Practice Movie Posters

Above is my first attempt at creating a movie poster using Photoshop. I created this poster by selecting an image from google that related to my movie trailer ,which is based in the woods, and uploading it on to my template, that had the credits on it, that I had already put on to Photoshop. Once I had changed the effects on the image I thought of an initial title for my film trailer that I may change later on in the making of my trailer. I like the font of my title as it is a formal sharp title that are associated with horrors but I also like how the red stands out against the dull background and makes you focus on it.

 After my first attempt at creating a movie poster I decided to add a slogan that would relate to my film and make people question it. Also since a slogan has been added it means that when people hear the slogan they will recognise it and relate it to my film. Although the slogan may get changed to something else after my poster has been developed further. I have placed my slogan just below my film title in smaller font I did this so people would be able to relate the title with the slogan. But also so people would not focus away from the title as I think if the slogan was at the top of the page or larger than what it is people would focus more of there attention on that.





















I decided that after creating my last movie poster that I liked the slogan and titles position and how it stood out against the background. Although I liked the poster I thought that I needed to add a companies logo so that people would recognise it and if they like the company who has made the film it will make them want to go and watch the film even more.  I chose the 20th century Fox logo as they have been known to make some well known horror/thriller films which is the type of trailer that I am creating.

After creating some black and white background images I decided to create an image that had more colour to see how it effected the whole outlook of the poster. I think that the red and black background gives the image a more interesting look and it makes it stand out more when people look at it, the red also relates better to the genre of my film that is horror/thriller and red is associated with blood. I also think that the white writing in the middle of the poster stands out and is easier for you to notice when you glance at the poster than what the black and white poster is. One thing I need to add to my poster is the slogan from the other poster but I'm not too sure where to place it on this poster as I do not want it to take away attention from the title. I also need to add a company logo in my poster that relates to well known horror films.

I decided to create another practice image to help me towards my final. For this final I used two of my own images of the forest where my trailer will take place and of the main character in my film so people will recognise the character and relate it straight back to my film. I like how on this poster everything is kept to one section of the page and there is nothing in the top section so you focus more on where the writing and main image is. I edited the image so it had no bright colours as the darkness and the redness of the image relates to the horror them due to red being associated with blood. I did not add a company logo as in the credits it says which company the film has been made by and the additional logo was making my posters look to crowded. Although i like this image I think that it is a bit plain for my final and could have something else for example some more writing on it.

Pitch

Genre- Horror/Thriller.
Cast- four females aged 17/18- Blair Witch Project

Story line of film - The three members of cast travel in to the woods for a camping trip, while there unsual things start to happen to each of them such as the video camera starts to break up (goes fuzzy), things start to go missing.
There is someone/something in the woods that is taking members of the group
Then  people in the group start to go missing and there is eventually one person left who is panicking, crying, upset
The person in the woods eventually takes the final person, and then will wonder off in to the woods.
Finally the footage they have took is found by an investigation group.


Story line of trailer (Actual idea piece for A2 coursework)-
Starts by showing an opening scene of wording saying what basically has happened like what the blair witch has.
Then goes to a long shot of all of the teenagers walking in to the woods dancing with music playing and laughing.
Then fades in to a shot of them sitting down talking, drinking, laughing when its night lit with a camp fire and torches.
then goes to a long shot of just one person with the camera moving along them to show the woods in the background you can vaguely see a black figure in the background.
there is then a sound of twigs snapping and you see all three teenagers looking at each other asking 'did you hear something?'
After this it then changes to peoples faces flashing up across the screen is a quick motion these shots will be hand held so that they are shaky and look quite dramatic. The sound to these shots will be wind, people panting, screaming and the sound of leaves crunching on the ground so that it sounds like they are running.
I also may play some dramatic music in these scenes.
The final shot is the camera on the ground and all you can see is someone walking away in to the forest.
Then there will be credits and a demand button.


Location/Time- Forest/Woods during the day and night in autumn/winter.

Props- I will not need any props due to my footage just being a short trailer that includes just short clips of a film mainly of trees and peoples places

Costumes-  Winter clothing but with an indie style such as parkas, skinny jeans, vans/converse, backpacks, hats.

The Blair Witch Project poster

Above is a poster that advertised The Blair Witch Project, I have chosen this poster as inspiration as it is the same genre of film as mine. One thing I like about this image is the quote in the center of the poster as it is quite mysterious and makes the onlooker question it and want to watch the film to see what sort of footage was found and to find out what happened to the people missing. I do not like how the title is not very big and is at the bottom of the page so your attention is not drawn to it first which I think it should have stood out more. I also don't like the image of the person as I think it would have been more effective if it were just the forest like what it is at the top of the page. Although I do like the symbol above the writing as is it a symbol that is repeated in the films trailer so when people see it they will recognise the film. If I were to take one thing from this image it would be to use a quote like what is in the center of this image as it makes people question the film and want to go and see it.

Paranormal activity poster

Above is a poster which advertised Paranormal Activity, I have chosen this poster as it is the same genre as the trailer I am creating so would be good inspiration. One thing I like about the poster is the quote along the top which is from a magazine, the quote boasts about how good the film is which has an impact on anyone looking at it as they feel as though if its that good they have to go and see it for themselves. In my opinion the image in the middle is a pretty boring image and a better more effective image from the film could have been used to explain what happens in the film more and catch the onlookers attention; although I do like how a screenshot from the film is used to show actual footage from the film. Also I do not like how the title is not very  effective due to the font but I do like how the red writing stands out against the dark colours to catch your attention. Another thing I like is the demand button shown on the poster and how to find it on a website meaning that people will go on the website and demand the film meaning more screenings will be shown. If I were to take one thing from this poster it would be the demand button as I think it is a good way of increasing the films profit and making people feel more involved.

Inspiration 2

Paranormal activity trailer

I like this trailer as it shows the film from people in a cinemas point of view and shows you how they respond to it, I think this is a good idea as when people watch the trailer it will make them want to go and see the film to see if they will react like that or if the people in the trailer were just being over dramatic.  I also like how throughout the trailer there are quotes from newspapers/magazines etc saying how good the film is, which is what I will try to use throughout my own trailer as people are easily influenced about what others think of films. One of the main things I like about the trailer is how they have put bruises on the actress to make it look as though they are mysteriously there which is what I may try and use in my own work as it adds more tension to the audience when watching.  Also I like how near the end of the trailer it starts speeding up and you see the girl rocking on the floor and the man being thrown across the room which makes people question the trailer right at the end and want to know what is happening, this is what I will do in my own trailer leave people questioning. Finally what I may take from this trailer is the demand button at the end of the clip where people who see the trailer on the internet can demand for it to be in a screening near them.

Inspiration 1

The Blair Witch Project trailer

The Blair Witch project was my the first trailer that inspired me due to the fact that it was an old horror that was well known for it being a 'found footage' film and not many people make these type of films, also everyone knows about The Blair Witch Project even if they havent watched it before.

One aspect I like about the trailer is at the very beginning where there is a short paragraph giving you a teaser to what the film is about and making you want to watch the rest of the trailer which I will try and use in my own trailer. I also like how there is random images of the woods/forest going on as well as news stories about the people in the film but also quite dramatic luring music going on in the background, for my own trailer I want to try and use this type of music as I think it builds up tension for the viewer and makes them want to watch even more.

Although I do not like how the trailer only shows the smallest amount of the actual 'found footage' at the end, I think more should have been shows to make the viewer more interested in the trailer as they would know more of what has happened.

Proposal

After looking at the A2 briefs I could choose to create I made a decision to create:
-A promotion package for  a new film which will include a teaser trailer, a poster of the film and either a website for the film or a film magazine front cover featuring the film.

I decided to choose this breif as previously in my A/S work I only created a magazine so had never created any form of film or trailer, so by doing this I can learn about a new aspect of media and learn about the different programmes and aspects which are used to help create a trailer. But also use my skills of 2D programmes from A/S for my poster for the film. This brief will make me think more of shot types, angle shots, music, costumes etc which I did not have to think about in my previous year when creating a magazine

The type of trailer I will be creating is a Horror, I will be making my horror seem as though it it is found footage from the woods or a home. I have chosen this idea as not many horrors are based on 'found footage' and I would like my work to be different than others.

Reflection

When I look at my first year of media, the parts I enjoyed the most were finding out all of the parts that a media type such as a magazine needs to work and be successful. I also liked being able to think of my own ideas and make them real throughout my magazine individually, but also with the advice given from other students that looked at my work this helped me get  view on what others wanted from my magazine but also boosted my confidence with the compliments given. Another aspect I enjoyed was improving my 2D skills on programmes such as Photoshop which I think will help me in my 2nd year for making posters etc, as it will help make my work look more proffesional than other programmes would. I also enjoyed being able to use my other course,photography, as part of my media when taking images for my magazine. I will apply all of these skills in my A2 work to get a proffesional outcome.