Poster Research/ tutorial

To begin research into our posters we had a tutorial/workshop with the technition, Sophie, during this workshop she taught us the basics of photoshop which is the application we will be using for our posters. With simple editing I created this poster which is an attempt at replicating the actual 'Brighton Rock' poster (shown below). It isnt the perfect replica but as a first attempt I am proud of my outcome due to it being the first time I have used photoshop in this way, it gives me confidence for when it comes to creating my own poster as I picked up the skills easily.

Poster Analysis- Mary Last Seen

     Mary Last Seen-Analysis

A young woman embarks on a road trip with her boyfriend to a place he promises will be beautiful and peaceful. But a series of strange events occur on their journey, and it becomes clear that their relationship is not what she thinks and their destination is not what was promised.

Through elements of media language it is evident there are some clear distinctions between the two previous examples. In this particular text we can see two contrasting images from two different settings, an approach neither Chief nor Must Peeter conveyed. The first image conveys two individuals, male and female portraying intimate and passionate emotions towards each other, connoting an intense and infatuating atmosphere. However due to other aspects of media language the relationship appears to be a facade, revealing a darker meaning and impression behind their expressed emotions. For example the low key yellow lighting on the decor denotes an urban motel or hotel environment, somewhere the couple do not live permanently. This is supported further by the decor its self, on the wall is an area where a mirror would usually be, however it appears to have been ripped or removed from the wall, implying that people have been before them, and is in fact public accommodation. In the second image we can see a male character elevated from the ground, although there is no way to clarify a clear link to the male character in the first image as we have no way of observing any facial expressions, it is most likely-based on the synopsis- that it is in fact the same person. The dark and bleak setting of a grey sky helps to support a dark unexpected secret behind the the relationship displayed in the first image. One possible connotation of the levitated male character could be that he symbolises exclusion and insulation from society and more importantly his relationship. From observing the text it appears that the sequence represents a male and female demographic, possibly targeting couples who admire a dark twist to their entertainment and therefore placing the target audience in a young adult band i.e 18-25 years old. From analysing the media language in more detail the sequence appears to fall into the thriller/drama/independent genre.

The title and accreditations presentation is unorthodox and deviates from other short film posters. For example critic reviews and film associations aren't displayed on this particular poster, with the exception of a Sun dance Film Festival award located in the top left corner of the poster. The titling its self is a lot smaller in terms of font size in comparison to 'Chief' and 'Must Peeter', the designer has decided to display a simple block text font contrasting red and black between three words. One possible meaning behind this could be a representation of male and female.

Another aspect to take into consideration is the composure of the elevated male figure, he is centred in the middle of the title, again supporting the connotation that he is divided from the relationship with the female character as they both have conflicting personalities.

Poster Analysis- 'Must Peeter'

'Must Peeter' follows the story of an individual called Peter. Peter and his wife are having dinner with friends in a restaurant. They have not quarrelled for two weeks. A new record could be in the making. A trivial argument soon grows into a quarrel and the night brings morbid entertainment into their relationship.

through elements of media language, this poster portrays a dark and sinister atmosphere. The camera angle is at a low angle giving the impression that the audience is looking up at the character and in turn connoting an autocratic power about Peter. The lighting in this poster also further supports an aery environment by casting shadows on both the setting and the facial expressions of Peter, which overall denotes a menacing image. One significant prop in the text is the cigarette placed in Peter's mouth which connotes an impulsive and addictive personality, revealing that the character is in fact someone who lives their lifestyle on the edge. From analysing the previous poster 'Chief' it is is evident that there are some similarities in terms of representation. Like 'Chief', 'Must Peeter' conveys only one male character at the centre of the text, implying that the sequence represents, again a elder male demographic, aged 20-40 years old. Which therefore means the target audience holds a similar market. From analysing the text from a perspective of someone who hasn't yet observed the short film, it appears to fall into a Thriller/Drama genre, this is supported further by the media language discussed above.

Unlike 'Chief', the titling for 'Must Peeter' takes a different approach both in terms of font style, font size and composition in the frame. The font is an unusual block serif sans font connoting a vintage feeling, accompanied by the characters costume it is quite possible the sequence is based in the 1970's. The size conveys an element of simplicity but yet bold power at the same time, which is a contrasting difference to 'Chief'.

Poster Analysis - 'Wild Tales' - Amy Sharp

Wild Tales

Conventions:

• Main images - sectioned, telling a story?
• Block of credits 
• Critics reviews 
• 
  

Media Language:
The layout of this poster is different from most you see, this may be due to it being a foreign independant film however it also may be due to its possible meaning. The 6 sections could show a story/journey, they are clearly clips from the film and due to each section having a different actor/s it is highly likely that they are separate stories. Dispite the emotions in facial expressions the poster remains bright and cheerful, the white background brings out the light in the images and highlights the impact of the black text. 

Narrative:
As said above, the main image/s show various characters in vastly different settings suggesting the narrative is one based on various different stories that overall connect to a singular one. The title 'Wild Tales' also suggests this, various 'wild' stories and complete one 'tale'. From looking at the images the bottom photo is clearly a wedding due to mise en scene, primarily costume, and is the largest photo suggesting it is the main story line. The others however aren't so clear giving the audience mystery the only hints are the setting in the backgrounds, facial expressions and one quote from a review in bold "apocalyptic revenge". 

Genre:
By looking at the critics reviews:
-"tales of apocalyptic revenge. The years most fearlessly funny film"
-"Hilarious! Outrageous!"
From these it is clear the film is a comedy but otherwise looking at the pictures it isn't as clear, with the image alone it seems to be a romance or action based film. This could be correct however from the poster it is not clear. 

Audience:
The target audience for this film would be broad, however I think it is most popular with 18-25year olds due to the narrative and age range of the actors. It is also a foreign film therefore it is less likely a younger audience would be appealed by this film. It is technically rated a 15 however I don't think this film would appeal to this age.

Representation:
There is no negative representation shown in this poster, its purpose is to show the varying story lines. 

Poster Analysis - 'Sight' - Amy Sharp

Sight

Conventions:

• Main image - centered
• Title - Text larger than all other 
• Actors 
• Centered - all material is centered 

Media Language:
It is immediately clear that this short film is about eye sight this is because:

• The title - it is clear with its point 
• The image - a close up of a male character (we can assume he is the main)
• The editing in his eyes suggest something that is non-human in him
• The image - is blurred slightly in areas, signifying the change or problem in eye sight. 

The title itself matches the glow in the eyes to clearly, the cleanliness of the typography suggests sci-fi, it is placed on his forehead because it is 'dead space' meaning it is not important to the message of the poster - in this specific one the focus is on the eyes. The image is purposefully blurred to make link with the narrative, the lighting is low key and mirrors the lighting of the title. All of the text is centered, the two actors are centered either side of the title and the producers/directors are centered at the top. His eyes are the most important aspect of the poster, they look directly at the audience to be unsettling but to draw attention. The editing in the pupils have a futuristic feel linking to the genre - almost a camera lense in the eye. The colour is mainly blues and black, the titles prominent blue would be the reason for the lightly blue lighting along with the black background to emphasise the face and keep attention drawn onto the eyes. 

Representation:
It is difficult to determine representation with a close up, you can see he is in his mid 30s possible 40s so would be mature and independent. The collar of his suit is visible suggesting he is middle-higher class. 

Genre:
It is clear that this short film has a futuristic narrative and due to this it would be in the sci-fi genre. 

Poster Analysis- 'Chief'

It's the place you go if your own island isn’t big enough. It's the place you go to disappear. Semu Fatutoa was once a highly ranked Samoan Chief. Technically, he still is; the tattoos shrouding his legs are immutable proof of the pain he endured to earn his title. But those tattoos cost him something else: His daughter, nine year old Aveolela, drowned in the ocean on the day Semu received the tattoos. Weakened by the gruelling ceremony, he lacked the strength to swim out to save her. No one blamed him for her death, but Semu blamed the tattoos. Rather than assume his chiefly duties, he fled. Two years later and thousands of miles from home, Semu is the only cab driver in Honolulu with the rank of Chief. He ferries tourists and Japanese businessmen to and from the airport. He drives in circles, keeps his legs covered, and slowly forgets his old life. But his old life wants him back. First, there is the mysterious Samoan staking out his apartment in Waikiki, calling him on the phone, following him home from the beach. Then there are the news reports: An earthquake on the Big Island threatens to unleash a tsunami on the city of Honolulu; anyone with any sense is heading for higher ground. Probably the Chief would go, too, except for the eight year-old Hawaiian girl wandering the city in her bathing suit. She has crossed his path twice today, and both times he let her go. But now the girl's intrusion into his sequestered life begins to feel to Semu like a message. A calling. Any minute now, these streets will be silenced by a wall of water. Semu begins to realise that it's high time he started living up to his title.


Through elements of media language we get the impression that the theme has a native and primitive atmosphere and is evidently not stereotypically based in an urban environment. This is supported further with the main protagonist placed waist hight in an ocean, he is wearing a native costume, revealing a bare torso allowing his necklace to be shown, this further supports the primitive and native atmosphere constructed by the poster. From researching other similar short film posters there appears to be a pattern in the use of at least two different photographs converging to form one. For example 'Brighton Rock' displays two possibly three contrasting photos merged to make a striking final image. The 'Chief' poster appears to have applied only one photo, which in turn constructs a stronger sense of reality and eliminates the hyper-real aspect that many other film posters seem to convey. From analysing the synopsis and the text, 'Chief' represents the male demographic, as the primary character is a male and appears to be the soul of the short film, this is demonstrated through the text in the poster and the synopsis. The unusual and unorthodox plot to the story places the sequence in an independent, drama genre which is not uncommon amongst short film sequences as the are known for deferring away from iconic Hollywood film narratives. From the evidence provided above 'Chief's' target audience is aimed at the elder adult band, 20-40 years of age and predominately male.

The title in this text is a typical example of symmetrical alignment. We can see two equal opposing gaps between the page margin and the text, giving a sharp and professional feel for the viewer. the font size is far from abnormal, however it is larger than most of the posters I have researched. The font type is unusual and has a significant influence on the over all impression of the text, implicating, again, a native and uncivilised culture, its sharp serif sans font connotes an old, outmoded atmosphere to the audience.

Poster Analysis - "Appropriate Behaviour" - Amy Sharp

Appropriate Behaviour 

Conventions:

• Title - larger than all other text
• Critics reviews
• Main image
• Block of credits 
• Release date

Media Language:

The main image for this film shows the setting as well as the assumed main character. The lighting is low key but isn't for a thriller genre, its purpose is let the light focus on the upper half of the character. Her facial expression is sad and the setting is a bathroom, which together contrast with the title, her youthful look suggests she is facing adulthood and due to her facial expression she may not being dealing with it as well as expected.

Narrative:
The critics reviews suggest an "offbeat comedy" therefore it is likely to be about this girls life in a comedic view point. The title "appropriate behaviour" it suggests that she is possibly transitioning into adulthood and how her behaviour will have to change, the age of the character looks around 20 and looking at the setting she is possibly out partying and has realised her attitude needs to change. 

Genre:
As clearly stated in the reviews:
-"Audacious, funny and unique"
-"A witty offbeat comedy" 
This isn't particularly apparent alone in the poster, the emotions and low key lighting of the poster don't come under the typical conventions of comedy, suggesting there is a darker/sadder side to the comedy. 

Representation:
I wouldn't say she is represented negatively simply because it is only the environment/setting that is negative. Her costume is respectable and isn't flaunted instead she is covered, the setting is a bathroom therefore it is a negatively per-sieved setting for her to be in for the main poster as its a representation of the film. However, I do not know the actual plot only what I can assume so this may represent the humour of the film perfectly.

Audience:

Poster Analysis - 'Fly Away' - Joe Blissett

'Fly Away'

Media Language/Mise-en-scene
From first viewings of the film poster, a lot stands out in terms of trying to portray to the audience what the film is about. Firstly, the colour of the image symbolises to the audience that the film will likely follow a happy, warm narrative, one that families will be stereotypically associated with. Looking at the mise-en-scene from the background, we can determine that the film may be set initially in a park, and more precisely the swings in the park. We know this as the swing takes up half of the shot, with the other half taken by a mid shot of a teenage girl looking up at the sky. From the way she is dressed we can tell that the film is likely to be aimed towards girls however it could also attract families. The lighting which is used in the background highlights the emphasis that the scene is meant to be in a happy scenario and that all the emotions associated with it are positive. 

In terms of context, the title is centred neatly at the top of the poster coloured in white connoting the idea of peace, as well as also the fact that the font is particularly small creating the idea that the film is fairly simple. 

Representation 
When talking about representation in this poster, what immediately strikes me is the fact that the girl is aged in her teenage years, yet still wears the colour pink (something that young girls would be more associated with) as well as the fact that she is in a children's park, again appearing younger than her age. This could potentially suggest that she has some sort of disability, meaning she acts younger than she is. This could also explain the title of the film as she wants to keep swinging on the swing until she can 'fly away', connoting the fact that she enjoys going on the swing. It looks as if the character would be from a middle class background and this can be suggested from her clothing as well as her environment, however due to the fact that she may have a disability, her parents or carers could still have large amounts of money in order to care for her (however this could still mean that she is from a middle class background). 

Audience
Like I mentioned in the opening paragraph, it seems that this film could be predominately aimed towards families, preferably ones that have young children or children that would be seen as similar to the characters in the film. Due to the fact that the film is likely to follow a warm-hearted feel to it, it will likely be rated either at a 'U' or 'PG', however I only believe it could be a 'PG' as any children watching it may not understands certain aspects of the film (especially if the character in the film did have a disability) and so would need parent guidance in order to explain certain parts of the film.  

Narrative 
The narrative of the film will likely follow a linear narrative as it is particularly aimed towards younger children so in order for them to fully understand what happens in the film, a nice and simple 'start-to-end' film will fully achieve this. 
When analysing the film poster, it looks as if the character goes on a journey to achieve her 'goal' of flying away; a basic literal term to describe some freedom. However when looking at the sub-heading below the title (when love means letting go) it suggests that at some point she has to let go of this dream; also describing the fact that at some point she has to let go of the swings. This is a very clever technique that I believe would be good to use when doing our film poster.

Genre 
It seems as if the genre of the film follows most likely to one of either family or adventure. These could of course be converged together to create a sub-genre however this could make it unclear to the audience. 

Poster Analysis - 'A Church of Cards' - Amy Sharp

A Church of Cards

Conventions:

• The text of the title is larger than all other text.
• main image - kept away from majority of the text.
• The secondary image reveals the plot/setting/scenario of/in the short film.
• block of credits.

Narrative:

It is clearly shown in the poster a competition related to poker or another casino game is the basic plot of the film, this is due to the set up in the lower half of the main image. The use of separating the image into individual sections for each actor with varying facial expressions portrays the idea of a competition. They are not placed together taking away the possibility of a team, along with the facial expressions showing that characters persona. The title 'A Church of Cards' is only initially significant through the word 'cards' due to the assumed casino setting, the idea of a 'Church' is religious therefore could be a possible hint to that being a part of the narrative although through the poster that is not confirmed.

Representation:

Each character has their own representation through being sectioned on the poster. None of the characters look at the camera but at each other showing the competition and suspicion that is shown in these types of games. All four men are in suits showing a formal theme, the woman looks to be smartly dressed but not in a seductive matter, which is less common in casino based films, showing her almost as an equal to the male characters - she is just as serious. 

Genre:

The genre isn't specifically clear in the poster, however it has aspects of a thriller through the dark background and separation.

Audience:

From the age of the characters - 40 to 50 years old - the target audience would be around that age or just younger 35-50years old. This is also due to the narrative of the short film, the poker seen would be more familiar with this age group.

Media Language:

In this film poster nothing is revealed to an extent, we are given little to process in terms of the films narrative/intentions. The camera work and editing of the poster is used to create a divide between the characters, each having their own frame and own personality showing off their differences. The only link made is the eye contact, even though there is no eye line match between the characters it is clear they are all aware of one another through the way they have been placed: the two males at either end are looking inward towards the other characters, and the other three are looking in different directions - each character has someone looking at them. The editing shown with the poker set up bring the context into the facial expressions along with the title 'A church of Cards' the link is clear. The lighting is low key however each character has a spotlight to highlight their facial expressions, the black background with white text contrasts and emphasises not only the title but the framing also. The title itself becomes almost unrelated, there is no obvious reason for the typography, along with what I mentioned earlier about the meaning of the title.

Poster Analysis - 'Suspicion' - Joe Blissett

'Suspicion' 

Media Language/Mise-en-scene
From the first looks of the film poster a lot can be determined in terms of the genre and target audience the film is trying to portray. Firstly, looking at the camerawork, as the main image is centred to the left hand side of the shot, the audience gains an understanding that it is one of the main emphasis' behind the film alongside the staircase on the right hand side. Although there is not much to comment on in terms of the costume any characters are wearing, we can determine from just the arm in the shot that the person holding the tray which holds the glass in from a wealthy background, and this can be justified from the fact that he seems to be wearing a suit; an item of clothing that is stereotypically associated with a wealthy demographic. In terms of colour, a lot can be said about what it portrays in terms of the film and its genre. And the majority of the image is toned down to a black and white effect, it whole-heartily emphasises the glass as the main feature of the film as the glass is highlighted in white. By having this effect, it also drags the focus point away from the staircase a little, taking more emphasis away from it slightly, making the audience aware that even though it'll play some sort of important part in the film, it is not the most important feature that the audience needs to know about in understanding the film. Looking at the typography now and because the text is in a dark red, it could perhaps connote to the audience that a death may take part in the film as the colour red can be associated with blood, which is then consequently associated with death. All of the features I have recently been focusing on, all portray the thriller genre type, and so this is why I believe the film is trying to follow the typical conventions of that genre. This can also be backed up by the fact the title 'Suspicion', portrays the idea that something weird or unexpected is likely to happen during the film. 

Representation 
The overall representation that I believe the film makers are trying to portray is the fact there can always be a sinister side behind the wealth of some people, and that because they predominately have the overwhelming power they can determine what happens to somebody who is perhaps lower than them economically or by social class. Due to the fact that the glass is emphasised the most, and that the title suggests some sort of unexpected occurrences, we as the audience can assume that the glass would be used for poisoning someone upstairs (hence why the staircase is used in the background), and that it may be at a restaurant or somewhere wealthy enough for there to be waiters serving people drinks. We can assume that it is a poisoning, as (like I said before) the glass is the emphasis of the image, however because of the way the colours are in black or white, it connotes death or fear, something that would be associated with a thriller, and so this would make it all tie in well together. However apart from this, we can also notice at how at the top of the stairs, the walls appear to be a little worn down suggesting that perhaps it is not something public such as a restaurant, but it is in fact a private home that has waiters serving people, creating the idea that something mysterious may occur during the film, something that the audience will not be immediately aware of. 

Audience
From analysing this film poster I can have a few assumptions of who this is trying to target. Due to the fact that it is likely to be a thriller genre type, the assumption is that audiences above the age of 16 will be interested in watching the film, however because of the fact it looks as if the poisoning may take place in an alcoholic drink, it could suggest that it is infact aiming the film to audiences over the age of 18. But, however, I wouldn't personally label this film as being an 18 age rated film as it doesn't seem to contain any sexual scenes or violent activity, suggesting that it is more likely to follow a 15 age rating.

Narrative 
By analysing the poster, not a lot can be determined in terms of how the narrative of the film plays out, however due to the fact that the audience can assume that there is a death at some point in the film, it could possibly suggest that it is a linear narrative as the audience would have to gain a thorough understanding of who that character was before being killed off, otherwise the audience may become confused and get the wrong end of the stick.

Genre
Like I mentioned in the first paragraph, it seems as if this film follows the genre type of a thriller. This is because of the way the colours portray ideas of death or fear as well as the fact that the glass is the main focus point that the audience gets when first viewing the poster (hinting at a poisoning). Alongside this, the title could also give it away, as it gives the connotations that something mysterious will likely occur throughout and that the audience is likely to face something unexpected that may shock them.

Poster Analysis - 'Illegal Activity' - Joe Blissett

'Illegal Activity' 

Media Language/Mise-en-scene

From first viewing this film poster, a lot can be determined in terms of target audience as well as genre of the film. Firstly due to the fact that the poster shows a young teenage boy overlaid onto a dark black and grey background (colour), suggests that the film is probably aimed at audiences that are 17 and over, and with the likelihood that it is aimed more towards the male population instead of the female population. This could be connoted from the typography of the word 'illegal', bringing in stereotypical connotations that the person doing the illegal activity is the boy on the poster. This could be backed up further from the way the boy is in the centre of a long shot, with a bright light from the background emphasising the fact that he is the main character in the film. Looking deeper into the poster, a lot is revealed from the background images. Most notably the graffiti sprayed onto the garages and walls of the alley. This instantly tells the audience that the film is mainly about crime as well as the fact that the boy could be from a working class background. Now looking further at the boy's clothing (costume), a lot of stereotypical judgements can be made of the boy. Firstly because of the way he is wearing tracksuit bottoms, a hoody and a baseball cap, the audience assumes that the boy is from a minority background, this is also backed up from the way the boy's skin colour suggests that he could be from a ethnic minority background. The bag that he is holding also suggests to the audience that that is his equipment used when carrying out the 'illegal activity', hinting at possible theft. Finally when looking at the typography at the top of the poster (knowledge is power) the audience recognises that the boy obviously knows something that only few people know and so when it comes to doing the 'illegal activity', he gains some sort of power from it, either from friends or family. 

Representation
The overall meaning behind the film is shown in the representation of the poster. Like I said before, due to the fact that he looks as if he comes from a Afro-Caribbean background, it suggests that he could be economically different compared to the rest of the population, or perhaps his family are. From this it then leads to assumptions that he goes out of his way to steal things for his family to live on, this could be anything from food to money to technology. Because of the fact that we cannot see his facial expression, we cannot determine whether he is unhappy or not, however by looking at his posture we can determine that he is likely unhappy or angry; obviously by having the view of a facial expression would help justify this. From the iconography of the image, we can tell that the character is very lonely. This is highlighted by the fact that the streets that he is walking down are abandoned, and although this could be trying to say that he does the crimes when no one is about (during the night perhaps) I believe that the poster is actually trying to portray how the character feels inside his head and how perhaps he feels in comparison with the rest of society.

Audience
Due to the fact that there is no age certificate on the film poster, we can only assume who the film is aimed towards. However because of the fact that the film features the main role of a teenage boy and that the boy would do crimes to help himself or his family (things that the teenage demographic would be familiar with) I believe that this film would be age rated either a 12a or 15. I believe that it wouldn't be anything more than this as the poster does not give us any indication that any violence (or things similar) are a part of this film. 

Narrative 
By looking at the film poster we can determine that the narrative would likely follow a linear narrative (start to end). This is because the boy is trying to get to the end of his families needs and so has to go on a journey to get there, however because of the fact that he looks as if he's half way through his journey, it could perhaps suggest that it is not a linear narrative. 

Genre
Like I said in the first paragraph, it seems as if this film is a thriller or maybe a action/adventure. This is because the boy seems to be on a journey and so will likely face troubling times ahead, as well as the fact that he is clearly doing things that are illegal, and so may get in trouble with gangs or the police. 
Finally a interesting point that I believe could be important in the film is the way the title looks very familiar to popular thriller/horror film 'Paranormal Activity', which could possibly suggest that weird or supernatural events may take place throughout the film, however I may be wrong.