Making My Movie Poster

STEP 1 Planning

I looked at the ‘Blair Witch Project’ poster as a style model when planning my own poster.

I liked how the central focus was the logo so chose to use this in my mock up. I liked the idea of a black and white image with bright red on so it would stand out. I also thought the arm and not knowing who it was would add interest to my poster.

STEP 2 The Image

When on location I took this image based on my mock up. The door was not quite big enough so I had to take the photo in such a way that you would not notice this in order to allow the arm to be low enough that the logo will not overlap it.

I am happy with the image and with some colour change it will have the impact I want it to.

STEP 3 Editing The ImageHaving take my image I used Photoshop to change the gray scale, meaning that it is darker and more sinister than plain black and white. It also links with my Cover.

I like how the bottom is darker than the top giving levels of interest to the image. The colour pallet I have used is more professional than a plain photo which would not have the impact that I am looking for.The dark unsettling qualities of the image will also attract my target audience and fit in with the conventions of a horror poster, which is an audience expectation.

STEP 4 Title and Logo

I have used the same logo as in my cover, this will allow for synergy between products.

I used Photoshop to cut out and move my logo and title over onto the image. I feathered the edges of the images to make a smother finish.

I felt however that the images where not quite professional enough for what I want.

STEP 5 Logo EffectsI was not happy with the look of my title and logo so I chose to add some effects on them.The Bleeding effect I achieved was the same as the magazine cover. I used shadow and colour fill to get this affect.

I used the saturation levels to give the bloody background. This adds to the horror of the poster letting people know the genre of the film just by looking.This also shows synergy between my magazine cover meaning my audience will recognise the logo and connect it with the film.

STEP 6 Release DateAll movie posters display a release date for the film, this is important information for a potential audience. This information is usually in a clear aria of space so that it can easily be seen.I chose to place my date at the top of the poster as I felt it would be clear to any audience, I took the picture with the intention of having this space for my date as it does not intrude on the image.

STEP 7 Credits

These are the credits from the end of our trailer. By using this on my poster there will be obvious synergy.

I moved the text across from this image onto my poster, as with my plan the credits are placed at the bottom of the poster below the title. This is important information but not as significant as important as the date. I used the outer glow to keep the ghostly sinister theme of the film.

STEP 8 The Icons

I used the two icons from the credits of the trailer, Paramount is our production/ distribution company. And DOT. Media is our own production company logo we designed for our film. I chose not to use the outer glow this time as it blurred the images to much.

Our DOT. Media logo Is small and simple as we felt this would be recognisable.

We edited the paramount logo on Photoshop to make it useful for our film and my poster.

STEP 9 Slogan The final thing to add was the Slogan ‘If you start looking … you might get found’ at the top underneath the release date. This is something the audience can link with the film in there mind such as the ‘Here’s Johnny’ line from ‘The Shining’. We also use this slogan in the trailer.It is in the most prominent place on the page beneath the release date as your eyes are drawn up from the logo to the top of the door.I used the same font and colour in a smaller text size that is still clear to any audience yet not as prominent as the release date as it is more important that passers buy see this information.

STEP 10 The Final OneI was happy with how my final product looked. I stuck closely to my original design and the final product has the level of professionalism I wanted, I feel I have created an appropriate and eye catching poster to advertise my product. There has been clear influence from my style model.

It is clear that my poster is to advertise a Horror and the colours and fonts reflect this. I am also happy as there is clear synergy between this and my other products.