Change of story/idea- (Final!)

I decided yesterday on the 30th of October that another, but final change of story line was needed for my short film. The main reason behind this is simply due to my 2nd idea lacking meaning and social messages, which is why I'm now doing a home invasion themed thriller/psychological thriller short film that can engage the audience by linking to real life events and social issues that people can relate to.

I aim to get a screenplay done very shortly as opposed to as a script, due to the fact that so far I don't think there will be masses of dialogue in my short film, rather more actions and camerawork. I aim to shoot by next Friday the 11th of December at the latest, as long as my 2 main planning documents are completed.

Once the screenplay is done, I will be getting my storyboard done shortly after which will then enable me to begin filming and putting a rough edit together after.

I am also choosing to go along the route of psychological thriller due to the fact that in my survey results, psychological thriller was the 2nd most popular option, after action thriller. I have also casted all male roles in my short film due to the fact that the audience in my survey did not mind at all the genre of the lead character, which is why I didn't hesitate in casting all males for the short film so far.

Overall Summary of my Poster research

From carrying out sufficient and in-depth research on 10 movie posters, I now feel confident in pursuing development for my drafts of poster. This is because of my research has allowed me to discover further about the conventions and forms of film posters.


--- One feature I have discovered further is the formatting and structure of film posters. They are all completed in the portrait format, which allows many things to be happening in the poster at one time, such as images and text coming from the top of the poster down to the bottom. This is the standard convention for all posters for films.

--- Another convention my research has now helped me develop my understanding of  is posters use of symbolism and in general their use of semiotics. The way posters position certain characters next to certain objects, different types of lighting, certain types of text around the character can be telling and informative to the audience, even though the meaning isn't clearly and explicitly stated. Such as, when I researched the poster 'Black Swan', the fact that the female character had red lips and black eyes and most of the poster elsewhere is all an angelic white colour, this heavily connotes meaning and emphasis on the darker side of the character even though there isn't anything explicitly stating that, simply due to alternating colour schemes. This is one way posters can use symbolism and semiotics, and is also something I aim to transcribe into my poster. In addition to this, the poster for 'Shutter Island' does a great job in telling a story and setting a tone, just through the use of the characters face emerging from the darkness holding a candle, with a very sinister looking island placed directly below him. This also showcases how the positioning of images can contribute to a posters meaning.

--- Lastly, my research into film posters has helped me understand the conventions regarding text and typography. The type and form of text used in a poster has a great deed in determining the impression the poster creates. Such as, horror film posters will have text that is very eerie looking, and the audience knows this because they are used to the convention of seeing typography like this with that specific genre, being horror.

Overall I'm pleased with my film poster research and think the research has been widely beneficial when it comes to me proceeding development of my posters for my short film.

'The Grey' Poster Analysis #10 - Thriller/Action

This is the poster for the 2011 Liam Neeson action/thriller film 'The Grey'.

Liam Neeson's face takes up the most abundant part of the poster. This is to achieve the overall goal of the poster of resilience, and grittiness, in my opinion. This is also to tell the audience that the man you see in the poster, is one of the main characters in the film and the narrative may be centred around this character. The wound on his face indicates violence, and an act of intense fighting or such. Along with the tense, aggressive look on his face, this poster makes Liam Neeson's character not to be messed with in this films diegesis. This can therefore make the audience associate the character with a man of great bravery, determination and strength. This also helps to achieve the overall goal of the poster of resilience, and grittiness, in my opinion.

The snowflakes covering the whole poster are also telling, and help suggest to the audience that the story of The Grey will take place in a snowy setting, such as in the Arctic or a place similar to this. This can keep things interesting for the audience as they can further associate Liam Neeson's gritty character with an isolated, cold location which automatically makes the plot more interesting and climactic. Putting these two factors together make for an instantaneous exciting plot that can draw in the audience.

In addition, near the bottom of the poster you have 'The Grey', which is the title of the film and is presented in a large, striking font so it attracts the viewers attention, along with the tag-line for the film directly underneath it. The tag-line reads 'Live or die on this day'. This statement is very exciting and also to the point, which can further draw in the audience since the tag-line is highly engaging on an entertainment level. This can be why the creators chose to use a tag-line as such.

'Orphan' Poster Analysis #9 - Thriller/Horror

This is the poster for the 2009 horror film 'Orphan', which showcases a sinister looking girl staring into the viewers eyes. 

The female presented in the poster is the most abundant feature on the poster, and hence the most important aspect/character to the film. This is due to her centralisation and also how she's been formatted to make her seem bigger and how she is very close to the audience. The title of the film 'Orphan' is also directly underneath her, centralised also, giving information to the audience that this girl is in fact the orphan and can be giving hints regarding the films story-line and themes, and it is also worthy to note how the title has a different font from the rest of the text in order to distinguish itself and make it more obvious to the audience. 

The next part to the poster is the tag-line at the top, which reads 'There's something wrong with Esther,' Since this text has been presented in all capitals, the audience can assume that this text is meaningful and also more importantly it is suggesting something significant about Esther, the orphan character based on the posters structure. The audience can decipher that there really is something wrong with Esther, since it is a considerably sharp statement and engages the audience in a particular, questioning way. But the audience isn't quite sure as of yet what is wrong with Esther, since we haven't yet seen the film. But the purpose of the tag-line is to plant the idea into the viewers head, so that when they are watching the film they are knowing what to expect and what to lookout for. 

The background of the poster is entirely green, this is interesting as green is often seen as more of a neutral colour that doesn't show as much emotion. However this could be juxtaposing the poster since Esther is coming across as an ominous, evil looking girl that is dangerous. However the green background is suggesting that to the normal human eye, she's just a normal, harmless little girl. This could be symbolising a main theme and idea behind the film; that this little girl should not be trusted, she's evil, despite the fact that she looks innocent and normal. This can also be linked to how Esther's face is not showing at all much emotion, and how she is looking bluntly and longingly at the viewer, leaving behind a bitter impression. 

'Memento' Poster Analysis #8 - Psychological Thriller

This poster for 2000's 'Memento' in its entirety is more of a simple, but effective poster in terms of suggestion and implications.

The main thing to comment on is how Guy Pearce's character on the poster as been split up into many different sections. To someone who hasn't seen the film, they can associate this feature of the poster with delusion, multiple personalities, or in fact a shattered, fragmented memory. This is because the way the poster has been edited strongly suggests this, due to the fact it literally makes his character look fragmented and lost. This was done as an editing choice and perhaps saves words, tag lines or phrases to communicate to the audience that something is wrong with this characters mental stability, and or sanity; the visuals say it all.

Another thing to note on is the eye-line match up in roughly the upper middle section of the poster. I think that this has been done in order to make the character look more serious, and more troubled. This is because his face becomes more clear to see since his eyes have been lined up and furthermore emphasizes on his delusion and paranoia. Also due to his mouth being slightly open which further adds to the idea of the character looking troubled and in jeopardy

The title 'Memento' has been presented in a large, stylish white font which clearly states the name of the film, with director Christopher Nolan's name underneath it. With the three names of the lead actors in the top right, middle and top left of the poster.

Change of Short Film Idea

Recently I have decided to change my short film idea of the taxi corruption, to a short film based around an interrogation scene.

I did this because I was beginning to think that my original idea would be hard to film and it was a bit too ambitious. My new idea will be simpler to shoot and construct, and will only take place in 1 location, or 2 maximum. I also am more confident in writing a script for this and bringing it to life via a storyboard, followed by an animatic.

Development on this new idea is coming along well so far and I will have planning documents and the script finished fairly soon.

'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' Poster Analysis #7 - Drama/Thriller

This is the main poster for the 2011 drama/thriller film 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo', which is directed by David Fincher and stars Daniel Craig.

The colour scheme and  selective contrast helps to define the tone of the poster and the film considerably. Such as, because the colour is only in black and white, the audience can assume the film is more dark, and mature in its themes and subjects. It also makes for a bolder, more gripping poster because everything seems more explicit and striking. The lighting on Daniel Craig's face is also makes him seem more of a stern character, also due to the fact that his eyes  are made to seem darker than normal.

The positioning of the characters is also telling and can help give the audience information about the characters that are presented in the film. Such as, Daniel Craig's character is positioned and facing to his front, which can be indicating his character is determined and willing to achieve his goal, or to accomplish something. Whereas, the female character character to the side, played by Rooney Mara, is facing to the side. This can be indicating that although the characters are in the same circumstance together, they have conflict between them and perhaps have different ways of doing things which is why there is tension between the characters.

Another thing to comment on is the setting/image at the bottom of the poster. It seems to be a large, deserted house in the middle of a snowy setting. This can be telling to the audience and can then make them infer that this particular setting is important to the story-line and narrative, which would then make them look out for it when it comes to watching it in the film. It is also quite a serious image due to the extreme long shot of the house, and the relatively dark lighting and shadows; it creates emphasis on the spectacle of the house and makes the audience ask questions about it in regards to the story and characters.