Film Poster Research: Classic Examples

Film posters can become iconic images within pop culture and define the identity of a film. Film posters have developed over time and been influenced by classic examples such as the work of the artist who designed posters for "Gone With The Wind"(1939), "Jaws"(1975) and "Star Wars V:The Empire Strikes Back"(1980). Gone with the wind set the standard for ilm posters as a visual indication to the style of a film. The poster displays romance as the most dominant theme but shows that there is a also a thrilling, western setting to the film.

After the success of the "Gone With The Wind" poster the artist was asked to paint the poster for "The Empire Strikes Back" because the fim makers wanted to give the film a romantic undertone to draw in a female audience. This dramatic style of film poster has since dinished but it influences modern films, even being spoofed by Familly Guy.

    

Over time film posters have become more dependent on digital technology and photo editing software such as photoshop(apple). Posters are rarely painted by hand and are created by taking digital photos and imposing them over other images. This is a cheaper way of creating posters which does not require the technical skill of an artist. For example "Shirlock Holmes"(2009) was created by taking individual photos hich were placed over each other and imposed on a background. The individual posters can then be used as promotional images.

By Greg O'Sullivan

Film Poster Research: Conventions

Film poster research: Conventions

Most film posters share these common conventions (numbered accordingly):

1- Film Title: This has to stand out as it is the name of the film that the poster is promoting.

2- Name of the main star(s): Well-known actors easily attract interest as the audience may have seen them before in a similar genre film and big stars names on the poster promote the film as some people will watch a film just because a certain actor/acrtress is staring . EG: Bruce Willis is associated with action films (hostage, die hard) while Richard Gere is associated with love films ( pretty women, save the last dance)

3- Picture of the main star: By putting the most well-known star on the film poster, the movie shows-off the fame of the star as people will recognise them aswell as hinting to possible themes in the film.

4- Tagline: Film poster taglines are catchy and enticing short phrases. They are used to advertise and promote the movie and they also sum up the plot or key themese in the movie.

5- Billing Block: The billing block covers all information related to the making of the film aswell as all promoters and advertisers. In the billing block you will find all key-staff names however the text is very cramped to fit it all in such a small amount of space.

Film posters try to create an element of attraction to the audience, they draw people in and make the audience interested, the tagline usually creates some thought in the viewers mind and could persuade them to go and watch the film.

Some films which might not boast the biggest stars tend to opt for a single iconic image which also draws the audiences attention to the tagline. This leaves the audience thinking about the image and how its related to the film. The film ‘saw’ has become very well known for its original posters which convey the movie number as a image. EG 2 fingers connoting the film title ‘Saw 2’

A new convention in film posters are taking their film posters to the next level by using effective imagery which have a hidden meaning, these posters are very eye catching and move away from the typical conventions of putting the main star on the cover. 'The Descent' film poster shows a circle of bodies grouped up in a way to reveal a skull. The viewer however would be drawn into the poster by the skull before realising that infact it is just a group of girls. This also reveals the genre to the film as the skull signafies horror.

Filip Hazel

Short Films Research: Purpose

The purposes of a short film:
There are many different purposes as to why short films are being produced, however there are three main purposes: they can be for education, for promotion or for experimentation.

A short film can be used to give the audience of a mainstream film insight into the story line, if proven sucsessful it can opne oppertunities for directors and become a feature length film. An example of this is 'Alive in Joburg' a short film by Neil Blomkamp PUT LINK HERE. It was entered into film festivals and acted as a sort of 'pilot' for Blomkamp to be commissioned by major film studios to make the full length films 'Halo' and, in particular, 'District 9'.

Short films promote directors therefore enabling them to become well known and perhaps persue a career in film direction if they are sucesful enough to be commissioned for bigger film projects. Short films are often circulated at film festivals or increasingly these days, distributed via video sharing sites such as youtube/facebook/Bebo.

Through experimenting with producing short films, amature film makers are allowing themselves to improve their abilities in film making, it helps to develop thier skills in editing, producing and directing. As a result they are gaining experience through learning from mistakes when editing etc.

Through experimentation, the makers of a short film can promote themselves as well as educate themselves and others, all the while they provide entertainment. The typical circular or three part narrative that a short film can consist of, often leaves the audience with a new equilibrium in which can lead to much debate and discussion. As a result, short films succeed in their purpose; to stimulate discussion. Short films are constructed to present the viewer with an equilibrium, a disequilibrium, recognition (included in what as known as the five part structure) a new equilibruim and possibly a resolution (also part of the five part structure.) Therefore the film will consits of events that may not always be resolved, resulting in the film becoming a somewhat controversial discussion topic for the class room. In doing so, short films are fulfilling their purpose of being educational.

Short films differ massively from mainstream film because thery are cheap and easily made. while a mainstream film could take a long period of time to produce and would have mass amounts of money spent on it, a short film would be cheap and easy to produce. A mainstream film typically consists of well established celebrities and hollywood stars, a short film is a budgeted clip which sole purpose is to raise awareness about a certain issue/ generate a situation to the audience in which they can learn from. Mainstream film is broadcaseted worldwide and in cinema whereas short films are genreally used for young film makers to get their films into film festivals. Contemporary isses such as knife crime, bullying/ peer pressure may be typical themes that run through short films in which are shown in schools today as they are topical and relavant issues for students to discuss in citezenship.
The purpose of a short film can differ depending on the audience it is aimed at. When short films are aimed at teenagers aged 12 to 18, it is generally made to stimulate discussion about issues or to portray moral values that the students can then identify. However if the target audience is that of an older age group, the short films purpose is perhaps to leave the viewer' wanting more.'
Essentially they are made to entertain, short films are cheap and easy to make and easier to get into film festivals for student film makers.

Short Films Research: Potential Audiences

The funding of short films are more often than not limited and restrained, especially compared to mainstream feature length films. Mainly financed by either by the director ( but also often small production companies may fund the film as well, to promote the director thus the production company). Above all, the Public Service broadcasters, for instance, the BBC, who have a remit comprising education and information. Of which corresponds to the education section of the BBC's website and their programmes.

Short films are not widely distributed mainly due to to the intended purpose (corresponding to the audience) plus, the contrasting age demographics they are viewed by, the students at school, consumed in the educational environment to provoke stimulating discussions, within the Citizenship lesson. So that students can learn and develop a greater understanding of the the society outside of school, being better better prepared for the unexpected and difficult situations on the society outside the educational environment. On the other hand, the older age demographic, who have an interest in film. There is far less less limitations in terms of content of the film when producing with the target of the older age demographic.

Nonetheless, short films are increasingly making an impact on the internet, even I-Tunes now sells short film, but the impact is far greater on websites such as YouTube; an example if this is the film 'Panic Attack', the producer gained a $30 million Hollywood contract after his film gained mass attention on the website. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dadPWhEhVk)In addition, the social networking websites such as Myspace and Bebo provide greater chance of short films being noticed. Also, these websites provide the option of far greater implementation of experimenting with technical elements of film production, thus gaining a large public reaction learning whether to an extent it would good to imply these experimentations on a large scale on feedback given from the audience who viewed the short film.

The BBFC certificates would most definitely affect the potential audiences for short films as one key audience for short films is students, so if the BBFC certificates are above a 12 rating it begins to limit the age demographic, consequently losing potential viewers. Although, there is the older age demographic left, this is a far more narrow demographic than that of the students, it is much more easier to attract that particular audience than the students. As even outlined as one of the two guiding principles of BBFC is 'that works should be allowed to reach the widest audience that is appropriate for their theme and treatment'

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/downloads/pub/Guidelines/BBFC%20Classification%20Guidelines%202009.pdf

(page 6)

Overall, of the classifications the one which is the most appropriate is the '15' certificate. "For example, language at '15' can be ‘strong’ and ‘very strong’. Where relevant, the frequency with which the issue appears in the work is also indicated." Language is not the only factor to take into consideration with the BBFC certificate, also, discrimination, use of drugs and alcohol, horror, nudity, theme and violence.

The audience I intend to target is initially students but also towards the older age demographic, to reach as many viewers as possible. This may well be done via the promotion of the film, such as its poster.

Daniel Richards

Short Films Research: Conventions

Conventions of a short film


The film ‘Double Take’ by Stappard has themes of crime in Britain in the form of daylight robbery and conveys a message of ‘what goes around comes around’. The narrative structure of the film could be arguable however I would say it is linear however there are ‘flashbacks’ in the form of the thief viewing himself being filmed earlier in the day and ends as ‘open-ended’ as the audience is left to think what might of happened. The film starts with a shifty looking character looking around and has a very brief cut-in at the start to display the title ‘Double Take’. The film is very gritty which matches the theme and the setting is a dull town in an urban environment . The cinematography comprises of kinetic camera movement and we get the feeling that someone could be watching the protagonist and features close ups on important objects, such as the yard with the thrown-away bags, which the audience remember when the film finishes as the close-up makes them an important observation. When the protagonist gets home he plays the tape on the camera which he stole and the audience now sees a ‘flashback’ in the form of a first person view of the camera recording the protagonist and following him home. The audience are reminded that they’re watching the same thing as the protagonist as there is a border and a ‘REC’ icon showing the camera being played back. The film ends on a twist as the camera ‘flashback’ enters the thief’s house and walks upstairs and at this point the tape ends. The protagonists realises that someone’s upstairs and grabs a bat and runs upstairs, this is where the theme of the film ‘what goes around comes around’ comes into play as the protagonist becomes the victim. We then see a shot of man wearing leather gloves running with tape and the audience can make their own mind up with what happens next. The film cuts to the titles which are play over a score.



The film ‘Veronique’ directed by Patrik Bergh has a ‘coming of age’ theme showing a young boy with a over-active imagination fantasize about a girl and it displays emotional restraint. The narrative structure of the film is linear, as the audience see the boy take the bus each day, this is always in ‘chronological order’ and the day being titled at the bottom of the screen. The narrative of the film is a restrictive, subjective narrative as we see everything from the boys point of view and nobody else’s which is why its restrictive. The film is presented in a circular 3-part narrative, at the end of the film, we are back to square 1 as nothing has changed for the boy, he will still be riding the same bus everyday. One interesting feature in this film is that the 3-part circular narrative is back up by the ‘weather’ which starts of as heavy rain but progresses onto being sunny when the girl boards the bus daily, however it ends as we started with heavy rain, this is called prophetic fallacy. The weather can also represent being a British film, the weather very much presents British weather as very mixed as it can be raining one minute and be sunny the next.
The style of the film is a ‘rom-com’ which and as the girl is French, a French score kicks in when she boards the bus which is very quirky and bumbling and as opposed to other short films, it is not gritty. There is a contrast between the image and the dialogue as there is a voice over of the boy which presents his thoughts to the audience. The film cuts to the titles when the boy realises that she will never return however he feels like he will always love her, a quirky score kicks in.

In conclusion to my research of short films, I have noticed that there are many conventions that appear in them. Short films tend to normally focus on one main character, this allows the character to develop and the audience can follow them easily. Short films rely on a gripping storyline or and interesting character rather than special effects and tend to have cliff-hangers or twists to keep things interesting. The short films I have viewed haven’t been over edited as things are best kept to the minimum and serve the purpose of them which is to entertain the audience and show what the director can do. The themes of short films vary greatly however the narrative structures are usually linear and open-ended as this allows for a better twist. One thing I have noticed in short films are that that themes are very realistic, for example Double Take covered daylight theft while Veronique covered personal fantasy in romance. These are common themes and happen daily while comparing to main-stream films we don’t see assassination plots involving nuclear weapons or superheroes smashing through tall buildings, short films stick to being realistic.

By Filip Hazel

Short Films Research: Themes

It is a convention of short films, particularly British cinema, to have an underlying theme present. These themes can act as a social commentary and can demonstrate the changes in society. Consumerism and nostalgia for community are common themes in British cinema and are displayed i the short film "Sold" (Nadia Attia).

In Sold Jon Smith has all but given up on his dreams and aspirations and only through using a shopping channel does he finally buy into the notion of happiness. This is a comment on the consumerist culture the UK has become, by which happiness is achieved through consumerism. This is an underlying theme in the film and very bluntly shows consumerism to be entirely unreasonable. This is a theme also explored in the film "Trainspotting", where the main character expresses his feeling that everyone choses consumerism except for him who choses heroin.

Nostalgia towards a loss of community is also a present theme in the film; Jon has no relationship with his neighbor but jumps at the chance to buy a ladle which will being him closer to his neighbor. This is an underlying theme in many British films such as "Passport To Pimlico" which shows a community falling apart when detached for society. This common theme reflects a loss of national community and part of British national identity.

These themes are usually an underlying message and appear in a surreal way which may leave the audience confronted with the reality of the station. For example, when Jon is buying a girlfriend on the shopping channel the audience will pick up the more obvious theme of romance and will also besurprised wen confronted with issues that they would otherwise be oblivious to.

By Greg O'Sullivan