Film Festival Postcard Research

Film Festival Postcard Research

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  Film Festival PostcardResearch. By Richie Batey.
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  An Introduction ToFilm Festival Postcards. • Film Postcards are a small advertisement containing information and details about A film. One side would be presented with images about the production whilst the other side will be presented with film, contact and screening information. I will be analysing 5 different short film festival postcards. Here are some examples of Short Film Postcards. 
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  Analysing A FilmFestival Postcard. • Before analysing A short film festival postcard, you should consider/ask yourself these things: What are film postcards designed to achieve? Why are film postcards useful? What is key to a successful film postcard? • Once you have got the answers to these questions you can make a proper judgement on whether a film postcard is effective/ineffective or successful/unsuccessful.
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  What Is OnA Film Festival Postcard? • Title. • Nominations/Selections. • Director/Producer/Actors Name(s). • URL of the films website. (This is an example from another short film postcard as Spinosaurus didn’t show its Website URL.) 
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  Visual Codes: There areminimal hints as to what this short film could be about mainly because the picture used is a still from real CCTV footage so it was not edited to give hints, but we can get a feel from what we can see. The single character in the middle of the shot implies that this man is the main focus of the short film and the way he is gripping his plastic bag makes him look slightly panicked and isolated. Also the fact that it is a real CCTV footage still shows that it is a true story which would help draw in an audience. Textual Codes: The title of this short film is placed in the middle under the feet of the only character shown, it almost looks like he is about to walk over it and this could be implying that the mass (weight) of certain men may be crushing. There is credits to the creator of the short film under the title in a smaller font. There is a quote from Henry David Thoreau in the top left which says “The mass of men leads lives of quiet desperation” he said this quote in 1654 and this gives the audience an insight into what the themes of this short film could be. Short Film Title. Nominations And Selections: The Mass Of Men was the winner of two awards and these are both largely advertised in the top left of the poster, the two tags are big and this helps draw the audiences attention to this section of the poster and will also draw them into watching it. Design And Layout: This short film is based on a true story and the designer of the postcard used this to their advantage because they have made the postcard a still from real CCTV footage and this is an exciting and unique technique as a lot of short films would not be able to do this on account of being based on a non-true story. Name of Producer.
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  Textual Codes: In thispostcard we can see a tagline and a short description of what the film is about. The tagline is placed at the very top of the poster, it says “Some lines shouldn’t be crossed” this creates an uneasy atmosphere because we assume we are going to see what happens when these “lines” are crossed. The short synopsis is placed next to the Title which is tactical because it will be the first thing that the audience will read after they read the title. Visual Codes: This postcard has subtle hints about what the film is about without even reading the synopsis for example, the line that is under the tagline looks like an underline but is actually a heart beat monitor and apart from the jolt at the beginning it is a flat line which implies someone is in hospital and is near to death. Design And Layout: This postcard has a very unsettling feel to it, all of the components contribute to this. The main colour of this poster is black and the natural light coming through the windows is white which shines light onto the character, who is isolated in this hallway which implies that maybe an apocalyptic event has occurred. Nominations And Selections: Hard to believe was nominated for six different awards and these are placed tactically in the centre at the top to attract an audience and draw people into watching it as they will think it is good because of the nominations. Short Film Title. Film Website URL. Facebook and Twitter Links.
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  Visual Codes: The twocharacters are looking at something that we as the audience cannot see and this helps build spectacle. The two characters are in different frames of the postcard, the older gentleman is placed nearer to the camera and is seen more clearly and this implies that he is the main character, the other man is positioned further way and the complexion is very slightly blurred which helps indicate that he is still a “Wren Boy” but the older man is a more glorified member. Textual Codes: The title is placed in between the two men and is covering a section of each of them this is another indicator that these men are the “Wren Boys”. There is a paragraph of small text under the title and the large award tag, this includes things such as the name of the director (Harry Lighton) and the name of the casting director (Lara Manwaring) etc. Nominations And Selections: Wren Boys was nominated for the BFI London Film Festival award which is a grand award, this is placed in the bottom right of the postcard, the tag is large and this will draw an audiences eyes to it, it will inform them that it is nominated for this award and will help draw them into watching it. Design And Layout: This postcard was designed well in my opinion. The two characters are shown to be looking at something that we cannot see, there are two characters shown in this postcard unlike the other two postcards that I have analysed. The fact that there is two people shown leads us to think that these are the “Wren Boys” that the film is named after. Short Film Title. Directors Name.
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  Visual Codes: This filmpostcard has many visual codes the main one being the uneven balance of the photos. The photos are not level and the short film is called The Levelling this contrast makes the audience think that this short film could be about a situation that is difficult and the name The Levelling implies that the short film will be about making this fixing this situation. The most visible sign of the unevenness is the boys body, half of his body is higher than the other and this could be an indication that this boy might have two sides to his personality or maybe that he is leading two different lives. Textual Codes: The textual codes in this postcard mainly come from the title, the word Levelling has some light shed on the middle of it and there is an equally visible amount of the word shown on each side which is another example of levelling. Nominations And Selections: The Levelling was nominated for one award and the emblem of this is shown just above the title and this is a good tactic to try and draw in an audience because it is like a stamp of quality confirmation. Design And Layout: This film postcard has a very interesting design and the name The Levelling helps contribute to this, the contradiction of having a design that is not level makes the audience think against the title and start to think that maybe the dynamics of this short film are not level and the boy shown could be in trouble. Short Film Title.Film Website URL. Facebook, Twitter And Instagram Links.
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  Film Website URL. TextualCodes: There is a lot of text on the back of the postcard which says “Following her brother’s death Clover (Ellie Kendrick, Game Of Thrones) returns to her family home to confront her father (David Troughton, Radio 4’s The Archers) and the echoes of their buried past. Set on the Somerset levels, THE LEVELLING is a tremendous debut from Hope Dickson Leach featuring powerful performances from Kendrick and Troughton with stunning cinematography by Nanu Segal, capturing the true heart and soul of one of the most striking areas in Britain.” Visual Codes: This is the backside of the “The Levelling” film postcard. This side does not have the un even effect of the front side but does introduce us to a new character and from the both sides we can tell that the two main characters in this short film are going to be the boy from the front side and this girl from this side and we are led to think that the uneven effect of the front side might have something to do with these two characters. This girl is also wearing a jumper with holes and in and a rather large oversized jacket which could imply homelessness or lack of wealth. Textual Codes: The text on the back talks about the synopsis of the film and I think this is a good place for the plot as this is similar to a book (The synopsis being on the back). This postcard both informs and entertains.