Post 14

Ancillary Task 1 - Postcards

One of the independent study tasks set in the process of making our short film was to design a film poster or postcard. To begin with I analysed the conventions of a film poster. Here is an example made up film poster I have drawn to show the conventions that are typically seen:

After looking at the main basic conventions of a film poster. I then analysed some professional film posters concentrating specifically on the comparisons and differences between british film posters compared to ones advertising a film from the USA.

Why short films might find it hard to market their film using this strategy and why we might use postcards.
Most high budget films use posters as a way of advertising their film however our task is to make a short film on a very low budget making it more suitable for us to make a postcard. Marketing a film is an expensive strategy for a short film on a low budget meaning that advertising your short film is hard to make it successful. Short films also prefer to use postcards as they are cheaper to make as they are smaller but are also easier to distrube. This is either done by handing them out or they have space on the back for an address which means the audience can send them to their friends who can recommend your short film to others. Taking this into consideration I feel that the best option when marketing my film is to use postcards rather than posters. Although posters and postcards do have very similar conventions we have also chosen to make postcards because the space for the address can be used to target potential employers and funders to support any further work done.Therefore postcards have the ability to specifically target their audience of short film enthusiasts and those looking for new talent.

My analysis of postcards
Postcards are the most common marketing strategy when looking at the making a short film. After looking at a variety of postcards I can see that the conventions are very diverse.

The postcard for the short film 'On a Life's Edge' begins with a very short summary of what happens in the film, the details of all the production comapny and their logo as well as the duration of the film. This information given is needed for a postcard this is because when they are distributed at a film festival, the audience are immidetely given the chance to work out what the film is about and if they wanted to go and see it they will know exactly when and where to go. On the front of the postcard we are given an image of the setting of the film this helps the audience to identify the mood and the tone of the film and almost give a hint of what might happen in the film. This postcard gives editors and distributors a chance to analyse and review the film. Postcards are a simple way of advertisement and as well as being easier to make they are also easier to distribute and hand out. Postcard designs tend to vary meaning we have to analyse conventions because there is no strict guidlines to making a postcards this is because the information in them tends to be up to the producers and can therefore vary.

Another postcard I studied and analysed is 'Divine', the front of this postcard is an image from the film showing four young girls. This postcard is very similar to the one above in the fact that it includes the name of the distributors as well as the production company and their details. 'Divine also has a slogan of 'Let's go to church', this catch line works to give the audience an insight to the overall concept of the film but doesn't give anything away and helps the audience to remember the film in just one line. The name of this short film at the top and the colour scheme of the white lettering and clothes against the black background creates a sense of mystery but also an eerie atmosphere that in some respects engages the audience.

Conventions of film postcards
After looking at both film posters and postcards we decided that it was best if we promoted and distributed our film using a postcard, this is because we are making a short film. I am going to analyse some film postcards to see what the conventions might be. I am going to look at the front and back as this is what I will be creating. I will then be able to draw conclusions to see what I may include in my film postcards.

The first film postcard I analysed is On a Life's Edge, the front of the postcard has an establishing shot of a location which as an audience we assume is from the film and is an iconic location. The building on the front of the postcard sticks to the rule of thirds and the colour has been toned down to give it a brown sort of colour rather than just black and white making this postcard different and unique. This colour could be used for effect, however it could also have a significant link to the film and the characters and sets the overall mode and tone to the film. The title of the film is located at the bottom right of the page in white with a grey outline and the production name 'Carlton' at the top left, this postcard as kept everything a secret and not given away any twist. The back of the postcard is used to display the information rather than the front. The features on the back include the title, synopsis, cast and crew list, duration of the film and companies that have helped. This gives the audience a lot of information to take in before even watching the film and helps them to decide whether its something they would want to watch.

The second film postcard I looked at to see the types of conventions they use was 'The Hero's Journey', instead of having a few photos included within the film there is a dominating picture that is also the background for the postcard and this image introduces the audience to the main character of the short film and starts hinting towards the plot. The reason that this postcard could use characters as it's image is because this could be a more character lead plot rather than a plot based concept. The worn away edges add authenticity and make the postcard look much more professional. The font of the title reflects the genre of an action film, however the image on the front does suggest that its more 'fun'. The postcard also has a slogan similar to a film poster 'Enemies in the base, enimies in the base!' this could hint towards the plot and lead the audience into wanting to know more. The back of the postcard is very plain with a white background with a lot of space to write any details, there is an image from the film in place of the stamp and at the bottom there are logos from production companies.

My Initial Ideas for my postcard

My Postcard Designs

Image ideas for my postcard

Justification for why I designed them

Feedback on my postcard designs