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.