Film poster research and pre-production

Create a blogpost called 'Film poster research and pre-production' and work through the following tasks to complete your research and planning for the print side of the brief:

Film poster conventions:

Do some generic research on film posters.

1) List the key conventions of a film poster.

- Focal point (main character)
- Tagline included (struggles to strength)
- Reviews 
- The film title clearly presented
- Release date 
- Production company 
- Mise-en-scene to make genre clear 

2) What makes a film poster instantly recognisable?

- The focal point, seeing as an audience would not have much to judge of the movie from a still image, it would have to be an extremely intriguing picture.

 

For example, this Harry Potter film poster clearly suggests the film in full of action seeing as they are running with worried looks on their faces.
The title also has to be prominent in order for the audience to see what the movie is called  

3) What are regarded as some of the best film posters of all time? Why?

They all tell the story in one picture:

Jaws: You can clearly see the size difference when you first look at the poster between the swimmer            and the shark and it is also a very well known fact that sharks are dangerous animals. This                   alone gives the audience a thrill and an urge to watch the movie. The title is written big,bold in            capitals and it is also red which has connotations of blood and danger, this may have been 

          done purposely so it fits with the genre of the film.

Jurassic Park: There is action involved in the poster, as we can see the dinosaur chasing after the                              character. It makes it obvious it is a action/adventure film seeing as there is a dinosaur                           and someone running away.

Finding Nemo: The way this film poster is structured adds mystery and suspense which makes the audience want to watch it. The tagline is "There are 3.7 trillion fish in the ocean, they're looking for one", this tagline feels like a slight cliff hanger.

4) Look back at your statement of intent. What are you planning to produce in terms of your film posters? Can you take inspiration from your research above? 

Film poster research - genre

Go back to the five film trailers you researched in your chosen genre (and additional films if you wish). For each film, find at least three different film posters for the film and analyse the 
following:


Clueless:

Mean Girls:




Bullet Boy:

Confessions of a teenage Drama Queen:






Kidulthood:






1) What conventions are the same on each poster for the same film (i.e. the film's consistent branding)?

- Main characters always involved
-Repetition of the main title 
- Reviews from other organisations 
- Colour scheme and costume stays the same throughout

2) What differences can your find between the alternative posters for the same film?

The focus changes, some seem to have more action then the others and the colours stay similiar but not exactly the same. 

3) What target audience do you think each poster is targeting and why? How can you tell?

In my opinion all the posters are targeting teenagers and young adults as they have used characters that look quite young and I feel like ambitious teenagers and young adults would like movies such as clueless and confessions of a teenage drama queen seeing as they have a luxurious lifestyle but I feel like Kidulthood and Bullet Boy are more targeted at people that can relate (personal identity)

4) What can you use from these posters in your own film poster planning and production?

The different poses and seeing as my genre is a coming of age and very similar to Kidulthood I could use the same layout and structure. 

Planning and sketching

1) Create a spider diagram or bullet point list of everything you plan to include in your film posters AND all the ways you could target the three target audience segments outlined in the brief: fans of the genre, males, females. Make sure you also create a local film festival in order to meet this aspect of the brief.

- The font will be bold and large 
- Focal point is clear 
- They will all be in a non-luxurious setting 
- Credits at the bottom 
- Distributor will be promoted (pathe)



2) Produce an A4 sketch for your first film poster, adding significant detail in terms of text and planned images (you don't need to draw the image if you don't want to - but must offer a detailed text-based description if not). Clearly label which segment of the target audience you are aiming for with this poster and where the poster will be displayed (outside location, magazine or newspaper etc.) Remember that each poster can either be landscape or portrait and also needs to link to the local film festival that will be screening the film (see details in brief above). When you have sketched the poster, scan or photograph it and add it to your blogpost.



It is going to be landscape and most of the details are because in the centre of the poster. There will be 5 star rating at the top and an opinion/review written directly underneath the 5 stars. This should persuade a audience to watch the movie. 

This film poster is directed specifically (C2DE) teenage, young adults who live in London as they would probably judge by the 

3) Produce an A4 sketch for your second film poster, clearly identifying the segment of the target audience this poster will be aiming at. Pay particular attention to details you will either keep consistent (to create a brand identity and cover the local film festival aspect) or change (to alter the target audience). When you have sketched the poster, scan or photograph it and add it to your blogpost.



4) Produce an A4 sketch for your third film poster, clearly identifying the segment of the target audience this poster will be aiming at. Pay particular attention to details you will either keep consistent (to create a brand identity and cover the local film festival aspect) or change (to alter the target audience). When you have sketched the poster, scan or photograph it and add it to your blogpost.




Photo shoot planning


1) Which of your characters will appear on each poster? If the characters will be the same on each poster, how will you differentiate the images?

1 - The main character will be on all three posters however on one of them I will add her daughter so it would be more appealing to mothers (especially young mothers) and people in general would sympathise when they see a child involved. 

2 - The next poster will have the enemy of the main character and the main character. This should attract a more general audience who just want to enjoy a movie (diversion, Blumler and Katz) as it will be clear there is a villain which hints that problems are involved in the movie.

3 - The last poster will be a close up of main character, showing emotion as there will be a tear going down one eye and the other will not.

2) What images do you need for each film poster? Write a detailed description.

First poster: Main character looking distressed and solo. Possibly a close up with a tear going down one eye and one side of the face messy to emphasise struggle but one side without a tear emphasising strength which is the tagline (Struggles to strength).

Second poster: Main character and 'villain' staring towards eachother

Third poster: Villain with a evil look on her face, a close up. 

3) Write a shot list for the photoshoot(s). Make sure you plan a variety of camera shots you will look to capture (medium shots, close-ups etc.) to give yourself flexibility when designing the posters in Photoshop later. Will the photoshoot be out on location or in school with the white backdrop and lighting?

4) What costume, props or make-up will you require for the photoshoot(s)?

There is not much required as it is coming of age so it has to be very natural. My characters must dress like a stereotypical teenager e.g:

- Tracksuits
- Hoodies
- Jeans 
- Crop tops 

And as they are young girls in 2018 I will make sure they wear make up as it is a norm for girls to wear make up in modern day.