Section one: Rationale
Initial Ideas
To decide on a set concept for my FMP, I brainstormed five ideas on paper and noted out the concepts I would need to devise, briefly stating the research I would need to complete and the programs I would use for each idea, then concluded by rating out of 10 the feasibility of each idea.
IDEA ONE
Graphic Designs for a Film Campaign
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For this idea, I would create a fictional film narrative and display it through five graphic designs, two of them would be ads and the other three would be different stylised posters, all edited using the programs Photoshop and In Design. This idea would incorporate both my photography skills and editing skills. I would explore different visual graphic styles such as comic style, large typography style, silhouette of a character etc. In terms of feasibility, I am very able to create this campaign in any circumstance (under lockdown or in college) as most of it will be created in post-production and I have access to the Adobe Creative Cloud. However, I would need to come up with a feasible narrative which I can represent in photographs taken on my iPhone or DSLR. To do this I would have to come up with characters I could photograph using either myself or my father (as he is the only other person in my household) as the actors/subjects. I would also have to decide on a accessible location to set my film in, of which I could photograph. These two restricting elements are easy to adapt too as I have the flexibility to form a narrative around the people and places accessible to me.
Overall, this idea would be safe to follow through with and develop. It could help me progress my skills in visual storytelling as I would have to craft multiple images into the designs that convey my narrative, this is important to me as I aspire to become a cinematographer and practising photography is very useful for preparing me towards my future goals in the industry and choosing this idea would also allow me to develop my skills in editing photographs using both Photoshop and In Design.
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A way in which I could broaden my graphic design campaign would be to collaborate with a local filmmaker and design a campaign for their film. The main issue with this would be time and contacts, as I would need to ensure the filmmaker is able to give me enough time to complete my work whilst fitting it into my own deadlines for this project. I am also limited on contacts, although there are social media sites I can sign up to which may offer networking opportunities.
After reflecting upon this idea, I have decided to not follow through with it as I would prefer to devise my own film narrative because I believe it will allow me to broaden my storytelling skills by forming characters, settings etc. and I am also able to adapt to any changes to the narrative if needed due to circumstance. My initial narrative for my film concept is shown below:
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Synopsis of my film concept:
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Theme - Memory
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Protagonist - 63 year old man
Genre - Drama
Setting - Cambridge, UK
A 63 year old starving writer, named Nic Alcott becomes diagnosed with stage one Alzheimer’s. After the diagnosis he decides to write a biopic on his life before the disease progresses and eventually takes hold of his mind. As he begins to recall the past through his writing, his memories of the present day deteriorate, causing him to be even more vulnerable. Due to Nic's frail state, he is appointed a carer, Lili, who he forms a friendly bond with and overtime, each evening, Nic tells her a few of his stories and Lili writes. In the final act of the film, Nic’s Alzheimer’s reaches stage seven (very severe decline) and he passes away, yet his biopic is lived on through Lili who with time gets his book published and shares his memories with the world.
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Overall, I believe this film concept is feasible to execute through my graphic design campaign, this is because I can use my father as the actor/subject of my photographs, because alike Nic he is 63 years old. I also feel I could research into the Alzheimer's disease as part of my project, as this would help me understand how I could visually represent it realistically to an audience in the form of graphic designs. The narrative also raises awareness to the disease, making it a universally relatable topic targeted towards those who have either suffered or know someone who has suffered from Alzheimer's.
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Inspiration and Theoretical context
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For idea one, I was inspired by film poster designs and how they conveyed the themes and narratives of the films. I found three examples which have inspired me in terms of their graphic style and typography. I chose these three posters because I liked how they capture their protagonist's struggle through their expression, making the audience curious to know why. Each of these poster designs also explore the use of symmetry e.g The 'Moonlight' poster divides the protagonist's face into three parts showing his youth, adolescences and adulthood, this conveys to the audience the structure of the film and how it explores the development of his character within his lifetime. The 'Tokyo Story' poster has triangular shapes that form a translucent mask across her face, this conveys to the audience that the character is hiding/suppressing her anguish (hinted towards with the tear drop), making the audience want to understand why, drawing them in visually and symbolically. The 'My Own Private Idaho' poster uses symmetry through a scratched photograph dividing the leading characters, this makes the audience question if the characters separate from each other in some way or if their relationship falls to pieces (symbolically shown in the cut up photograph of the characters). The backdrop of the long road behind the characters also hints towards the two characters sharing a journey, therefore leading the audience on making them curious as to what that journey consist of. I found the posters symbolic use of symmetry reflecting the film plots very inspiring and would like to explore more of that style and symbolism in my own film poster designs.
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I also chose these films because they handle the tone of realism and depict the themes of family and self-reflection which I would also like to explore within the narrative of my film campaign.
Video on dissecting movie poster deigns - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4cd703GfU8
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Harvard Reference - Ashley Dufresne. (2018). How to Design the Perfect Poster. Skillshare Questions
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The video source I have linked above helped educate me on designing posters and ads, which allowed me to understand the different styles I could approach and experiment with for my idea. The narrator explained how there is collage style, which features characters and focuses on their positioning in terms of their importance to the narrative. Another style is single image narration that uses a minimal approach but acts as a storyboard for the movie. Then the other style they mentioned is logo, which features a bold and attractive logo, making the film recognisable if it were squealed or remade. Another point the narrator raised was how typography can help convey a piece of the story, an example they gave was the shark fin symbol on the 'J' in the film poster 'Jaws'. Overall this video source helped me understand the ways in which I could approach my film campaign and the importance of referencing the film's narrative in every detail.
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Skills
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To create idea one, I would need to develop my graphic design skills by researching into photography, Photoshop and InDesign, all of which can help me expand upon my hard skills. In order to do this, I would need to research into poster designs and ad designs by utilising both visual, audible and written sources. I would to educate myself on the effects of colour and typography and understand how they both impact the reflection of a film's narrative, theme and characters to an audience. I would also need to understand layout designs options available for ads and posters too.
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The list below features links to tutorials, articles etc. that would help me develop these hard skills if I chose idea one as my final major project:
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Movie Poster Designer breaks down colour schemes and their relation to films the narratives, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEbW2fXSShc&t=18s
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Simple breakdown of Movie Poster Designs/How to make one, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhs2MEPCmjw
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In depth beginner Photo shop basics, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFyOznL9UvA
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3 Movie Poster Design styles, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA8VO-yk1LY
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7 Elements of a great Movie Poster Design, https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/02/7-elements-of-a-great-movie-poster-design/
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Anatomy of a Movie Poster, https://design.tutsplus.com/articles/movie-poster-design-101-the-anatomy-of-a-movie-poster--cms-35852
IDEA TWO
Black Lives Matter Magazine
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For this second idea, I would create a magazine on Black Lives Matter and explore the movement by gathering sources from people online and use historical and contextual references throughout. To create this magazine I would write explanations, gather primary research and visually show the topic through images online and create illustrations using the program Illustrator. To design the magazine I would use Photoshop and Illustrator as I have access to both programs.
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In terms of feasibility, I am able to create this magazine in lockdown and in college. The main issue would be collecting primary research and seeking sources online to help aid my development of the magazine. I also have never created a magazine before and therefore would be challenging a medium of media I am unfamiliar with. This limits me in terms of my skills as I would have to learn the basics of designing a magazine, which would consume my time in understanding the practical skills more than the utilisation of my resources to include in my magazine.
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Overall this idea would be safe to follow through with as it is educational and informative on social issues but its main downfall is my little to no knowledge of designing a magazine and it would mean jeopardising my research of the subject matter over my learning of practical skills to create the media product. This idea is also detached from my progression towards filmmaking as it is more focused on the report side of media with the magazine design than storytelling.
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Inspiration and Theoretical context
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For idea two, I was inspired by magazine covers on the BLM movement and looked into inspiring magazines that focused on the topic/subject matter.
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I found these two magazine covers below inspiring because they were bold in their message and made the viewer exposed to the racism of which black people still face within society, particularly highlighting African-American victims of police brutality. The 'New Yorker' magazine cover draws in historical context of slavery and shows how racism is still prevalent in society, using George' Floyd's murder and other victims faces such as Breonna Taylor etc. as a literal and symbolic embodiment of how history is repeating itself and change is still needed. The 'Time' magazine cover exposes how the protests of BLM seen in present day are no different from the ones seen in the 1960s, (shown with the crossing off of 1968 to 2016), this detail holds a mirror of reality to the viewers eyes and exposes them to the truth that little progression has been made to tackle racism and police brutality within America. I found both magazine covers representation of BLM using historical context and relating it to present day incredibly informative, thoughtful and educational. For my magazine cover I would incorporate the use of historical background to show how history counties to repeat itself and change through defending the police and raising awareness on systemic racism, vocalising black people's stories and voices as a whole is vital in ending racism within today's society.
Digital Magazine - https://www.diggitmagazine.com/papers/blacklivesmatter-0
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Harvard Reference - Laura Nelissen. (2018). #BlackLivesMatter. Diggit Magazine.
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The digital magazine linked above was inspiring to me as I liked the fact it explored different areas of the movement, breaking it down into historical context, statistical context, the 'online message', 'offline message'worldwide context and the hashtag. This made the article informative and educational. The historical context explained how the particular tragic story of Trayvon Martin who was murdered by a neighbourhood watch men George Zimmerman (who was not held accountable, even though he was guilty) sparked the BLM campaign formed by Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors in response to the police brutality and racism within society. The statistical context in the magazine showed 'race relations' and compared whether people thought race relations were good and bad in America. The secondary research used in the magazine gave more context into the scope of increased police violence towards black people in America, evidencing that majority of people in America are aware of the racism that is present in today's society. The 'online message' section of the magazine explored how social media acts as a platform for the BLM movement to speak from and how the use of hashtags for named victims of racism they've posted allows for black peoples voices to breach to a wider audience through online support and sharing. The 'offline message' part the magazine explained how protests allow people to come together to fight against racism and make their voices heard and seen in public. The worldwide and hashtag sections of the magazine stated how the use of social media and representation of the movement within media has allowed for it to impact other countries around the world and spread awareness on racism and police brutality, therefore advancing the support of the movement and making black peoples voice be heard, not silenced.
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Overall, I found this magazine to be inspiring because it broke down the theoretical and historical context of the movement in an engaging way by referencing sources and using secondary research to evidence the statistical context of the subject matter. For my magazine I would use a similar structure and written presentation of this magazine but would include more visual representation instead of just written with a few sources.
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Skills
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To create idea two, I would need to develop my magazine design knowledge and skills. To do this, I would watch tutorials and read article on magazine designs, breaking the typography and framing of text and images/video content. I would also need to research into the historical and theoretical context of BLM movement in order to develop the information in my magazine. To do this I would have to gather a range of sources, including primary sources by creating a questionnaire online and read a novel/articles on the contextual background of the subject to include in my magazine articles.
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The list below features links to tutorials, articles etc. that would help me develop these skills and knowledge if I chose idea two as my final major project:
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Article featuring videos on the anatomy of a magazine, https://yesimadesigner.com/anatomy-of-a-magazine-layout/
Digital Magazine layout, step-by-step guide, https://www.magloft.com/blog/creating-magazine-layout-guide/
BLM History explained, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG8GjlLbbvs
Comparison between 1968 protests and 2020 protests, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg2Y-CYNsEc
IDEA THREE
Horror Short Film
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For idea three, I would create a short horror film that would feature one main protagonist, and create a supernatural being using visual effects. To create this short film I would use myself as an actor (as I have no one else accessible to film). I would need to create a pitch, storyboard, shot list and script then film on my iPhone. I would edit using Premier Pro and add visual effects using After effects.
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Synopsis of my film:
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Protagonist - 18 year old (non-binary)
Genre - Horror, Thriller
Setting - Cambridge, UK
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The narrative of the horror short film would follow the story of a young character who moves into their new home and discovers a supernatural being haunting the house. The film would be shot as though there are CCTV cameras around the house, much like the film Paranormal Activity in terms of style and realistic tone. The film would end on a cliffhanger by having the protagonist finally confront the creature but the audience would only hear their scream.
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In terms of feasibility, I am able to film this idea from home, however it would be incredibly challenging as I have no access to actors or camera operator in my house hold (no family member is available). I would also be very restricted in terms of location as the film would have to be shot all in one location, being my home. A few positives of making this idea is that I have created a few short films (one being a horror genre film) making me more experienced in my practical and stylistic approach towards this type of medium. I also have experience in creating visual effects which allows me to be more comfortable in the post-production side of making this idea. Lastly, this third idea is directly linked to my filmmaking aspirations, allowing me to develop and add to my portfolio.
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Overall, this idea is the least feasible one out of my chosen three as the technical aspects of filming are so restrictive. Although it would challenge me in the sense that I would be the independent creator and everything is 'in my hands' which allows me to have more creative freedom, I cannot utilise this with freedom because of my limitations. Although I have experience in creating short films and this idea would benefit me in my filmmaking experience, I believe it is just too limiting.
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Inspiration and Theoretical context
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For idea three, I was inspired by two horror short films, one called 'Mama' directed by Andrés Muschietti and 'Lights Out' directed by David F. Sandberg. I liked how these two films utilised one location and incorporated visual effects.
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Link to 'Mama' directed by Andrés Muschietti - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcrM74s7tm4
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The first film 'Mama' was inspiring to me as I liked how it was filmed as a 'one-shot' film. I feel this cinematographic technique was effective in building an anxiety driven atmosphere as if we as the audience were put in the character's perspective, constantly alert, hovering over hallways in fear. I found the colour grade effective as the harsh vignette felt suffocating, reflecting the characters feelings of entrapment. I also found the visual effects in the short film to work well, especially for a low budget film too. However, my only issue was the film is the lack of context as to why the children's mother became demonic. Overall, I found this film to be inspiring and for my horror short film I would utilise the enhancement of vignette in post-production to mimic anxiety through the visuals, alike this film. Although I would use its downfall of a poor plot as a way to make sure I include context to give depth to my narrative.
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Link to 'Lights Out' directed by David F. Sandberg - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adap4rzlM2I
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The second film 'Lights Out' was inspiring to me as I like how it created anxiety and fear using sound and silhouette of a demonic figure. The simple shots, lighting and stripped colour grade were also effective in making the film feel more haunting due to its realism. I also liked the visual effects of the creepy monster in the ending scene as it left a cliffhanger making the audience feel worrisome for the protagonist. Again, this film also lacked in context as to why the monster was tormenting the protagonist. Overall, I was inspired by this short film its simple stylistic approach and how it made the sound effects almost their own character, this removed the forced emotions of fear that are typically put onto audiences in most horrors and instead immersed them into the film by creating an intense atmosphere. Alike the first film I researched above, I would also use this film's downfall of little context as a way to ensure my short horror film had context as to why the supernatural elements or creature was present within the storyline.
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Skills
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To create idea three, I would need to develop my filmmaking skills as a whole by adapting to a 'one person crew', being myself. I would need to watch videos and read articles on how to frame and light shots that utilise space (as the film would be shot in one location), I would also need to research how to edit sound effects (running feet, flickering lights etc.) professionally. I would have to watch a handful of horror films to draw inspiration from too and develop my analytical skills in dissecting effective convections in the horror genre.
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The list below features links to tutorials, articles etc. that would help me develop these skills if I chose idea three as my final major project:
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How to shoot a short film alone, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRXd0MMsixI
Making a short film alone, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pCYATqjgr0
Cinematic Budget Lighting, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3SoC3v4zQM
Horror Film Convections, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qVwPqIPs5A
'Guest' a Horror Short Film, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-5Upq2hcOA
'The Smiling Man' Horror Short Film, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk-eY5S1Nck
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Reflecting upon my projects across my two years on my media course, I believe I have achieved many hard skills by gaining experience in programs such as Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator and Animate. All of which have heavily informed my desire to pursue filmmaking as a career because they allowed me to explore the various roles of which the art form combines. Understanding how to add colour grades, make visual effects, cut footage etc. has helped me grow my passion for editing films/video content and learning how to edit images and manipulate shapes using masks, layers, filters etc. on Photoshop and Illustrator has advanced my creative skills immensely as I now know how to create posters, collages etc. all digitally. For my FMP I am creating a film campaign based upon a fictional narrative I have devised. The film campaign will consist of the following: three film posters and two ad covers.
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Relating back to my experience on the course, I have also learnt more about frames per second, the 'onion skin' tool etc. when animating on Adobe Animate which has developed my technical understanding of 2D animation vastly as I now know how to make my own animation, this is useful in terms of filmmaking because I can tell stories through a digital art form. I have also learnt more about cinematography, understanding the different camera settings, lighting techniques, camera movements and framing. This has progressed my desire to pursue film and create a film campaign for my FMP, because I have knowledge in working with DSLR cameras and iPhone apps for photography. I have enjoyed filming/cinematography the most out of everything I have learnt over this course as I find the process of framing and lighting images/sets immersive and creative because it allows me to think about the emotions being portrayed through the images and how I can express them to an audience.
As I am restricted from the UK lockdown to create a short film with actors in person, I have decided that the best way to utilise my filmmaking skills is to make my idea one, which is a film campaign that consist of three posters, and two ad covers. Creating this idea combines both the practical and technical aspects of graphic design such as audience theory, colour theory, using editing programs such as Photoshop and InDesign etc. whilst also drawing in filmmaking aspect too such as camera techniques, lighting etc.
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Section two: Project Concept
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The concept for my final major project is to create a collection of three film posters and two ad covers for a film concept I have devise. I have chosen to create this type of media product because it will help push me towards developing my storytelling skills as I will have to form a narrative, characters arcs, a log-line and film title whilst contextualising and researching genre types, target audience theory, marketing etc. By developing myself as a visual storyteller, it will give more opportunity to expand upon my creative portfolio in my pursuit to work in the film industry. Creating this idea for my project will also allow me to focus on the responsibilities of a cinematographer more, as it is the role within film that appeals to me the most. For this idea I can finally give myself the chance to truly specify in two roles I feel comfortable in, photography and editing. I will have to change to photograph with different light sources, explore camera types/lens, grow my knowledge in programs for editing such as Photoshop and InDesign, which I haven't been fully able to do independently on a project before using my new knowledge on the medium. I am also confident in the initial plot I have devised for my collection of film posters and am able to show the narrative through a poster feasibly, unlike if I were trying to show it through a film, due to my limitations which I have spoken upon previously.
My aim is to shoot the photographs for my film campaign using a DSLR or iPhone, then I will digitally edit them in the program Photoshop and InDesign. I have not used InDesign before but believe this project will give me the opportunity to develop my hard skills using the software through my research. I have already researched into the cinematographic aspect of the importance within framing and lighting a shot/scene and how to convey emotion within photography. In my previous research I looked specifically at Roger Deakins and Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography and the different ways they light and frame a scene. I will use and reflect upon this research throughout my FMP to help remind myself of professional techniques which I could integrate into my own photography.
For my research I will also need to develop upon my Photoshop and InDesign skills, as this will allow me to utilise as much of the editing programs as I can in order to expand upon my hard skills and create 'professional' quality graphic designs. In terms of resources, I will have to watch a vast amount of tutorials, both written and visual (videos), I will try to purchase a book on Photoshop and InDesign to advance my techniques in order for me to broaden my skills, I will also purchase a book on photography and analyse different lighting and framing techniques to draw inspiration from. For my research I will also analyse the work of graphic designers which work on films, who I admire and see the different ways in which they convey the genre, tone, style etc. of their films. I also want to ensure I research lens types, both for a DSLR and for an iPhone, as a backup incase I may unable to photograph on a digital camera (depending upon the lockdown situation). Lastly, I will research bulb types and explore the various ways in which I can manipulate light using tools I have at home and cheap items I can purchase online e.g lamp shades, blankets etc. to block out or change the lighting in my shots.
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One of my ambitions for this project is to broaden my lighting and framing technique, this is important to me because I am interested in pursuing cinematography as a career and believe practical practise is key when developing my skills and general knowledge. Another ambition of mine to achieve with this project is ensuring I expand upon my editing skills using Photoshop, but particularly InDesign as I have never used it before and feel it will allow me to improve the quality of my campaign vastly as the program is used by professional graphic designers. However, my main ambition for this project is to make sure I create a film campaign that looks professional and is to an industry standard in terms of graphic design. I also want to be confident in knowing that my audience will be able to draw understanding of my film concept's themes, genres, narrative and tone from my posters and ads. To truly know if the project achieves these goals I will be creating a survey that gathers feedback from my audience on their opinion of the campaign, after presenting them my final project.
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Inspirations and Initial Concepts for Film Campaign
Another film that inspired the narrative for my film campaign was 'Mank', I liked how the protagonist in this film (who was also a writer like my protagonist) had a strong bond with his typist. I wanted to play upon this idea in my film concept and have the main character, Nic Alcott, become friends with his carer Lili. In the story I planned that they eventually write together as I felt this would give a more hopefulness to the story, and in the end someone who not only helped Nic physically and mentally, also helped him publish his story to the world. I thought this would be a clever way for me to incorporate visual concepts for my posters as I could use imagery of writers notes and have a silhouette of Lili shadowing Nic to reference their connection etc. Overall, I found this film inspiration useful in allowing me to develop the initial concept of the story which will be shown within my campaign and I also believe it is a feasible story to visually sculpt through my research into both the disease and my research of graphic designers, films etc. to draw visual influence from.
Title for my Film Campaign - 'Hippocampus'
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The title of my film 'Hippocampus' is the part of the brain that stores memory, I felt this was a clever way to reference the theme of memories in the film to my audience and it is also reflective of the protagonist's shrinking hippocampus due to his Alzheimer's.
In terms of my three poster designs, I will ensure each one has a different style and conveys a separate piece which makes up the storyline. Each poster will also be targeted at certain audience members to allow my film to be visually attractive to different age/gender groups and draw them in by showing certain aspects of the narrative which may resonate with their particular category the most.
Andrew Bannister - Graphic Designer
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A graphic designer whose creative work on movies I admire is Andrew Bannister. I have been particularly inspired by Bannister's use of colour, as in each of his poster designs there is a perfect balance between the different shades he uses in his typography and imagery, and together they either merge with one another or strikingly oppose each other, but always manage to capture the viewer's attention. After reflecting upon Bannister's colour work, it has given me the idea to practise layering text over different backgrounds and textures for my visual designs, as this will help me see which colours compliment or oppose each other and what feelings they reflect.
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Karine Savard - Graphic Designer
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Karine Savard is one of my favourite graphic designers, this is because I love the ways she isolates colour in the background of her movie poster designs, whilst also placing that same colour in the small details of the subject e.g their clothing, makeup etc. I feel this technique is very effective in capturing the audiences eyes, immersing them in the poster. For my film campaign I would like to experiment with Savard's stylisation of colour. One of the ways in which I could create this is by having a photograph of my protagonist staring in his own reflection through a close up mirror, and match the colour of his eyes to the titled text in the poster or ad.
Josef Muller-Brockmann - Graphic Designer
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A graphic designer whose minimalist style inspires me is Josef Muller-Brockmann. I particularly admire his work on theatre production posters for the Zurich Town Hall in Switzerland, as I feel their simplicity, symmetry and structure in contrast with his use of complementary colours create an emotive visuals that immerse the viewer into a state of comfort and confusion. I liked the subtle psychedelic feel his poster designs gave off. Brockmann's style has inspired me to try depict a similar minimalist approach towards my typography by experimenting with double exposure effects in my film campaign to emulate the feeling of uncertainty the protagonist in my film feels due to his Alzheimer's.
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Arim Hofman - Graphic Designer
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Another Swiss graphic designer who had a minimalist style that inspires me is Arim Hofmann. I am very fond of his poster designs for theatre productions as much like Brockmann they capture a simplicity and vulnerability to them. For me, one of the reasons I admire Hofman's work is his used design layout, his typography and image placement give the audience space to focus on either one instead of cluttering the image with lots of effects and colours. Hofman's design layout has inspired me to make sure I create space between my subject and text for all my designs, his work has made me aware of the importance to give your viewer space to take in all the visuals instead of over complicating the visual which can distract the audience from the meaning and symbolism depicted in the art.
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Poster one - Character
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Target audience: Elderly Men, Drama Genre fans, Arthouse film followers
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For poster one I envision a black and white portrait visual of the protagonist looking directly at the camera, this style of poster is known as a 'character poster'. To reveal more of the narrative to the audience I would have the character's face peeling into cracks, signifying his loss of memory and hinting towards his Alzheimer's. The poster would also include a subtle scribbled dates in the background which would signify and hint towards the character's faded vision of memories as he recalls them through his writing. This initial poster design exposes the audience to the character's mental state and symbolises the key tragedy in the narrative, being his diagnosis and eventual death.
The character poster would be targeted to the more mature and elder male audience members as it would express the emotions of anguish and worry from a male's perspective, which help echo the dramatic thematic tone of the film, making it more enticing to older male audiences as they could find reliability in the struggle of loosing memory or longing for a simpler time, as seen in the poster. This stylised character poster would also attract more arthouse film followers as it would capture the simple yet somewhat experimental look of which they would be drawn to.
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Poster two - Minimalist
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Target audience: Young adults, Artists, Experimental Genre fans
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For poster two I envision an illustrated low angled staircase with black ink dripping down it. This style of poster is known as a 'minimalist poster'. This visual is symbolic of two parts of the storyline, the first being the protagonist's fate to death shown in the 'staircase' heaven concept and the second symbolism is shown through the ink, as it reflects how as the character faces death he also faces his past and it mirrors his want to reiterate his memories through his writing, which is all depicted through the ink. The poster will also be in black and white to also reflect the themes of life and death // light and darkness explored throughout storyline.
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The minimalist poster would most likely be targeted at younger adult audiences as its illustrated and mysterious look would be alluring to inquisitive and artistic young adults. Although my film concept for my posters is not experimental this poster type would attract audience members who enjoy experimental and more abstract genre films as the style and symbolism used in my minimalist poster depicts a similar mystifying tone seen in those genres.
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Poster three - Iconography
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Target audience: Youth and Elderly, Parents, Drama Genre // 'Cycle of life' theme fans
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For my third film poster I envision a hand pressing against glass and within it a shadowed visual of a baby's hand will be shown inside. The title of the film will be the main focus on this poster and it will be stated/positioned above the visual in a bold font and inside each lettered word will be stack of bookshelf. This type of film poster is known as an 'iconography poster'. The visuals of a child's in the shadow of an adult hand reflects the narrative's focus on the protagonist's search and recollection of his life. The stacked bookshelves shown within the wording of the title convey to the audience that the film explores the themes of writing and literature.
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The typography poster would most likely be targeted at young and elder audiences because it focuses on both 'life and death' which is universally relatable for people of most ages. It is also dramatic in tone and would attract fans who admire the drama genre and the 'cycle of life' theme. Readers and writers would also be allured by this iconography poster through its title as it will be made up of books, referencing the protagonist's love for writing and reading. It also subtle hints towards the protagonist writing a book about his life when symbolising the details of the novels and his hand prints.
Concept designs
POSTER ONE INSPIRATION
POSTER TWO INSPIRATION
POSTER THREE INSPIRATION
Theoretical and Contextual Theory
In order for me to develop my film campaign, I need to research into my how I will market my film by devising a target audience. I will also need to ensure I develop my idea by creating a title for my 'film concept' and research into creating film posters and ads covers by reading, watching etc. through sources to help me gather informative techniques on crafting and designing them.
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Colour Theory
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Source, Article - https://authorityalchemy.com/how-to-use-movie-poster-psychology-in-your-marketing/
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Harvard Reference - Brian Ainsley Horn. (2015). 'How To Use "Movie Poster Psychology" In Your Marketing'. Authority Alchemy.
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To gather more knowledge on colour theory and its importance within advertising, I delved into the psychology of marketing films in graphic deigns and how to attract an audience. The source I have referenced above was of an article that stated the ways in which colour theory is important when taking into account the storytelling of your design. The author explained how you as the creator must have to be certain that each colour symbolises something to the viewer/audience, luring them in. In this article the author stated how the creator should "Study colours and what they mean to determine what colours best communicates what you are trying to say". The author then continued by stating the different colours and their typical symbolism, which I have abbreviated below:
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Blue - represents a cool tone and communicates trustworthiness.
Yellow - represents power.
Green - represents both warmth and environmental goodwill.
Purple - represents royalty and elegance.
Gold - represents elegance and prestigiousness.
Orange - represents a cool tone, with energy and fun.
Brown - represents earthly tone and relaxation.
Black - represents drama and altered moods.
Red - represents power and attentiveness.
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After read the article, I reflected upon the colour theory points and began to imagine the graphic designs of my film campaign to be in black, grey and blue colours as I felt they would work well together because each of them have connotations and symbolise dramatic tones whilst holding a sense of melancholy and trust in them, mimicking the style of my film concept. Overall, this source was quite useful as it helped me reflect upon the ways I need to devise my colour palettes and schemes for my graphic designs, to ensure they depict an accurate representation of both the tone and style of my film concept.
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Evaluation // Analysis
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To help me gather a broader range and understanding of audience's emotional interpretation of colour within images, I edited (using my iPhone) an image I took of dead leaves hanging off a red brick wall. The image itself is quite bleak, however I colour graded three versions of it and asked two of my peers what tones they drew from each version.
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Peer one
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For version one they thought it captured a 'summery and comforting atmosphere'.
For version two they thought it captured a 'cold and melancholy tone'.
For version three they thought it captured a 'nostalgic and haunting tone'.
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Peer two
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For version one they thought it captured a 'calming and warmth tone'.
For version two they thought it captured an 'isolated and disconnected feeling'.
For version three they thought it captured the feeling of an 'old period lost in time'.
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After gathering the emotional interpretations of colour in my images from my two peers, I now know that the stereotyped 'colour theory' is very prevalent in people's connotations and perceptions of colour e.g blue is sad and orange is youthful etc. Which therefore aids my decision to use black, blue and grey colours in my film posters, as the primary research I collected communicates to me that the majority of audiences interpret the feelings of hopelessness, longing and nostalgia from those colours, which is important to me as I want my designs to depict those emotions as they are reflective of the narrative of my film and the protagonist's mental state too.
VERSION ONE
VERSION TWO
VERSION THREE
Audience Theory
Source, Blog - https://corbytechmedia.weebly.com/gcse-blumler--katz.html
Harvard Reference - [ANONYMOUS]. N/A. 'GCSE Blumer & Klatz'. Corby Tech Media.
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To understand more about the theoretical practise of advertising a film campaign to an audience, I researched into the following theories, 'Uses and Gratification', 'Marxist' and 'Pluralist'. The Uses and Gratification theory was devised by Blumer and Katz who believed that "audiences actively decided what they want to watch/play/read", and thought media products were used to gratify their needs. The two theorists devised four main gratifications which were:
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Information (surveillance) - Educate ourselves about the world and society e.g newspapers.
Entertainment (escapism) - Seek escapism from reality or to pass time e.g films.
Personal identity - We enjoy media texts which we identify with in some way e.g soaps with 'real-life' characters.
Social Interaction - We seek social interaction e.g social media.
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Although the 'Uses and Gratification' theory does not directly mention graphic design, it does link to target audience study and it has helped me reflect upon how I need to make my film concept and campaign relevant on both 'entertainment' and 'personal identity' gratifications. To do this I will need to craft my designs in a way that ensures my audience can find both escapism, relatability and empathy within my film campaign. I will also need to expand upon my audience theory research and learn the convections of audience types who will be most drawn in by my film's plot, as this will help me craft and direct my campaign to a target audience. Overall I found this source useful as it encouraged me to look at the ways in which I need to craft my designs, in order to connect my audience on an emotional level.
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Source, Presentation - https://www.slideshare.net/EmmaBuckleyASMedia/film-poster-and-review-target-audience
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Harvard Reference - Emma Buckley. 2017. 'Film Poster and Review & Target Audience'. Slide Share.
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In the presentation I referenced above, the author stated how 'Marxist theory' on film posters was to form a "presentation of the obsessive character with a blank/negative facial expression", as it "shows that audiences are ruled by dominant ideology and that those who are struggling mentally are deemed interesting and controversial". Overall I found this statement on Marxist's theory very useful as it directly linked towards film posters and their way of connecting an audience. After reflecting upon his theory, I realised it encapsulates the exact depiction of what I imagined for my character poster, as not only can the audience be drawn in by a character who seems to be mentally vulnerable, but they can also find reliability in it too.
The same presentation also mentioned the 'Pluralist' theory and how "society can reject and accept ideologies in a liberal way by having the emotion being shown in the poster through facial expressions". Overall I found this statement quite vague and was unsure of how to interpret it's meaning and how to make it relevant to my audience theory and developed idea. However, I did find this source useful as a whole as it gave me more insight into theoretical practise within film campaign and how I think about interpreting emotion through the characters within my visuals.
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Primary audience & Secondary audience
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The primary audience for my film campaign is aimed at middle aged to elderly adults who enjoy films within the drama genre and find comfort in heavy weighted narratives that scope through the themes of memory, illness and time. The campaign will be engaging for this audience type as they will recognise the genre and theme convections through the visuals layout, style, framing and lighting shown in my posters and ads. The secondary audience of my film campaign is aimed at writers and readers who enjoy realism and dark toned narratives. The campaign will be engaging for this audience type as each of the ads and posters will incorporate a reference towards literature. The realism element will be depicted through the minimalistic stripped back style of my designs.
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To categories my target audience I have created a demographic chart and psychographic chart of my audience to break down clearly my initial direction towards who I am marketing my film campaign to.
Section three: Evaluation
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Evaluation & COVID-19 Impact
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In terms of my evaluation process for my FMP, I will be recording my reflections on my progression and feedback by writing diaries after each day to document the tasks I have completed and evaluate how helpful they were towards the completion of my project. I will record this information in a written form and publish it on the diary page on this website. The presentation of these evaluations will also include visual footage/content to give evidence of my development, e.g by taking screenshots of my production process, create a time lapse of the editing process etc. After I have completed the project, I will write up a full evaluation reflecting upon my whole production by discussing the negatives and positives, by understanding the ways in which I can improve upon my creative output in order for me to learn from my mistakes and apply my new knowledge towards future projects.
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Reflecting upon the challenges of which the COVID-19 lockdown has brought upon my creative process, I believe it has very much made things harder in terms of practicality. A key example of this is the limitation I face to accessing equipment, such as loaning cameras, tripods, lighting and sound gear etc. I am also limited when collaborating with people in person, I do not like working virtually I find it limits me mentally as I like to be in the moment and explore different working environments rather than being confined in one room and deal with connection issues etc. However, I am able to overcome this issue as I am privileged because I have an iPhone to shoot photographs on. I also have access to the Adobe Cloud Suite and can independently form creative projects, such as creating graphic designs from my home. A benefit which I find the lockdown has brought me, is helping me progress my independent skills, such as editing on programs, as I have had more time to focus on my hard skills and explore new styles and ways of working through this lockdown period.
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Section four: Strategies
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For my FMP I want to create a film concept and convey it through a film campaign consisting of three posters and two ad covers, all of which would be promoted online. To break down the strategies I will need in order to succeed in this project I have listed them into the following stages of, pre-production, production and post-production.
Pre-production
In pre-production one of the strategies I need to build upon is my pitch skills as I will have to practise my communication tactics when proposing my ideas, narrative and product to an audience. Another strategy I need to develop is my organisational preparations e.g I will check if I am able loan a DSLR camera from school and use my iPhone as back up, I will also need ensure I research lamps and purchase ones which give off my desired lighting effect. In order for me to develop my strategy towards solidifying my graphic design ideas, I shall research the following:
- Photographers and graphic designers for inspiration
- Design mood-boards and colour schemes for text, grades, backgrounds etc.
- Watch and follow tutorials//read articles on editing using Photoshop and InDesign
- Practise using different layouts and framings of my posters and ads
- Research font styles and their contextual meaning
- Sketch and redraft visual concepts
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Production
Once I have completed my pre-production, the next strategy I need to develop is my practical process and focus heavily on organising my time schedule by noting down each day the tasks I have completed. During this period I will photograph the images for my film campaign and gather feedback from peers and my supervisor to see how I could improve upon my framing and lighting technique.
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Post-Production
The next strategy I need to develop is my redrafting and review process, after each edit of my graphic designs using Photoshop and InDesign, I will need to reflect upon how I could improve upon them and allow myself time to experiment and develop my visuals as I go along. I will need to ensure I schedule peer and mentor feedback throughout so I can see my designs from another perspective and understand how I can improve my project as a whole.
Section five: Action Plan and Timetable
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The timetable below lists my pre production, production and post-production schedule of my project. I created this to help me stay on track of my deadlines and ensure I complete this project to the best of my abilities. I have broken it down into dates, tasks and deadlines to help me process the time periods of which each section needs to be complete by.
