2 Poster Mock Up

The 2nd mock involves two film actors situated at the bottom third of the poster in thick bold typeface. This white typeface will also stand out, as they covered above the image, that includes the black cloak and the brown skin tone.

The tagline is another significant component which empahasises the conventional feel of the poster. 'Running is futile' is in thin black typeface laid upon the villain's forehead. This gives the audience a direct relationship between the tagline and the killer. In further detail, the tagline shapes meaning as the media language consists of sophistication and a sense of professionalism, focusing on the word 'futile'.

'The vanishing' is located at the top of the poster, shown in a degraded font, 'acid label'. This connotes a serious, tense and death like tone, which creates a horrific theme of pain and agony that reflects the horror concept.

Overall, the main colours used are black, white and red. These three conventional colours of a horror poster compliment each other and will add to creating the poster to become appealing towards the target audience.

1 Poster Mock Up

The above image is one of my initial mock ups for my poster. Although, this mock up is fairly basic, it consist of the title, 'THE VANISHING', which is positioned roughly three quarters down the page. The reasoning is because I wanted to make the title the base of the poster, as if the title was holding up all the significant elements above it on the poster. I further evaluated this reasoning by applying red as the colour of the title. This conventional red is a relatively bold and strong shade, that connotes a series of horror aspects, such as aggression and blood. This further suggests key characteristics of the villain, suggesting he obtains the cause of death and suffering, since he is a superior figure on the poster.

The two film star names are also positioned at the top of the poster. This conventional positioning helps the layout of the poster to become more appealing to the eye. This information given to the audience can lure in them to see the film, as individuals who have seen films that they have liked with these actors will be more willing to come and see 'The vanishing'.

Poster Flat Plans

The flat plan above shows a greater look into my final design for my magazine. Here I have introduced a photograph of the villain, deliberately using only part of his profile. This adds to the enigmatic effect created by the close up mid shot which is emphasised from the black hod connoting a dark and sinister film and reflects the horror genre.
Along side the central image are the title, two taglines and the text at the bottom of the poster. This divides the poster in two halves and presents the poster in a clear way to invite audiences to acknowledge it.



This is a simpler flat plan but more effective as opposed to the first one. The reason for this is because it consists of having a clearer layout, thus creating a reader friendly appeal and therefore attracting more people to watch he film. The main feature on the poster, the central image, tagline, title and text are positioned down the middle of this media platform. This provides the poster with an act of professionalism and portrays a theme of continuity.




Here is a basic flat plan for my poster. I have deliberately placed the title of the poster at the top of the poster because my intention is to make the title on of the first elements to be identified by the audience. Below is the central image that I positioned in the middle of the poster. From my research, I have encountered many posters that attain images in the center of the layout, therefore I too positioned my central image in the middle. This has an effect of attracting the target audience, as the majority of people look at the large image first, as from my research I have found that audiences look two thirds up the page from their first glance at the poster, specifically the image.

Further Photoshop experiments

This photograph was used for experimenting on, since I labeled it as an image that can be considered for my magazine and poster. In further analysis, I chose this image because it has a superior feel of horror, mainly arising from the black hood and blank expression. However, to enhance this image I will have to apply some effects and alternate it in Photoshop.

Below is a developed image of my initial photograph. Here I used red as it reflects off the white background. However, on closer inspection I will probably not use this effect or image as it shows a weak connotation of horror, which will result in further experimenting.

I then tried only focus on the figure's face by highlighting his face in white, standing out from the alternated red cloak.

The filter of liquidised is used to create a different perspective of the image. This is water like effect was just to see what the image would look like. Although, this effect does not have strong sense of horror, by experimenting with this effect can be used for a different element in the poster or magazine, as it provide a unique touch.

Another red effect is used but on a closer look this is very similar to previous developments. This is because I am slowly inching towards an idea of the individual posing as the killer where he is only shown in a distinctive manner from hiding the villain's features from the audience. Above all, this can contribute towards an enigma being formed, having an effect of engaging the audience and adding an element of mystery linking to the horror and supernatural genre.

Below is the experiment of my initial image but consists of a very different approach compared to the other developments above. On greater accuracy on the image , I slowly began to consider other colours to create a unique and unconventional effect.

A further development of using different sources of 'light' can convey a different meaning. However, focusing on the photoshop image below, I will use all of the image as it does not contain a strong focus on a horror genre. On the other hand, I will strongly consider using some of the image, such as the villain's eyes that are a unique and abstract colour of yellow, connoting an aspect of something obtaining a predator like instincts. This tone of death will be further enforced from the hot red and oranges in the image, thus creating a tense feel.

These two images consist of the filter of Neon lighting that is used to create a different style of photograph. This is emphasised from the black background adding to the glow effect of the villain, which suggests a supernatural but mysterious feel, thus contributing to the element of uncertainty and above all fear.

Above is a developed experiment of the initial photo. Here I have kept the red preview colour as it compliments with the white, balancing the connotations of rage and anger with tranquility and purity. In further detail, I have also deliberately hidden the features of the villain to create an enigmatic tone. This will create questions through the target audience, also mirroring the horror genre from expressing signs of hidden and undiscovered elements. Ultimately, this style and idea will be strongly researched into as I do admire the effect it emits.

Photoshop experiments

Photoshop is a very useful and powerful program, where I can experiment with different photographs with alternative effects by using selective filters. However, when I decided what effects to experiment towards my two media texts, I made sure I did not choose a random filter. I carefully looked through all of the designs and selected the ones where I can relate them to the horror genre. Although, a careful selection is needed I too did experiment with a variety of effects which conveyed different impacts, expressing and improving my creativity.

Here are some experiments I produced on photoshop.

From my research I identified that posters and magazines consist of images having a significant impact, resulting from several reasons but mainly focusing of the facial expressions of a figure. This follows one of my initial photographs of a pair of eyes, showing a great deal of character and emotion. This is clearly shown from the shape of the eye brows expressing a mean, uneasy and aggressive connotation, which all reflect the horror theme.

I then opened this image on photoshop to enhance the creative flare of the photograph. In this picture below, I used a common 'adjustment', involving changing the lighting and above all, the contrast of the image. To be more exact, when applying this effect, it produced the initial black colours to become more enhanced and darker. This personified the eye brows to become a greater element in the image, especially when they began to cover the eyes of the individual. This will create a further suspicion between the audience and the photo because the eyes are slightly hidden, which makes the audience want to look further into the image, having a purpose of looking deeper into the pair of eyes.

A further experiment was then formed by using a stamp filter to create a different and unconventional theme facial expressions. Although, this is an experiment I realised that this technique is not clear enough to be situated on a front cover on a magazine or on a poster. However, red was the colour applied as it was used in the preview, which I thought worked and portrayed a convention aspect of blood, hostility and shows signs of arising from a horror background.

Photographs

I have put my photographs in a video format to add to my creativity. I created this video in Final Cut Pro, which highlighted my skill of assembling my video with a tense soundtrack of music to reflect to a horror genre. These shots are explained in the shooting schedule table.

In this video, there are six particular photos that contain some shots that may not be necessarily going to be used but have inspired an idea in me in my thought towards creating my poster and magazine. However, some shots are favoured and will be highly considered, if not for my poster or magazine, they will ass to my research and will come in use when playing with programs, such as Photoshop and Final Cut Pro to enhance my creative attributes.

Photography Planning

The photographs for my poster and magazine were initially going to be used from the filming. However, these photos were too dark and did not meet to the standard of a central image of the poster, which should be sharp,in focus and sustained at a high quality shot. Therefore, I will have to use my digital camera to take new photographs that I can use on my magazine but for now on my poster. I will also make use of the flash on my camera or flash lights, along with a torch if a shot requires it to give a different effect.