Film Poster - Ancillary Task 1

In order to begin to produce a poster for our film, Weeks of Monday, the group had to initially take a photograph that would feature on the poster. We knew that we wanted the poster to feature just one image of Faye, the main character, with the spell book; the spell book is a symbolic indicating the nature and genre of the film. We didn't want to use any graphic images in addition to a photograph as it maintained the elements of magical realism, keeping it authentic. Examples of shots that we discarded are shown below:

We decided we didn't like the pose on this above image as you cannot see Kathryn's face clearly and the setting doesn't look 'forest-like' enough because of the housing in the background.

We anticipated that trying to make writing legible on this image could be difficult because the writing would overlap Kathryn or the trees in the shot, though the colour is preferable to the image above as it is darker and more shadowy that replicates an eerie atmosphere. We favoured one where she was sitting down to show the influence the magic has over her and how she feels powerless against it.

The final image we settled on is similar to this one, however we preferred the lighting and positioning in the photograph we decided on for our poster. 

The above is the original photograph that we took and decided on for our poster. It was the most successful shot we produced; the angle of the winding footpath appears to be ongoing which is reflective of the film's plot. It also doesn't have any interference of housing or fencing like the other photographs did. Kathryn positioned herself so that her facial expression could still be seen that the book was in view which could be intriguing to an audience. 

In order to reflect the mystical and 'dark magic' elements of the film we adjusted the brightness of the graphic on photo editing software. The colouring implies that something bad may happen to the character and the shadows on the image are representing that intimidation she will encounter.

The above is the actual image that appears on the poster, it was flipped using the photo-editing software.

The above is our completed film poster. We used sans-serif fonts that reflected the fantasy genre. We created a title and a tagline that would imply the 'time-loop' element of the film. 

Film Poster Analysis - Alice in Wonderland (2010)

I decided to analyse one of the posters from "Alice in Wonderland" as it is a film that I feels depicts the fantasy genre well and could provide inspiration for the poster my group will make for our film. The colours of the poster are varied and are brighter in the foreground of the poster than the background in order to promote "the unknown" comply with the mystical aspects of the fantasy genre. The characters of Alice and the Mad Hatter appear to be brighter than the others in order to show their relevance and importance to the film. The poster uses the fact that the film is an adaptation of a well-known story to its advantage as many of the symbols included do not require a lot of audience foreknowledge, for example, the costumes can depict who the characters are by staying true to the original ones described in the novel, especially in the case of Alice who will always be recognisable by a blue dress and blonde hair. The use of the Cheshire Cat and the White Rabbit are symbolic of the "Wonderland" described in the title as they are characters that wouldn't have human qualities in reality and therefore promote the fantasy genre; the audience would not need to know their roles but could understand how they are adding to the mystery. It is the characters that appear at the foreground of the poster and are positioned in order to reflect their importance to the audience such as in the way that Alice appears in the centre. The background is portrayed graphically and so shows the unconventional nature of the setting as it has been generated and doesn't replicate any ordinary setting. In addition to this, the flowers have graphically imposed faces on them showing the combination of the humans and nature which is reflected in the characters as humans like Alice are pictured with animals like the White Rabbit. The audience's perspective of the poster means that the forest setting of the background appears to continue inferring the magic and unanswered questions that may surface in the film itself.
                The object of the poster is present verbal and visual messages to the audience that they are too included on this "journey" with the other characters. The characters appear to look directly at the audience themselves while the tag line reads; "We are all mad here" both including the audience. The tag line itself is intended to be humorous to contrast against the sinister darkly coloured background it is covering up and as it is coloured in white it is inferring that the "madness" is innocent. It is placed away from the characters it describes as though the characters want to distance themselves from the statement it makes. Despite the tag line, the messages are primarily visual and it is the images that show the fantasy genre conventions. The flamboyant costumes reflect the way in which fantasy plot lines are not restricted by reality and the font face used varies in size to show this also. The word "Wonderland" from the title itself connotes mystery and magic while Alice who through a "normal" appearance would appear the most relatable to the audience stands out against the other characters.
                The poster promises the audience a story they may have grown up with which means it has a greater scope for a target audience and the plot can be effectively communicated solely through the title. Alternative readings may derive from this however as it may be thought that the plot will take a completely different direction to the one from the novel in order to be more diverse and surprising. The solemn facial expressions of the characters too may not comply with the conventional children's stories: the poster here may infer that it could be a more sinister take on the plot.
                The intended audience would be those familiar with the plot and fans of Disney and Tim Burton. Tim Burton as a recognisable fantasy film director is used as a persuasive selling point because the audience may be aware of his style. He used as more of a USP than the big name actors like Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter because they are not the main characters of the plot and the target audience may be aware of the working relationship that Burton has with these two actors. The poster doesn't threaten anything offensive as it is a Disney film and Disney have a reputation for producing family friendly films. There are no critics quoted on the poster, but Disney may safely assume that the stars and the familiar plot may be enough to pull audiences. The production company is associated with high quality animation which is demonstrated through the poster itself and is one of many that were a part of the marketing campaign. The poster above shows all of the significant characters together, but posters were also released of singular characters as well in order to advertise the fact that a particular star had a role in the film; these were brought out in intervals in the same that teaser trailers were released before the full trailer was. This poster was not the one that was used for the cover of the DVD and the Video Games that related to the film, the one that was used was of The Mad Hatter played by Johnny Depp, implying that he was seen to be the biggest USP of the film, although he is not the main focus here.