Enclosed - Film Poster Draft #3

I've added quite a bit more detail to my poster, and I am content with it, however before I finalise the product I will need to conduct a focus group.

  The main feature that I added to the poster, which in my opinion makes it look professional, is the billing block. I anticipated that this would be quite a quick task, however it took me the best part of two hours to complete.The main reason for this was because of resizing and positioning, however the time I spent was definitely worth it. I am very happy with the final outcome. I based my billing block on the one featured on the Shutter Island poster that I previously analysed. 

  I also added the month of release - December. There was no specific reason for choosing this date, it just happened to be the same as the date on the Black Swan poster that I referred to. I coloured this in red in order for it to stand out from the billing block, as I didn't want it to blend in as one. I have also found that it is usually separate in other, real existing posters.

  Another, common and vital feature that I added was the movie website. I decided to go for, "www.enclosedmovie.com," as I have found this combination to be conventional.

  I also added the Facebook and Twitter logos, with the hashtag, "#ENCLOSED." This is becoming more and more common with growth of social networking and the younger generation.

  The final few features that I added to the poster were the film company logos, and other conventional symbols, including Dolby Digital and SDDS. I find that these complete the poster, adding to it's professional look, making it appear more legitimate and less amateur.

Enclosed - Film Poster Draft #2

  This is the second draft of my film poster. As you can see, I have made quite a bit of progress. I added the film title, conventionally in red, symbolising the horror genre, and also in a font inspired by The Nightmare on Elm Street, that in my opinion, is a clearly defining horror font.

  I also added two actor's names, conventionally above the title of the film. Although this isn't always seen on horror film posters, the existing texts that I was referring to for inspiration and design ideas featured cast names, and so therefore I did the same. I used that same font as the title (Trajan Pro), but made the text white, as I feared if red, it would blend in with the title/confuse the audience. I added a name either side of the keyhole as I feel that symmetry is important in a film poster.

  I then added my tagline to my poster. It took lots of brainstorming, but once thought of, I knew that I couldn't use anything else. I wanted the phrase to incorporate all of the different aspects/themes of our storyline, and decided that 'bound' was a word that describes the enclosed characters in our film perfectly. The tagline in full reads, "Bound by the Blood of the Father." This refers to all of the characters being 'bound' in some way, and the reference to blood not only reinforces the genre, but also carries the relation between some of the characters (Cecilia and her Father - the head of the asylum). 'Father,' also has a double meaning. It obviously suggests the Head of the Asylum in the film, the Father of Cecilia, whom brings up Sean as a patient in the institution. However, it also includes the idea of God, and the Father's Catholic beliefs, that he uses to run the mental asylum. 

  I wanted the tagline to fit in one line, and I also wanted the three words, bound, blood and Father to be emphasised. I therefore elongated the text, and doubled up the connective words between the three, most important words.

'Enclosed' - Film Poster

I thought long and hard about the design of my film poster. I wanted an image that had multiple meanings, and that asked lots of questions, without giving too much of the plot away. I also wanted a clever tagline. My main sources for inspiration were the Black Swan and Shutter Island posters.

  This is my progress so far (the main image). For me, when I thought of the film's title, 'Enclosed,' I immediately thought of a keyhole, and the sense of being 'locked in.' The eye through the keyhole idea was also used for our storyboard, inspired by the shot in the film, 'Sucker Punch.' The person that the eye belongs to is meant to be unknown, which leaves the audience questioning. I also wanted a poignant expression, and therefore put soap in my eye to create a 'teared up'-looking effect, which I think works well with the idea that I am trying to portray - that the person behind the keyhole is being contained/enclosed against their will.

  I also painted a cross underneath my eye to create a burn effect. This represents the religious theme in our plot, and as the eye behind the keyhole is unknown, potentially belonging to any of the characters in the film, it suggests that the characters are branded by religion.

  I took the photograph of the door at Patricio church, which is about a 10 minute drive from Abergavenny. It was an extremely atmospheric church, and I feel the wooden door with the rusted details adds to the horror genre. I then removed the keyhole, before layering it on top of the photo of my eye using Adobe Photoshop.

EMPIRE Magazine Cover Analysis - March 2001

Total Film - October 2009 Magazine Cover Analysis

I found a magazine cover that is perfect to use as a source for inspiration, and I therefore decided to analyse it in detail through a PowerPoint presentation.

Empire - 'Man of Steel' Cover Analysis

  After producing a magazine for last years course, I have quite a bit of background knowledge of the codes and conventions of magazine covers, purely because of the extensive research that I undertook last year. However I am going to briefly look at a few film magazines as last years project was music magazines, and I am interested to see if there are many differences.
  Recently, superhero movies have dominated the film industry. This issue of film magazine Empire features a main story about Zack Snyder's latest creation, 'Man of Steel,' the newest Superman movie.
  This cover would appeal to a mainstream audience, with superhero movies becoming the latest hype. Therefore, most cinephiles would be interested, along with comic book fans. The main image of Henry Cavill as the 'new' Superman promotes the new adaptation and generation, and his classic style would attract fans of the comic book series. His stance emphasises the typical, alpha-male, superhero physique, clearly identifying the genre but perhaps also targeting the female audience (some of which may be comic book fans or others may like looking at him).

  The main Empire masthead is striking. It is in upper case, conventional with other magazines, and the bold red colour not only acts as a trademark for the magazine but also emphasises the title, making it more eye-catching. This style font also appears to be popular within film magazines, which I will keep in mind when creating my own.

  The main tagline, "Man of Steel - Superman gets The Dark Knight treatment," references the film title, which is also a description of Superman, as well as putting emphasis on the fact that the film was produced by Christopher Nolan, the director of The Dark Knight series. This is a hugely popular comic book film series, and this tagline would attract a huge audience. The, 'Exclusive,' above also suggests that is is exclusive just to Empire magazine, which acts again as a promotional push for fans to buy the magazine. The grey, steel font suits the text, stands out from the main image and also goes with the colour scheme of black, red, white and silver.

  The banner line is another popular feature on magazines, and like music magazines, a banner line on a film magazine follows a similar purpose, that usually sums up the magazine or the issue itself; in this case, a Superhero preview issue. I will definitely note this feature, as it is conventional for a magazine, and will hopefully make my own project look more professional.

  The cover also features other cover lines, which basically list other, new movies, which are presumably featured in the issue. The fonts differ to add variety, although some follow the official design of the film title/logo. They are in white, following the colour scheme, and are positioned around the character in the main image. I like this composition, and although being quite simple, it gets straight to the point and the audience immediately know what they will find in the magazine. It is also interesting to add that all of the films listed, bar, 'The Lone Ranger,' are all superhero films!

The cover also includes a small, 'Plus,' section, that is extremely common and conventional on film magazines. Here it reads, 'First Look! Pegg & Frost at the World's End,' obviously implying that Empire is first to look at their newest film, but also plays on the films actual title, 'The World's End.' The bar code is also located here, conventionally at the bottom corner of the magazine.

There is also a pug featured at the bottom right of the cover, that reads, 'Discovered in Poland! DAVID LYNCH! The complete films! The final interview?' This relates to filmmaker and director David Lynch, that would attract the audience that are fans of his work, and his unique, 'Lynchian,' style.

Shutter Island - Poster Analysis

Here is a PowerPoint presentation of my analysis of the film poster for Martin Scorsese's 'Shutter Island.'

Shutter Island - Poster Analysis from harrevs