is trying to attract a much younger target audience as the actress is younger and is posed in such a way that attracts more teenagers rather than a 25+ female audience.

Unlike the Bridget Jones poster the film name and billing block are at the bottom of the most therefore sticking with the normal conventions. However the cast names are not horizontally along the top as they normally are in film posters.

As in "Never Been Kissed" the main characters are on the film poster suggesting romantic involvement. The film poster is very simple with a white background and green writing to stand out. 

This film poster is very typical of the romantic comedy genre with the two main characters being played by well-known Hollywood stars who's names appear at the top of the poster. Both the billing block and film name appear at the bottom as they do in most film posters.

This film poster is very different from many film posters. It is a very simple poster with the typical white background with black writing very cleverly in the shape of a wedding dress implying what the film is going to be about. The name of the film is in bright pink to stand out and attract a young female target audience. There is no celebrity names that stand out to the audience to make them want to see the film because of the cast. 

This film poster is similar to the Bridget Jones poster as it has the three characters on it suggesting that their is some sort of love triangle between the three of them. Unlike Bridget Jones the female character is not between the two male characters which suggests that she is not interested between both the male characters. Again the cast are dressed to match the colour scheme of orange that is on the poster.

The casts names again, at the top as it is a typical convention. Although the film name is quite high up compared to most film posters the billing block is still at the bottom sticking to the typical film poster conventions.  

500 days of Summer is challenges many of the stereotypical conventions of film posters, by doing so this suggests to the target audience that the film is going to challenge the typical conventions of a romantic comedy. It could also suggest that the film is trying to attract a new young audience. 

It is unusual for film posters to have more than one image on them as many images do not always convey to the audience what the film is about. Also the casts names are at the bottom of the poster compared to the top and the name of the film is in the middle of the poster compared to the bottom. However the billing block is still at the bottom as the audience would expect.

The Colour Theory

Two colours from different segments of the colour wheel are contrasting colours. For example, red is from the warm half of the colour wheel and blue is from the cool half. They are contrasting colours.

In science and colour theory there are precise definitions for contrasting and complementary colours and how they appear on the colour wheel. In graphic design and some other fields we use a looser interpretation. Colours don't have to be direct opposites or have a set amount of separation to be considered contrasting or complementary. In design it's more about perception and feeling. And attracting the eye of the viewer.

You may also see these opposite colours referred to as complementary colours which generally refers to each of a pair of colours that are directly are almost directly opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as purple and yellow.

Reds and greens are contrasting colours. The more transitional colours separating two colours, the greater the contrast. For example, magenta and orange is not as high contrast a pair as magenta and yellow or magenta and green. I really like the combination of red and green and will try using these contrasting colours to attract the eye of my audience in the production of my magazine review.

Magazine Review Research

Do people read film magazines and reviews?

EMPIRE VS SIGHT & SOUND:

ALL ABOUT EMPIRE:

Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. The first issue was published in July 1989. It is the biggest selling film magazine in the United Kingdom and is published in the United States, Australia, Turkey, Russia, and Portugal. Empire organises the annual Empire Awards who give awards that are voted for by readers of the magazine.

ALL ABOUT SIGHT & SOUND:

Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute.

Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today. It is currently edited by Nick James. The magazine reviews all film releases each month, including those with a limited (art house) release, as opposed to most film magazines like Empire which only review and feature those films with a general release like feature films. Sight & Sound features a full cast and crew credit list for each reviewed film.

My Audience Survey:

I asked my audience what they would expect to see in a magazine review and their habits in reviewing films and magazine:

Here is the survey:

http://freeonlinesurveys.com/s.asp?sid=ppt1vcp7754po0y605399

Here is the responses & my feedback:

ARTICLE COMPARISON:

Hot Tub Time Machine

 

 

Sight & Sound Magazine:

This review of Hot Tub Time Machine is by Sight & Sound magazine. As you can see the layout is much more strict with clear banded columns of text which seems and reads very descriptively. The review has a few facts, acting/producing credits and a synopsis. There is only one main picture which seems like a still from the actual film. The placing of this image is very central to the text and all elements fit centrally and align with each other.















Here is a full page picture which shows more distinguishable features of the columnar layout.















Empire:

As you can see the Empire magazine review of Hot Tub Time Machine is a lot bolder and stands out. The article consist of one background image with the characters. Around the page there are eye catching quotes from the actors in bold white text and red highlighting to make them stand out. The page features a very bold and eye catching title with simple but descriptive text to wet the appetite of the reader. The picture is more photo-shoot style and all text is fitted around the bodies of the actors. You can easily see that the more important text is either in a different colour like red or yellow or larger size to stand out more. The review is more simplistic but still has a well written analysis of the film but in a more informal style.

You can clearly see that Empire magazine has used a much more visually pleasing and eye catching layout with more skim reading techniques to draw in the attention of the reader. Whereas Sight & Sound have used a much more simplistic layout and don't use eye catching techniques as the reader will only read the article if they are interested in it. They do not make it boring as they still use pictures to have a mixture between text and images.



EMPIRE VS. Sight & Sound:


EMPIRE:
Features: Large images, clever layering and clear distinguishing between text and images.
Design: Large main image to catch the readers eyes and appealing colour combinations.
Colour: Use of contrasting colours, yellow and blue to stand out against each other and catch the eyes of the reader. I'm going to take this into consideration when creating my poster and have the idea of using contrasting colours from the colour wheel. See this post on my blog.
Complexity: Fairly complex with clever layering and composition of quotes and star rating which do not distract the reader from the main article. The 'Look Closer' section is well placed to stand out on the page and helps to draw the attention of the reader when they are reading the main text body. I hope to use this idea in my own article but perhaps with a quote or image.
Textual Content: The text quality is very good but not as strict as the Sight & Sound article. The writers voice seems more relaxed and not as strict which helps to relay the information simpler and can be easier for a reader to understand.
Overall Rating:★★★★★



Sight & Sound:
Features: Columns of text which are in line with suitable images. A very large title which jumps out on the page alongside the start of the text being larger to lead into the article. These are good techniques and one I will adopt in my own magazine.
Design: Columnar which is very easy to read and simple formatting on the page. Its easier to follow and best suited to very long articles such as this one.
Colour:  Very simple, only use of red and black to show a more sophisticated look which gives a sign that the film could also be more professional.
Complexity: The actual layout is very simple keeping all text and images in line to give a simple yet professional look. The title is very large to attract the audience and colours used are sophisticated. Another hint to this sophistication is the use of the word "ones" in the title giving an insight to the quality of the film to help the reader determine straight away if its a film they would be attracted/interested in.
Textual Content: Very in-depth quality of wording with long sentence structure and clearly a written format which is much more strict for a deeper read.
Overall Rating:★★★★

My Short Film Music

When choosing the main music track for my short film I decided on using a song that linked to New York or had lyrics relating to New York.

To find an appropriate track I simply searched New York on YouTube and found lots of musical tracks by several artists and chose my favourite.

These are the two that were the best options:

New York- Snow Patrol

Welcome To New York- Taylor Swift

My final choice was New York by Snow Patrol. Below are the reasons:

• Better links to New York.
• Has aspects of my storyline written within the music 'If you were here beside me, instead of in New York'.
• The music links well as you think the song is from Demis characters point of view, 'If you were here beside me' then she wouldn't be with somebody else. Until we find out its written from the Gemma's point of view.

I then had to find a cover of the song to avoid copy write issues and having to pay royalties (payment to use the song, normally a very large figure) to have permission to use the song. 

This is the best cover I found and the one I will use in my short film:

To use this song I sent an email to the cover artists to ask for permission to use their song. Normally they will be very happy to give permission as its a very good way of free advertisement of themselves and spreads there music easier to more audiences, especially when used in film like I am doing. 

Here is my email:

This was their reply:

After receiving permission I went ahead to take a copy of the music, manipulate it to where I planned for it to start and end.
 

You can hear the music in my final cut.

Trailers

As an extra part of my studies I have made a few trailers for my short film. Although I'm not expected to make trailers for this product, I feel they are an important part of advertising films, sometimes they are more of a key advertising tool compared to posters. This is because trailers can be easily seen on sites such as YouTube by looking for them or paying for advertisement before films, YouTube/Vimeo videos or on TV. They can very easily make a viewer interested in a film and show its potential more than a poster.

 

Below are my example of trailers for Wrong Number:

This is my favourite choice of the trailers:

Progress Video 5

Final Cut Audience Feedback

Following the final cut of my short film I have now collected audience feedback in a similar way to my audience research. I have made an online questionnaire and sent it to as many people as possible. They are of wide age range and gender. The survey is below:

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Below there are also some messages from friends and actors regarding their opinion of the film:

5th Rough Cut

Heres the 5th rough cut for my short film Wrong Number.

4th Rough Cut

Heres the 4th rough cut for my short film Wrong Number.

3rd Rough Cut

Below is the 3rd rough cut for my short film, you can now see some of the text effects being added and the idea of technology starting to become more involved in the film. The actual video editing is nearly complete with some sound issues, but now I need to continue with the effects to finish my short film in time for the deadline.

2nd Rough Cut

Here is the 2nd rough cut for my short film, here you can still see the progression of my editing and the storyline starting to become apparent.