The Man From Planet X Idea Two

The second idea was also inspired by the drawings I had previously done. I downloaded an image of the earth from the internet, to put on the poster, I also downloaded a font from dafont.com called Coalition and used that as the main font for the text. I used the tag line from my research to add to the poster, which I think works well to give the viewer something to go on about what the film is about.

I think this design works well, as it shows more of what the film is about. Showing the earth, with the tag line underneath which helps identify the story line of the film for the audience. I think only showing half of the alien's face, make him look more mean and mysterious, so you are unsure about what the character is doing or planning. I think the font works very well with the poster also.

The Man From Planet X Idea One

The first thing I needed to do was take one of the sketches I had drawn previously and re-draw it on Photoshop. So I have re-drawn the alien's head in full, so I had freedom to put it anywhere. I used a graphic tablet and the brush tool to sketch my design.

Once I had drawn it out,  I then wanted to add colour, including highlights and low-lights. Even though I didn't want it to look super realistic I still wanted to work a lot of detail into the drawing.

Once I was happy with the colour and the alien itself. I continued to work on the whole design. I first made a huge X which I cut out from the black background, so you would be able to see the alien's face through it. I then used a font I had downloaded from dafont.com 2015 Cruiser and Planet N, which were both 'space' themed and I think work well on the poster.

I thought I would try another font for the title of the film, so it wasn't all the same, and making the film title standout against the other text. I also thought about changing the colour of the X behind the face, as I thought it was a bit too white. I thought the red would work well, as it works well as a contrast against the green and black. It also represents warning, and danger which is what the alien is about and bringing to the world.

I think this idea does work well as film poster, I think it gives only enough information to entice the viewer to go and see the film, to find out what this poster is about. I like the red, I think it is a lot more eye catching then the white and represents the film in a better way than the poster with the white X.

I will now design a different poster, so I do not just keep looking at the same one. I could also come up with a better poster. who knows!

Posters in More Detail

I decided to put pen to paper, and sketch some more detailed drawings from the initial ideas from before. 

The first idea, is of the space ship leaving his planet to come visit the earth, with the tag line just underneath the earth, the viewer will read this just before reaching the earth, meaning they would understand what was happening. 

The second idea, is of the aliens face up close, with the two main 'human' characters. The background being a house, with the ship 'crash' landing on to earth, showing he has come to earth. The background, introduces the setting, along with the three main characters, all in one poster.

The idea on the left, is a portrait of the alien, with the X covering some of it. I think this is strong idea, I think it gives the audience just a enough to be enticed into seeing the film - showing them the main character and nothing more.

The one of the right, is a close up of the planet where the alien is from - the planet x - with the title of the film going across the center. Again like the first I think it is simple enough to not give anything away, but maybe enough to get the viewer to watch it.

Aliens/ Man

I decided to work on the alien for the poster 'The Man From Planet X'. To experiment with different looks.

I researched other forms of aliens on the internet, so after investigating them, I decided to draw them. I used biro and a sharpie to sketch out my ideas. The first three I wanted to concentrate on more of a human form, but still with the alien eyes. The other three (to the right) are more of a different form and less human like.

I think I am going to with the first on, in the top left corner. I think it looks most like a human, but still has the elements of an alien, making it more obvious. But I will be adding human like eyes instead of the black ones. I think this will make him look more like a 'man' then the alien eyes.

Initial Thumbnails

Today I worked on eight thumbnails of each of my poster designs, they are my very raw ideas of what I want my poster designs to be, it was more to get the ball rolling and get some ideas on paper, and now I can take them forward and expand on them.

The first set of thumbnails are of the poster King Kong. 

As I have said these are very raw initial ideas, just to get some ideas on paper. I think they all work pretty well for ideas for a poster design. I would still have to add text and refine the ideas in order to get the desired designs. I also need to work on some designs that fit other genres as well as action/ horror.

The other thumbnails are from the poster 'The Man From Planet X' 

I quite like these and thing they work well. I particularly like the one with the big X with the face coming through - i think this gives just enough information, but doesn't give anything away. Again I need to focus on different genres of films, and try to make them fit the different genres I have researched.

Now I need to continue working on these, and keep expanding my ideas, as well as focusing on them going in line with the elements of the different genres. 

Poster Idea Research: King Kong

Another film poster I want to explore is King Kong, from 1933. Even though there is a new film from 2005 which has more up to date posters, I thought it would be fun to explore it from the 1933 designs.

This was one of the most famous images generated by the King Kong campaign. It is a combination of jaunty type artfully skewed landscape and raging monster which has all made it to be a very iconic image.

Other film posters I have found were:

Poster Idea Research: The Man From Planet X

So I want to look at old horror film posters from the 1950s and take them and make then modern and fit into each genre I have researched; comedy/ horror/ family/ romance and action.

The first poster I want to explore is "The Man From Planet X" a 1951 Science-fiction film, about a spaceship that lands on the Scottish moors, bringing an alien to the planet. With more and more people go missing, action must be taken by the police.

I chose this because I thought this would be a good challenge, I like the setting and the characters and feel I could (hopefully) put these in different genres. I also wanted to look at other versions of this poster that was already out there.

All these posters will help me design  new posters myself for the brief.

Genre of Film: Animaion

A genre of film is Animation. Animation is enabled the imaginations of film makers come to like. Being able to bring animals and objects to life, this genre is generally used for fairy tales and children's stories. Though, animation has been enjoyed by all ages. And in more recent times, animation has been used for adult comedy too.  

 Animation is thought of as a technique and so it has the ability to span over many different genres, though for this research I will be looked at family friendly films. 

The Book of Life released this year, is about the journey of a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart to a woman. Before choosing which path to follow, he takes on an incredible adventure that crosses over three worlds where he must face his greatest fears. The Book of Life, celebrates the past, while looking at the future.

I think this poster really brings life to it, it is bright and colourful but with a looming darkness hanging over the top, suggesting death coming. The three main characters are at the foreground of the poster, having a woman in the middle of two men suggest a love war between them. The woman holding the pig gives a little insight in her personality, but doesn't give away anything else. The men are dressed in their profession, giving you an idea of what they do professionally. The background is full of colour and patterns and buildings, giving you a sense of where it is set, but towards the top there are two skulls and it fades into darkness, suggesting pain and death.

Frozen released in 2013. When a princess born with the power to turn things to ice, turns her home town in an enternal winter, her brave younger sister sets on a mission to find her and rid of the winter, saving the town. With the company of a 'ice maker' Kristoff and his trusted reindeer Sven they battle the elements to find Elsa.

The title of the film, 'Frozen' is in the upper center of the page, suggesting it is a big part of the film. The word frozen, has meanings of winter, ice and snow, which is further implied by the dark, icey blue colour and sharp font. The background behind the title is a snowflake and front so it suggests what the film is going to be about. Not so much is shown about the film, leaving the audience guessing what the film is actually about. The main image contains the main characters of the film, they mostly look happy and very disney'esk. The snowman shows the importance of the title, by looking up at it. Being emerged in snow, again suggests what the film is based around.

Boxtrolls released this year, a film about a young boy who is been brought up by trolls who live underground, and wear boxes for clothes. Their life becomes complicated when an evil gang try to rid of the trolls in a bid to win a place on the Mayor's table.

This poster is full of fun and the characters that appear in the film. The main characters are highlighted by the spot lights are the car behind them. The main character, the young boy is just ahead of the others, with the rest descending behind him in order of importance. The dark colours at bottom work in contrast with the title being a bright gold colour. Running towards the front, and the dark colours suggests they are running back to underground. In the background, is the town they are from, setting the scene from the story. The characters in the center, almost looming over the character suggest they are after them trying to catch them.

The Lego Movie, a 3D animated movie, which follows the main character, Emmett, an ordinary Lego mini-figure who becomes the most 'extraordinary person' in the Lego land and is the key to saving the Lego universe. Emmett and his friends go on a adventure through all different Lego lands to stop the evil tyrant, Lord Business.

The title of the film The Lego Movie, is shaped like Lego blocks which sets the theme for the film as everything is completely made out of Lego. The main image is the main characters running away from the bad guys, this sets the scene for the story of film. Also it shows the fear in the main characters faces, and describes the other characters as more determination to fight. The cranes in the background which show the progression of building new buildings out of  Lego, shows the audience how they too can create a Lego universe out of their product. The fact that the main characters are running away from the danger gives a mystery to how they are going to save the day in the end. Because the poster is made of Lego , they have used famous characters like Batman and Wonder woman instead of famous actors like Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp, to promote the film. The colours used in poster promote happiness something that is throughout the film with the positive song, 'Everything is Awesome'.

Genre of Film: Horror

A genre of film, is Horror which plays on the audiences fears. It sets out to created a negative emotional reaction by creating disturbing or upsetting or scary scenes . Inspired by many literature authors like Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker, horror films have been around for more than a century. 

Horns, the latest film that has come out since writing this post, staring, Daniel Radcliffe, who plays a young man tormented by his neighbours who believe he killed his late girlfriend. By trying to prove his innocents he grows horns from his temples and starts an upsetting a disturbing journey in order to find the truth and the real killer. 

To me this poster promotes a dark fantasy. Almost like a book cover. I am unsure if i like this or not. Daniel Radcliffe's expression shows a seriousness to the film, there is no funniness going on in this film. The use of dark tone, with dark browns and greens around him suggests evil around him, the bottom, highlight with soft white tones, to the girl lying on the ground suggest innocences and sadness. The balance between dark and light, shows good and bad, though with the image of Radcliffe's ccharacterhighlighted shows he too is innocent but is being consumed by the darkness.

Annable is prequel to the very successful horror film, The Conjuring. The film is based around a rare vintage doll dressed in a white wedding dress given to Mia, by her husband. Though on one night, there home is invaded by a satanic cult who violently attack the couple. They conjured an entity known as Annabelle.

A quite plain and simple poster for a horror film, but the use of colour and image makes it more creepy then other horror film posters. The colours are very dark and dull, suggesting death and pain. Most of the poster is made up of the black background, with the children's doll taking the right side, which instantly makes you focus on it. The childhood doll is already recognised as a scary toy, by past films. The colours of the doll are neutral colours that do not stand put too much against the background, making the doll more of a silhouette and gives the idea that the doll is a background figure of the film. The doll has a blood tear drop coming from the eye which makes a, what would be a comforting and happy child toys, more of a disturbing and dark item. 

The Purge: Anarchy, a sequel to the film The Purge. A horror film where the citizens of America are given 12 hours of complete freedom, where they can do literally anything they like and there will be no consequences for those actions. 

An extremely simple poster which using the pattern of the American flag. Using just blue white and red and the colours and guns to take the shape of the stripes. With the tag line An American Tradition, this all suggests the location of the film. The title of the film being surrounded by stars implies the film is a good standard? The stripes then take form of different weapons used to kill or serious hurt someone. I feel this quite a though provoking poster, maybe hinting at an american tradition of everyone being able to have guns on their persons, saying there are weapons all over american, and is this right? maybe im wrong, but that is what I am getting from it. I do not think this shows much of a horror film though, unless you have seen the first, and know what this film is about, otherwise, I wouldn't get anything from this poster.

Carrie 2013. A film about, a young girl who is bullied at high school, and comes home to a paranoid mother who sees sin in everything and everywhere. Carrie discovers that she has the power of telekinesis and learns to control it. But with her bully setting out to humiliate her at the school prom, everything goes from bad to worse when she uses her power to get revenge.

The poster for Carrie quite simple, with the actress's face being the most prominate feature. Her hair frames her face, making it the point of focus. They almost hang like curtains, which are slightly open hiding parts of her face. The pale skin contrast against the golden colour of the hair, making it stand out. The colour of her skin is very pale, as if she is dead, giving the impression that she is a cold character. Her eyes are two different colours, the left being brown with a tear coming from it, the other being red with blood streaming down the right side of her face. The brown eye suggests the human qualities in the character where as the red eye suggests being possessed or the devil. The title of the film is in red, to match the blood, but is also a very common colour to see when promoting horror films. It is framed by the crucifix, something that is worn to protect from bad spirits. The title is also slashed, like someone has scratched at it, referring to a scene in the film, where the mum has scratch her way out of the closet where Carrie put her, suggesting the power her mum has over her.

Genre of Film: Romance

The romance film genre are romantic love stories that focus on passion, emotion and the journey of the main character, showing that true and pure romantic love will be the answer to all. Occasionally, the romance lovers face obstacles that interfere with there love life, it being illnesses - in physical or mental, finances, or family that do not agree with them being together. At the end it normally end happily, with their love conquering all. Though some do not, and it makes it very sad love story. 

The first film is, The Best of Me, a romance film based around tow young childhood sweethearts who get back together in their small home town after being years apart.

The poster, very much reminds me of a novel, as it is based on a novel then I suppose that is correct. The couple at the bottom of the poster are in a romantic embrace which suggests love and passion, almost like a still from a dance they are doing. The top couple, the huge heads at the top, signifying are the most important characters in the film, the expressions on their faces look of struggle and an intense emotion, but could also be read as passionate. The writing being the couple, that is lit up by a back light, is kind of a bit creep almost like it is hiding being the trees, watching..but that is just my opinion. A very photo heavy poster, with just the typography being not photography. It is also alot more text based then posters i have seen previously.

The next film is The Fault In Our Stars, released earlier this year, is a tear wrenching romantic film about two young teens who are battling their own different cancers, who fall in love after meeting at a cancer support group.

I do kind of like this poster, I think it is quite tastefully done. by keeping them young and teen like - them lying on the grass shows youth and fun. Having their heads embraced but with their eyes closed shows warmth and love, but not in a in your face obvious way. I think it is innocent in that they are just holding each others heads just enjoying being together. The font is in keeping with the font that is on the original novel, which i think is a nice touch - relating the film to the book which will confirm those that have read the book that the film is based on that. The tag line is something to be debated about "one sick love story" some have found it a bit disturbing and not very clever. But it you take it as a literal meaning one. sick. love. story, then this is exactly what the film is about one couple who are both sick and their love story. 

The Note Book, a film based on a novel about a young poor man who falls in love with a rich young woman, who longs for freedom of which he gives her, but they get separated by their social differences. 

The poster consists of the a photograph of the two main characters is a romantic embrace, which is showing the love they have for each other, and gives the audience the idea of a romance film. The colours used for the poster, using soft colours, represents romance and sorrow. The title of the film is bold and prominent in the foreground, with the names of the actors and actresses that are in the film, though the two main characters are named and on the posters, there are other well-known characters which will help entis more people to go watch the film. The tag line - from the best selling novel by Nicholas Sparks", gains the audience's attention, and draws them in, the idea of it being based on a novel suggests that it will have a good strong story line behind it. 

The Great Gatsby, a tragic romantic love story seen through the eyes of a writer, who gets caught up in his neighbours world, Jay Gatsby, who is surrounded by wealth and people who has built a very powerful empire, but the writer soon sees the cracks appear in this man's vasard which reveals, obsession, madness and a very sad tragedy.

The film poster is part of a big collection, of which is shows each character in a similar way, but portraying their character through the costume, and the way they are posed. They all compliment each other, by using the same dark tones and simplistic layount. Though not immedicately eye grabbing, the twisted and over lapping pattern behind, does. I think this poster gives nothing away leaving a mysterious atmosphere. The medium shot of the main character, DiCaprio highlights the ear this film is set, by shwoing the four piece suit, suggesting power and a high status (this is also shown in the way he stands, with his hands closed together in front - maybe keeping his guard up, protecting himself). The black suit with a bow tie also suggests romance.

Genre of Film: Comedy

Comedy is a genre of film that centres around humour. The films are designed to entertain the audience through amusement, most often done by exaggerating characteristics of real life, for humorous effect, with films always having a happy ending. This type of film genre has been around since some of the very first silent movies, as slapstick comedy often relies on visuals, and doesn't always require sound. 

One of the first comedy films I looked at was Bad Neighbours, a comedy film about the suffering of a young couple with a baby who lived nicely until the house next door turned in a fraternity house. 

The poster isn't a bad poster, but its not the greatest creative achievement, but I suppose it doesn't have to be does it? As the film it is advertising isn't trying to be the next big block buster that changes the world forever, it is there to simply entertain. And so the purpose of this poster was to simply set the scene - which it does - and show the main cast of film. Seth Rogan on the left with his lady and baby, showing the family and Zac Efron to the right, with the iconic red cup that is in every american college film. This poster does the job it was created to do - advertise the film - give information about the film through imagery.

The next film was 22 Jump Street, a sequel to the first 21 Jump Street film, about two undercover cops that go back to college to find out who is dealing drugs and who the leader of this drug campaign is.

The poster, similar to the last one, sets the scene of the film, shows the two main characters in the film with their "disguise" on - the t-shirts with their "funny" slogans, representing that they are young and fun guys. The scene with the beach party going on behind all represents the 'fun party scenes of college life in American. But by having the guns (though gold) stuffed in their front jeans, implies they are still working for the police force. The colours are vibrate and stand-out, again, though this isn't a great piece of art work - it isn't trying to be - it simply there to advertise the film.

Sex Tape released this year, about a couple who make a sex tape for fun, but ends up travelling around the web via an iCloud substitute. A comedy film, that brings some laughs to the screen but its not exactly side splittingly funny.

The poster is quite funny. Showing you the two main people in the film, trying to cover up the words "Sex Tape" - the name of the film - the text is in a bold red colour against a black background, making it the center piece of the poster - the couple covering it up shows you what the film is all about - about how the couple are trying to stop you from seeing what they do not want you to see.  It is quite a simple poster (maybe that is why I prefer it to the others) but again it is nothing special and isn't exciting me regarding poster design - though it clever how they have done it - it is not an obvious take on the poster they could of done. Which is a credit I guess.

Let's Be Cops, a film about two guys who dress up as cops for a fancy dress, and go the whole hog with a fake police car, only to be taken seriously, and get into a lot of police trouble. A film much about the girls as it is about the jokes, meaning it gives a more "blokey" flick vibe.

The poster is almost a screen shot of the film it self, showing you exactly what the film is about, with the tag line Fake Cops gives you the understanding that they are NOT real police men, which makes you question why they are in this particular scene - a police car, in police uniform - maybe making you want to see the film to find out what this is all about. The main focus of the poster is the police car, with two of the main cast sat in, posing funny faces, showing the film is a funny film - not to be taken seriously. Having the car as the main subject framing the characters shows that is trying to appeal to the male audiences. 

Overall I think the comedy film posters are nothing to write home about. They are simply there to do its purpose - advertise the film - which all of these do. They set the scene, introduce the main cast of the film, and give you a tag line that gives you a brief idea of what the film is about. They all use photography for the main image of the poster either of the scene or the actors, mostly they are a collage of photographs. 

Genres of Film: Action

I want to focus on five different genres of film, to help my research and narrow down what I want to base my poster around. 

To do this I chose the five most popular genres and took a look at the film poster.

Firstly Action, the most popular genre in film, that brings us The Avengers; Iron Man, Fury - a lot of big blockbuster films, that are on our screens for months and do exceptionally well at the box office. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles released early this year, a big success. Even though there was speculation around it, as it is primarily a children's film, but with adults coming from the 80's where the Turtles were introduced, adults too were going to go see it, to re-live their childhood days.

This poster, though cliché and some have been disappointed in the execution of this poster. i think it serves its purpose - to a degree. Though not a very exciting poster, it show the turtles standing above their city - signifying their comeback - after being underground for many years, coming above ground is a big deal. The back lit background, using a yellow light to highlight the turtles, focusing your eye on the center of the poster and bringing you down to the turtles. 

The Guardians of the Galaxy, a Marvel si-fi action film, released this year, has become a big success to the Marvel company, with it reaching new heights in the box office. A funny comical action film, with a talking raccoon who's best friend is a tree and a bad space guy. Sounds kinda fun doesn't it?

The poster did extremely well, as it went against all of the Hollywood / Marvel stereotypical poster designs where the colours are mainly blue and yellow, with the main character either facing away from the camera or is a big floating head. I think this poster gives a sense of seriousness to the film, as it is already a funny film, but has a sad underlying story to it. I believe this poster gives you that. Having the main characters all, ranking in the importance in the film, but all still on the main poster of the film. Giving  you a setting of the film  i.e. the space behind them. This poster also reminds me of the Star Wars posters...

The X-Men; The Last Stand or X3, the third instalment of the X-Men trilogy. released in 2006 and was very successful. 

The poster is very much a bog standard Hollywood made poster, the colour scheme is very on point with the use of blue fading into yellow, With the main cast in the forground, and the less in the background. Wolverines claws, show the number three (the number of the film) but not in a obvious way, is it a clever way? I'm not sure. The poster shows the character facing each other, any fans of the film will know on the left is the 'bad guys' and the 'good guys' on the right, it shows a fallen building structure in the very back, showing destruction with clouds around it, this all shows they are going or in the middle of a battle. 

The Maze Runner, released in 2014, a film based on a young adult novel,written by James Dashner. The film is based on a group of teenagers that have been dropped in to a maze as part of a mysterious test.

The poster, I think is very very good. It shows you the scope of the film. The maze looks huge, which makes the film look huge and epic. The fact that it only shows you two people running into the maze (suggesting a very limited amount of people in the film). The over growing moss and filergry, gives the impression that it has been around for a very long time, showing  the viewer a time scale of how long it has already been there for. 

You can definitely see a theme with the Hollywood blockbuster films, they use pretty much the same format, just tweaked to match the films, which is a let down, because if you Google the film posters you can find some very good fan-made posters that would have worked so much better than the professional ones that were officially released. Though my favourite one of them all was The Maze Runner, I think that with is minimalistic look, that doesn't even give away the main character shows they have confidence in the film, that it is about the story telling rather than who stars in it. 

The Coen Brothers

The Coen Brothers, Joel an Ethan have worked as a team, writing, producing, directing and editing films since the early 80's. They are always concerned with the way their films look, making each one have a distinct cinematic texture. 

In the film Fargo 1996, the colour and atmosphere of the film is shown from the snowy lands of Minnesota. With a high concern of the way the films looked, this was took into the design of the posters that went along side them, they too had to reflect the mood and atmosphere, the Coen Brothers had worked hard to perfect. The best known poster is Fargo. As the film is based around violence but with a sense of warmth, the poster portrays death in the medium of cross-stitching, which I believe is an extremely clever way of showing the viewer the essence of the story. Using cross-stitch, a very homely, something your mother or grand-mother teaches you at a young age, sat in front of a fire place, this technique gives you this feeling, yet the content of the cross-stitch is of a murder, something in contrast, is very unsettling and a horrid subject.

Steven Speilberg's Film Posters

Steven Spielberg, a self-taught film maker who dropped out of college and began directing television programmes by the age of 22 is most famous for his films. He creates huge blockbusters that also expand the minds of the audience, bringing you something new and exciting to the screen. 

As well as the films he makes, I also like the posters that are created to promote the films. I am all about simplicity in its greatest form ad I feel his posters reflect that. They have the bare minimum of information that you need in order to go see this film. I believe that have just a small amount of imagery and text on there (as long as the image is powerful enough) it would entice the public to go see the film, to find out what it meant. 

For example; Jurassic Park

Created by Chip Kidd and Tom Martin. The poster is a has black background, with a contrast of red, yellow and white, which all pop out of the poster straight away. Using a black silhouette of a dinosaur skeleton, also makes it pop and makes that the center piece of the art work. This shows the viewer enough information - this film is about a Jurassic park and dinosaurs - enough to excite anyone about this film and what them to go see it. 

Another is E.T. 

The famous flying bicycle of E.T, a poster consisting of a black silhouette of trees in the foreground, behind that is a huge moon, which is has the iconic silhouette of a bicycle flying just off center to the poster, it has the logo in white font, towards the bottom which is centered. The design of the poster was so successful that Spielberg adopted it as the logo for his production company Amblin. The flying cycle symbolized the whole film, what it was about and what was going to happen, even if the viewer did not understand that yet.

I really like the simplicity of the film posters and think that sometimes these are more effective than having the cast/ famous actors or actresses on them, I think it puts more confidence in the film itself, then having if having a famous actor or actress on the front, hoping that they will sell the film for you.