1. 1 | P a g e
Draft Version Evaluation, Implementations and Outline of Key Changes
Initial Poster Idea This rough version was the first time I visually could see how I would
try to promote my short film. I tried to include many of the
promotional features that my initial research had highlighted.
Firstly, my poster had to contain my protagonist and it had to
promote the idea of a sexual liaison, To symbolise this aspect, I
roughly sketched both characters Sweetah and Logan in the
foreground of the poster and included the following poster elements:
Title of film, aligned centre top in a custom produced font
Three nominated awards to promote the film. I intend to use
the awards mentioned in my film review to create synergy
between the two.
Intertexual references, aligned left to eliminate the negative
space
Tagline, aligned right to eliminate the negative space
Credits traditionally aligned lower bottom
Experimental
Poster Idea
My initial poster idea was primitive and unimaginative and in order to
progress on, I brainstormed different areas I wanted to explore.
To experiment with photography was my primary goal. I took a
photograph of the Ford Zodiac that was used as a major prop in Mouse and
blurred a filter over it. I then printed this out and roughly drew my
protagonist leaning up against it. On this experimental poster version I
decided to include the following traditional poster conventions:
Intertextual reference, aligned first quadrant, top left in order
to eliminate the negative space
Intertextual reference, aligned second quadrant, lower right
to break up the extra large image of the car
The film’s title is positioned in the number plate
The directors mention will be aligned centre, directly under
2. 2 | P a g e
the number plate
Three promotional awards are evenly positioned under the
directors identification to eliminate the negative space
The credits are traditionally aligned lower bottom through
quadrants three and four
Evaluation
The idea to use original photography really appealed to me. The
majority of posters in today’s society are graphically enhanced and I
feel that a high-resolution photograph would work well as a
promotional idea. Its difference in sharpness and quality would
contrast against the graphic enhanced material, currently promoting
films.
The relevance of an original photograph, would not only support
the social realism genre, but it would also allow an audience to
connect with the protagonist.
To take this idea forward, I will now plan a photograph session
with my protagonist.
Static Film Poster
Draft 1
After taking several promotional photographs of my protagonist with
the Ford Zodiac car, I could see my experimental idea coming to life.
As I had taken various photographs, I could not choose between
them, so I decided to conduct a quick survey that was selective of
students aged between 16-18 years old.
I asked fifteen students to look at the seven photographs and
then choose the one they thought would be the best fit for my
intended purpose and to provide a valid reason to justify their
choice. Surprisingly, the dead mouse received a shocking negative
response with the girls, but it was quite popular amongst the boys.
The most popular photograph was the one I used to create this
draft.
Implementations
1) The title Mouse is aligned top centre of the poster. The font I
chose was I am online with u and I formatted this large and
bold to stand out.
2) I carried forward the idea of editing the number plate and
3. 3 | P a g e
chose UK Number Plate font style and edited this on
Photoshop, so that the word directed actually looked
authentic
3) The director’s name was produced in the same font style as
the title. I decided that there would be a better continuity
between the text if I chose the same style, however its format
is a lot smaller than that of the title.
4) Credits implemented were aligned at the base of the poster,
through quadrants three and four. The font I chose was SF
Movie Poster.
5) I used Photoshop to edit the original colour of the fence
panels in the background.
Static Film Poster
Draft 2
Implementations
I carried through all the original elements from draft one, but
included the following:
A tagline – I positioned this far right in the second quadrant and
aligned it just beneath the title. The positioning on the poster will
effectively absorb the negative space behind it. The font I chose to
produce the tagline was Letter Gothic Std, because the spacing
between the individual characters is symbolic to the space that is
indicated in the film between the acting characters. For example,
how they separate themselves from each other walking down the
stairs with the railings acting as a barrier.
Awards – Using Photoshop I edited two nominated awards and
positioned these on either side of the protagonist on the fence
panels, again to eliminate dead and negative space.
Evaluation
The poster looked unprofessional and messy. I had included several
film conventions to give anchorage, but the overall effect to unite
these aspects needed a sophistic and artistic approach. I will
endeavour to take this notion forward for my next draft.
Final Static Film
Poster
Outline of Key Changes
To Improve the overall effectiveness of the film poster I did the
following:
4. 4 | P a g e
I condensed the credit titles from three lines to two, by
reducing the size of the font.
I realigned the award crests and their text to new positions
beneath the cars bumper, but above the title credits.
Changed the font of the directors title to Letter Gothic Std.
This font is now the same as the awards and tagline, bring
unity across the poster.
The tagline has been altered to contrast two different style
elements, italics to indicate delicateness and style and bold to
convey a dramatic statement. Each style element can be
associated with both character’s contrasting characteristics.
Implementations
1) The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has been
inserted into the fourth quadrant and aligned lower far right
to show the age rating for Mouse.
2) Intertextual references have been positioned on the fence
panels and I edited these to conform to the same perspective
as the fence.
3) The mention of my other film Limbo has been aligned, centre
and positioned directly underneath of my name.
Evaluation
The font used for the awards, tagline, intertexual references and
directors mention has all been produced using the same style font
which brings unity to the poster. The new positions outlined above,
are more sensibly placed, and this has eliminated the original messy
feel, from the previous draft. The intertextual references have been
artistically edited to take into consideration the perspective of the
fence. They lie asymmetrical in comparison, which indicates how
different the characters Sweetah and Logan are from each other.
Furthermore, I feel that the positive and negative space within the
poster has been effectively used.
