Evolution of poster designs and FINAL POSTER! - Callum Horncastle

So, after being assigned to create some drafts for posters, I've put my four drafts together for comparison, along with my final draft to be my main poster.

{Poster Version 1.0}

This was my first poster, which included a basic layout of a case file with the film title written over it.
The merged face of the main character and the antagonist was relatively well done.
However, overall I think this draft looked very unprofessional and very sloppy; I didn't like the layout at all and I quickly scrapped it for my next version.
                                                                                                                                                

{Poster Version 2.0}

I put a lot more work into my second poster, and was very pleased with the results, rather than merge the protagonist and antagonist together, I placed them apart with half of their faces submerged in darkness, which added massively to the effect.
I soon found that the landscape portrait didn't look very good as a poster, and looked more like a magazine cover, and so I converted it to landscape.
                                                                                                                                                

{Poster Version 2.1}

I much preferred the poster in landscape form, and it looked much more professional.
However I found the title's font to still look off, along with the colour being a bit too much.
The silhouette in the distance was nice, but I still didn't quite like this layout, as it just didn't look professional enough for my liking, as I wanted it to look 100%, being the perfectionist I am...
And so, after a long analysis, I scrapped this poster for a new one.
                                                                                                                                      

{Poster Version 3.0}

The last poster had a lot of warm colours, so I made sure this one had a very grey / blue tone, adding to the chill-factor. Which really worked with the positioning, the smoke added to the mystery, and the hat hiding the protagonist's mask added a lot of enigma and tension.

I made the title black and white to add simplicity, which made it more effective.

The film reviews and caption above the title made the poster look so much more professional.

I decided to settle with this poster layout, but I wanted to align a few things that seemed out of place...
                                                                                                                                                 

So, after a few tweaks, my final version was complete... Here it is...

{Poster Version 3.1}

The final version!!!

*trumpet sounds*

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.

Talking About Characters 2

To make our film as realistic as can be, we need to look at our characters in depth to prevent them from becoming cardboard characters, or Mary Sues.
To help make this even more realistic, I have created back-stories for the characters to be implemented into the sub-text to help with the actors to bond with the characters.

Jack The Ripper
The Ripper, while he is unknown and cannot be understood to an extent, it is still very clear and evident that he is immoral, and has no sympathy for his victims, nor their families.
From this small piece of information, there can be suggestions behind The Ripper's reasons for these killings; perhaps an abusive childhood that led him to become mentally unstable? Or maybe his mother was a prostitute who was murdered, and he went on to kill prostitutes out of in-direct revenge?
The possibilities are endless, but still interesting to look at with depth.

Detective James Neeson
James Neeson is an outstanding detective, and is the head of his string of detectives; he is very similar to Sherlock Holmes in regards to his passion for being a detective. From a young age he was always passionate about detectives and their styles in solving mysteries. Being a middle child he was neglected in his family, leaving him to become rather anti-social, the time he had to himself was spent reading books and solving online riddles. Regardless of his anti-social nature, he was a kind boy and found love early at his high school, he was a passionate lover, and a lovable character.
After fulfilling his dream of becoming a detective, he became fixated on his job and quickly became the best detective the Metropolitan Police Force had ever seen.
However, his passion for his job had left his fiancee alone most days and nights, and she soon left him.
Since then, detective Neeson has been left with nothing but his job.
While unhappy, he has become even more passionate about his detective duties, as it is now all he has.

Casting

We want our film to be the absolute best it can be, which can only be done with good actors.
Thankfully we have a wide range of talented theatre students with a passion for acting that we will choose for our characters.

Jack the Ripper - Kyle West

Detective Neeson - Callum Horncastle

Detective #2 - Greg Ivan Bicknell

Forensic Scientist - TBA

Police officers - TBA

Jack The Ripper found?

Doing some research for inspiration, I found an interesting post online.
A forensic scientist claims to have figured out who Jack was.
I'm not convinced, but it's a very interesting article.

Script Draft

The Ripper

Fade in to a crime scene, forensic team walking around, tilt down to a mutilated body.
New report voice over the entire scene.

Cut to forensic scientist photographic body with flash. Cut to body, flash repeatedly.

Flash white, quick fade to next scene.

Picture of the body on an evidence board in the police department.

Policeman
 "This is the 4th killing this month, we need to crack down on the killer."

Policeman #2
"Detective Neeson, what do you suggest?"

Cut to behind detective Neeson, crab shot around to reveal his face.

Detective Neeson
"The killer seems to be heading south, towards Brighton, he's only hitting big areas to create a bigger fear factor to make a name for himself, so Brighton is the next best place for him."

Cut as he clicks his fingers and whips around.

Detective Neeson
"I want officer patrols doubled there, keep eyes on every nook and cranny. We're going to wait for him."

Cut to black as he closes the door.

Cut to Brighton, happy scenes of families and landmarks.
Detective Neeson on radio, checking for updates.
Nothing.
Suddenly the radio blares on.

Policeman
"Neeson! We have a body! Jack's here!"

Cut to the policeman.

Policeman
"This alley has one way in and one way out, meaning he's headed south towards your location!"

Cut to Neeson, he switches off the radio and sprints towards the lanes.
Neeson reaches the lanes and spots the Ripper.
Neeson gives chase. Chase scene.
 Reach a dead end, Ripper is not to be seen.

Detective Neeson
"Come on out, make this easy on the both of us!"

Cut to Jack hiding behind something, brick in his hand.
Cut to Neeson, brick is thrown and hits Neeson, stunning him, Jack gets away.
He shouts in frustration.
Cut to black.

Fade in to the office, he enters, still angry.
He goes to the evidence board and looks at all the documents.

Detective Neeson
"Where's the link?"

He can't find a lead and angrily starts pulling documents off the board.

Detective Neeson
"Where's the bloody link!?"

He rips nearly everything off the board, then throws all the papers off a deck.
He turns back to the evidence board and screams.

Detective Neeson
"WHERE ARE YOU?"

He stares at the single document hanging from the board, the map of killings.
He takes the document and takes a pen. He joins the marks to form the letter J.
The last point is clear. Close up on Neeson's Face.

Detective Neeson
"I'm coming for you Jack..."

Fade to black.

Fade in to location.
Neeson enters warehouse and finds dying woman.

Jack comes flying out from a hideout and runs away, Neeson gives chase.

Chase scene.

Jack whizzes past a corner

As Neeson comes around the corner Jack stabs him.

Neeson is thrown to the ground and Jack runs off.

Neeson pulls out the knife while on the ground and bleeds to death.

Zoom out on his body. Fade to black.

Fade into alleyway, news report voice over.

Jack's sillouette, he turns around and stares into the camera.

Jack the Ripper

"Jack's Back..."

Cut to black.

End.  

Short Film Locations - Callum Horncastle

Now that we've decided on a thriller based on Jack the Ripper, we can look at some effective filming location to ensure the film is as powerful as possible.
In our first day of planning, we have already came up with some really good locations, which we we will go onto research.


Our first suggested location, is for the Police Department offices.
Thankfully, Sofia's father runs his own business and has an office building, which he has generously offered for us to use for the film.
We will visit the office to look for filming angles and good shots at a later point.



Another suggestion, for suspense and murder scenes, are the lanes in Brighton.
These confined alleyways are absolutely perfect for a spooky, dark setting, especially if we film at dusk.

            

With Brighton in mind, we also had the idea of using the Brighton Pier as a location, perhaps having a murder victim underneath the pier?

Another very good idea, for our climatic ending, is the back of The Magpie House in Reigate.
This was the same location we used for Shadow Shot during the AS Coursework.
The area is large and there is plenty of dark areas to create a thrilling tension filled scene.
Having worked there for a long duration of time, I know that this location works well at any time of day, due to the confinement of the tall buildings blocking out the sun, and if there is rain, it still creates a dark effect.