Thriller Movie Posters- Placeit

Here are some example designs I have created using templates on the website Placeit.

The use of this website was to create different placeholder designs so I can develop upon these and envision how I want my final design to appear.

The photographs used are all also placeholders and helped give me inspiration for finding similar locations so I can take my own photographs using these as my creative intent. I eventually ended up choosing the graveyard design as a main inspiration for when I created my final designs using photographs at a church and graveyard.

I also created the layout using research into numerous movie posters and put details such as placeholder text which mirrors the information typically on film posters and can replicate how real designs look and how I can make mine appear detailed and realistic.

I also experimented with different fonts, seeing whether sans or sans serif fonts fit the tone of the film more and which would work better for advertising and the style of film I want audiences to expect. I decided to use a serif font more often in my designs as I wish the film promotion to appear more classical and old rather than a modern day horror film.

D2: Demonstrate how the technical and aesthetic properties of the media components meet the client brief

 D2: Demonstrate how the technical and aesthetic properties of the media components meet the client brief

Assessment Criteria for D2:

Learners are required to demonstrate how the advertisements technical and aesthetic properties meet the requirements of the clients brief and their preproduction plan. 

Learners should evaluate their final components against their client brief and demonstrate how the components support the advertisement campaign. 

THE CLIENT:

21st Century Productions Ltd.

ABOUT THE CLIENT:

21st Century Productions Ltd is a medium sized independent film company with an annual turnover of 15 million pounds. They specialise in producing high quality short film productions aimed predominantly at an audience aged between 17-25 years. 

The audience/customer is approximately 70% male and 30% female.

They have achieved a reputation in particular for producing films of the Horror/Thriller genre. It is this specialism that they wish to develop and promote.

THE BRIEF:

The company want to run an advertising campaign to increase ticket of their latest film release (Disciples). They want to produce a campaign that uses traditional poster sites at bus stops, motorway service areas and billboard facilities close to cinema locations.

The company also want to take advantage of digital advertising platforms.

Research data produced by the Data Detail Marketing and Research Company show that 70% of the target audience are more influenced by such advertising platforms.

Produce a range of visuals and proposals that present ideas for the Company’s consideration. The advertising must be appropriate to the target audience, be clear and effective in its message and cost effective.

Initial ideas and visuals should develop with the approval of the Company’s management team to produce a cutting-edge campaign that attracts the interest of potential customers and existing customers alike

My Response

When beginning to plan the advertisement designs, the components I planned to develop were print adverts and posters. This is because poster designs are commonly more seen by the public and potential target audiences, as any audio or audio-video adverts would have to be consciously clicked on and watched, meaning not many people are going to see the advert unless they are already interested in the product. Unlike print adverts, as they are designed to instantly catch the eye and garner interest from just a glance. They are also more likely to be seen since posters are placed in many public areas such as on buses or billboards along the road. They can also appear on the internet via pop up ads, social media posts, etc.

In order to begin making print designs, I drew thumbnail design sketches for what I planned the final posters and billboards to look like. Following codes and conventions from my research into advertisement of horror/thriller films to create as many different variations as I could until eventually deciding which thumbnails I would develop into real designs and which I wouldn't.

As shown below, I believe my poster design perfectly fits the codes and conventions of the horror/thriller genre. For example, I have used a mostly dark colour palette, yet contrast it with much bolder colours to draw the viewers eye where I want them to look, more specifically with red, connoting blood and danger. This is also used in the poster for It (2017) and the similarities between this design and mine demonstrate my understanding of genre conventions and how I can communicate with and reach my desired target audience.

 

I believe my print advertising product fulfilled the brief to the best of my ability, and used the guidelines given to create the best possible product. For example, the brief states that the production company "want to produce a campaign that uses traditional poster sites at bus stops, motorway service areas and billboard facilities." Therefore I made both traditional poster designs but also alternative billboard posters that would fit in public areas, as shown from the images below.

I also believe my poster and billboard designs to be incredibly cost-effective, as the posters themselves are quite simple and minimalist in design, using less to achieve more, and so the production value for these is relatively low for the props, photos of locations, etc. Aswell as costs to display the designs on billboards in public, thereby saving money and advertising to focus on the production and post-production funds.

Overall, I believe I have achieved the goal of the brief to the best of my ability, and created an advertising campaign which catches eyes and demonstrates codes and conventions of horror/thriller movies and lives up to the production company's record. The approach of design is much more classic than modern, and makes use of colour contrast and ominous aesthetics to catch the interest of the desired target audience and what they're interested in seeing.

I also believe I developed the brief by creating the website shown above. The brief states "The company also want to take advantage of digital advertising platforms." and that "70% of the target audience are more influenced by such platforms. 

Therefore, I created a website around the production company and promoted the film within the about section. This creates an online platform in which people can find the film and share to others to garner interest, spreading promotion across a digital space much more effectively than physical posters and billboards in public.

https://kieranriley2104.wixsite.com/website/about

D1: Discuss the legal and ethical constraints within the planned campaign

D1: Discuss the legal and ethical constraints within the planned campaign (*Synoptic assessment from Unit 1 Media products and audiences)
Assessment Criteria for D1:

 YOU are required to discuss the legal and ethical issues applicable to your planned advertising campaign. 

What do I have to do? (This is an individual task!)

Produce a word processed report (at least 750 words) where you list the legal and ethical issues that you think will be applicable your planned campaign.

Legal and Ethical issues are about ensuring that a product being created does not cause any offence by containing harmful messages implicit or explicit towards a certain group of people, representing them with respect, dignity and sensitivity. This could possibly be suggested from my Thriller film promotional material as the imagery being used in a religious setting with churches and crosses featuring in my posters. This implication could possibly be considered harmful to the Christian community and could be inferred I'm attempting to label Christians as murderous and cult-like. 

In resolving this issue, I mainly utilised gravestones in some poster designs and edited them to look like the graves are stained with blood, this implies it has been tainted with by something unholy and not representative of true christianity or it's beliefs. This ensures that any concerned viewers cannot claim the legal act of Slander, as the promotional products and film itself make no false accusations or implications of any kind, keeping in mind when creating the product that anyone who could potentially feel this way doesn't because of the handling of the representation.

The films plot and editing will be created with this idea in mind as to avoid anything that could be claimed as legal slander. Portraying the subject anatagonists in the film as being against actual practiced christian values yet still religious. This means that for a practicing christian viewer, they do not feel slandered or mis-represented.

Another possible cause for issues would be the use of blood in the posters and billboards. All final designs feature bloodstains on the background gravestones as well as deep red text for the title. It's very possible that parents could take issue with this design being shown in public due to its graphic deptictions, worrying in case children see it. I believe I resolved this issue by using as much subtly as possible in the graphic details. I show only the blood and the gravestones, meaning adults and more mature people will see the poster and be able to link the two mentally and understand the films genre and what to expect, while children will likely be left oblivious and overlook it without a second thought, easing the concerns of parents worried about their children seeing violence on a film poster.

These changes did slightly put constraints on my original ideas, as I had envisioned a poster design featuring a masked, cloaked figure holding an axe, with the figure itself concealed in darkness and shadow. I believe this would've given a sense of ominous fear to the viewer via introducing the antagonist of the film so the audience can both become familiar enough with the characters presence to still be threatened, while also keeping mysterious and leaving the audience asking more questions. Therefore not using the idea left a few constraints on my vision for the final designs.

I believe I resolved this constraint by simply further emphasising the intended affect of my other designs. For example, when using images of gravestones and adapting them to poster designs, I made the picture entirely black and white, and only added colour from the red bloodstains and red text. This contrast of colourless background to deep red text is used to catch the eye of anyone walking past and spotting the poster while in public, alongside the threatening tagline "Pray for their mercy." The target audience of people looking for an ominous, unsettling thriller is instantly reached by this design and how the message is instantly communicated.