Good looking poster campaigns

A successful poster campaign

Example of the viral posters,
would be placed on a bus stop in real life

I have been looking at film poster campaigns that I think have been interesting so that I can develop the ideas for my own film poster campaign.  I think that the campaign for the film DISTRICT 9 (2009) has lots of great elements that I would like to build into my poster campaign.  I have also chosen to review this poster campaign as the film was in the action/thriller film genre which is an area I am interested in for my own short film.  District 9 was a successful film despite having a limited budget in terms of feature film ($30 million) and no A list celebrity actors.  

Sony Pictures used a viral marketing campaign which started a year before the film trailer in July 2009 with a clear tag line of ‘Humans Only’.  Not only using posters, they also developed stickers and put their images in lots of different places to create interest in the film.  These are all really good examples of Teaser posters and images to create interest in the film.  I think we can easily develop these ideas for the poster campaign.  Because the film is shot like a documentary the poster campaign really works by putting images into the day to day life of its possible target audiences – as if the film is real life.

Their traditional poster

The final ‘traditional’ posters for launching the film built on the campaign and are very effective.  It’s also interesting that because the film did not have very famous actors in it they chose to highlight the Directors who would be known by the cinema going public for other successful films (Lord of the Rings).  In my poster campaign I won’t have any famous actors or directors so I need to think about the best way to present the film poster for impact.

Influences on me:

As I won't have any famous actors and I'm not exactly a world famous director I need to think of other ways to make my film posters interesting and sell my film. I think that the viral stickers and posters used to advertise District 9 would be a good option to go with as it would quickly gain the public's interest if placed in the right places.

Another good Short

Brush with death by Corridor Digital- 1 min 49 secs

The Plot:

The plot is about a man who has to clean graffiti off a wall but then has to fight people that seem to come out of the graffiti or are made from it. This abstract idea makes it interesting as the audience haven't seen anything like it before. You are immediately positioned with the man in white as he is the first person you see and the close ups let you understand his emotion. Straight away the Short goes into him fighting the graffiti people,  this is effective as it immediately grabs your attention and makes you start to wonder what is going on. Why these events happened are never explained which gives the Short the feel of a different world in a way which makes it seem more realistic. The Short also ends with a cliffhanger which leaves you wanting to see more and I personally feel this is a good way of ending a Short. 

The Shots:

During the fighting scenes the camera tracks the movement which adds to the fast pace of the Short. Quick cutting style is also used to add to the fast paced feel. A large amount of shots are wide shots so that the CGI is more impressive, the abstract and clever CGI are also what helps make the Short so good as it is used well and professionally. 

The Lightning and Sound:

The light is all natural, this contrasts with the black graffiti people and helps put you on the side of the man in white. The fighting noises are a key part as they are cartoonish which adds to the unique feel of the film and the cartoon like idea and fighting. 

How it's influenced me:

After looking at this and "The Black Hole" I think it is very important in a short to quickly introduce the main character and position the audience with them, although I'm sure as I look at more Shorts I will see ways of not doing this but still having a good Short. I will probably stick to introducing the character quickly though as I think this works very well. I think that CGIis a good addition to a Short but I should only use effects if I can make them look realistic-what makes them so good as that they  are done professionally and look believable. 

A good short film

The Black Hole (2008) produced by Future Shorts- 2 mins and 49 secs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5_Msrdg3Hk

I've watched this short film and found it an excellent example of a Short. What made this so good was the...

The Plot

The film is about a man who prints a black dot that is a black hole. This is a original and unique idea that is well suited for a Short and interesting to watch. The film is about a man who works in an office and is clearly unhappy with his job and possibly life. This is clear within seconds of the film despite the lack of dialogue through different shots and diegetic sound and body language of the character. Portraying this quickly positions the audience with the main character so they are interested from the start. The film builds up as the character uses the black hole to more daring uses which we can identify with as many of us would have done the same thing. As the film ends you watch the man get stuck in the safe, you can see this happening and as you are positioned with him from the start you feel as if you want to warn him. This is what makes the film so good-the audience have identified with the character and the plot quickly develops to keep you interested. 

The Shots

The large amount of shots from different angles make it feel like you are watching him secretly at times, this feeling is strengthened by the fact no shots are from behind him at the start. For example the low angled shot through the black hole. The shots decrease in length as the tension increases. The fast paced cutting speeds up the film and makes it much more interesting to watch. At the end the shot of the safe ends it very well as you are given a while to wonder what will happen next.

The Lighting and Sound

The lighting sticks with the mood of the film and the plot, starts of very gloomy to fit with the characters mood and then gets a lot darker as he tries to rob from the safe. This makes the Short better as it adds more emotion so the audience are better involved. The diegetic sound is mainly the stereotypical office sounds only made louder so that they seem more of a part in the characters life. This helps position you with and understand the character more with the combination of his body language.

What I learnt

This showed me that in my film I should try to make the plot simple but original as well so that it isn't hard to follow but not predictable. I also learnt that the lighting is a key part of portraying the mood of the Short so I should think about it a lot when setting up a shot. 

How to make myself some Shorts

This year I'm going to be making a short film, so I probably need to know what a short film is.


History of the Short

In the early days of film making (1910s) short films were often shown with the feature film.  These were often animation cartoons or live actions short films.  With technological advancements like sound recording and technicolour, films could be developed to make an entire feature film like Becky Sharp (1935).  However, today short films are still a popular choice for film makers.  They can be a lot less expensive than making a full feature film – this makes it a popular medium for amateurs and students.  However, it is difficult to define the conventions now for short films because, other than the time limit of footage, there is such a huge variety of films that fall into this category.

Up 40 mins?

A feature film, such as Lord of the Rings (201 mins), that most people will watch on the T.V. or the cinema doesn't count as a short film. The Academy of Motion Pictures say that a short film is 40 minutes maximum. Most short films are below this time, especially on Youtube where a lot of the short films made by people like me are uploaded, and called Shorts in the media industry. A lot of short films are aimed at the Aficionado and film buff part of the film audience as they often contain topics that the mainstream audience don't look for in a film. But there is still a market for mainstream Shorts.

Me, myself and Short

I will be making a Short this year and am going to aim for it being 5 minutes and the best that I can do.
To make this as good as I can I'm going to look at lots of different shorts and analyse them to get a better understanding of how a Short works, such as plots, characters and script.