Film Poster Analysis

 Double Indemnity, Billy Wilder 1944
A classic noir film

Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino 1994

a  postmodern neo-noir film

Research and planning

FILM NOIR

During the summer we were asked to make a short suspense film (2 minutes) this gave us the opportunity to:-
- Experiment with the cameras to prepare us for our coursework ( 5 minute short film)

- We were able to experiment shooting from different camera angles and develop our camera skills through using the camera both on a stand and handheld

- We produced a storyboard which helped us have a guideline whilst filming.

- We also had a look at other extracts from films which included suspense scenes to get an idea of codes and conventions.

This helped me experience problems with sound levels, and background noises such as cars, I learnt that when filming you must research your location and film at specific times to get the best quality.

our two minute film:

After returning this summer we have looked at a few examples of film noir, both short 5 minute productions, such as 'Ark' by Mal Woolford, and Double Indemnity (1944 classic noir feature) an American film by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler.

Codes and Conventions

Film noir french for 'black film' (came around 1940's/1950's) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations.

There are particular codes and conventions used throughout the genre which enable the audience to recognise the film as film noir:

- The cinematography is usually distorted and skewed reflecting the tone of film noir it also makes the viewer uneasy and evokes discomfort

- High and low camera angles are often used

- Close ups and extreme close ups 

- Depth of field shots

- Urban settings (rain and dark streets)

- Includes femme fatale and anti hero

- Low lighting to add to the mysterious setting

- Ambiance of the city suburbia

- Sudden noises

- Melancholy music

- Telling of a story through flashbacks

- Shadows

- Reflections obscured through objects

- Voiceover

- Detectives

- Filmed in black and white

- Props, e.g. hats and cigarettes

- Ambiguity and moral corruption

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity (1944) directed by Billy Wilder, starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G.Robinson as the main actors is an example of a classic noir film set in America's LA. An overview of the film from IMDb ' An insurance rep lets himself be talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigator's suspicions.' Double Indemnity demonstrates many of the codes and conventions of film noir which I listed previously. The characters, scenario and stylistic elements of double indemnity all represent early film noir, the dark tone of Double Indemnity, both visually and thematically additionally add to this. The anti hero who is led astray by greed and lust and the seductive yet deadly femme fetale are all essential in making the film categorize into the film noir genre. The evidence of crime and violence and the use of props, such as cigarettes and costume, such as suits and hats also make the film more conventional of its genre.

Neo-noir

Neo-noir has established itself as the preferred term for film noirs made after the classical period (1940-1959).

There are three different types of neo-noir film, Leighton Grist (1993) distinguishes between what he calls 'modern', 'modernist' and 'post-modern':

Modern

E.g. 'Harper' (1966), remakes and updates classics, tends to introduce 'a number signifier's of modernity', which include 'an updated setting, the use of colour, greater sexual frankness and the transmission of decidedly modern attitudes and mores'

Modernist

E.g. 'Point Blank' (1967), 'Taxi Driver' (1976) These films challenge noir as a genre and are more questioning and radical, they challenge film noir ideology and values, subverting film noir codes and conventions.

Post-modern 

E.g. 'Blade Runner' (1989), Quentin Tarantino, they use a bricolage effect, by using noir combined with other genres in a sampling way. Post modern noir is seen as radical and steps away greatly from the codes and conventions of film noir.

RedBlack

'RedBlack' a short film by Mal Woolford (2007) showed typical codes and conventions of Film Noir. The urban night time setting gave indications to film noir from the offset. The sounds from the urban city in the background is common of film noir. Additionally the woman actress is most certainly a femme fatale as she evokes mystery and danger and her appearance being beautiful and seductive is a common trait throughout the film noir genre. The lighting also resembled film noir as it usually relies heavily on lighting to set the mood within the scene which this short film did, the street lamps were used to create an eerie feeling within the film. The camera angles used within 'Redblack' indicate that the woman is in fact a femme fetale to the audience as the close up shots of her face and body convey to the audience her mysterious nature.

  

Taxi Driver (modernist)

Taxi Driver (1976), directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader is considered as a modernist neo-noir American film, it both challenges the film noir genre and typical codes and conventions but shows evidence of them also: 

- Travis Bickle, (Robert De Niro), is presented as an anti-hero as he shows violence throughout the film and odd tendencies but he also proves himself to be a hero by saving Iris (Jodie F oster) at the end of the film.

- Demostrates some voice overs

- Night time settings

- Street lamps used as lighting

- Violence/ crime/ gun culture

- Femme fetale (Jodie Foster)

- Rainy urban setting in New York

An overview of Taxi Driver from IMDb:
'A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge to violently lash out, attempting to save a teenage prostitute in the process.'

Taxi Driver Trailer

Auteur Theory

The term Auteur originates from France, which translates as author, meaning a director's film reflects their creative vision.

Quentin Tarantino

Also known as signing the screen, is evindent by many film producers/directors today such as Quentin Tarantino. The theory of authorship is crucial in modern day culture. The idea of the author of a film having a great impact on the films we watch with specific directors leaving their unique marks on their films and having creative control over them.

Quentin Tarantino demonstrates the idea of Auteur theory through his film Pulp Fiction (1994)

He makes his unique mark on his films in many ways, the way he used particular storyline's, frames shots and uses certain music makes his films reconisable within an instant.

Tarantino's use of the same actors known as his 'lucky actors' are an example of his auteur's signatures, he uses uma thurman in both Pulp Fiction and Kill bill, Samuel L Jackson in both Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown and Bruce Willis in both Death Proof and Pulp fiction. Additionally Quentin Tarantino usually plays minor roles within his films such as Jimmie Dimmick in Pulp fiction and Mr.Brown in Resevoir Dogs.

Another Autuer signature from Quentin Tarantino is that he usually uses old/forgotten music within his films and revives them in some way such as in Pulp fiction set in the 90's he uses an old song by Chuck Berry during the swing contest scene, which became popular again after the film had been released.

 There are also connections between films which make viewers realise the film is infact a Tarantino film for example sometimes the same dialogue  is used, the line 'Any time of day is a good time for pie' is used in Tarantino's pulp fiction and also a film written by him names 'True Romance'. 

 'Any day is a good day for pie'- scene

Pulp Fiction (post-modern)

We also looked at the neo noir film 'Pulp Fiction' by Quentin Tarantino (1994), starring John Travolta, Samuel Jackson and Uma Therman as the main actors. An overview of the film from IMDb 'The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.'

Pulp fiction is considered as a post modernist noir film, as it demonstrates a 'mash-up' of genres but shows intertextual references to film noir, such as reference to the classic noir film 'Kiss Me Deadly'.

The film showed some similarities to noir films such as:

- There was lots of crime and violence, additionally the use of weapons such as guns

- Similar props were used such as cigarettes

- The men wore smart suits and hats which is typical in film noir

- There was also evidence of a femme fetale and an antihero.

Pulp fiction also demonstrated some differences to film noir such as:

- The film was in colour.

- A villian was used as the protagonist (John Travolta) instead of a typical detective.

- The music used is not Jazz.

Pulp fiction Trailer

Narrative Theories

Tzevetan Todorov

He came up with a narrative theory that suggested that there are 5 main stages to every narrative:

                                       1  - Equilibrium

                                       2  - Disruption by an event, causing an unbalance

                                       3  - An enigma, realisation that the disruption had occurred

                                       4  - A path to resolution, attempting to fix the disruption and damage.

                                       5  - Restoration of equilibrium

We looked at some short films in class and applied the theories in which we had learnt, we applied Tzevetan Todorov's narrative theory to a short film named 'Stripes' (2003) directed and written by Sean Speancer.

'Stripes' (2003)                            

Todorov's theory put into context

 1  - Equilibrium

 1  -  average working man making breakfast on a day off at home

 2  - Disruption by an event, causing an unbalance

 2  - intruder 

 3  - An enigma, realisation that the disruption had occurred

 3  - interrogation by intruder, and revelation that intrudr was householder's victim of bullying at  school

 4  - A path to resolution, attempting to fix the disruption and damage.

 4  - Intruder cutting the mans face with knife, as payback

 5  - Restoration of equilibrium

 5  - homeowner, working male, is now the victim.

Vladimir Propp

Propp looked at the way characters were represented in folk tales more as stereotypes rather than individual characters and looks at the characters and their actions:

• The Hero- protagonist, on a quest 
• The Villain- antagonist, opposes/challenges the hero
• The false hero- tempts the hero away from his quest
• The Helper- helps the hero in some way
• The dispatcher- starts the hero on his way
• The donor-  helps hero by giving him a magic tool
• The princess- is the hero's reward
• The father (of the princess)- Rewards the hero for efforts

Claude Levi-Strauss

Levi-Strauss believes that the elements in film which give meaning usually appear in a series of opposites/pairs (binary oppositions), they can either be visual e.g. Day and Night, or conceptual e.g. Love and Hate. These oppositions tend to structure a narrative/film once they have been noticed. He argued that the meaning of a word was more defined by its opposite, a relationship between opposing ideas.

Rolande Barthes

Rolande Barthes has narrowed down the narrative action into five basic codes and suggests that this is how readers make sense of the narrative:

• The action or proairetic - the way tension is built and the audience is kept guessing
• The enigma or hermeneutic- The story avoids revealing all the facts, creates mystery by dropping clues
• The semantic-  refers to the connotations that the story suggests
• The symbolic-  uses symbolic knowledge e.g. religious understanding
• The cultural or referential- cultural/social values/norms which we tend not to challenge for example, murder is wrong.

Genre Theories

Richard Dyer's "Utopian pleasures" theory

Richard Dyer (1977) has a theory that people will respond to a media text if it provides them with compensation for the inadequencies in their own lives. Richard Dyer's utopian feeling or fantasy, and its coded entertainment forms are:

• Abundance
• Energy
• Intensity
• Transparency
• Community

Abundance is replacing Scarcity for example, actual poverty in realy day to day life, and unequal distribution of wealth.
Energy is replacing Exhaustion, for example, pressures of work and at home, work as a grind.
Intensity is replacing dreariness 

Transparency is replacing manipulation.

Community is replacing fragmentation

A utopian feeling or fantasy has been created in some films such as Blade Runner.

Abundance can been in Blade Runner through the futururistic and over the top set, the lack of poverty shown throughout the film also through the costumes and the company 'Tyrell' appearing afluent creating a sense of abundance throughout the film.

Energy is evident within Blade Runner through the sci-fi action and the energetic characters and thier energy filled dialogue.

Intensity is also seen in Blade Runner through the action filled plot itself, which replaces the mundane reality of people's lives. For example the character Rick Deckard being placed in dangerous satuations creating acion-packed scenes creates intensity during his quest to try and retire a replicant.

Transparency is shown in the film Blade Runner through Deckard going against his orders in retiring Rachel.

Community is also show through the replicants that were ordered to be retired stick together when defending thier lives and show a sense of community.

Blade Runner

Photographers

Alex Prager

Alex Prager is an American photographer and Film maker who lives and works between New York City and Los Angeles.

I have decided to look in detail at Alex Prager's work because it particularly reflects and demonstrates aspects of Film noir. She draws on cinematic cues from directors Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch, Prager’s photos use exaggerated angles and theatrical lighting to create a melodramatic world of mystery with women frequently poised beneath low flying planes—Prager’s signature homage to the film North by Northwest. The suggestively bleak compositions are balanced by the bold hues of the vintage clothing and synthetic wigs that subjects wear. “People used color then in a way they’d be embarrassed to use now,” Prager reasons. Her photography work Coincides well with Film Noir and some of her work displays aspects such as:

• Night time urban settings
• 'Femme fatale' like characters e.g. seductive dress, red lipstick
• Vintage dress/fashion
• Minimal lighting
• Obscure camera angles
• Rainy/dark settings
• Aspects of mystery, suspense and drama

 Alex Prager's short film- Despair

I am going to use Alex Prager's work to inspire my film and photography. I am going to explore the ways in which she uses obscure angles, vintage dress and night time settings e.t.c for my own poster and film review. 

Filming Preparations

Location shots

For my 5 minute short film I decided to film around Barnet, Arkley near to where I live. The area consists of country roads, surrounded by overhanging trees, greenery and street lights, which makes it an ideal setting for a short suspense film based on Film Noir.

DAY

NIGHT

I looked at how day and night would effect the filming and the camera when taking photos helping me to decide when to take certain scenes.

 I found that when on the main roads which were sufficiently lit by street lamps, my camera would be able to cope with the lighting.

Street Scenes

 

This is the area/roads, where I will be filming my night time street scenes.

Car Park Scene

Night time scene- lit by street lamps/lights

I found that the lighting in the car park was very effective and eerie. It was also the perfect lighting to create shadows, which is very typically film noir.

Derelict Land Scene

 This will be the setting for my day-time scenes

My Anamatic

 

I also created a storyboard for my film; I included all the individual camera shots, angles and movements in each shot/scene which I would be using, including estimated timings and dialogue. I then created an anamatic through recording each drawing and uploading it to iMovie on the Macs and editing each shot by adding music, transitions and Titles.

By creating this anamatic it allowed me to visualize how my film was going to look. It also will help me prepare for timings when actually filming, as I am able to use it as a reference.

Whilst taking photos of my locations I also practiced some of the shots/scenes which I was going to be filming.

POV driving car scene

 

Cast

These are the photos of my cast which I will be using in my short film

Phoebe Taiano- as Marilyn (femme fatale character)

Tom Harper- as Tom (anti-hero/victim)

Dialogue

There is minimal dialogue in my short film but this is the short script that I will be using:

Car Park Scene

Phoebe- (knock knock on the car window) 'Sorry didn't mean to scare you, but have you got the time?'

Tom- Errrm...  'yeah it's err quarter to eleven'

Phoebe- 'Thanks'

Street Scene

(long shot of girl leaning into car, leaving impression of them talking for a while beforehand)

Tom- 'So where you heading... Do you need a lift'

Phoebe- 'errm... yeah alright then'

Scheduling

Before filming I decided to plan out exactly when I was going to undertake certain tasks such as filming and editing. This would help me to meet deadlines and keep on target with my work.

Call sheets

I also decided to make call sheets for myself and my cast. This would allow filming days to run smoothly and would enable all three of us to contact each other, know what we needed to bring with us and where and when we were meeting up.  I made separate call sheets for the day and night time filming as these were going to be filmed on a different day.

Day Filming

Night Filming

Filming

I filmed my short film 'Pick-up' using a variety of cameras and technology. For the majority of the filming I used my own Nikon D300 SLR camera, I chose to use this camera as it has HD video recording, and could cope well with minimal lighting, which allowed me to film my night time scenes. When using this camera I also used a tripod, this ensured stabilization for the footage when filming. Using a tripod was particularly important when shooting pans and tilts.

I also used this camera when shooting my day-time scenes- Screen grab from my film when using Nikon D300

Derelict land scene

Additionally I used my GoPro hero 2 camera to film more awkward/difficult scenes. This camera was great to film with, as it is very small and has various mounts, meaning you can attach it to almost anything.

 
I used this camera when filming my car driving scene- I mounted the camera onto the bonnet of the car, facing inwards (facing the windscreen) so you were able to see the driver and passenger whilst the car was moving. This camera allowed me to produce a professional style when filming and a range of shots.

Screen grab from car scene using GoPro

I also used this camera for my POV running shot. I decided to use this camera as It can attach to a chest mount which means the camera is able to move with your body when running, making the shot appear more realistic and natural.

Screen Grab- POV running shot

Chest mount

I incorporated an aerial shot into my film using the GoPro camera and a RC helicopter. I attached the camera to my brother's RC helicopter using a mount. My brother then controlled the RC helicopter when filming. This allowed me to get some unique footage from interesting angles.

Screen grab- aerial shot

Screen grab- aerial shot

By using this type of shot it allowed the audience to see an overview of the location from an interesting angle

My brother with RC helicopter

Additionally during filming the use of a car was very important as there were several driving scenes, both moving and stationary shots, and inside the car and outside. This meant that when filming ensuring continuity was a key factor, e.g. no props/belongings inside the car that were not there in the previous scene.

Here are some photos which I took during the filming sessions:

Editing

Once I had completed the filming I imported the footage from my cameras onto the mac computers and into iMovie, where I re-arranged the footage into the right order and completed all of my editing. Imovie allowed me to easily edit my film at a beginners level, but also contained features which allowed me to make my film appear professional. Features I used from iMovie were transitions, such as fade to black and dissolves, cutting and trimming the length of scenes, adding effects and changing the colour/brightness of a scene. iMovie also allowed me to add credits and sound effects/music.

Photo of iMovie and it's layout- the software I used for editing my film

One of the difficulties I found when editing my film was adjusting and editing the sounds. In one scene I could not hear the dialogue very well as the camera was too far away and the background noises were too overpowering.
I attempted to re-record the dialogue using the Macs voice recorder, and dub in the sound, but when attempting this the dialogue appeared unnatural and the editing of the sound was too obvious for the scene to flow.
 It took me a while to figure out how I could fix this problem and adjust the volumes but I eventually was able to appropriately adjust the volumes using a 'ducking' feature, and boosting the sound to 200%. This allowed me to keep the original diegetic dialogue.

Music

I used a software named Garageband to edit my music for my film. Firstly I searched using the internet on Youtube to try and find dramatic and suspenseful songs, which were appropriate for the genre of my film. I eventually found a few songs which I liked and thought would suit certain scenes in my film. I downloaded these songs using a Youtube converter which changed the video into an Mp3 format.
The first song I used was named 'The strings of time passing'- by Jason McCaan. I imported this song into Garageband where I edited it, in order to make it my own original music. I only wanted to use the first part of the song, therefore I chose the section and then created loops of this part of the song. Using loops allowed me to recreate the song and enabled repetition of the section of the song I had chosen to use. I then saved the song and imported it into iMovie. I was then able to apply the song to my film. I added this song to a driving scene.

Original song from YouTube

 'The strings of time passing'- Jason McCaan
 

The second Song I used was named 'Suspense', I completed the same process of editing for this song as listed above. I used this song for my aerial view scene.

One problem I found when editing music and sound effects on iMovie was that they did not have a 'gun shot' sound effect on iLife. This proved to be a problem for me as I needed this sound effect for several scenes in my short film. I decided to try and YouTube different gunshot sound effects which I could potentially download. I found one named '44 magnum', I downloaded this and edited on garageband by cutting it to the right length. I was able to import this new sound effect into the iLife library on imovie and use it for my film.


FINAL FILM

'Pick-Up'

Feedback on Film

I showed my short film to a small group of people via YouTube. After It had finished I handed out a quick questionnaire for them to fill out in order to get some audience feedback

Here is an example of the questionnaire

Comparisons to RedBlack

My short film 'Pick-up' shares some similarities with Mal Woolford's short film RedBlack. I have made comparisons of the mise-en-scene and the camera angles, shots and movements to show the similarities and how his short film has inspired some of the scenes in my film. RedBlack is a neo-noir short film which is produced very well, my short film 'Pick-Up' shows a similar style to that of Mal Woolford's.

Car/Driving scene- Camera looking into the car placed on the bonnet, with street lighting reflecting onto the windscreen

I have recreated a similar shot here with both characters lit up from lighting inside the car, contrasting with the dark setting. The characters are both positioned in the same way with the male character driving in the front, and the female in the back. Both female characters are in the spotlight with the use of lighting inside the car and are the main focal point of the scene. The shot is taken from the same angle camera on the outside of the car looking in through the windscreen. The street lights from the urban setting is reflected onto the windscreen in both scenes- affective in creating mystery and suspense.

Male looking into mirror- concealing face but focus on eyes

Here I have used a similar camera shot looking at the mirror view of the male protagonist. In both my film and RedBlack, there is obscured lighting and shadows caste across the characters face connoting elements of a mysterious and dark character. Both shots only let the viewer see part of the characters face, again leaving connotations of mystery to the audience. The camera angle is awkward and interesting and worked well in my film, creating the right atmosphere of suspense.

Male gaze

In both my film and RedBlack, there is emphasis on the female character from the male point of view presenting her in sexual and provocative manner. The camera is used to create a shot for the male gaze and show how he percieves the female character. This subsequently implies a suggestive plot to the audience presenting the male character as a predator.

Femme Fatale- Costume

 Both my femme fatale character and RedBlack's female character use a similar item of costume to convey a secretive, concealed and mysterious character. They both use hooded jackets to conceal their identity, but both remove this when in the car scene to entice the male. Their are other similarities between the two characters such as provacative dress and red lipstick.

Comparisons to Pulp Fiction

Similarly to RedBlack both my film 'Pick-up' and Tarantino's Pulp Fiction use a similar driving scene where the camera has been placed on the bonnet and facing inwards. The lighting from the busy city street is reflecting on the windscreen in this pulp fiction still, and the street lamps from the road are reflecting onto the windscreen in my shot, creating a similar effect.

Femme fatale character

Uma thurman and my femme fatale character share similar qualities in their image, Both women are more of a neo-noir femme fatale character as they do not have typical blonde hair but both have dark brunette hair, although they both are wearing typical noir red lipstick and share the use of similar props.

Props

In both Pick-up and Pulp Fiction, typical film noir props have been used, such as cigarettes, lighters and weapons such as guns. Both femme fatale characters use these props which again leaving connotations of classic noir films.


Film Poster

I firstly decided to look at some current blockbuster film posters, and record conventional features of these modern day posters
conventional features were:  

• A main image taking up the whole of the page
• page orientation- portrait
• Main image is usually of one main character in the film, with the character making direct eye contact
• Taglines are usually incorporated at the top of the poster
• Release date included
• Title of film in large lettering, usually reflecting the style of the film and keeping in theme with the background colours.
• Credit block at the bottom of the page- including details such as director/cast
• Institutional references- awards and production company logos
• Age certificate 
• Website

After looking at the film posters of current releases I decided to also look at some Film noir posters as this is the genre that my film is based on. I will look at classic film noir posters as my characters are based upon the classic film noir characters such as the femme fatale

Conventions:

• Image of femme fatale taking up majority of poster
• Smaller images incorporated as well as main image
• Bright colour scheme usually incorporating the colour red, connoting danger, love and violence
• Images are illustrated rather than using photos
• Writing is bold in large lettering and is usually skewed/slanted diagonally across the page
• credits featured at the bottom of the page
• The Title of the film is displayed in large bold lettering
• names of cast
• Taglines
• Femme fatale always shows similar features such as red lipstick and wavy blonde hair
• Institutional details such as production company

After looking at both types of film posters I decided to include some features from both. As my film is more neo-noir I am going to keep the features and styles more modern but still incorporating elements of classic film noir

I am going to include these features in my film Poster:

• One main image of femme fatale character- including features of classic noir femme fatale character e.g. red lipstick
• Title 'Pick-Up' in large bold lettering at the top of page
• Tagline at the top of the page above title
• Credit block 
• Institutional details
• website
• Use a dark colour scheme connoting the film noir genre e.g. including black, white and red

Additionally when creating my Poster I am going to refer back to my earlier research on Alex Preger's work and get some inspirations for my poster.

Photo shoot for Poster

Instead of using a screen grab from my film for my poster I decided to do a separate photo shoot to ensure clarity and in order to make my poster as effective as possible. I took the photos of my femme fatale character at night in a dark eerie street setting, wearing the same outfit which she wore in the film.

Here are some of the photos I took:

My final decision was to use this photo for my film poster

I chose this photo for my first draft, but later decided not to use this image.

First Draft

This was my first attempt at creating my film poster. I decided to change quite a few features as I felt it wasn't very effective or eye-catching.
For my final draft I am going to include some additional features and change some existing ones such as:

• Change main image to one where the femme fatale is looking directly at the viewer and is more in the center of the page, making the most of the space as my first draft appeared quite bare
•  I am going to reduce the size of the lettering for the release date as it is too large and unconventional
• Add a tagline to the top of the page as I forgot to do this
• add institutional features such as film production logos
• add an awards logo
• add age certificate icon  
•  Change the font used for the title 'Pick-Up'- here I have used a font named 'Movie letters' which I downloaded from a website called www.Dafont.com, I felt that this font was not appropriate for the genre, and it didn't fill the page well enough.

FINAL POSTER

I feel that my final poster is much more effective, the new font I have used for the title is called 'Grad' and is more suitable for a film poster and makes more use of the available space. The image also is much better due to more emphasis on the colour red- connoting danger and death, foreshadowing later events in the film, and the direct eye-contact adds a sense of uneasiness and leaves connotations of the the thriller genre. Additionally the tagline 'who can you trust' adds an element of mystery and again adds emphasis to the film noir/thriller genre. Institutional details (Cannes award, Miramax logo and age certificate ) add a sense of professionalism to the poster.
I edited the main image for my poster using Photoshop. I enhanced the colour, and adjusted the brightness and contrasting levels in order to make the image appear crisp and flawless.

Alex Preger

For my final film poster I took inspiration from a film still, from Alex Preger's short film called 'Despair'

I Particularly liked the intensity in the characters facial expression in this still, and the way that all of her emotions are expressed through her eyes. I wanted my female character to try and recreate and intense look during my photo shoot, similar to this, looking directly at the camera. I also took inspiration from this image by using a similar wavy hair style on my model and recreating the same make-up, with the use of falsh eyelashes, red lipstick and liquid eye-liner.

Film Review

Before completing my own film review I did some research on existing reviews. I looked at hard copied magazines such as Total Film, which is published every four weeks by Future PLC and Empire which is also published once a month by Bauer Consumer Media, Both are British film magazines. Both magazines also have websites in which they publish reviews online. I decided to look at conventional features from both companies, looking at their hard copy magazine reviews and their online review.

Total Film- hard copy review

Empire- hard copy review

Total Film Online Review

Conventional features of Total film's online reviews are:

• They were much shorter than in the magazine
• Comprised of a smaller image
• Lots of advertisements surrounded the review
• No columns- a continuous prose layout
• Not very eye-catching, limited use of colour
• The films key details are listed at the top- easy for readers to see and good for someone who was quickly browsing the web
• Star rating included
•  Hyperlinks are included, during the article

Empire online review

Conventional features:

• Large star rating at the top of the page
• Small image
• Options to share with social network sites with the 'tweet' icon
• Plot is outlined first 
• Article is separated by subheadings
• No columns- text is in continuous prose
• Boring and dull visually due to lack of colour
• The layout is not very easy on the eye
• Advertisements surround the review

After looking at all 4 types of film reviews, I have decided to base my film review on Total Film's hard-copy review, as I think it is the most visually eye-catching and the layout is the most appropriate and includes interesting features such as the 'If you like this' sidebar and the predicted interest graph.

I am going to use a screen grab from my film for the main image of my film review. I have chosen to use an image of my male character taken from a day time scene, as this contrasts with the previous image used for my poster.

This is the screen grab I have chosen of Tom:

 I have chose this photo as the character has a distressed and mysterious look on his face, which connotes the genre of my film well.
I have edited the image using Photoshop by enhancing the colour and brightness.

Final Film Review

For my final film review I included these conventional features which resembled Total Film:

• Large main image- taking up half the page (screen grab)
• Star rating
• Age certificate
• Title of film overlapping image
• Pull quotes
• website
• 'Screen' title/logo at the top of the page
• 'The Verdict' section
• Key information e.g. director, screenplay and cast
• 'See this if you liked' sidebar with other films posters and star rating
• Release date
• columns
• Lines breaking up the columns and sections
• Colour scheme of red, white and black.
• A typical magazine font, which is easy to read and a suitable size