ND Creative Media Production Y2 – 2014–2015 Semester 2Unit 55: Photography & Photographic Practices Darragh Doherty

Planning and Research for Unit 55 Poster AssignmentWhen asked to produce a poster for unit 55 I was keen to produce a poster that not only looked well but also was from a film/book that I personally enjoyed. During a class discussion we brainstormed different ideas and discussed what would be possible considering the limited time and resources that were available to use. I went online and looked through posters in order for inspiration; I’ve included the list of rejected images below and why they were rejected. Ultimately I decided on a poster from “The Bourne Identity” due to a number of factors. These factors were that the poster would be able to be replicated with all the resources that I had at my disposal and one of my class mates (Jacob Prescott) resembled Matt Damon who plays the lead character in “The Bourne Identity”.

Rejected Posters

Poster: The Maleficent Seven

Reason: I’m a fan of this book series and wanted to replicate this cover but it was rejected because the tutor needed a film poster.

Poster: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part Two

Reason: I’m a fan of the Harry Potter series and have thoroughly enjoyed the movies. I’ve rejected this image because I believe that without the proper make up and CG work this would have been difficult to replicate.

Poster: The Bourne Identity

Reason: Too simplistic in its design, doesn’t present much of a challenge to show my photography skills.

Chosen Poster

Poster: The Bourne Identity

Reason: I chose this poster as it was neither overly complicated nor too simple. All the images could be photographed in short timeframe so that would have more time to Photoshop the poster.

Poster: The Bourne Ultimatum

Reason: This is the poster for the third film in the Bourne series. The poster is very visually appealing and encapsulates the excitement of the Bourne films. It was rejected due the fact that I needed to capture every image that appeared on the poster and not use archived footage. The exploding car and skyscrapers would have been difficult, if not impossible for me to get.

Poster: The Bourne Identity

Reason: This is one version that could have been a possibility to try and replicate but due to the gun in the poster it’d be a difficult prop to get. The kissing scene would also have been difficult to arrange.

InfluencesLarry HorricksOne of my main influences when making my poster was the photographer Larry Horricks. Larry Horricks creates film posters by photographing various subjects and then editing the images together to form a poster. The reason I am influenced by Larry Horricks is because his poster contain elements that will be in my poster; for example:

The Serena poster has the side profile of the characters’ head in the background. The Crossing Lines 2 poster has a computer-generated circle with small squares in and around it. The Child 44 poster has a medium shot of the characters standing front of an edited background.

Examples of Larry Horrick’s work

Tomba ImagesI was also influenced by Tomba Images when making my poster. Tomba Images is a company that specialises in “action sport photography”, they take photographs of sporting events usually boxing. . The reason I am influenced by Tomba Images is because their photos often capture a moment of action like a fight. A fight scene will feature in my poster.

Examples of Tomba Images’ work

ProductionShooting Schedule21/4/2015 - Arranging the PhotoshopI arranged the time for the photoshoot with the model.

29/4/2015 – Booking the EquipmentI booked the camera I would be using for the photoshoot.

29/4/2015 – PhotographingI photographed the model for the poster.

30/4/2015 – Editing the PosterI began editing my poster using Photoshop.

Budget PlanCamera £50Model £100Tapes £10Total: £160

Trial Shots

The image is at the wrong angle and the model’s expression is wrong. I wanted to make sure that my photograph was as close to

the photograph that I wanted to replicate as possible.

The image is blurry and overexposed. This image wouldn’t be suitable at all because it would make the poster look unprofessional.

This image was rejected because it’s blurry; too bright the model is looking at the camera.

My Images

Photographic TechniquesCamera TechniquesISO – The ISO is the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light. It is typically measured in numbers, a lower number representing lower sensitivity to available light, while higher numbers mean more sensitivity. More sensitivity comes at the cost though, as the ISO increases, so does the grain/noise in the images. Examples of ISO: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600.

Image OneISO: 400Shutter speed: 1/125F-stop: f/5.0

Reason for using these settings: For this image I needed the subject to be clear, in focus and the back round to be blurry. This is why I used a small F-stop. I used ISO 400 as it was a particularly cloudy day so I needed to bump up the ISO slightly to compensate for the low light.

Image TwoISO: 400Shutter speed: 1/125F-stop: 6.3

Reason for using these settings: I set my camera to a slightly fast shutter speed because I wanted to avoid too motion blur in this shot. I wanted to create the illusion of movement so I did want to have slight motion blur but I didn’t want the image to come out too blurry. if I wanted it completely clear I would have increased my shutter speed to 1/250.

Image ThreeISO: 400Shutter speed: 1/320 secF-stop: f/6.3

Reason for using these settings: I set my shutter speed to 1/320 as my subject was moving quite fast and I wanted to minimise motion blur but I didn’t want to quickly eradicate the motion blur because I wanted to create the illusion of movement.

Shutter Speed – the length of time a camera shutter is open to expose light into the camera sensor. Shutter speeds are typically measured in fractions of a second, when they are under a second. Slow shutter speeds allow more light into the camera sensor and are used for low-light and night photography, while fast shutter speeds help to freeze motion. Examples of shutter speeds: 1/15 (1/15th of a second), 1/30, 1/60, 1/125.

Aperture – a hole within a lens, through which light travels into the camera body. The larger the hole, the more light passes to the camera sensor. Aperture also controls the depth of field, which is the portion of a scene that appears to be sharp. If the aperture is very small, the depth of field is large, while if the aperture is large, the depth of field is small. In photography, aperture is typically expressed in “f” numbers (also known as “focal ratio”, since the f-number is the ratio of the diameter of the lens aperture to the length of the lens). Examples of f-numbers are: f/1.4, f/2.0, f/2.8, f/4.0, f/5.6, f/8.0.

White Balance – White balance (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic colour casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo. Proper camera white balance has to take into account the "colour temperature" of a light source, which refers to the relative warmth or coolness of white light. Our eyes are very good at judging what is white under different light sources, but digital cameras often have great difficulty with auto white balance (AWB) — and can create unsightly blue, orange, or even green colour casts. Understanding digital white balance can help you avoid these colour casts, thereby improving your photos under a wider range of lighting conditions.

Focus – Focus in photography is about a lot more than simply sharpness or being able to see what you are looking at. Focus can enhance a subject by making it stand out from or blend into its surroundings, focus can draw you in, and the right focus can create an emotional connection with the viewer. No matter what style of photography you enjoy, focus can work for you or against you.

Technical DetailsI edited my poster together on a PC and a Mac using Adobe Photoshop CS6. I started by first creating several layers and then added a photo to each layer. I then altered each photo individually. The tools I used include: The Lasso Tool, which I used, trim the edges off some of the photos. The Paint Brush, which I used, add colour to the poster. The Line Tool to create the target shape.

Photoshop CS6 is an image editing programme that allows you to alter photos. It gives the user the ability to change the colours within an image, modifying the size and scale of an image, or putting one picture "within" another.

Editing techniques and tools Toolbar – The toolbar is a floating panel normally placed at the left of the screen, it contains all of your editing tools.

Palettes – Palettes are groups of tools used to edit and manipulate your image.Photoshop contains over two dozen palettes that can be shown or hidden by using the Window menu and selecting the palette you wish to reveal. Palettes with a checkmark beside their names [below] indicate that they are open in your Photoshop workspace and selecting those check marked palettes will hide them.

Palettes can be organized in many different ways in the Photoshop workspace. One way is by grouping several palettes together in a window and create tabs. Additionally, palettes can be collapsed or minimized in your Photoshop workspace and can be hard to locate. Collapsed palettes will appear as icons and can be expanded by clicking on the icon of the palette.

Colour Dodging and Burning – The Dodge tool and the Burn tool lighten or darken areas of the image. These tools are based on a traditional darkroom technique for regulating exposure on specific areas of a print. Photographers hold back light to lighten an area on the print (dodging) or increase the exposure to darken areas on a print (burning). The more you paint over an area with the Dodge or Burn tool, the lighter or darker it becomes.Applying the Dodge tool or Burn tool to the background layer permanently alters the image information. To edit your images non-destructively, work on a duplicate layer.

Cropping – Cropping is the process of removing portions of an image to create focus or strengthen the composition. You can crop an image using the Crop tool and the Crop command. You can also trim pixels using the Crop and Straighten and the Trim commands.

Lassos – The lasso selection tools (shortcut L) are provided in three variations. The lasso tool and polygonal lasso tool which allow you to draw both freehand and straight edge selections, whilst the magnetic lasso is ideal for edges set against high contrast backgrounds. To change from one lasso to another press shift+L.

Layering – Photoshop layers are like sheets of stacked acetate. You can see through transparent areas of a layer to the layers below. You move a layer to position the content on the layer, like sliding a sheet of acetate in a stack. You can also change the opacity of a layer to make content partially transparent.

You use layers to perform tasks such as compositing multiple images, adding text to an image, or adding vector graphic shapes. You can apply a layer style to add a special effect such as a drop shadow or a glow.

My PosterI made this poster for the purposes of advertisement. The poster is for an action thriller film which is a genre I’m interested in as it’s exciting and often visually appealing. Action Thriller is a genre of literature, film, and

television programming that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror. Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced. Film posters have to reflect the mood/ genre of the film and because of this usually thriller films look exciting and will stimulate the viewer’s mood. This is achieved usually by using special effects such as explosions, smoke and fire. Below are some other examples of posters that would heighten the viewer’s interest:

Photography is one of the most important elements of most advertising campaigns. While some companies spend hours producing an eye-catching headlines and adverts that explains the benefits of a product, it’s the image that first catches the viewer’s attention. It’s also often the last thing the viewer usually remembers.

Advertising photos may be used on billboards, in magazines, on posters or flyers. They may be straightforward depictions of a product or a model but or they could sometimes use software Photoshop to add complex graphics or surreal imagery to grab the viewers’ attention.