POSTER PRODUCTION –EDITING [FIRST DRAFT]

Danielle Duffy

Introduction

After taking a suitable photograph to use for my film poster, the next step is to manipulate it using digital software, and add the elements of text to shape it to conventions and make it recognisable to the audience as a film poster. The two main programs I shall be using are Adobe Premier and Indesign. They both offer a wide selection of tools that will allow me to adjust my image so that it is increasingly suitable for its purpose.

Firstly I shall be making some minor changes to my main image. Photoshop is ideal for this and so I opened up the file. I am rather experienced with using this program and feel I will be able to use it confidently to enhance my image.

I made initial adjustments to the visuals of my main image on Photoshop.Step one was to erase the original, white background of the image. I did this by using the selection tool to select the background and then delete it. I then filled in the space with a black colour, acting as the solid background for the poster, and went about smoothing the edges of the image I took of my character with the paintbrush to achieve a more professional finish. I also altered the tonal range of the image through adjusting the levels.

Next, I went about adding the sinister messages that surround the main image with the purposing of conveying dominant elements of the narrative. I added these with the text making tool on Photoshop. Initially I chose the colour white but will be changing it later to reflect the genre of horror more clearly. I chose to write the messages in capital letters for a more profound effect, and to emphasise their menacing nature.

I further added visual interest that is evocative of the themes by using the smudge tool to smudge a line through each message, distorting it slightly, reflective of the style of our film. This differentiates the text further from the other textual elements which I will be adding shortly.

I altered the colour of the text to red by using the colour changing tool. The bright red works with the blood on the character’s face and is communicates the genre of the piece as horror. I like how it stands out against the dark background and catches the viewers’ eye.

It was then time to export the main image and open it onto Adobe InDesign. This program is useful for creating professional-looking layouts. I haven’t had much experience in this but am eager to master its techniques. After positioning my poster within the guidelines, I first added my main title. For this I chose to have it in capital letters, with a clear, white font like that used in our teaser trailer, so that the products are in correspondence.

I also added elements including the ‘coming soon’, billing block, Pragmatic Productions logo etc., as decided when I planned the layout of my piece. I was able to follow my colour scheme of red and white; using the colours where I felt they would stand out allowing ease of reading. I have used red to highlight more important pieces of text such as ‘coming soon’ and our social media hashtag #alleyesonyou, as I believe these are what will catch our audience’s eye. I have aimed to maintain balance through the use of colour, and included a critic review placed upon the character’s hand in the image, which makes for fair distribution of text.

EvaluationThis concludes the production of the first draft of my film poster! I exported it and you may view this below.

I found my strengths to be my experience with the software (Photoshop) as this allowed me to execute manipulations with ease and speed. Additionally my eye for detail and design resulted in a product of high quality which I am proud of. I will await feedback and then proceed to make necessary improvements.One weakness of my efforts could be that some areas I felt were difficult to optimise with Photoshop’s tools. For example I wanted to achieve the look of smooth skin but I felt with the depth and tonal range of the image this didn’t look right and so I was only able to change some areas.

Overall, I believe the production and post-production of my film poster went fairly well and I made the most of the tools available.