Session 14

Film Poster Construction

• In Week 14 we started the construction of our ancillary tasks. The first one we had to create was our Film Poster. The software which we used to create this was Adobe Photoshop. Using a variety of tools it allowed me to use different effects in the construction of the Poster.

When using Photoshop there was a variety of tools which could be used in the construction of the Film Poster. This Panel offered different tools such as the Text box to add text, the magic wand to select and cut what I didn’t want to be seen on the page and also the paint bucket tool to create a background colour.

Also using the layer tool was essential as it helped with Organization of the various content on the page.

Using the Hue/Saturation tool allowed me to brighten the image of the hand to give it more of an effective glow to stand out on the page.

To create the effect of the text being dissolved I had to select the text layer effect I wanted to use. After selecting it I had to use the brush to create the splatters on top of the text to give it the effect of being dissolved.

While Creating my first ancillary task using pre research I had done, I was able to use the codes and conventions of existing Film Posters including layout, style, colour language and images in the creation of my own.

Layout: Film Posters usually consist of a strap line, title, main image, coming out date (if it is not already out), website and the fine print of detail which includes actors, film Crew and sponsors. To follow the conventions of existing products I included all of these aspects. Although some posters have certain aspects in different positions, such as the strapline on the bottom.

Language: The strap line used is supposed to be short and interest the potential viewer in a few words. By having a strapline which is quick and ambiguous it intrigues the audience to want to watch the film to see what will happen. By using “The Game Plays Itself” it makes the reader question what the game could be.

Style Image and Colour: Conventional Horror posters usually use quite dark colours or colours representing horror such as Red or Black. For my poster I tried to match the colour of the text to the image. Images used are also supposed to represent the movie and main theme. Most posters use one main image of the main character/s or key location, however for mine I decided to use the hand because it stands out.

In addition I also used the convention of having the fine print of detail at the bottom of the poster as well as the optional website link for information. Although the fine print is dulled down and small it still contains vital information, but is less important.