We took a number of photographs in different parts of the subway, from different angles and points of view as well as against various types of graffiti that are scrawled on the walls of the subway to see which image would work most effectively for our film poster. Some images worked well until we came to place typography on them and the colours clashed or the font did not show up against the graffiti, so this process was more challenging than the previous editing of the magazine cover. Here are three images that were taken on our photo shoot :
Image Layout & Editing
We decided to choose one particular image that did not feature such bold and bright typography, although it added to the social realist and urban city theme of our film, we felt that it drew the attention away from our film title/logo which we wanted ti act as an eye-catching and bold feature of the poster. The layout design of our film poster is strongly based on our design sketch, with a landscape format.
We started by trying out a few of the images on Photoshop, but then made a final decision by choosing this particular image as we felt it was the strongest one. We needed to edit the light at the end of the subway to make it look like the photograph was taken at night to match the scene that this image is based on in our trailer, as well as lower the lighting inside the tunnel to make it look more like artificial lighting that comes on at night time in subways and underground pedestrian walkways.Typography
The next stage of editing our poster was adding in the film title/logo in the Distorted & Scratchy typography that features in the magazine cover. We followed codes and conventions that are commonly visible in real, existing film posters and we had our film title 'Raze' in a very large, uppercase form to be the main focus of our film poster. We placed this to the left of the image, largely scaled and in black and white so the scratches in the letter forms are highlighted in white to give a really gritty and distorted effect against the grimy and rough texture of the subway walls.We then added in the names of our actors - Laura Gray and James Mildenstein - sitting underneath our film logo/title in the same typography but in a smaller form. The name
of our production company - An Absent Friends Production - was also added to sit on top of the film title to give and introduction to our film as well as follow conventions of some film posters, specifically the 'This is England' poster which we analysed and features a similar element. The name of our production company has been carried on from last year when we added this into our opening film sequence for coursework, and we felt that this year a production company name would add an authentic and professional look to our trailer so we decided to reuse the name again in our trailer and poster.Other Features: Logos & Symbols
Further following common features and conventions of film posters, they usually feature a release date or 'coming soon' to tell the audience when the film will be available to watch in cinemas. We decided to add a 'Coming soon' to the poster as we did not want to set a specific date, but the use of this adds a mysterious and vague element which would intrigue and attract an audience as it is quite obscure, as well as the poster visually not giving too much away. A review from Empire magazine has also been added which links to our other ancillary text as well as following common conventions of film posters which often feature film reviews, quotes of star ratings to promote the film and attract an audience.
For our trailer, we wanted to choose well established company logos and idents to add in and create an authentic look to our trailer, so we chose Optimum Releasing - which often distributes films
with a similar genre to our own - and UK Film Council which commonly funds British films which 'Raze' is, so we felt that these two companies would be well-suited and appropriate to our film. These company logos have been added to the bottom of our film poster, again following common conventions of film posters which typically do have the involving companies logos and names featured at the bottom of film posters, as well as a website address for our film in the Distorted & Scratchy font.
As well as these features that we have added to follow common conventions of film posters, we have added in certification to the poster, with a '15' certificate in the bottom, right-hand corner of the poster. This clearly adresses our audience with this symbol, attracting our target audience of teenagers and young adults. The use of this symbol is often used on posters and DVD cases to give a film an age certificate and this will immediately relate to our audience with this clear symbol.Final Evaluation
Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the final edit of our film poster and it is my favourite of the two ancillary texts. I think the low, artificial lighting adds a moody atmosphere to the image, as well as the grimy, textured and graffitied walls of the subway really reinforcing the run-down, urban setting of the film, all contributing strongly to the mis-en-scene of the image and representing the film effectively. The lone figure of Erin crouched down in the subway is quite a mysterious and vague image, not giving too much away to the audience about the character which makes the image quite intruguing and exciting as you cannot really tell is the character is male, female, young or old.
The typography, again, is an effective representation of our film with the jagged and sharp cuts giving it an edgy effect as well as creating a recognisable brand and distinguishable logo for the film that people would recognise and relate to. The use of this font for the film website address is also important to stick with the brand effect that the font is vital to, in contrast to the Arial font used for the Empire quote/review and 'coming soon' features of the poster.
The darkness at the mouth of the subway is also an important visual element of the poster as it acts almost as a pathetic fallacy, setting the mood of the film to be quite dark and bleak, with the opposite of the phrase 'light at the end of the tunnel' being show visually in this image. This is an element of the picture that was not created on purpose, apart from to keep continuity in relation to the subway scenes in the trailer which were filmed at night. Instead, this is an accidental feature which works really well when effectively representing the content and plotline based around Erin who is a lonely and troubled character.
Altogether, the final outcome of our film poster is really effective and i feel that there is very little improvement to be made to it, apart from possibly changing the UK Film Council logo to black so it is less noticeable at the bottom of the image. I feel that it is a good representation of our film, portraying a lonely character in a run-down, urban location which hints the type of character and setting that is featured in the film without giving too much information about it, as well as having a running theme through the ancillary texts with the grimy, gloomy subway featuring in both images which creates cohesion and continuity through the images. Here is the final edit of the film poster:
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