How pre-production informed my production

The pre-production stage which included research into existing posters and research into the audience and distribution of posters to them has helped me to gain more ideas for my production task. I have learnt the different codes and conventions of the genre of the film my posters are advertising which is very helpful as to what to include in my production pieces. For example the font and the white colour of the title is present in many science fiction posters that exist in real world. I think that I could use this because it brings up associations to other films making the film comparable to successful movies. Through the development of my own posters in the pre-production I kept improving and learning how to make the poster better. This can be seen in the production of the first poster and the different stages and ideas that it went through starting with a danger sign and ending up with an edited graphical spaceship on the explosion background. The pre-production has also taught me to make sure that everything is appealing to the target audience. If it doesn’t the poster is not successful because it will not be able to encourage people to go and see the movie. For that reason in my production I am going to use the ideas developed through my second poster because it appeals more to the target audience than the first one. It also looks more professional and in my pre-production I am going to try and make the poster look professional because it would suggest that the film that is advertised is professional, good and worth watching. This would promote the film well and will encourage viewers to watch it. Like in the pre-production, throughout the production stage I will have to think about Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications” and Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions” to check what audience want, need and how they can be targeted. This would provide the basis for a successful product as it would appeal to the target audience.

Poster 2 - Evaluation

The success of the “Ghostbusters” posters influenced me to create the first poster that did not contain the name of the film, the name of the director and the names of the actors. In this case study the first poster was released to create mystery and curiosity in the viewers making them remember it. The second poster was introduced some time later providing the details of the film. Because of the first poster’s mystery effect, people remembered it and their curiosity made them stop after realising that the second poster contains the information that they didn’t get to find out from the first one. This means that although the first poster couldn’t promote the film effectively on its own as nobody would know what film they are supposed to watch, it plays a huge part in the success of the second one. It is because of the first poster, that the people stop for longer and take time to read it to get the information as they are more interested in it.

Considering this research and the study of comparable products to mine, I have created another idea for a poster. The second poster to advertise and promote the film to the public is a continuation of the first one. This means it is going to be released as a second marketing product. Similarly to the “Ghostbusters” movie posters I have decided to use the effect of mystery that would catch people’s eye and make them remember it.

The most important thing is to make sure that there is a connection between the two posters so that when a person sees a second poster, he or she will immediately think of the first one. This would encourage people to look at the second poster to find out more about the mysterious film because they were not told anything by the first poster. I have done that by using the same phrase as in the first poster.

“Beware; it’s coming” is a phrase that the people would remember as it is the only writing in the first poster. By including it in the second one a connection is created. To make sure that people see the connection I have decided to use the same colour as in the first poster. Red makes it very visible as it is the most important thing that people have to see to realise that there is a link between the two posters. The metallic texture links to the science fiction genre making the poster suggest something modern and linked to technology and machinery. I have also decided to extend the phrase by providing more information. “Beware; it’s coming to cinemas soon”. This was an influence from a movie poster for “Hangover” where the phrase “Feel it” is used to engage the audience. According to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications” personal identity is one of the reasons for media consumption. This is why I have decided to use the direct mode of address speaking straight to the viewer. It allows the person to identify with the characters that are being attacked by aliens.   

To create a connection between the two posters I have also decided to use the same iconography. This idea came from my research where I have studied the posters for the “Ghostbusters” movie and I have noticed that they used the same image which became so popular that when anyone sees it they know what film is advertised making the marketing process very successful.  For the first poster I have used an image of an alien spaceship to link it to the science fiction genre and briefly suggest what the film is about. I have decided to use the same picture as a different spaceship would not give a feeling that the second poster is a continuation of the first one.

I have edited the image by reducing the detail and leaving just the shape. This means that people can still identify that it is a spaceship but they cannot predict anything as to what the spaceships in the movie will look like. This still creates mystery and encourages people to see the film. The whole spaceship is not visible in the poster connoting that it is obscure and unknown to us. This shows that the layout suggests that there are going to be surprises in the film. Roland Barthes’ Enigma Code is established through unexpected actions that create tension. This is a good way of appealing to the audience who consume media for entertainment according to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications”.

The first poster’s preferred reading is that people see that the movie promoted by it is full of action and therefore entertaining due to bright vibrant colour of the explosions in the background. The oppositional reading is that the target audience may feel that it is not for them. The film is targeted at young adults primarily and they may think that it is not targeted for them because the poster does not look serious enough. For that reason I have decided to make the second poster more serious. From my research I have found out that the films aimed at adults are promoted by posters with black background. The examples here are the posters for the “Black Swan” and the “Primer”.  This is because black connotes seriousness and grown up making it more suitable for adults than children. For that reason I have decided to edit the main image by changing the colours into black and white giving it a more serious feeling and therefore appealing to its target audience.

In addition to that black colour connotes mystery making us feel curious to find out what will happen in the film encouraging us to watch it. I have used black background and the use of it encourages people to go and watch the film because it suggests that the film is “unknown” to them meaning that they have never seen anything like it. I have created a questionnaire to add to my research and although I have used a small sample of only 20 people making my results less reliable I got an idea of what people expect of a good film. From my questionnaire I have found out that people are bored with watching something similar over and over again and that they would like to see something different. The feeling of mystery makes them feel that this film is different because they don’t know what to expect. In my research I have looked at posters of science fiction movies set in space like “Star Wars” and I have noticed that black not only creates mystery but it also suggests space linking it to the science fiction genre and appealing to the fans of this type of films. It also connotes evil linking it to the title. Black and white colour scheme creates binary opposition suggesting a battle between good vs. Evil and humans vs. Aliens. This creates intensity according to Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions” and therefore appeals to the audience who consume media for entertainment and fun according to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications”.

From my questionnaire I have learnt that people also look for good actors and directors when choosing a film to watch because these suggest that the film is good and this attracts them to see the movie. For that reason I have decided to provide the names of the actors. It is a good idea to make sure that the names that stand out are the actors who previously played in good science fiction genre movies because it will bring associations making this movie seem as good as the other ones. I have decided to use the names of famous actors who play in the film and locate them at the top of the page on the poster making them very important to advertise the film to the audience. Good actors promote the film as good and worth watching. Also there are male and female names which appeals to both genders suggesting that there is male and female gaze in the film. This promotes the film to a wider variety of people meaning that more people are likely to be interested in it.

In addition to that I have looked at different posters. I have noticed that there are a number of them that use lower case letters for writing the names of the actors. This makes them stand out less. I have decided to use that technique to make them less outstanding. Because they are at the top they are eye catching already and I had to make the note on the director of the film stand out more.  I have decided not to mention the name of the director but highlight the name of the most popular film that he has directed. I have done that because the director is not as famous as the film. The choice of the previous film is important. I have chosen the previous film to also be science fiction genre because it suggests that this is also a sci-fi and it appeals to target audience who enjoy it. The phrase is in red making it more visible as it is very important because from my questionnaire I have found out that people look for good directors when choosing the film to watch. Red colour is a vibrant colour on a black and white poster. According to Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions” it creates energy which is something that is lacking in the modern life and audiences can be targeted effectively using energy that gives entertainment, which according to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications” is one of the reasons why people would like to watch the film. The name of the previous film “Invasion” directed by the same director is in capital letters making it stand out reassuring that everyone sees it to make the promotion effective. The film directed previously encourages people to watch the current one because it is suggested that it will be as good as the first one.

The title of the film is the biggest writing on the poster making it the most important so people see it clearly and remember it. The font links to the science fiction genre because it looks modern and therefore links to the codes and conventions of science fiction genre. Through my research I have learnt that most of science fiction film posters contain the same white font. Examples are “Alien” and “Gravity”. I have decided to use the same font as them because it links and creates associations with other science fiction films. This means that the fans of them will also want to watch the film advertised by my poster.

At the bottom of the poster less important information is given. For that reason the letters are smaller, less visible and not very eye catching due to the smaller size and the colour. It is provided for people who are more interested in the film and it provides the information about the film such as who is the director, producer, co-producer and who wrote it, composed the music and other details about the film. The names of the people who made the film are bigger than the information as to who they are. This makes the names more visible and easier to notice. It means that if someone knows the name of the person listed and is a fan then there is a bigger probability of him or her going to see the film.

At the bottom next to the production company logo I have also added the web address making it bold compared to the information above it because it is more important and therefore needs to be more visible to the viewer. The film’s website is advertised on the poster so that people can find out more about the film if they want to. By providing the website the promotion of the film is more successful as it is bigger and people are constantly reminded that the film is going to be in cinemas soon and that they should go and watch it. 

Poster 2

Poster 1 - Evaluation

During my research I have looked at different posters that caught my attention and using the influences from them I have created my own first poster for the film.

The main influence for this poster came from the posters for “Ghostbusters” film. The first poster released for the promotion of this movie was very unique as it didn’t follow the codes and conventions of film posters. Unlike all the other posters, this one didn’t have the title, the name of the director or actors displayed on it. I have decided to use this idea in my poster as well. The purpose of the codes and conventions is to make film posters clear and easy to understand for the audiences because they are familiar with the layout and the content. My decision not to use the title creates a feeling of insecurity as viewers are not familiar with subverting the codes and conventions. Intensity is created as it is unusual and out of ordinary. According to Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions” it is a good way of targeting the audiences by offering something that is lacking in modern life.

Like in the “Ghostbusters” poster, in my poster the lack of any information creates mystery in the viewers. The phrase that I have added to my poster is “Beware! It’s coming”. I made it very secretive and quite disturbing as it tells us to fear something but we don’t know what it is. This creates mystery and therefore captures our attention. I have applied Roland Barthes’ Enigma Code to my poster by not providing the title of the film because this is a mysterious and unexplained element which draws the audience in, making them more curious and interested in the poster. The poster which creates curiosity is remembered by a larger number of people compared to other, ordinary posters. The problem with it, is that it cannot promote the film well on its own as the people do not know what film they are suppose to go and watch. This is why after some time a new poster of the same film needs to be established. This time all the information should be provided. The designs of the posters have to link to each other showing that the same film is advertised. Because of the curiosity to find out the answers to the first poster, people are more likely to stop and also remember the name of the film. This is a good promotion of the film because people remember it and there is a bigger chance of them going to see it.

According to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications” one of the reasons why people consume media texts is for social interaction. My poster does not contain a title so it subverts the codes and conventions that the audience are used to. This gives them a basis for conversation between each other and so the promotion happens by the word of mouth.

For the main image I wanted to use something symbolic that would capture viewers’ attention but would not reveal too much information about the film similarly as with the “Ghostbusters” posters. For that reason I have decided not to use photography showing actors, linking this to the mystery created by the lack of title and names of people who play a part in the film. I have decided to look at graphical poster designs instead. I have researched that the graphical posters are good because they contain a lot of symbolism that makes the poster more fascinating and so more interesting, capturing the viewer’s attention and leaving them with something to think about. This makes them think about the poster and so the film is advertised well as it stays in people’s mind.

Researching that an effective poster needs to capture the viewer’s attention within 30 seconds, I have decided to make it more visible and eye catching by improving the layout. Firstly I have enlarged the words making them bold and big. I have also enlarged the image of a spaceship and I have decided to add colour to make it more realistic. This was my final layout design.

I wanted viewers to get a feeling of danger which would make them more interested in the film because it gives emotions and tension. I started thinking of a symbol that indicates danger and I thought of a danger sign seen on the roads. I have decided to use pixel art technique making it seem more futuristic, linking to a science fiction genre. When looking at the “Ghostbusters” poster I have noticed that although the sign with a ghost in a red “no smoking” circle is very mysterious as it doesn’t tell us anything about the characters, it tells what the story is about advertising it to the people. I have decided that the danger sign does not tell enough information about the film. Looking at the iconography of a science fiction genre and considering that my film is about aliens, I have brainstormed different ideas of iconography which I could use. Finally I have chosen to use an alien spaceship (UFO). It straight away tells the audience what to expect of the film and what genre it is, promoting it to people who enjoy science fiction movies. Other options of iconography included things such as aliens but I thought that the spaceship has an advantage over the others because it does not reveal what the aliens look like. This means that although the spaceship is shown suggesting it is the aliens that we should be beware of, we don’t know what the aliens look like making it more mysterious and intense. This encourages the viewers to go and watch this film because of curiosity and in hope to be surprised.

To complete this poster I started thinking about editing. I chose to use different programmes that allowed me to create special effects. I used internet to find images of different metallic surfaces. They link to the science fiction genre creating a futuristic feeling. Firstly I used Microsoft Paint to rub out the bits that I didn’t need leaving me with parts from which I could create a spaceship. I then used PowerPoint to get rid of the white backgrounds around the images and to put them all together to create one final picture. To make it more realistic I used GIMP. I added dark colours and shades creating an effect of transparency according to Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions”. This is because you know what is happening, that the aliens are attacking the Earth, and which characters are good and bad. People are good and aliens are bad which is why I used dark colours to show their spaceship. I have also added a shadow which I have researched that it symbolises negative and evil qualities making aliens seem bad. This shows binary opposition between human vs. Aliens and good vs. Evil.

To link the main image and the words together I have decided to use the same material. This is why I used a metallic texture that I have used for the spaceship to fill in the letters. I changed the colour of grey metal to red but the metallic shines were left. This metallic colour links to the science fiction genre as it creates a futuristic feeling for the audience letting them know what film genre is advertised. I chose to use a bright red colour with black outlines for the writing making it stand out. Red colour connotes danger and so that the aliens are dangerous for our lives. Also it connotes blood making it clear that death is possible and that people will be hurt. It shows that they are in danger.

The background is a photograph that I have edited to make it look like an explosion linking to science fiction genre codes and conventions. This creates danger. Todorov’s Theory can be applied to it. The viewer is in a normal, everyday life where everything is in order. This is called the equilibrium. Once the viewer sees the poster it changes to disequilibrium because of the message that something is coming and the explosion connotes chaos and disorder that comes with it. A new equilibrium is not shown creating tension and leaving us with an open ending and an element of mystery. This makes the viewers want to go and watch the film because of the curiosity to find out what will happen and if the new equilibrium will be back. There is also a black, dark side of the background. Black colour connotes mystery making the poster promote a film by adding something mysterious and secretive.

According to Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions” audiences can be targeted by something which is lacking in the modern life such as energy. The action and vibrant colours created by explosion are offered by this poster. This is interesting for the viewers who are attracted to watch the movie because they are bored and tired of everyday life and they want something different. According to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications” people want entertainment and this is why they consume media texts. This poster contains action and imaginative narrative which people know is unreal because of the spaceship. This tells them that by watching this film they will be able to escape from their problems, relax and enjoy. This promotes the film as a good fun and so encourages audiences to go and watch it.  

Poster 1

Science Fiction Posters

 In my research I have looked at different posters. I have also decided to look at posters that are promoting a film of the same genre as I am. I have chosen to look at the posters for the “Alien” and “Gravity”. Both posters contain a black background. It is there to connote mystery. For example in the movie poster for “Alien” the main image shows us an egg with a crack from which a bright green light is coming. It is something unusual and we don’t know what is inside the egg. Black colour of background emphasizes it by adding a mysterious and secretive feeling. It also links to the science fiction genre and shows what the film is about. For both “Alien” and “Gravity” black background connotes space. Unlike in the poster for the “Star Wars” the background is plain. This creates simplicity allowing us to focus on the main image which is the most important. In the poster for “Gravity” where the main image is very small and there is one plain colour, the background shows space, emptiness and loneliness of the character in the middle of nothing. In both cases the font of the titles links to the science fiction genre because it looks modern and therefore links to the codes and conventions of science fiction genre.  I have noticed that both films use the same colour and font for the title. In further research I looked at other science fiction movie posters and I have noticed that all of them contain the same white font. 

What do people expect of a good film? - primary research

Main Inspiration

The first poster for the “Ghostbusters” film is very minimalistic creating simplicity and creating transparency which according to Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions” is a way of targeting the audience by providing something that is lacking in the modern life. In reality things are more complex than what is shown in the posters as the poster is very simple. This gives a feeling that when watching the film people can relax and escape from everyday problems. This gives entertainment which according to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications” is one of the reasons why people consume media texts.

The main image shows a graphical ghost in a red “no smoking” circle. This straight away tells us that the genre of the film is science fiction and that the film is about ghosts. The red circle implies that there is going to be a fight suggesting action. The bright red colour of the circle targets the audience using vibrant colours creating energy which according to Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions” it is one of the ways of targeting the audiences.

Underneath the image there is a phrase “Coming to save the world this summer”. This informs us on the date when the movie is going to be released but it is very mysterious because we are not told who is going to save the world and why it needs to be saved. Also binary opposition is used between the white colour of the letters and the black background. This suggests transparency making the film seem as easy to watch making it entertaining. This is one of the reasons why people would like to watch it according to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications”.

Also the black colour of the background connotes mystery as darkness is unknown and secretive.

The first poster for the film “Ghostbusters” was very unusual as it didn’t follow the basic codes and conventions of the poster design. On the poster the name of the film was not mentioned creating mystery that links to the science fiction genre as there are characters that are out of this world and are unknown to us. The lack of the title of the film and the name of the director and the names of the actors created curiosity in the viewers making them want to know more. This also makes them think about the poster rather than forgetting it right after passing by. By thinking about the poster, it stays in their mind.

After some time a new poster for the same film was established. This time it contained all the information about the film. Because of the similar layout and the use of the same image which became very popular the second poster was easily recognisable and straight away linked to the first one. This meant that people were curious to find out what the first poster advertised and so they spend more time reading the second one. This created a successful promotion because people remembered it as it was different from others.

Genre Codes and Conventions

Information about my film

Story:

Genre: science fiction

Storyline: aliens are coming to Earth

Title: Alien Attack

Audience:

Age: young adults

Gender: men and women

Interests: people who enjoy science fiction, action movies

Viewing habits: regular viewers of Science Fiction films and people who enjoy Science Fiction movies

Size/ type of the audience: mass/ mainstream audience to get the largest possible amount of viewers to earn a lot of money

Demographics: all

Primary audience: young adults

Secondary audience: older teenagers

Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gravitations” (The reason for watching this film): Entertainment  - escaping, being diverted from problems, relaxing, filling time

Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions”(audience are targeted by offering something that is lacking in modern life):

Intensity  - watching exciting and interesting things happen, that are out of the ordinary and help people momentarily escape their routine lives.

Energy – our daily routines make us tired, so the media offers us action, vibrant colours and exotic locations.

Transparency - we know which characters are good (humans so we can identify with them) and bad (aliens). Reality is more complex than this.

Narrative Theories and Concepts:

·         Todorov Theory: The story is going to be based on a change from equilibrium (where everything is going to be in order) to disequilibrium (chaos and disorder when aliens attack). People will be fighting to bring back the stability into the world.

·         Binary Opposition: good which are the humans vs. Evil which are the aliens.

Propp’s “Spheres of Action”:

·         Villain: aliens

·         Hero: one person of a team of brave people 

Posters

The posters for the film “Black Swan” captured my attention because of the way that the woman and the swan become one. I have read the plot of the film and found out that she has hallucinations and when dancing she felt as if she was transforming into the black swan. The black colour links to the title of the film. The red colour connotes blood and passion. Blood relates to the lead character stubbing herself and her passion for dance.   

 

The poster of the film “Taxi To The Dark Side” is a photograph of three soldiers walking away from the camera. They are on a desert and the background is yellowish with white. The shadows of the men transform into the USA flag which is very patriotic. By that we already know who the main characters are. They are US soldiers and the story is about them.

The thing that I like about the poster of the “Primer” is the way they linked the image and the title together. The cables form the title of the film. The dark background and the light in the middle create mysterious feeling making it more interesting.

In this poster the thing that attracted me was the way they designed this poster. The design is very simple containing simple geometric shapes and straight lines. The colours are flat and there are no shadows which also creates simplicity. The poster makes me think that the film is about a businessman because of the tie and black and white clothes. In this case the name of the director is nearly as important as the name of the film and so these are the two information that are the most visible because of the big letters and the contrast between white colour of writing on white background.

In my opinion this poster is  the most mysterious. This is because the centre of it is empty creating a lot of space. At the sides there are hands but we don’t know whose hands they are. This makes the viewer stop and think. The hands are cropped and only parts of them can be see which adds more to the mystery and obscurity of the poster.

The poster of the film “Raging Bull” has a red very bright colour of background which not only makes it very visible and eye catching but also connotes the anger, rage and blood which can be associated with the film because the main thing on the poster are two people fighting (boxing). They are created in the style of a sketch as they contain many lines. The reason for choosing this type of image is to show the movement and speed created by the lines. It is also more mysterious as we don’t know who the characters are and what they look like. The font of the title is very rough because of the edges on letters (no curves). This suggests sharpness and being tough. The name of the famous actor is quite big to attract the viewers to go and watch the film.

This poster is a cartoon poster. The drawings are very simple and not realistic. The colours are flat meaning that there are no shadows, shades and tones. This unrealistic style of the poster makes it look more interesting and obscure because the viewers don't know exactly what the characters in the film will look like, what costumes they will be wearing...

The first poster of the "Ghost Busters" film didn't have a title and the name of the director and the names of the actors were not revealed either. This created mystery and curiosity in the viewers. This curiosity made them remember the poster. After some time a new poster of the film was released. It contained the logo that became very popular but it also included all the titles and names, solving the mystery. People remembered it because of the first poster that got stack in their mind.

This poster is advertising a film which is probably thriller or horror because of the graphic image of a gun which might symbolize murder, death and blood. The colours of the background are pink, red and orange. These colours represent women and they link to the film which is about a woman named Mrs Anderson. There are many words on the poster. They supply the viewer with information about the film. Popular actors are advertised to appeal to audience who would like to see a movie with their idols or good actors.