Poster Draft 2 - James Ely

This is my second poster idea draft

Draft Poster Design 2 - Carla

My second draft poster idea

This is my second draft of a Film Poster. I started to understand Photoshop more and could experiment further. The colours in the sky made the picture look of a bad quality so I inverted it, and made it black and white. Then I brought the colour back on the logo of his gloves because I liked the colour, and then made the Title the same shade of Red. Then I put more layers on by opening up more images and Logos. I made a fake Little White Lies Review and gave it 5 stars.

I prefer this draft much more to my first one as it looks more professional and I've thought more about each action I've taken on Photoshop. Here are a few points as to why I prefer this draft design:

• The use of the Red Title and matching logo on his gloves stands out very clearly and suggests danger.
• The image Isaac took of James is very effective as James/Mr X is completely un-identifiable. The fact James is in his Motorbike Leathers and Helmet - very little about the film is given away creating the ambiguity we wanted to achieve.
• The Low Angle makes James looks very domineering and quite threatening.
• The Black and White image further makes it look mysterious.
• The picture of James putting the package in his jacket will make the audience curious as to what the transaction is about.



Creating the Poster on Photoshop

Poster Idea - James Ely

Little White Lies Research - Isaac

Little White Lies is a bi-monthly, British independent film magazine. The magazine is produced by independent company 'Church Of England'. Each issue is based around one specific film, featuring reviews, excellent graphics and illustrations, and a number of articles. 

The magazine is targeted at both men and women, however recent results have showed that the readership is predominantly male, most commonly aged 25-35. The in-depth detail and creativity of the magazine suggests that it would only be bought by real film fanatics, or perhaps people interested in graphic art/design.

Little White Lies is not found in newsagents like other magazines, and the magazine itself really resembles a book. It can be bought online through substitution, and in a few select shops such as 'Urban Outfitters'. 

Above  is an example of a Little White Lies cover. As previously mentioned, LWL focuses each issue on one specific film, this issue is clearly based on Shane Meadow's 'This Is England'. Each issue has a visually pleasing front cover, an adaption of the certain film. 

The review section is one of the main aspects of the magazine, and follows the same layout in each issue. The reviews use some very complex language, that only film enthusiasts would understand; it is all very field specific. Puns and humor are also used frequently, to  keep the review entertaining. The reviews always look very bold, with thick black titling and a large picture, making them eye-catching and engaging. A ranking system is used in the bottom right corner, marking the film out of 5 for anticipation, retrospect and enjoyment. This ranking is used in every review in LWL.

Our Draft Review - Carla & Harrison

Transaction, directed by HARISA CARJAM is a short film dedicated to uncertainty. Harrison Blake appears in his second short film with a role of a furtive character, who establishes the initial plot. James Ely bags his role, in his debut, as the secretive focus who we follow throughout.

As the film opens with gripping music, it is instantaneous that creating suspense is key to the plot. The restricted narration leaves us wanting more, and feeling vulnerable. Cunningly crafted with a simple yet effective plot, the story unfolds misleading us towards an inevitable ending, only to twist at the last moment. Spanning only a day, this short film is not lacking action and the intelligent use of the GoPro Hero 2 gives the audience an alternative perspective.

No surname, backstory, or real identification of who these characters are, makes them feel isolated and we’re left wanting more. The films assertion that the package is on a dubious journey right up until the end leaves the audience feeling satisfied they know how it will turn out. Some may have a hunch the plot might twist, and rightfully so. The perfectly co-ordinated meet-up, the suspenseful journey up to the secluded downs, the non-committal verbal exchange and one character’s hurry to leave with the package allude it might be an illegal object. As Mr X hastily exits on his motorbike, it carries forward this idea. It becomes obvious there is a plot twist when a girl, identified as his sister greets him happily at the door.  This anticipation is worthy of waiting for.

Camera shots throughout this piece are high-quality are extremely imaginative. The colour correction used throughout gives the film an alternative overlook which reinforces the feel of ambiguity. Furthermore, the non-diegetic sound plays a vital role in transfixing the viewer in to a state of suspense.

Blake and Ely are both robust actors that help give the short film a more professional feel. The lack of speech throughout emphasises the indefinite ending, which keeps the audience questioning what’s to come. The stereotyped outfits hide their traits, and further pushes the theme of a false of knowing. The black leathers Mr X wears foreshadow the questionable trouble ahead.

The film does a great job of deceiving the audience yet we never even get the satisfaction of finding out what’s inside the package. Perhaps this film could have thrown in some more thrilling elements and developed the ending into a more conclusive result.

More Poster Ideas - Isaac

Here is another of my rough drafts of our film poster. I once again created this on photoshop using screen grabs from our film.
I think that using these two images work really well, as they introduce the two main characters and also suggest who the transaction may be between.
Looking back on this design I feel that the title needs to be a lot bigger, making it look significant on the page. We could also consider adding in actors names, although this is not greatly important for our film, as being low-budget, our actors are now well known and will not be the reason people go to watch our film.
Once again I have missed out some features such as a tagline, however this can be explained in a previous blog post.

InDesign Review Draft - Isaac

Here is my first draft of our short film review. It is based on the style of reviews in 'Little White Lies' magazine. To create this, I used InDesign software, which I had never used before and have ow gained some skills in. As a group we shall be writing our own review, and when complete we will go on to use this as a template for our final copy.

Here is an example of a film review taken from Little White Lies magazine.
As you can see the layout is very similar to the review I designed.

In order to make my review look as similar to the original as possible, I found certain features of the articles that were always the same and followed the pattern on my own piece.
For example:

• LWL reviews always have 2 and a half columns, with roughly 6-7 paragraphs. I followed this rule in my draft by creating 3 texts boxes with the same width and height as the columns on the original reviews.
• I found two fonts that looked very similar to those used in LWL, and followed their rules on making certain letters bold or italic.
• I have also attempted to copy the ratings feature in the bottom right corner, and made the numbers very large in Little White Lies style.
• All little white lies reviews have a large picture at the top of the page, I copied this with an image of our group, and once again used the correct measurements making it the correct size.
• Lastly, I added a page number, making note that LWL's add a '0' onto the number, for example '028'. I also added the word 'review' at the side, as that is always one the review page.