Anicllary Task- Finished Film Poster

This is the finished poster I have created from my previous shots. i have now added a title, that looks as if it is dripping, creating a scary and haunting feel, as well as adding a conventional tag line, and small print at the bottom, to make it appear professional, and conforming to the conventions expected from a film poster. i would like to use this design as a template for my final poster, as i find it quite effective in its role of enticing an audience who like horror films, with its theme of colours and abstract fonts/images.

Ancillary task- Film poster

To understand more about the importance of a good photo, i decided to take some of a friend. to stick to the theme of horror, i got her to pose in positions that make her appear vulnerable and weak.


For example, the camera at a high angle, looking down on her huddled on the floor with her face in her knees. i also took close up shots of her face, with her hands over her mouth in shock, as well as crouching on the floor and covering her mouth to muffle her breathing- commonly seen in horror and thriller movies.














The camera is cornering her in this photo, making her appear trapped and lost.





















This angle also makes her appear vulnerable, due to the camera looking down on her. her hands covering her mouth and her scared expression work well with the theme of horror.

This is my edited photo i have altered on photo shop i have cut the figure out and pasted it on a clean background. i then used certain tools to highlight her to make her seem ghostly. i also blurred the edges to add to the super natural feel. after that I added some editing to the corners of the picture, to bring something extra to further add to the haunting vibe, and making the whole thing appear eerie. I decided to go half way between keeping it simple, like 'The Strangers' and using editing to create effect, like 'Drag Me To Hell'. this picture, however, isn't quite finished to qualify for a film poster. i still need to add the typical conventions you expect to see on a film poster, such as a title, tag line, and small print.

Simple yet effective

There is a whole variety of film posters out there. Some are very well designed, and include a lot of editing to get the desired final effect. For example, the poster for the film 'Drag Me To Hell' uses a basic image of one character, but has be highly edited to give the effect of the girl being dragged down into flames by a demon hand.

However, not all film posters have to be heavily photo shopped to be effective. a great example of this, is the promotional poster for 'The Strangers'. There has only been slight adjustments made to the photo, but the technique used to make this photo effective will have been in the camera angles and mise en scene. It is the haunting masks put on people who wear average clothing, standing over the limp bodes of two defenseless people that brings a chilling vibe to the poster. The background being a bricked wall also brings something to the photo. This just goes to show that you don't need to spend hours editing a photo to make it good- if you start with a good scene to take a photo off, that is all you need.

Important things to include in a trailer

There are a few important things a film trailer must included for it to appear professional and proper. it will be important for my group and i to use these, to conform to the conventions of a typical teaser trailer.

All film trailers must include the MPAA green band rating at the start of the preview. this shows that the film has been approved, and professionally rated, so to be suitable for its target audience. This green band rating specifically says the film is 'restricted'. this will be due to content that will not be suitable for certain audiences, and this certain band will apply and be used for most horror films.

another important convention of a film trailer is the production company, which is represented along with the green band, usually at the start of the trailer. Here i have included an image of the famous '20th Century Fox' corporation company, which will be recognised bye anyone and everyone, being such a large and well established corporation, it is found to be part of the production of hundreds of films.

I have also done some research into production companies that would be likely to sponsor a British and independent horror film. I thought 'Film Four' would be the most likely candidate, as well as companies such as 'Optimum Releasing'.

This is the logo for the company 'Optimum Releasing' which are specific and found to sponsor independent filming.

Tag line ideas

it is very common for a horror film poster to include an effective and thought provoking tag line. i have looked at a few from good film posters and have noticed they all follow the convention of being short, snappy and effective.
tag lines from the posters featured earlier on in my blog:-
The ring- 'Before you die. You see.'
The Others- 'Sooner or later they will find you.'
The uninvited- 'Fear moves in.'

Some of my own ideas:-
1) You can hide. But they will find you.
2) Death is just a scream away.
3) Fear has a soul.
4) An evil you cannot see.
5) Evil never dies.
6) If you believe, you will see.

Failed Attempt

Although we planned to film on 23rd of October, in portishead surgery, things didn't plan out the way we hoped they would. Soon after we arrived we realised that we were very under prepared. We had plenty of trouble trying to work out the equipment, as well as forgetting many of the props we needed. In the end we decided it would be best to go home, and work this out properly before we returned. Lesson learnt- always test the equipment!