Burn Burn Burn - Short Film Poster Research - Sam Swinson

Burn Burn Burn - Short Film Poster Research - Sam Swinson

This film is about two friends and it is just after their friend has died. The two friends go on a road trip to spread the ashes of their dead friend. The two girls are both in their late twenties. The girls take turns driving while the ashes of the dead friend are in the glove box in a tupperware box.

MRANG Concepts:

Here are the three MRANG concepts that I am going to apply to this short film poster:

• Narrative
• Media Language
• Genre

1. Main actors (Media language) - At the top of the page is the names of the two main female actors. The reason that their names would be on the poster is to draw attention to their work because they may be well-known actors for UK independent films which could attract the target audience. The font for this is a handwriting style font and this fits the scrapbook style of the poster. 
2. Background image (Narrative & media language) - The background image for the poster is very relevant to the narrative of the short film because it is a road map and the two girls are going on a road trip. This immediately suggests to the audience that there is going to be some sort of a trip involved in the film. This suggests that the road map shows the setting for the short film. 
3. Car prop (Narrative & media language) - The car prop is another important feature of the poster and it is used to show the audience that the two characters are going on a road trip. Also, we can see that the car is not very new and it is not very expensive which suggest that the two girls don't have a lot of money to spend on the road trip.
4. Director and Writer (Media Language) - The names of the writer and the directors appear on the short film poster. They are written in the same font as the actor's names, however, the size of the font is smaller. This is good because the director of the film is less important to the audience than the actors are.
5. Title (Narrative & Genre & Media Language) - The title on the short film poster is made very well because it is in a collage style. The images that are used in the title are actual shots from the film its self. Also, the title of the film accurately describes this film because it is about the ashes of the girl's friend.
6. & 7. Two Protagonists (Narrative & Genre) - At the bottom of the poster we can see the two protagonists of the short film and we can start to see some of their qualities from this picture. The blonde one who is on the car seems to be a fun adventure style person who is happy. Then the other character is the smarter one who is checking the map to make sure they are going the right way.

Layout:

• At the top of the poster is the actor's names in a handwriting style font.
• Below their names is the name of the director and the writer which is in the same font, but, a smaller size.
• Then there is the title of the film which is 'Burn Burn Burn'. The title has images underneath it that are cut out to form the text.
• Then below the title is the two main characters.
• Then there is the car that is used in the film.
• Then at the bottom of the poster is the billing block, company logos, and websites
• Also, in the background, there is a road map which links to the film because the characters go on a road trip.

Title:

• The title of the film directly represents the narrative of the short film because it is about the friend distributing the ashes of their dead friend.
• The font of the title is a big block text style font with images behind it in a collage style. 
• The title is in the centre of the poster because it is the most important part of the poster.
• Also, it has two meanings because it is part a collage of memories for the dead friend and it is the title.

Review and Awards:

• This film poster has an award displayed on it, however, it doesn't have any reviews or star ratings on the poster.
• The awards that this film was selected for the BFI London Film Festival.
• This is good because it shows the audience that this is a quality film and it could intrigue the audience to watch the film.

Spacing:

• This film poster is a good example of how the placing of information should be done.
• This is because it has all of the conventions of a film poster and it doesn't overcrowd the poster.
• The title of the film is in the middle of the poster because it is the most important piece of information on the poster. 
• Also, all the pictures are visible from a distance and they are colourful which draws attention to them.

Audience:

• There is not certification shown on the poster for this short film.
• However, it does have a certification which is 15.
• The target audience for this film is males and female from the age of 15 to 25.
• The comedy genre of the short film means that it will appeal to people who like comedy films and the audience can see that this is a comedy film because of how the characters are placed around the car on the poster. 

Website:

• At the very bottom of the film poster, there is a reference to a website about the short film.
• This is underneath the billing block that is on the poster and the text for the website is very small which means you can bearly read what it says. 
• The link at the bottom of the poster is to the production company website which is Young Button productions and Rather Good Films. 
• Also, there is an official Facebook page for the film and an official Twitter page for the film which helps raise awareness for the film because lots of the target audience use social media.

Billing Block:

• The billing block is at the bottom of this film poster.
• It includes lots of information including:
• Production companies involved in the film
• The name of the film
• Actors in the film
• Casting director
• Make-up designer
• Composer
• Director of photography
• Producer
• Writer
• Director

Poster Research - I, Daniel Blake - Connor Hilton

Poster Research - I, Daniel Blake - Connor Hilton

Film Synopsis:

Daniel Blake, 59, has worked as a joiner most of his life in Newcastle. Now, for the first time ever, following an illness, he needs help from the State. He crosses paths with single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie’s only chance to escape a one-roomed homeless hostel in London is to accept a flat in a city she doesn’t know, some 300 miles away. Daniel and Katie find themselves in no-man’s land, caught on the barbed-wire of welfare bureaucracy as played out against the rhetoric of ‘striver and skiver’ in modern-day Britain.

MRANG Concepts:

1. Audience
2. Representation
3. Media Language

1. Along the top of the poster we can see the director and writer names. The names themselves are slightly larger than the rest of the text as this will emphasise the names and make them more noticeable.
2. The male character which we can assume is the main character of the film is wearing a costume that represents the working class as he is wearing rugged jeans and he has a beanie. The man is holding his fist in the air which is a universal sign of victory or triumph which could foreshadow some of the plot to the audience. 
3. The background of the poster is a pavement and a wall. The wall is used as a background for text which displays quotes from reviews which certain words and phrases in red to emphasise their meaning. 
4. The title of the film appears to be spray painted on the wall which could represent the characters behavior and the stereotype of vandalism among the working class.  
5. The billing block is located at the bottom of the poster like many other posters, however it has the opacity turned down. What this means is, it looks dimmer and harder to see. This could be because it may contradict the rest of the poster so they decided to make it less clear.

Structure:

The poster is in landscape orientation which makes it wider rather than longer. This allows the wall to fill more of the frame and leaves more space for the text on the poster. At the same time the poster is very cramped because of the amount of text on it. I feel that some of the quotes from the reviews could be removed as there is a lot of text on the poster.

Poster Research - Organised Criminal - Connor Hilton

Poster Research - Organised Criminal 

Organised Criminal Synopsis:
When an ambitious up and coming criminal (Bobby) decides to get even with a vicious drug dealer from his past (Dominick), he realizes that in order to do so, he has to level the playing field first.

Through the use of modern technology and slick spying techniques, Bobby successfully blackmails the local Lt. Governor (Ryan Holt). Having Ryan Holt at his beck and call simply adds one more person to Bobbys growing collection of blackmailing files, so precious to him that they are stored and protected in a hidden vault.
Realizing that his blackmailing files are his true source of power, Bobbys choice to target to even higher levels of blackmailing victims leads him to pursue a partnership with his old friend and attorney, the very sophisticated, very well-connected, and yet very reluctant, Vincent Russo.
Bobbys task is to persuade Vincent that surrendering to his own greed without fear and without regard for his morals will lead them both to creating one of the most intelligent, most modern and most powerful criminal organizations the world has seen yet.


MRANG Concepts:

1. Narrative
2. Genre
3. Media Language

1. The short film has been selected to be shown at multiple film festivals which will make the audience consider watching the film as they are more likely to enjoy it. The audience will recognise the symbol for the awards/ film festival selections and this will instantly make them value the film more. This is why it important to list good accomplishments of your short film on the poster.
2. The title of the short film is in the centre of the poster which makes it easy to see. It is also white on a dark background which makes the title easier to read. The font of the title is also iconic to the action/thriller genre and makes the text look more intense and impactful.
3. This short film poster also has a tagline which is unusual for a short film poster and is hard to get right, as it may sound cheesy or cliche. In this case, I feel that the tagline is fairly generic but it does add to the poster and gives the audience a better idea of what the film is about.  
4. There is an image of a male character with a silhouette effect which creates enigma by using restricted narration as we can't see what the character's face looks like.This helps connotate the genre to the audience as restricted narration is iconic to the thriller genre. The character's costume is a white shirt which indicates he could work for a business. 
5. In the background we can see some images with text over the top, one of images displays a character lying on the bed with their arm stretched towards the camera which makes them look like they are dead. This helps connotate the genre to the audience.

Structure:

The poster is separated into three sections. The top section has a black background with white text on top to make the information stand out to the audience. The middle section has the image of the male character in a silhouette which provides a black background for the white title text which allows the title to stand out. The bottom section contains the billing block and is on a black background with white text which again, makes the information stand out.

The Red Balloon - Short Film Poster Research - Sam Swinson

The Red Balloon - Short Film Poster Research - Sam Swinson

This short film follows a young boy called Pascal. He is on his way to school one day when he finds a red balloon. When he is playing with his balloon he realises that it has a mind of its own. One day the boy and the balloon run into a gang of big boys who steal the balloon and trap the boy inside a bakery. However, the boy retrieves the balloon, but, the gang of boys destroy the balloon and the end of the film shows all the other balloons in Paris as the come to the aid of the young boy.

MRANG Concepts:

These are the three MRANG concepts that I am going to apply to this short film poster:

• Narrative
• Representation
• Media Language

1. Lighting and colour (representation & media language) - parts of the short film poster are very bright which could represent the light-heartedness of the short film because the film is a fantasy comedy. Additionally, the colour of the poster is very grey and dark, however, the balloon is a very saturated red colour which stands out. This could represent that the balloon brightens up the life of the protagonist.
2. The protagonist (narrative) - the protagonist is shown in the poster because the narrative of the short film revolves around him. However, the protagonist doesn't take up the whole of the frame instead he is just in the corner of the frame. He is wearing a costume that is from the time that the film is made and set in which is in the late 1950's and he is wearing a very neutral grey colour.
3. Balloon (narrative) - the balloon is a key prop in the short film and it acts like a person. This is represented by the fact that it takes up the same amount of space on the poster as the protagonist does. Also, the balloon really catches the eye of the audience when they first look at the poster because it is a very bright a loud colour, but, the rest of the colour is very desaturated and dull colouring. This could represent that the balloon is brightening up the life of the protagonist and making him happier. 
4. Title (media language) - the placement of the title is very clever because it is placed on the part of the poster that stands out the most which means that when the audience looks at the poster they will immediately see the title of the short film. Also, the font is very simple which makes it easy to read. 
5. Director (media language) - the director's name appears on the short film poster because he was a French filmmaker who was well known for his short films. This links to the audience of the short film because it will be on the poster so that people who know his name may want to watch the short film.
6. Setting (narrative) - the setting for the short film is in Paris, however, the audience cannot see this in the short film poster. This is because shallow depth of field is used to make it out of focus which puts the emphasis on the protagonist and the balloon. We can see that he is near water and lots of big buildings. If the audience hasn't seen the short film then they would assume that this is where the film is set.

Layout:

• In the top corner of the poster is the Red balloon which is the key prop used in the short film.
• The title of the short film and the director's name is overlayed on top of the balloon.
• In the bottom corner of the short film poster is the protagonist who is holding onto the balloon and pointing at it which suggests to the audience that he is talking to it. 

Title:

• The short film is called the Red Balloon because the film is based around a red balloon that has a mind of its own. 
• The placement of the title is very clever because it is on top of the Red Balloon its self. 
• Also, there is a good use of capital lettering because the 'the' part of the title is not very important so it is in lower case and then the 'RED BALLOON' part of the title is in capitals because it puts emphasis on the title.
• The font used for the title is a very basic book style font that it thin and it is easy to read from a glance or a distance.

Reviews and Awards:

• This short film poster doesn't include any awards or any reviews.
• This is because this is a very old short film and the poster was made a long time ago.
• Therefore, when creating my short film poster I will make sure to include awards and reviews because it can make the audience more keen to watch the film.

Spacing:

• The short film poster is spaced out very well.
• This is because there is not a lot of information that is written on the poster which means that there is more space available to use.
• However, my short film poster will have a lot more information on it, but, I like the use of the thin font because it makes the poster seem uncluttered and easy to read.

Audience:

• This short film appeals very well to the target audience which is young adult men and women who like comedy films. 
• This is shown by the use of colour which is very dull and then there is a very bright part of the poster which is light hearted.
• Also, it is for short film enthusiasts.

What this poster doesn't include:

• This short film poster doesn't include a lot of important information that should be on a short film poster because it was made such a long time ago.
• Here is what it doesn't include:
• Billing block
• Reviews
• Awards
• Summary Reviews
• Link to website / social media
• Tagline
• This makes me more aware when thinking about the creation of my short film and I will make sure to include all the conventions of a short film poster so that my poster is very effective.

Poster Research - Lure (2006) - Connor Hilton

 Poster Research- Connor Hilton

 Lure:

Quick explanation of story(from Lure's IMDB page):
James is a normal 13 year-old. When a cute high school girl flirts with him, he's thrown for a loop. She wants him to come back to her house for a good time, but the boy is nervous. Something just doesn't seem right.



 MRANG Concepts:

1. Narrative
2. Representation
3. Media Language

As you can see I have added numbered arrows to the poster so I can be clear about which part of the poster that I am discussing.

1. The title of the short film is 'Lure' which is a reference to the device on the end of a fishing rod's string which is used to attract fish to the bait. This is a good metaphor for the story line of the short film as we know that the story is about a girl luring a boy to her home.  The title itself on the poster is not in all capitols so it has a more subtle impact and the title blends with the background instead of being a very bright colour which would contradict the feel of the poster. 
2. The short film has one an award which reads : "Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2006". This shows us that the film is of high quality as it has won an award and has been shown at a film festival. Showing that a film has won an award at a film festival is a useful tool as it can convince people that the film is worth watching. 
3. The billing block is located at the bottom of the poster. This is so that most people will read that part afterwards as most people would look at the poster from top to the bottom. This is a good location as the billing block can be hard to read which could put off some people, so having the billing block at the bottom allows people to get credited for the work while also being less intrusive to the whole poster. 
4. This is the main image of the poster. We can see a female characters hand holding the prop fishing lure on some string that is wrapped around her finger. We know that it is a female characters hand because of the red nail polish on her nails. The red nail polish can mean a few different things, it could be suggesting violence or it could suggesting romance which creates enigma for the audience. The image connotates the story of the short film of the female 'luring' the male to her house because she is holding the fishing lure and attracting the boy to her house like a fisherman would with fish.
5. The lure itself has a hook on the end of it, which could signify that if the male character accepts going to the female characters home then he could be 'caught' or in danger of some kind. This could link with the colour of the nail polish as both of these could signify danger or violence. 

Structure:

This short film poster is structured in a very simple and effective way. This is because the background image is very blank and bland. There is also not much going on in the foreground image of the female characters hand except for the lure on a string. This structure emphasises the prop of the fishing lure. The image of the hand and the title are side by side which means you might see one after another so you associate that image with the title. There is nothing but the hand at the top of the poster which emphasises the image of the hand further.

King's Heart - Short Film Poster Research - Sam Swinson

King's Heart - Short Film Poster Research - Sam Swinson

This is a short film that follows a young American football player called Joey. His world is turned upside down three days before the stat Championship game. The film revolves around the question 'will he rise up or be defeated forever?'

MRANG Concepts:

These are the three MRANG concepts that I am going to apply to this short film poster:

• Narrative
• Representation
• Media Language

1. The protagonist (narrative & Media language) - On the poster, we can see the protagonist of the short film called Joey. The audience cannot see a lot about this character because low key lighting is used to make him appear as a silhouette. From the protagonist we can learn some things about the narrative of the short film, for example, we know that it involves American football because of the costume that he is wearing and the prop helmet that he is holding (5). 
2. Football field behind him (narrative & Media language) - Because of the costume of the protagonist and the fact that he is walking is what appears to be a tunnel we can assume that behind the protagonist is a football field. Also, we see the protagonist walking towards the camera and away from the football field which could foreshadow the hard decision that the protagonist has to make in the short film.
3. Lighting (representation) - The lighting of the short film poster is very interesting because behind the protagonist where the football field is there is a very bright light. This could represent that the protagonist is walking away from the fame that football brings. 
4. Setting (media language) - The setting of the picture is the tunnel that connects the football field to the locker room. This means that the protagonist could be walking away from the most important game of his life. 
5. Football helmet (Media language & narrative) - In the protagonist's hand, he is carrying a football helmet which suggests that he has just been playing football. However, the rest of his team is not behind him which could suggest that whatever he is having to deal with he has to deal with it on his own.
6. Half of the lighting is bright and half is dark. and he is walking towards the darkness (Media language & representation) - The lighting of the poster is very cleverly composed because behind the protagonist there is lots of light and in front of the protagonist, there is darkness. This means that the lighting could represent the problem that the protagonist is having to deal with because he is having to turn his back on football and fame and go into the darkness.

Layout:

• At the top of the poster, there are the names of some of the main actors that are in the short film.
• Then in the background, there is the main picture of the poster which has the protagonist in it.
• At the bottom of the poster there is:
• The title of the film
• The billing block
• The production company of the short film

Title:

• The title of the short film is the 'King's Heart'.
• This could suggest that the narrative of the short film is based around the protagonist having a strong heart or a loving heart.
• The title is in bold, block text to empathise the title.
• The font is a fancy style font which makes it look slightly 3D.

Tagline:

• This poster for the Kings Heart short film doesn't have a tagline on it.
• However, there is a tagline for this short film which is 'Rise up or be defeated.'
• This intrigues the audience into watching the short film because they want to see what the problem the protagonist has to beat is.
• Also, it gets the audience questioning because they don't know whether the protagonist will be able to rise up against the problem. 

Reviews and awards:

• On this short film poster, there are no awards or reviews stated on the poster.
• This is unusual because normally on a short film poster the reviews and summary lines are used to bring the audience into watching the film.
• Also, normally the awards it has won are shown to demonstrate to the audience the quality of the short film.

Website:

• There is only one reference to a website on this short film poster is to the production companies that financed and distributed the short film.
• However, with a google search of the title of the short film, there are lots of posts about it on social media including a Facebook page about the film.
• Social media is an effective way to market because it can push the film to lots of people for a low price.

Audience:

• There is no certification for this short film.
• The target audience of the short film is suggested by the protagonist.
• This suggests that the film is for people who like sports. 
• However, it is also, for people who like to watch up lifting drama films.
• I think the short film is for both genders because all the text appears to be unisex and even though there is a male protagonist it can still be enjoyed by females.

Billing Block:

• The billing block is at the bottom of the short film.
• It includes lots of different information about the short film:
• Production companies
• The title of the short film
• Director of photography
• Producers
• Composer
• Director
• Writer

Spacing:

• All the text that is on the poster is very spaced out and apart from the title all the other text is in the same font.
• This is good because it makes the text understandable and you can distinguish it from the background.
• The text is either to the bottom or the top of the poster which leaves the protagonist in the middle.
• This is good because the poster is not cluttered with lots of information and all of the text and the background image is spaced in such a way that makes sure it doesn't look overcrowded.

Presentation:

• The presentation of the information on the short film poster is very good. 
• This is because there is enough information to intrigue the audience into watching the short film.
• However, there is not too much information on the poster that makes it cluttered.
• We can see the actors that star in the short film and we can see important people that are involved with the making of the short film.
• The size of the font that is used to show the actors is not very big because lots of the actors that star in the short film are not very well known.
• Also, the director's names and the production company names are in the billing block which means that they are very small which is good because they are not very important pieces of information for the audience.
• On the other hand, the title of the short film is in big block bold text because it is the most important piece of information along with the background image because it is used to bring the audience's attention to the short film poster.

Use of posters

Posters

Posters are used to gain awareness for a product. To do this they are put in areas with a large amount of traffic so that the most people possible see it. When creating the poster producers will think about how to make it stand out in towns and cities. They also tend to use a snapshot of the film to create "hype" about the film to make a larger profit. To do this, they could use colours which stand out like green and red or, they could go with the approach of placing them in clear areas like on busses which move around also making the poster visible to a larger audience.