Film Magazine Cover Drafting

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Film Poster Inspiration

 

Following my film poster research, I came across the 'Edge of Darkness' film poster and this became the inspiration for my film poster. The genre of 'Edge of Darkness' is very similar to the genre that my production team is working with and therefore, this film poster had the correct colour scheme, mise-en-scene and overall representation that my poster needed to portray. I feel that my film poster is appropriate considering the genre, 'Police/Crime Thriller' as there are significant similarities between the two posters; which means my film poster is conventional.         

Film Poster Drafting

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Film Poster Photo Analysis

Film Magazine Colour Scheme

Using Adobe Kuler, I have displayed the colours I will like to use to for my film magazine cover. Film magazine covers are very unique in their colour schemes because they usually reflect the film portrayed on the cover.and so I have chosen colours accordingly.   

Red - This colour connotes blood, violence and action; which is direct reference to the film 'Playing Judas'. In addition, this colour reflects the genre, 'Police/Crime Thriller', as it can act as imagery for emergency sirens and federal involvement. 

Black and White - These colours present sophistication and this is reflected in the police profession. This is relevant as the mise-en-scene of the police profession is predominately black and white and sophisticated and so the audience can interpret the genre of the film portrayed through these colours.

Masthead Font Research

After doing further film magazine research, I concluded that Masthead fonts are quite similar to a certain extent because each magazine is trying to cement their name in the audience's mind; in an attempt to secure future purchases. Most magazines do this by displaying a considerably bold font in a large size. Therefore, I've chosen these fonts as they all have a large bold visual impact and this is essential for a Masthead. The fonts are very much alike and so, it was hard to come to a final decision, but after liaising with my production team and taking feedback, I've decided to go with the font at the bottom of the image. It is very bold so it can capture the audience's attention, but at the same time, it is quite a simple font so that image/model can be more overpowering on the magazine cover. Considering that the film being portrayed on the magazine is a 'world exclusive', it is important to draw attention to the image and the film as this will then bring attention to the magazine itself.

Initial Poster to Film Magazine Cover

 After taking feedback from my teacher and carrying out additional research, I concluded that conventionally, long-shots are taken for 'Crime-Thriller' film posters to present the dynamic, fast paced side of the film to the audience. Furthermore, I conversed with my production team and we realised that our promotional package needed a poster that was more dynamic. Therefore, I think it is appropriate to change the poster accordingly.   

I will make the transition by copying the main image from my initial poster and using it for my film magazine cover. During my film magazine research, I found this Sight and Sound magazine cover; which inspired the transition. The similarities of the mise-en-scene in both images suggested to me that the image I've created follows conventions and is appropriate for a film magazine cover.     

 

Initial Poster Drafting

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Initial Poster Photo Analysis

Here are photographs I have taken for my initial film poster. The photo shoot is taken indoors as I have learned from previous pictures taken outside that the sunlight can produce too much glare which creates a completely different mood/atmosphere than desired. Sunlight was still required in this photo shoot so that the correct colour of light reflected off the model's face. Therefore, I positioned the model in front of the windows to receive full exposure from the front and above. These pictures were taken during motion so the clothing in particular would not be very static in it's appearance.  

I also took a few pictures the model positioned further in the background to deter the sunlight exposure, but more importantly, to visually show that the model is further away; this could suggest that the actor has a long journey to walk throughout the film and so the audience can gain a greater understanding of the characters within the film through the poster.

I have decided to use this photo for my initial film poster because the natural lighting is very evident and also, the gun can be clearly seen; which is important as this prop is a very essential element of this poster.

Font Research

Using www.dafont.com, I was able to preview various fonts with different styles. To a certain extent, there are conventional fonts used with 'Crime-Thriller' film posters and I wanted to capture this convention in my poster. Therefore, the selection of fonts is important because it can illustrate or complement the genre presented. Furthermore, it is evident that the font used adds to the authenticity of the poster.

Through my research, I was able to find conventional fonts used with 'Crime-Thriller' film posters and also, I have presented a few posters that represent these styles. The 'Pulp Fiction' poster uses a more playful font which suggests to the audience that there is a comedic side to the film; which is entirely correct. The 'GoodFellas' poster uses a serif font which creates a traditional appearance and this links significantly with genre and setting of the film as 'GoodFellas' is a period film set in Brooklyn, N.Y, 1955. The 'Bourne Legacy' poster presents the font that I think is most relevant to my production. The font highlighted is the font I'm going to use for my film poster; this font is very similar to the font used in the 'Bourne Legacy' poster. I have chosen this font in particular because I believe the simplicity it presents gives a very serious, sophisticated atmosphere which is extremely relevant to my production.

Film Magazine Planning Sheet

Main image: What is the main image going to be? What type of shot composition/angle etc?

• The main image is going to be one of the main actors, either the protagonist or the antagonist within the film.
• Long shot of the actor, displaying conventional mise-en-scene and props (gun).
• Actor subverting to conventions by looking away from the camera.

Name of magazine: What are the connotations of the title?

Script – This film title refers directly to film scripts, which implies that the magazine contains raw material and information from films. This gives the magazine integrity and ensures the audience that the content is appropriate to the film industry.

Headline: What is the headline and how does it match the film/actor etc.

The headline will be the film title, this means the image will anchor the headline as the image will be of the main characters. The actor's name will also be postioned above the headline and so the actors' reputation should attract certain parts of the audience.

Sell lines: reference to other films/actors/directors/ film festivals. 

• List of current films
• Introduction to reviews on current films
• Introduction of highly anticipated upcoming films 
• Famous actors to correspond with the upcoming films

Banners/splash: other features, competitions etc.

• Possible use of banner at the bottom of the page to present additional information. 
• Limited use of buttons/splash to emphasise the image (similar to Sight and Sound Magazine)

Magazine tagline:

'The Raw Material Behind The Film' 

Other info: (price, date of issue etc)

• The Price and Date of the issue will be positioned at the top of the magazine cover in a same font as this is very conventional in magazines in general. 
• I will also position the Barcode towards the bottom of the magazine cover for authenticity. 

Film Poster Colour Scheme

 

Using Adobe Kuler, I was able to explore different complementary colours to create a suitable colour scheme. As our film is a  Police/Crime Thriller, I researched colours associated with this genre and came to the conclusion that conventional film posters utilise a mixture of the colours:

Grey - The use of this colour creates a darker, mysterious atmosphere which illustrates the 'Thriller' aspect of the film. The colour also has connotations of a formal, professional environment and this correlates with the refined police force that is being portrayed within the film. In addition, the colour grey creates the imagery of a 'concrete jungle'; which represents the urban city setting. 

Blue - This colour is very conventional in Crime related film posters because it is direct imagery of emergency vehicle lighting. Therefore, emphasis of this colour will suggest to the audience that the film is associated with the police force and so through the colour scheme, the audience can decipher the genre of the film.

Film Poster and Magazine Sketches

Sketch (1) 

This is a very conventional film poster as the actor is centered and so the audience will focus on this area of the poster; which helps 'sell' the film through the actor's reputation. 

Sketch (2)

This is a sketch of the design of my film magazine front cover, as my film poster is a long shot, I made this sketch a close-up to show a different perspective of the actor and to amplify facial expressions. 

Sketch (3) 

Here is another film poster idea which allows the audience to see the actor's facial expressions in detail. I think this is important as it is another indication of the genre. The close-up creates an intimacy between the actor and the audience and so the audience can begin to understand the plot behind the image.

Preliminary Photos

Here are some preliminary photos I have modeled in. By applying conventions and Mise-En-Scene associated with the genre (Police/Crime Thriller), I have compiled photos together to give me an ideas for the construction of my film poster. 

These pictures were taken in central London; the idea is to show recognisable landmarks and structures in the background to present an urban city appearance. This location is important as it links with the film genre and therefore, the audience can gain perceptions on the genre, and ultimately, the plot.

This collage features more intimate photos of the character, these were taken in a attempt to create a personal poster where the audience can see facial expressions and begin to connect to the character on an emotional level. In addition, these type of posters are designed to 'sell' the actor because, conventionally, these posters have limited effects and changes to the image apart from the background. Therefore, the simplification around the image amplifies the presence of the actor.

Target Audience Mood Board

Here is my target audience mood board, as a group, my peers and I listed different aspects of a person who is likely to watch our film. Our film genre is 'Police/Crime Thriller and so many of the symbols and images relate to back to this. Our target audience is both male and female because, males are drawn to the action side of the film and also, our film has a significant female lead which may encourage females to watch. The target audience likes crime series like Law & Order or C.S.I. as the genre's are similar. We believe that most of our target audience work in a professional environment as that would allow them to relate to the film to a certain extent. In addition, we believe our target audience reads crime novels; which shows their interest in the genre.

Focus Group

Questionnaire Data Analysis

There were 22 respondents in this questionnaire which were answered by people of a specific place (East London) which is a relatively small scale of people; although small it can be generalized carefully towards the entire country 

Q1

The majority of respondents were males, which conforms to the predictions that more males would like to answer the questionnaire about Police Crime Thriller films as they are aimed more at this type of demographic compared to less than half of the respondents who are female

Q2

The majority of respondents were also 20 - 50 which is the age gap that was predicted when picturing the demographic. The highest age percentage of the respondents were 21-25 year old people which gives us a main target demographic to focus on the most but not to neglect the other audiences

Q3

The data shows that 64% of the 22 respondents said yes to watching a police crime thriller film(s) recently, this could suggest that the genre has high popularity as some of the films shown in the cinema right now are actually Police Crime Thriller Films

Q4

Please state the film(s) watched:

Answered: 14            Skipped: 8

Showing 14 responses

Shinjuku Incident

Seven

Dredd

The Dark Knight Trilogy

LA Confidential

The Dark Knight Trilogy Runner Runner

I haven't seen any recently

Now You See Me 

Now You See Me

Sherlock Holmes

Training day Pride and glory U.S Marshalls

Green Street

Sherlock Holmes

Pulp Fiction

From this list of films watched by the 14 respondents, The Dark Knight Trilogy and Now You See Me are the most popular being said twice. By answering this question with The Dark Knight Trilogy, it can be suggested that the film is very popular because of an iconic character based on comics and with a wide range of ages in question 2; it can be assumed that these respondents were in the broad ages of 20 to 50 years of age.

Q5

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE POLICE CRIME THRILLER FILM? AND WHY?

Answered: 14         Skipped: 8

Showing 14 responses

Shinjuku Incident, because the movie explores the topic of immigration throughout eastern Asia.

Seven - unexpected ending.

Dredd because it is a remake of the original film franchise

The Dark Knight Rises

Where the big shootout happens

The Dark Knight - because of the iconic characters from the comics appear in it

Don't have one

Sherlock Holmes

Now You See Me

Sherlock Holmes.

Brooklyn's Finest because I like the plot. It wasn't slow at certain areas

Green Street because it is local and seems realistic

Sherlock Holmes, It's funny and clever.

Runner Runner because it's funny.

Q6 

What aspect of this genre do you think made it unique?

Answered: 21                  Skipped: 1

Showing 21 responses

There's always a twist

The fact that directors are able to explore the intricate ideas of characters through this genre.

Being a hybrid genre, so it contains aspects of both the thriller and crime genres. Some recurring themes make it comparable to other film genres, however - for example, good vs evil. I think the characters in this genre are often quite complicated (e.g. the anti-hero), which stands in contrast to some other thriller films.

Different - the fast paced scenes of action where the character has to decide to kill or not

The seriousness of the detectives and the arsenal of weapons used

The combination of police and superheroes.

The story

The ending where the evidence adds up to find the culprit

The dark side of a investigator is explored

I don't know

The comedy mixed in with the plot

The way it was about magicians who "robbed" a bank instead of the normal thief or criminal which these magicians weren't

I like big, complicated plots that all come together in the end.

The issues that the detectives face during the films

The use of 'enhanced' real life situations enable the films to be both relatable through the use of human emotion and interesting through the thrilling story lines.

the factual parts where we can relate them to real stories in modern times

That we didn't know what was going to happen in the end

How relatable it can be to lives and interesting it is.

The humour

The limit of law against personal morals

The crime and thrill

Q7 

Audience Research Questionnaire

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7VSQXD3

Repertoire of Elements

Target Audience

 

Here we have derived a brief demographic overview of our target audience. Using these ideas, our group can create a promotional package that is more suitable for our potential target audience. Therefore, this brainstorm attempts to describe the type of people who are more likely to enjoy the Police-Crime/Thriller genre.

The Pitch Feedback

 

After receiving feedback from our teacher, we now understand that there needs to be more detail in certain areas. For example, we need to go in more depth about specific aspects of cinematography as this will help with creating the storyboard later on in the project. Therefore, as a group, we will take the feedback into consideration and make changes accordingly.

Mood Board

This is my Mood Board for our film Playing Judas; which is a Police/Crime Thriller. The protoganist is a detective and so the plot is based around the federal authorities and the external and internal conflicts. Therefore, the Mood Board has significant imagery of police, crime, investigation and conflict.

Genre Research

Shutter Island Poster Analysis

 I think the colour scheme used is the unique selling point because there are various colours used which all come together to portray the genre of the film. The outskirts of the poster are masked in pitched black; which immediately delivers a mysterious aspect to the poster. The image of the actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, is concealed within the darkness of the poster and this is significant because this is a subversion. The image (actor) of the poster is conventionally the focal point, however, in this poster, the appearance of the actor is restricted and this reflects the story within the film. The subversion implies that the plot does not just resolve around the protagonist but has a bigger meaning and therefore, this idea suggests to the audience that the genre of this film is associated with mystery.

The lighted match acts as the light source for not only the image but the whole poster. The scarcity of light reinforces the idea  that the story within the film is very dark and conspicuous; which notifies the audience that the genre of the film is affiliated with ‘crime’ and ‘thriller’.

Due to the colour scheme, the focal point of the poster is the island. This image clearly shows that the island is secluded as the ocean around it is visible. The text under the island is in a vibrant red that contrasts with the blue sea; which makes the tagline stand out. The release date of the film is also in red to grab the audience’s attention. Conventionally, the name of actor who is the protagonist in the film is clearly stated, this in itself can influence/entice potential viewers as they may be fans of this particular actor and so, they are more likely to watch the film.

Genre Research: Institional Context

IMDb Top Rated Crime-Thriller Feature Films

The Dark Knight (2008) 9/10 (Action)

The Pulp Fiction (1994) 9/10 (Drama)

Inception (2010) 8.8/10 (Action/Mystery)

Gravity (2013) 8.8/10 (Sci-Fi/Drama) 

Goodfellas (1990) 8.8/10 (Drama)

Se7en (1995) 8.7/10 (Mystery)

The Silence of Lambs (1991) 8.7/10 (Drama)

The Usual Suspects (1995) 8.7/10 (Mystery)

Memento (2000) 8.6/10 (Mystery)

IMDb Highest Grossing Crime-Thriller Feature Films

The Dark Knight (2008) $533,316,061

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) $448,130,642

Skyfall (2012) $304,360,277

Inception (2010) $292,568,851

The Beverly Hills Cop (1984) $234,760,500

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) $227,137,090

Sherlock Holmes (2009) $209,019,489

Batman Begins (2005) $205,343,774

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) $186,830,669

Oceans Eleven (2001) $183,405,771  

The most popular Crime-Thriller films (such as Inception and The Dark Knight) are distributed by Warner.Bros in association with Legendary Pictures. The Warner Bros. Pictures Group brings together the Studio’s motion picture production, marketing and distribution operations into a single entity. Warner Bros. Pictures International is a global leader in the marketing and distribution of feature films, operating offices in more than 30 countries and releasing films in over 120 international territories, either directly to theaters or in conjunction with partner companies and co-ventures. The company produces and distributes a wide-ranging slate of some 18-22 films each year.


In 2012, the Warner Bros. Pictures Group grossed $4.3 billion at the worldwide box office ($1.66 billion domestic, $2.67 international) with both its domestic and international divisions crossing the billion-dollar mark for a 12th consecutive year.


Legendary Entertainment has co-produced 29 feature films. In addition, the company is also in the process of producing an additional four films and is developing various other projects. Of the 29 feature films produced, 28 have had theatrical releases and one has had a direct-to-video release. All films that were theatrically released were distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (except for Watchmen which was distributed by both Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures) and the direct-to-video film was distributed by Warner Premiere. Note that in all cases the distributor or distributors are also co-producers. Also, in all cases the film listed is a work of Legendary Pictures, unless the film's name is followed by a subscript "E", indicating that Legendary East is the production company.

Within the last 10 years, it is evident that Police orientated plots have made a gradual move from films to TV series. Dedicated Police/Crime films are very rare – many current films are classified as ‘Crime-Thrillers’ and have minimal federal involvement. In the late 90s and early 2000s, Police/Crime films were quite popular, however, the protagonist was usually involved in the ‘under-cover’ unit of the authorities; therefore, the inclusion of law officials within the plot was declining. Current Crime-Thrillers such as ‘The Call’, ‘Tunnel Vision’ and ‘Single-shot’ have less ‘Police’ orientated plots.

The Pitch

Film Title:PLAYING JUDAS

Tagline: Think outside the law...

GENRE:

POLICE/CRIME, THRILLER

Production Team: Daniel, Lizzie, Victor, Iuri

BASIC PLOT:

Detective Alex Hudson has a new Chief Superintendent. When his niece, Katy, is kidnapped and he is not allowed to investigate the case, he has no choice but to go outside the law to ensure it is handled properly. Hudson finds credible evidence that incriminates a fellow colleague, Harry Shaw, but Chief Superintendent Adams is dismissive as she thinks it’s simply a personal vendetta between the two detectives.

CHARACTERISATION:

Detective Alex Hudson: Good cop, nice guy. Loves to do his job and do his job properly.

Detective Harry Shaw: Stereotypical ‘bad cop’. Not afraid to hurt others to get to where he needs to be, and very good at his job. Everyone knows it.

Chief Superintendent Adams: Alpha female. New head of department, obviously knows what she’s doing and strict about her rules and regulations, but is untrusted by some others.

Katy: Little girl of 11-14, Detective Hudson’s niece. Looks sweet, unassuming, and gullible. Kidnapped for ransom, kicking the whole plot off.

MISE EN SCENE:

Formal clothes Police badge

Girl’s backpack Guns, holsters

Suits Car

CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Lots of close-ups

Establishing shot of Scotland Yard

CONVENTIONS:

Voiceovers Close-ups

Big music Fast-paced editing

Guns Title appearing from transition

RESOURCES:

Holsters Office/police station Two men

Guns Pavement One woman

Police badge Scotland Yard One little girl

Girl’s backpack Suits Police extras

USP AND RELATION TO GENRE:

Female police chief

Police department settings

Case-oriented plot