RESEARCH: Analysing A Film Poster

This is the original film poster for a documentary film called First Position. I really like how everything is centered between the two buildings, as along with the lighting this helps to focus the viewer's attention to the important parts of the poster. It also makes the eye follow down between the two buildings. The two buildings either side look like stereotypical American buildings. This conveys a sense that the film is set in America.

Analysis of The Features Included in this Film Poster

How Does this Poster Follow the Codes and Conventions of a Film Poster

• It includes the title of the film, which stands out against the brown/gold background. This is an important feature of the poster, as it tells the audience the name of the film before they go and see it. It also gives some indication as to what the film is about.
• It includes the script at the bottom, which is usually in capital letters. This gives information about the production company the writer etc.
• The image is the main feature, as it takes up the whole of the poster. The image also helps to imply what the film is about if the audience has not seen the trailer. The audience can decide from the image what type of film it is and whether they would enjoy it.

How Does this Poster Not Follow the Codes and Conventions of a Film Poster

• The poster does not include the names of the cast. Therefore the audience does not know what actors/actresses are in the film. Sometimes this helps the audience decide if they will go and see the film depending on if a certain person is starring in it.
• The poster includes a slogan, which gives an outline of the films narrative.
• It also includes film reviews and the awards that it has won.

EDITING: Editing an image

Before Editing

This is the original photograph that I took at my first photo shoot with Darcey. I am considering using this photo as a possibility for my poster, as I really like the positioning and the pose that Darcey is in. However, I am not very happy with this image, as it is very dark and there are a number of shadows due to the lighting that was used. 

To edit this photo I used Iphoto. I lightened the photo several times, as this made the background white so that Darcey stood out. I also used the warmer tool, which warmed up her skin tone.  Next I changed the level of exposure from 0.43 to 1.99, as this adjusts the overall lightness of the image. Then I enhanced that contrast from 0 to 46, which adjusts the difference between the light and dark tones. I also lowered the saturation of the image from 55 to 3, as this alters the colour intensity. I increased the definition to 9 but I lowered the shadows to 14, as when I brightened the image shadows appeared around Darcey. I increased the sharpness to 3, as this sharpens the focus. I also increased the de-noise tool to 9, which smoothed out the grainy quality of the image.

These are screenshots of the levels that I altered in order to improve the quality of the image and make it brighter.

After Editing

This is the result of the image after editing it using Iphoto. The image is now much brighter and Darcey is more visible. However, I now need to get rid of the shadows which have appeared around Darcey in Photoshop. This will improve the quality of the photo even further.

Editing The Shadows

The next stage of the editing process was to remove the shadows in Photoshop. I did not really know how to do this so I looked on YouTube for a video, which explained step by step how to remove the shadows. This video was really detailed and helped my to achieve a solution.

After removing the background shadows I then went on to remove the shadows around Darcey. I did this by using the quick selection tool in photo shop to select the entire picture. I then used the brush tool to go over the red areas, which I wanted to get rid of. This enabled me to be more precise and accurate around Darcey in order to create a clean line.

This is the finished result after using the quick selection tool in Photoshop. It has completely got rid of the shadows that were behind Darcey. I have also adding a background colour in order to make it brighter.

PLANNING: Images

I arranged  a small photo shoot with Darcey in order to take pictures for my poster and magazine front cover. I took a selection of photos at a dance studio, as this is a conventional setting for the genre of dance, therefore it will be obvious to the audience what this film is about. I then decided to take a selection of photographs against a white wall, as this gave the images a professional finish. I asked Darcey to wear a black leotard and pink ballet tights along with her ballet shoes and her hair in a bun, as this mise en scene also helps to signify to the audience the genre of the film.

In some of the photos the lighting is too dark or there is a shadow. Therefore this will have to be edited in order to give the image a high quality and professional finish.

Here are the photos that I took at the photo shoot.

RESEARCH: Moodboard

FILMING: Shooting on Location

Location 1

In order to film the majority of my footage for my trailer I used one of the dance studios at my dance school. The reason I chose this location is because a dance studio is a conventional setting for a film, which has a genre of dance. The facilities at this dance studio enable the mise en scene to also signify the genre of dance, as it includes mirrors and a ballet bar. The studio lighting made the footage bright and clear, therefore resulting in a professional finish. I asked Darcey to wear a purple leotard along with black ballet leggings and her pointe shoes, although for some of the footage Darcey changed into her soft ballet shoes. I decided on this costume due to the fact that a leotard and soft or pointe ballet shoes are a stereotypically conventional feature of any ballet film, as this immediately connotes what genre of film it is. Therefore the audience will know whether or not the film is for them. I also asked Darcey to have her hair in a bun as this is another conventional characteristic.

Below is a picture of the studio that I used.

This is a map view of the location.

Location 2

Whilst making a shot list of the extra footage which I needed to film, I made the decision of filming this at a different location. Using several locations is common in a dance film or trailer as this stops it from becoming boring by using just one location. Changing locations also conveys a sense that Darcey trains regular in different studios implying her dedication. I still filmed in the stereotypical setting of a dance studio but this time it was at Darcey's dance school. I also made the judgement of changing Darcey's costume, as this suggests that time has progressed throughout the trailer. I still asked her to wear pointe and soft ballet shoes along with her hair in a bun but I changed her outfit to a black leotard and pink ballet tights. The reason I changed to this look is because this is often seen on ballet film posters, as the colours signify ballet. This will also help to give my trailer a traditional feel.

Below is a picture of the studio.

This is a map view of the location.

Editing: More Rushes

During half term I filmed at a different location. Here are the rushes of everything that I filmed.



This footage contains all of the rushes that I may incorporate into my trailer.