Film Poster Analysis - Callum

It's a blog post by ME!
Can you believe it!
Miss me?
That was rhetorical, of course you did.

So our task is to analyse some short film posters.
So, here's an analysis of some short film posters!

This is the poster for a low budget short film called Fall Out, this film is based on a teenager surviving in a post-apocalyptic world after a war between countries, leading to complete devastation of the country.
This poster portrays the plot really well, as it shows the protagonist standing in a ruined town with a bag on his back.
Now for some MRANG...

M - Mise en Scene is used a lot within this poster, and really helps to identify what the film's going to be like.
       The lighting is quite dark, considering the white surroundings, making the whole scene a dark grey.
       The character's costume is rugged and worn, along with having a large prop bag on his back, this
        suggests that he travels and doesn't settle down anywhere.
       The colour is really desaturated, setting a dull and grim atmosphere.

R - The representation appears to be rather basic, focusing on a male protagonist in a hostile situation.
      The dark clouds represent the oppression and darkness the world is facing in a post-apocalyptic world.

A - Being a survival adventure film, the audience would be teenagers and young adults, predominately male.

N - The narrative is quite clear with this poster, as it shows the protagonist, and the environment.

G - The genre is a survival adventure, this is made clear by the devastated environment and the character
       standing in the scene with his bag over his shoulder, facing away from the character into the unknown.
       prop bag, making him appear as a survivor.


                                                                                                                                                                     

 

FlySpy is a short film about a young genius, who is obsessed with his ex-girlfriend; he creates a small drone in the form of a house fly and spies on her (being the deviant he is), he ends up discovering her new boyfriend is abusing her and he decides to intervene.

The poster is clear in one sense, but still full of enigma. The robotic fly is clearly the main focus and is the most important factor of the film, so it is made clear.

However, in the background is the silhouette of a woman, standing in a door frame with a hand to her forehead; this makes the viewer inquisitive as there is some mystery to the scene.

Now for some MRANG! Woohoo!

M - Mise en Scene is not used much in this poster, however, there are still some strong points.
       The positioning in the frame is well used as the robot fly is centred in the foreground, while the
        mysterious figure is positioned far in the background on the left side, allowing the fly to take up more
        of the scene.
       The lighting casts a spotlight on the fly, along with a white light emmiting from the open door, other than
        that, the scene is submerged in darkness, adding to the enigma.

R - The representation seems to be focused around relationships, and trust, hence the subject of spying.

A -The audience seems to be aimed at teenagers, no gender is specified.

N - The narrative is vaguely shown, but still unclear. It is made clear that the robot fly will be used to spy on
       someone, probably the female character in the background; but that is all we're given; there are no
       given reasons as to 'why', there is no motive.

G - The genre is a thriller, shown through the darkness around the entire scene, and the enigma of the woman
       in the background.

                                                                                                                                                                      

 

This poster is for Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's Tintin, a blockbuster film based on the old comics in the 20th century.
The story is about the origins of Tintin and how he meets original characters, which led him to become the adventurer he's depicted as in the comics.

There poster clearly shows what the film is about, and the contents of the film; Tintin is evidently the main character as he is posed in centre frame, with his canine companion at his side; they are both silhouetted to at dramatic effect.

MRANG TIME!

M - Mise en Scene is used a little bit.
       The positioning in the frame is good as Tintin is placed in the centre of the frame in the foreground,
        with the dog beside him, this allows the audience to acknowledge they are the main characters.
       The lighting is behind the main characters, making them silhouetted to entice the audience.
        the background is flooded with a warm yellow light, making everything less gloomy.
       Tintin's costume features a thick long-coat, which is notably "cool" amongst clothing, this is probably
        used to give Tintin a more appealing character.

R - The film, and Tintin the character represents the everyman, as Tintin is an ordinary human being whom
       is thrown into the situations without warning, or preparation.
      His character is just as ordinary as you I, allowing us to connect with him and feel closer to the character.

A -The audience appears to be for children and young teenagers, but also for older fans of the original
      comics.

N - The narrative is shown clearly, both by the title and by the background; being called "The Adventures
        of Tintin" is an obvious give-away that this will be an adventure film. The ship and plane in the
        background hint towards what the adventure will entail.

G - The genre is adventure, I've already covered the pointers as to why it's an adventure film above.

Comparison...Poster Research 4!

Feature film posters are very different to short film posters. However, there are some similarities as you can see. "The Rusted" is the short film and "Law Abiding Citizen" is the feature length film. I chose these films as they have a similar design which includes the two characters and the colour scheme. In addition, they both have conventions and codes of a thriller and crime genre. As you can see, the positioning of the title is similar in both as they are placed at the bottom of the poster which allows the main image to stand out and appeal to the target demographic. In addition, the credit block is below the title as it is not crucial for the poster, that is why it is in a very small font. There is a certain placement of the credit block as it forms a slight pyramid to make it look as interesting as it possibly can, this is common within all movie posters. The font and style of the text in "Law Abiding Citizen" is bold and looks professional as it connects with the character in the suit showing that he must be a major role within the film. Also, each word of the title overlaps one another which creates an order which also creates a hierarchy showing that the LAW is most important. Furthermore, it is unusual for a film poster because usually the text is clear and in a line.Both posters have text which given us an insight to the context of the film. The rhetorical question on the right poster is very intriguing as it gives us some idea of the plot but still leaves the audience questioning who the other character is in the frame. The white text stands out in front of the dark, gloomy background and the way it overlaps the male's black coat shows that the character is involved in finding the killer, which is similar to my short film. The film poster of  "The Rusted" includes grey coloured text which blends into the background because there is a slight mist throughout which creates an enigmatic atmosphere. The font of the title is bold but looks as though it is rusty, linking to the name of the title. "Rusted" stands out as it is a larger size than the other texts on the poster, it has most significance to the audience. 

The images in both of the posters are quite similar as they include the faces of the two major characters and are uniquely presented.  Firstly, "The Rusted" has joined together two faces and a small image of the house which must hold great significance in the film. The male character is looking towards the camera showing that he is a confident character and is very powerful. On the other hand, the girl looks distraught as she looks away and down to the floor. This connotes a sense of isolation and fear.The house overshadows the two characters and does not seem to fit into the image which builds a disorientated feel to the whole poster. The image is centred so it is the centre piece of the poster which people focus on more. The other film poster also includes two characters. The main character in the suit is standing with pride and power. He is looking to the side which connotes that he is looking for something or someone. The black gloves are synonymous of the crime genre as they are used by criminals who have murdered. If you look closely, you can see the shadow of a male's face which could be the villain of Propp's theory. His face looks grey as dark lighting has been used but his eyes are bright green connoting evil. His facal expression looks as though he is dangerous and enraged. There will clearly be a rivalry between the hero and the villain as this is typical within a crime and thriller genre.
 

Improvements for Exhibit J!

GREG

Overall I think that our short film has lots of very good parts to it. I will not be talking about those in this post. I will be talking about what could've been improved for our sequence.

The first and main issue I have with our sequence is some of the audio. In the Reigate scene, there are two relatively big issues I feel need addressing. One is the ambient sound in the stabbing scene. You can hear the sound of a generator in this final scene. This annoys me because it cuts out too suddenly when J runs away after stabbing Neeson, and cuts back in on the sound of Neeson choking on blood. I don't like it because it makes this sequence seem quite cheap. The other issue comes right at the start of the Reigate scene, when Neeson enters the scene and walks into The Yard. Deadline limitations stopped me from being able to add footstep foleys in this scene, which makes the scene seem quite empty.

SOFIA

Although we have had some issues with the cast and the microphones, we carried on and worked effectively and professionally. Firstly, like Greg said, some of the Reigate scenes had some issues with the sound. As we were in a yard where work was taking place and there was a kitchen next to one of our scenes. We had a lack of control over the ambient sound so we had to record it anyway. A generator sound can be heard during the final scene as there is no dialogue as the Inspector is dead. However, we overcame this by improving our camera techniques and making sure we used different techniques in this scene to over power the sound issue.
In addition, we had a set time for filming our short film but many of the actors said they could not make it at the last minute which did frustrate me. I organised a different day that everyone could do on Facebook and explained that this is a very important project. Finally,  everyone turned up and we could film within two days at Reigate and Burgess Hill. On the last day, Kyle (the villain) and I went to Brighton to film some extra scenes. But, Callum or Greg did not attend as they had to leave so it was a challenge for only one person to film and hold the lights. I was happy with the scenes I filmed because they looked very effective and create a thrilling atmosphere. Here are some examples below.

Poster Research 3!

"Room 107" is a thriller short film which is displayed within the film poster. As you can see, the red lettering connotes blood and is a typical convention of the genre. It also portrays a sense of danger and and fear. The position of the title is towards the right which is in line with the sentence below, it all fits well and is clear. The font is slightly unusual as it is supposed to symbolise blood because it looks as though it is dripping down the dark background. The background is mysterious and creates enigma around the character which is is typical for a thriller film poster. However, there is a bright light at the top which creates a reflection throughout the poster. The female character's face is lit up so she stands out for the audience. The female is purposely positioned at the left side of the poster so that the right side is in darkness and she is the main focus point of the frame. Her white dress symbolises innocence and purity which is juxtaposed by the thrilling and obscure mood within the poster. In addition, the position of the character also suggests that she may possibly be the victim in this short film as she is in a vulnerable position and we can see that her facial expression shows that she is unhappy and afraid. The text next to the female expresses that it is a thriller genre and makes the audience think about what the poster mean. This is purposely done to attract the audience because they will want to find out more. There is not much in the way of props around the character as she seems to be in a dark room which conveys a sense of being trapped. We, as the audience, focus on the female and the statement next to her. At the top of the poster it includes the names of the actors which are in white, small lettering which is typical of any poster including feature film. However, there is not a large credit block unlike other posters I have researched which shows that it may be a slightly lower budget film, it has focused more on the image than the conventions of a short film poster. I like the idea of having one character in the frame and using the technique of lighting as it has a great effect on the audience and is very effective. For my short film poster, I will definitely use lighting and make the whole poster quite dark and gloomy.

Poster Research 2!

"The Memory Thief's" poster is a clear representation of darkness and fear. This is because of the colours used such as the dark grey and black which typically connote danger and terror. I believe that for my film poster, the colours used will be exceptionally important as we want to create an atmosphere for the audience so it stands out and catches the audiences eyes. The disorientated background, which looks like clouds or smoke, makes the figure and title stand out. The font of the title includes bold lettering as well as a standard font. The "memory" represents a vital part of the film poster as it is positioned in the centre of the frame which causes the audience to look at it immediately. In addition, the title is towards the bottom of the frame to allow the unusual image to attract the target demographic and to make the image the centre of the poster.The credit block is typically positioned at the bottom of the frame as it is not an essential part of the poster. It is directly positioned under the title and includes the release date in a small font. The credits use the font which is used in all film posters. In addition, there is extra text on the top left of the poster which is a rhetorical question for the audience. This is an effective way to entice the audience and to get their attention. The language used is very persuasive as it addresses "you" the audience which makes them feel involved and causes them to want to watch more. The question looks as though it is floating within the clouds creating a sinister and mysterious mood. 
The image is very unusual as it represents a historical image but it has been modernised. There are leads and wires hanging out of the figure which leads us to the title. The audience have to look closely to the image as it is very detailed. Also, it is quite high up, it towers over the title showing that is symbolises strength and power within the film. The black and white theme for the costume fits into the mood and atmosphere created for the audience. It also represents goodness, innocence, purity It is considered to be the colour of perfection .As opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. However, the black juxtaposes this as it conveys evil and death.

Exhibit J: The Final Product

This is it! The final product of Exhibit J. We have worked really hard in putting this together and believe it has turned out well. Although we have come across some problems during filming and editing we acted in a professional manner and completed the editing to the deadline. Our target audience have seemed to enjoy it as Greg and I shared it on Facebook and I showed some family members, we received some positive feedback which I will be displaying in another post. We have tried to include numerous camera techniques as well as lighting techniques which have created the enigma for our short film. In addition, the foley's we used coincide with the moving image and the music builds suspense and tension very well.

Poster Research

Shutter Island
 

This poster clearly tells us this is a thriller through its use of thriller conventions to give the poster dark themes. It uses low key lighting on Leo's face, with a match being the source of light. This gives the character enigma. The character also wears a serious facial expression, which tells the audience that this film could get dark. The island shrouded in darkness also creates enigma; it makes the audience wonder what the island has to do with Leo's character. The lighting on the island also tells us nothing about what happens on the island.

The tag-line 'some places never let you go' might be a clue to what the film's narrative is about. It makes me think that the narrative is about what happens to Leo's character when he arrives at the island. The tag-line and the release date have both been put in a red font. Red is a colour that is linked with danger, blood and love. The red being used on this poster could be linked with either blood or danger, adding to the dark feel of this poster. The title of the film itself and Leonardo's name are both in white on this poster, and in a font that implies dark themes and a chilling narrative.

The poster layout puts most of the information and attention to the centre of the poster. The layout also splits the poster into to two sections: the top half attracts possible viewers with the images, the name of a big celebrity and the title. The bottom half contains more information about the film (release date, credit block and producers) if the viewer was hooked by the top half. There are no reviews on this poster, so I can't really talk about target audience. But I can say it's probably not for younger viewers.

Happy Hour

Happy Hour is a short film poster. This film is hard pin a genre on, though the red text and font that looks like handwriting may tell us that this film is a thriller. It's not a horror because there isn't any indication that the film has anything supernatural. The poster is very simple but quite effective. It consists of just one image that takes up the whole poster. The image shows us a girl with a scared facial expression looking at someone coming up the stairs. We don't know who it is that's coming up the stairs, but we can see there is an out-of-focus glass in the unknown person's hand. This could imply that alcoholism is a main theme of the film. The girl's costume and hair tell us that the girl represents the theme of innocence. From this poster, I think the narrative involves an alcoholic (father perhaps) getting drunk and abusing the little girl (who may be his daughter). The poster follows some of the conventions of a thriller, mainly the fact that we can't see the face of the man who is holding the glass. He is also wearing black, and he is out of focus in the frame. These add enigma to this character, as we have no idea who he is ad we can only guess his relationship to the girl.

The title of the film has been put in a red, and put into a font that looks like handwriting. Red is a colour associated with blood and danger, which is why it adds a darker tone to the short film.

The film layout puts most of the attention to the centre of the poster. The space between 'Happy' and 'Hour' is wide enough to fit in the bottom of the glass, which they did so it is clearer to see what's in the person's hand. The title and credit block are put really close to the bottom of the poster, so we can see the whole of the image above. The image attracts the potential viewers to look at the rest of the poster.


I Saw The Devil

I Saw The Devil has a different layout to the other posters. The tag line of the film ('Abandon all Compassion') is right at the top of the poster. The film title is the main attraction of the poster, and it's what will catch the eye of someone looking at the poster first. It takes up most of the poster and it's colour and font set the tone for the rest of the poster. The title has been put in red, which could symbolize blood and danger. The font of the title looks like handwriting, which tells us this film could be scary. The tag-line and all the other titles in in white and a more serious font, which is more conventional for a thriller or horror film. The The title is also covering some of the faces in the background. This gives us the idea that the title was drawn on top the poster, like a scary message written in blood. The only other piece of red text is below the credit block, which says 'coming soon'. This adds emphasis to the point and draws the audience's attention from the white text.

The faces in the background are tinted with red, which also adds to the scariness this poster is trying to show us. Liam Neeson's face on the right has low key lighting on his right side, which adds a sense of enigma to his character. Both characters are wearing serious facial expressions, and we see these faces at a medium close-up or close-up distance. This brings us close to these characters and we can see that these characters have seen a lot of evil.

I think this film is more a horror than a thriller, because the title refers to the devil, who many believe is a fictional monster. Whether or not it is a metaphor or they actually come across Satan we cannot figure out from this poster. I think the narrative of this poster is about one or both of these characters confrontation with a demon, either in a physical form or a personal demon, and we see how it torments them. This film poster is aimed at a more mature audience because of it's dark themes and the way it is presented.