(27/06/16) Starter Task: Graphic Design Anagrams

White Space: Empty Space around text and images, makes them stand out because they're important - Not always white.
Sans Serif: Bold - no flicks. Stands out and easy to see especially on Billboards, which are farther away.
Leading: Spacing between lines.
Kerning: Spacing between letters.
Bleed: Spacing between images.

LO1: Analysis Improvements

LO1: Analysis - Peer Assessment

Peer Assessor: Louis Norton 
Assessment:
Key terms have been explored in depth but the actual key terms have sometimes been left out; for example house style is talked about a lot but there is no mention of the words 'house style'. In some other places as well 'typography' has been left out. Otherwise the LO is descriptive and good.

LO1: Examples of Graphics Design Notes

Purpose: (Promote/ Educate / Entertain / Sell Products - Three ways you know it's purpose is this)

Format: (What Type of products are featured in this package - 2 Advantages that includes having different formats that would be seen in different places (Synergy, Exposure to audiences)

Content: (Talk about a few Denoted elements [what you can see] in each example of the package - Photographs (Shot type/Angle), Typography (Serif - flicks/Sans Serif - bold, easy to read), Colours used, Logos used, Bleed (Spaces between images), E.g. of Kerning (Space between letters), e.g. of leading (Spaces between lines), White Space (Empty space - focus more on main information) and e.g of anchorage (Text over Image)).

Style: (Analysing/Evaluating the connotations/representation - links to the target audience and genre of the product) - Connoted

Layout: Where the features are placed/positioned on the graphic design pieces. Talk about text, images and logos.
Key terms:

• White space
• Borders
• Positioning of images and text
• Background (Colours/images)
• Foreground (Text/images)
• Rule of thirds
• Top, middle and bottom.
• Social media links - (Normally at the bottom)

Target Audience: Who's the target audience (Stereotypes) for the campaigns based on the;
Design
Theme/Genre
Talk about the Age, Gender and Spending Power.

Regulatory Bodies: Look at the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority).
1. Why is there no harmful, offensive or misleading information featured on the graphic design piece?
2. Based on the genre of the film, what theme could have been glorified but where not?
3. What would be copyrighted based on content in the packages? Things like;
Logo
Photography
Trademarks
Designs

LO1: Understanding Existing Graphic Design Work for Media Products

1.This is England (Warp Films)

The Logo

Billboard Poster

Film Poster

DVD Cover

Purpose

The purpose of these graphic works are to promote the film This is England to persuade people to see the film. You can tell this by having quotes and ratings as seen on the DVD cover and Billboard poster which can give people an idea that the film is good, which can give people enough reason to go and see it. Another way I can tell this is to promote the film is that they use the logo of the film repeatedly on both the DVD cover and billboard poster and as well as keeping the house style of the colour which contrasts well and is eye-catching, this brands the film as something recognisable and so the audience will remember the name of the film.

Format

In the package I found promoting the film, I found a film poster, a billboard poster and a DVD cover. The advantage of having many packages are that the product gets exposed more and is more likely to attract an audience to watch the film, having different formats can also create synergy between formats, like if you have a video game that is tied to a film. The advantage of having a film poster in a magazine for example is that it allows a wide range of audiences to see the poster and know about the film when they are just flicking through the magazine. This is the same with billboard posters as they can be seen by passerby's who see it, that can be people walking or people driving a car, this means that once again they can be seen by a wide range of audience. The DVD cover on the other hand is mostly advertising the product after it is released whilst the posters advertise the product before. The DVD cover is used to attract the audience to buy the film, which is advertising to a wide audience, especially people in a film renting store for example.

Content

Style

The film this graphics design work is made for is called This is England and is a Drama/Indie film that is a film based on the realism of 1983 by focusing on a subculture of youth skinheads. The characters that are in the film represent the skinheads very successfully as the costume shown in the photograph and make-up represent the style of those who you would have actually seen in the 1980’s. The youthful skinheads were stereotyped for having shaven, or close to, heads, this is definitely seen on the males in the photographs. And then there’s also the stereotype of the males wearing boots similar to the look of army boots, bleached or regular jeans and smart shirts, these can all be seen on the group, apart from a few exceptions, like the women’s clothes that would vary in the subculture, but they would normally be in the same theme as the males. The skinheads were also stereotyped to be apart of the working class, which explains there location in the photo as being urban, as shown with the apartment blocks and construction box sort of background the characters are leaning on. Finally, the colour scheme of the title which is blue, white and red, which connotes Britain as they are the union jack colours, and seen as the film that is based on the realism of England in the 80's the colour scheme fits the theme of the film.

Layout

The layout of the billboard poster shows the title of the film, which is the biggest and most bold form of text, and is positioned in the middle of the poster, this is because the title is the first thing people typically see as well as the middle, this makes it easier for someone to see from far away, the text is in the foreground so that it isn't obstructed by other features. The photograph is in the background of the poster, whilst everything else is in the foreground, this is done because everything in the foreground is more important and has the information like reviews and the title, the reviews were positioned in the white space at the top of the image as the reviews are considerably important because it can effect peoples opinions on the film, and so with it being on the white space, it makes it stand out more. The DVD cover is basically the same as the billboard poster, but with a few extra things, such as the age certificate that is placed in the bottom left, this is a convention of DVD covers. There is also a few other features that are conventional to a DVD cover, such as the blurb, this is almost always in the middle, but is mostly centred on the back of the cover, the images on the other hand can be arranged in various ways, in this case the images are arranged vertically down the side of the blurb. Finally, the film poster is very basic with the image being a non-realistic shirt and is centred in the poster. The title of the film is anchored on top of the image and is placed at the bottom, the red text joins on to the two red bands coming down on the shirt. the credits are placed underneath the main image in the bottom right.

Target Audience

The target audience I think that this package is aimed at around 18 years old, and even the older age of mid-30's to 50's, I say 18 year olds because the colour scheme and design of the graphic design work isn't too colourful that it'd be aimed at the younger ages like 8 to 12 years old, but it is suitable and has a less colourful and more mature colour scheme. The photograph used is of people who are in their late teens or are young adults which could make the 18 year olds relate to them as teenagers themselves. The main reason I think the mid-30's to 50 year olds have been targeted too is because they were around the same age as the main character as well as the others, which this audience may remember when it was the year it was set and also maybe even apart of the skinheads sub-culture in which they could relate with the characters in the film. I think the main gender the graphics were aimed at are males, the photographs used mainly feature males as well as the costumes used are more on the masculine side too and although the colour scheme is representing the Britain, they also are stereotyped as male colours with the red and blue. The spending power of the target audience is around B to C2 because the people who would see these graphic designs would most likely have a car in the case of the billboard, because they are usually located next to the road and this is how they would usually see this. Because it's also a film based on people in the working class, the target audience are relate able to these characters and so must be close to the same social grade and spending power.

Regulatory Bodies

There are no harmful, offensive or misleading information on the graphic design work as they are a part of advertising and the regulatory body behind advertising is the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) they make sure there is nothing that could be offensive to anyone that sees it. The company that makes the advertisement also want the advertisement to be seen so that their product gets exposure and so they follow the rules that are set down by the ASA.

'This Is England' is a crime and drama film and based on the conventions of the genre, there are a few things that could have been glorified, such as; one of the characters had recently got out of jail and with sociopath tendencies he expresses racist views, if this was to be glorified in the packages it would have greatly offended those it's discriminating. there's also drug use, this would have not been condoned and finally, violence, this would be inappropriate as many people will see the advertisement, including children, which would be unsuitable.

Things that would be copyrighted included on the graphic design work are the photographs used and the  company logos seen at the bottom that are in the small print on the billboard poster. The DVD cover would have a few things copyrighted like the logos shown on the spine and front cover, the photographs on the back and front of it would be copyrighted, even though one or two are from the film. Finally, the film poster hasn't got much to be copyrighted, one thing being the design of the film poster, which is the red, blue and white shirt, as it's someones work.

 

2. '71 (Warp Films)

 Billboard Poster

 Magazine Advertisement/Film Poster

Internet Banner

Purpose

The purpose of these graphic works are to promote the film '71 to persuade people to see the film. You can tell this by having a quote and ratings as seen on the magazine advertisement and billboard poster which can give people an idea that the film is good, which can give people enough reason to go and see it. Another way I can tell this is to promote the film is that they use the logo of the film repeatedly on all 3 graphic design works in this package and as well as keeping the house style of the colour which contrasts well and is eye-catching, this brands the film as something recognisable and so the audience will remember the name of the film. The Internet Banner purpose is to also sell the product too as it says 'Book Tickets'.

Format

The internet banner and magazine advertisement are both two separate formats, the internet banner being digital and the other being a print. The internet is widely used and as seen, the internet banner is on 'Vice' which is a website (as well as a magazine too) which purposely focuses on art, which film is a part of, and so it will get exposure to the right group of people who would want to see it. The magazine on the other hand is still being seen on a wide scale, but maybe not as much as the website banner. There's also the fact that the internet banner is interactive whilst the others are not, this is an advantage as it makes it easier for the audience to book tickets for example, and if they hadn't of heard about the film it also has the trailer. 

Content

Style

The film these graphic design pieces were created for was the film '71, it’s a historical thriller that is set in Ireland in 1971. It’s about a British soldier who gets separated from his squad during the climax of the riots in that year, the riots were due to three British soldier being killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The main protagonist, Gary Hook, is a new recruit to the British Army. This character represents a typical soldier who would have been involved in the riots, the soldier can be seen in all the graphic design pieces I had looked at and he is shown to actually be a soldier due to his attire, you can also tell by his face that he is new to this, as he looks emotional about seeing all the chaos. I assume chaos due to the only establishing shots in the graphic design pieces having fire and destruction, this probably due to the time and place of the setting which is the riots that took place in Ireland. The soldier and civilians/rioters in the film I would assume are all in the working class as they are all a part of the general public, a few on the other hand could be one or two classes higher.

Layout

The billboard poster is firstly noticeable by its chequered style that goes across the background, this is because they are all each an individual poster designed to look like that. The title of the film is placed central on each poster, because it is just a number it is much bigger compared to a film title that is text. For the black posters, the ratings and quotes are placed above the title at the top and the information for the release date, cast, production companies etc. is placed at the bottom. On the other hand the white posters only have a photograph that is layered into the title in the foreground, which is a unique way to have shown the photo, this could be done because of how big the text is for the title. The magazine advertisement is the two posters from the billboard combined into one, the background is white with the dark toned photograph once again layered into the title in the foreground, it is also central too. The quotes and reviews are again at the top and the information are too at the bottom like before. Finally, the internet banner is very different to the print formats, the background is the same white-ish colour as the magazine advertisement but everything on the foreground is in a different layout. The trailer for the film is placed on the far left of the banner and then the middle is just some information such as the actor, reviews and the release date, this is above a button that allows you to book tickets to the film. On the far right is the logo to the film. The rest of the banner is whitespace. 

Target Audience

The target audience for this package based on design is males aged from mid-teens to 25, I think this because colours used are very basic and mature, and are not colourful, this also relates to the fact it's a drama and thriller film that is based on a soldier surviving being left behind by his platoon in the middle of a riot, so it's going to be gritty and a bit melancholy as people died and so they don't want to use colours that would connote it being a happy film. The spending power to the target audience is around B to C2 because it's a film based on a soldier, who work for about £30,000 annually, this is around the working class salary. The target audience are relate able to this character if they are in working class and so must be close to the same social grade and spending power.

Regulatory Bodies

There are no harmful, offensive or misleading information on the graphic design work as they are a part of advertising and the regulatory body behind advertising is the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) they make sure there is nothing that could be offensive to anyone that sees it. The company that makes the advertisement also want the advertisement to be seen so that their product gets exposure and so they follow the rules that are set down by the ASA.
The film is a drama and thriller film, and it's setting is on deadly streets of Belfast, at that time, with there even being a bomb in the film, the exaggeration of death and gore may have been glorified if it wasn't for the ASA.
All three of the pieces in this package are basically the same design, but formatted in different ways, the first thing may be counted as copyright is the photography, the photos are within the '71 logo, these may have been taken from the actual film, or could have actually been photos from an actual photo shoot. The design of the '71 that the photos are in could have been designed by someone for the poster.

3. X-Men: Apocalypse (20th Century Fox)

 Billboard Poster

Film Poster

Cross Promotion Product

Purpose

The purpose of these graphic works are to promote the film X-Men: Apocolypse to persuade people to see the film. This can be seen on both the billboard and film poster by it including the productions title, which is also recognisable and so may intrigue the people who see the logo to go see it, it also has the date release of the film in cinemas, this is needed if you want the audience to see the film. The cross promotion product is a way of promoting the product as people will buy the product and see the film being advertised on the product, in this example, the M&M's mascots are designed like recognisable characters from the films franchise, this can also intrigue the audience.

Format
The graphic designs shown in this package are the film's billboard poster, the film's standard poster and a product advertising the film on their packaging. The advantage of having two types of poster is that there is much more exposure to the product, which is the film. The billboard poster would most likely be seen by audiences that drive, so the billboard poster would probably be seen quite often, the standard poster on the other hand would cover exposure in magazines, newspapers, which would be seen by those readers, and smaller portrait billboards which would be seen by the walking public. 20th Century Fox also synergised with the company that makes M&M's to advertise their film on the product, this gives exposure to the people who both buy the product and the customers who see it on the shelves.

Content

Style

The film these graphic design pieces were created for is the film X-Men: Apocalypse, it’s an action, adventure, sci-fi superhero film, and so is a lot more fictional than most of the other film’s I analysed their graphic design packages for. The plot is about a 1,000-year-old mutant awakening to fight the group of superheroes known as the X-Men, also being mutants themselves. This film also had a much higher budget and was aired worldwide, so has a much huger target audience, meaning it’s a lot more varied and less specific to a certain audience. The group of superheroes have all different backgrounds and diversities, meaning it’s easy for most of the audience to create an ideal self with them and relate to them. But with much more action than most of the films I had analysed, it doesn’t really show development of the characters and their personalities, so you don’t relate to them as easily. The only thing that defines them in the film are the superpowers they have and that is represented mainly in the film poster, the billboard only has one character on it. The good thing I find about the character’s powers being shown in the pieces is that they become recognisable and you link the powers to the name of the characters. The locations aren’t represented well in the graphic design pieces; the film is targeted at a worldwide audience and so it doesn’t give a clear location for the audience to relate to. The superheroes in the film don’t have a clear ABC1 class, so can be relatable for anyone.

Layout

Firstly, the billboard poster is the one out of all the graphic design pieces that I think is the most minimum in content and features. The billboard is necessarily one picture, with text layered in the foreground. The border of the billboard is a lot different compared to the typical horizontal rectangular posters, as it has ridges coming out due to the metal girders in the photo, this I believe is to show it as though it’s three-dimensional, to represent that the film is in 3D. The image is the entire billboard whilst the text has been placed in the corners. The title is the biggest text and placed in the bottom left of the billboard, the smaller text is the tagline (top left) and the day of release for the film (bottom right), all the text is in the foreground, making it stand out easily against the image. There are no company logos used on the billboard poster, but the title is actually a recognisable brand logo ‘The X-Men’ and is easily recognisable by audiences if they have seen the comics or films beforehand.  The portrait film poster has a lot more content features compared to the billboard poster. This one has no whitespace, all the text is in the foreground, whilst there are multiple singular images that have been layered on top of each other in the background. The images used are mainly character shots and these are in the centre, they have tried to make it be symmetrical too, with one image of the antagonist in the background of all the images being centred. The other images would be much smaller logos placed underneath the credits, at the very bottom. There is a lot more text than the billboard, at the top of the poster, there is the tagline, the most noticeable text is placed nearest to the centre, this being the title, this makes it easier to notice as the audience will be looking at the images first and then see the title. Below the title is placed the smallest text, it’s much more unnoticeable compared to the title, this text is both the credits and the day of release in between the logos. The last graphic design piece is the cross promotion product, even though it’s a product it doesn’t lack much that relate to the film. On the lid of the product it shares both the title and an image of the product’s mascot, the text is layered on top of the background image. On the side of the product they use two more images of the product’s mascots, these are in the foreground as they overlay the product’s logo.

Target Audience
I believe the target audience for the X-Men Apocalypse graphic design package is generally around the age of 12 (BBFC Rating of 12) to late 30’s. The gender, would for the majority be male, due to the X-Men, contextually being a comic series, would have been stereotypically read by males, but in today’s films it shares a quite even ratio of genders as the film has multiple ideal selves the audience can relate to. I believe the social grade of the audience that the film’s graphic design package is aimed at is a grade D, this being the working class. It’s definitely affordable to get cinema tickets with the spending power you get as the social grade D.

Regulatory Bodies

There are no harmful, offensive or misleading information on the graphic design work as they are a part of advertising and the regulatory body behind advertising is the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) they make sure there is nothing that could be offensive to anyone that sees it. The company that makes the advertisement also want the advertisement to be seen so that their product gets exposure and so they follow the rules that are set down by the ASA.
This film is an action, adventure, sci-fi and superhero film. Action is the main theme of this film and could have been glorified in many ways across the graphic design work and they do show action but in the least glorified way it can. This can be seen in the film poster as they do show a guy with a laser beam that comes out of his eyes and then in the background they have the missiles being launched, these could have been shown killing another character, making it look a bit more extreme, but it has been chosen to not show that.
The billboard poster is really simplistic and lacks content that could be copyrighted, the only logo used is the actual brand logo for the film, which has been used in other media such as the comics and animated series. The photagraphy used was most likely took from a shot in the film and the visual effects would have been done by someone payed within the production company. There are then no trademarks used in the graphic design either. The film poster has quite a bit more of content and so may have included a few things that were copyrighted. A couple logos are included in this, mainly at the bottom, these all being companies involved wth the production of the film, this goes for the '20th Century Fox', 'Marvel' and 'TSG Entertainment' logos used. There's much more photography used in the film poster than the billboard poster, but this photography and the visual effects used would still have been done by someone payed to do them and so don't really effect copyright. Finally, the cross-promotion product uses two logos, one being its own and the other being 'M&Ms', the product that is advertising the film. There's no photography but there is some CGI used that ill have been made by someone paid to make it, but as seen on the packaging they are copyrighted, probably because they resemble a design made by another brand, in this case 'X-Men'.

4. Shutter Island

Billboard Poster

 Film Poster

Film DVD Cover

Purpose

The purpose of these graphic design pieces are to promote the film Shutter Island to persuade people to see the film. You can see this in the film billboard as it uses massive text to stand out to the audience, it includes the name, date of release and a tag line, these all would work together to attract the audience the best it can. The image is then used through out the three pieces which may be used for repetitiveness to be recognisable to the audience, so that the film name sticks in their head.

Format

In the package there is the film poster, a billboard poster and a DVD cover. The advantage of having these kind of packages are that the film gets exposed more and is more likely to attract an audience to watch it, having different formats can also create synergy between formats, which would be an advantage as it gives more exposure to a wider audience. The advantage of having a film poster in a magazine for example is that it allows a wide range of audiences to see the poster and know about the film when they are just flicking through the magazine. This is the same with billboard posters as they can be seen by passerby's who see it, that can be people walking or people driving a car, this means that once again they can be seen by a wide range of audience. The DVD cover on the other hand is mostly advertising the product after it is released whilst the posters advertise the product before. The DVD cover is used to attract the audience to buy the film, which is advertising to a wide audience, especially people in a film renting store for example.

Content

Style

The film this graphic design work is created for is called Shutter Island, it’s a mystery thriller that is set in in 1954, where a U.S. marshal investigates the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane. It’s fictional, but does show themes of mental illness that people can go through. The main character is shown on all the graphic design work I looked at and he takes up the majority of each one. The billboard poster is composed differently to the film poster and so follows the same theme, I believe it’s trying to connote a theme of mental illnesses and being alone, I believe this because someone being insane can most of the time tribute to someone feeling alone. With the main character finding out that the whole time he’s a patient at the hospital because he had killed the wife – the missing murderess, it means that he’s insane and alone. The film poster connotes a theme of loneliness by secluding the character in darkness on the posters with just a match stick. The location fits with the genre of the film, with it being a thriller, the location is a hospital on an island that looks distorted in the poster, this is because of the editing fragmenting the image of the location. The aesthetic of the location, night time and with it raining, also helps emphasise on the mood of the posters by making it all seem gritty, just like a thriller should. 

Layout

Firstly, the Billboard poster, film poster and DVD cover all follow the same house style and composition with a few indifferences. The billboard poster has quite a bit of whitespace, with the black darkness surrounding the location and character, this allows for the tag line, cast name and title to stand out of the poster. Because it’s horizontal, the composition is a bit unorthodox, with all the text not being centred, but pushed to the right of the billboard, beneath the title there’s the first image, the island the film is set on. On the far left there’s the second image, which is a close up of the main character, and then across the bottom there are multiple logos. The colour them they use mainly consist of white and red. The film poster is portrait orientated and so is can make more use of the content seen in the billboard poster. This poster shares about the same proportion of whitespace it did in the billboard poster, but isn’t used to make the text come out clearer. At the top of the poster there’s the close up of the character and underneath it a smaller establishing photo of the location. The tagline ‘Someone is missing’ is the smallest sized text but is anchored onto the close up of the character, maybe to show it as though that’s what he’s thinking. Below the location photo, there’s the cast name, the title of the film, the credits, which are considerably much smaller than the other text. Across the bottom there are also more logos, just like on the billboard poster. Finally, there’s the DVD cover, this, just like the others have a black whitespace to make the other contents stand out. On the front page there’s the same layout as seen in the film poster, with the close up of the characters face placed at the top, the establishing shot of the location below it. At the bottom are the title for the film and the logo for ‘DVD Video’, which are both placed in the foreground. On the spine of the DVD cover, at the top, there’s the ‘Paramount’ logo, then placed underneath that is an image with a border, this being a photo of the main character, which is typical of DVD covers. Central to the spine there’s the title for the film again and below that is another bordered photo of a character from the film, this may be done to show these characters as important to the film, as these characters are also shown on the back of the DVD cover. The back of the DVD cover has multiple features overlapping, starting from the top; there are three images, the highest being the establishing shot of the island again, anchored on top is a tagline for the film. Below and layered on top of the location shot, there’s a photo of a few characters inside the jeep, this is then also layered on top of by two more photos, one to the right and the other is below to the left, these are both medium shots of the two characters seen on the spine of the DVD cover. There are then two anchored texts on top of these photos, in the centre, one being the blurb and the other being a review of the film.

Target Audience

I believe the target audience for the Shutter Island graphic design package is generally around the age of 15 (BBFC Rating of 15) and above. The gender would for the majority be male, due to the majority of the characters being male, making it easy to make an ideal self with them. I believe the social grade of the audience that the film’s graphic design package is aimed at is a grade D, this being the working class. It’s definitely affordable to get cinema tickets with the spending power you get at the social grade D.

Regulatory Bodies

There are no harmful, offensive or misleading information on the graphic design work as they are a part of advertising and the regulatory body behind advertising is the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) they make sure there is nothing that could be offensive to anyone that sees it. The company that makes the advertisement also want the advertisement to be seen so that their product gets exposure and so they follow the rules that are set down by the ASA.The genre of the film is a mystery thriller that expresses themes of Guilt, mental illness and trauma. In the design pieces, they do express these themes, particularly the mental illness, I believe this because the protagonist in the products is on his own in the dark. You can tell he’s in the dark with him using a match in the photo, being in the dark on his own can typically connote that he’s alone and having a mental illness can also connote that the person is on their own as they can usually feel like no one understands what they’re going through. There is only one type of content on the products that could be copyrighted, billboard poster there is the use of the production company logos and these can also be seen on film poster and DVD cover. The photography used in all of the products were most likely taken by a photographer paid to take the photos by the production company and so the photos wouldn’t be content that was copyrighted before the production.

5. Deadman's Shoes

 Film DVD cover

 Film Poster (Horizontal)

Film Poster (Portrait)

Purpose

The purpose of these graphic design pieces are to promote the film Dead Man's Shoes to persuade people to see the film. You can see this in the way the housestyle has been consitant through out all the graphic design pieces. Firstly, the colour scheme is very contrasting against each other, making them easily stand out to the audiences they're targeting with the pieces. The way they have positioned the title over the black sillhuette juxtaposes the colours and makes it easily stand out and so attracts the audiences attention easily.

Format

In the graphic design package, the three products consist of two film posters, one of which is portrait and the other horizontal and then there’s the DVD cover. The advantage of having two types of poster is that there is much more exposure to the product. The horizontal poster could always be used as a billboard poster which would, depending on the location, be typically seen by audiences that drive, so the horizontal poster would have a huge exposure to a very wide audience. The portrait poster on the other hand would have exposure to audiences who read magazines or newspapers, and then also the smaller portrait billboards on pedestrian paths which would be seen by the walking public. The DVD cover would likely be seen in DVD rental shops or even in superstores, this would also give exposure to the people who walk by the DVD section. The only disadvantage to the products is that you can’t aim them at one particular audience, but this is contradicted when you’re wanting as much exposure to audiences as you can.

Content

Style

The film these graphic design pieces were created for is the film Dead Man’s Shoes; it’s a crime, drama and thriller film. The plot is about a soldier who returns home to get even with a bunch of thugs that brutalised his brother. One of the main things that stand out in the graphic designs are the colour choices, this being the obvious red and black that contrast well against each other. The red could be interpreted as a connotation to the danger represented in the film, there is also the choice of it connoting the fury that the brother represents in the film as he gets revenge for the death of his brother. There is then the black that connotes the death represented in the film, such as the thugs and the brother of the protagonist in the film who are all killed, this links greatly to the theme of the film and the genre, this being primarily a thriller. The theme being guilt with the brother eventually finding out his brother’s dead and that his guilty consciousness had created a hallucination of his brother being alive and so that’s why he takes revenge upon the thugs.

Layout

The main colour used in all the products follow the consistent theme of red and black, these both being very complimenting colours that juxtapose each other and grab the attention of the audience easily. The red is a part of the background, whilst the bold black is mostly used for the foreground images and silhouettes. The DVD cover doesn’t have much white space with the red in the background mostly being this, you could also say the borders on the DVD cover are white space too, as they are used to outline where the DVD case bends. On the front cover there is one image that’s a silhouette of a man with an axe, this being the protagonist, it is central in the font cover, below it is a field that has also been made to be a kind of silhouette that is most like used to give a place for the legs of the man to merge. The only other images are the logos and 18 BBFC certification, these are placed at the bottom with the certification being placed in the bottom left. The front cover has text that uses anchorage, this being the title of the film and is made to contrast against the black silhouette. There is also the text that is placed on the red white space in a white that contrasts well against the red. The title in not place placed in the conventional place, this usually being the top or bottom, it has instead has been placed in the middle, in a vertical format, with the text on top of each other, this also being different to the conventional DVD cover. The spine has the production company logo placed at the top, the title placed in the middle, this time being in a horizontal format to fit the spine and then placed at the bottom is an image of the protagonist again which is placed above the age certification and DVD logo. From top to bottom, the back cover first features three awards given to the film and below that, on the far left there are three images, the first being the protagonist, below that the dead person and finally the two brothers the film is based around. On the right of these images there are reviews and then also the blurb to the film. Below the blurb there is information, such as the Extra Features, credits and a few logos I.e. Warp Films. Everything mentioned before has been rotated a bit anti-clockwise. The portrait film poster resembled the same design as the front cover of the DVD cover, the only differences being that a tagline has been added below the title, this also has been anchored onto the silhouette in the image. The bottom image of the field has also been extended to include the protagonist walking with a rifle. Finally, the horizontal film poster, has a different layout, but still manages to keep the consistent theme throughout the products. The image of the silhouetted character is placed farther to the left and has also been scaled upwards to fit the poster more, the image of the field and protagonist has also been stretched out more to go across the whole horizontal poster. The title has been spread out more too and isn’t contained inside the silhouette, this is so it takes up the middle of the poster and so is easy to see. The reviews are still placed in the top right corner around the title, just like it had been in the DVD Cover and Portrait Poster. The credits, as seen on the back cover of the DVD cover are placed at the bottom, as it’s essential but not as important as the text that would help attract the audience’s attention to the poster.



Target Audience

I believe the target audience for the Dead Man’s Shows graphic design package is generally around the age of 18 (BBFC Rating of 18) and above. The gender would for the majority be male, due to the characters typically being male, making it easy to create an ideal self. I believe the social grade of the audience that the film’s graphic design package is aimed at is a grade D, this being the working class. It’s definitely affordable to get cinema tickets with the spending power you get at the social grade D.

Regulatory Bodies

There are no harmful, offensive or misleading information on the graphic design work as they are a part of advertising and the regulatory body behind advertising is the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) they make sure there is nothing that could be offensive to anyone that sees it. The company that makes the advertisement also want the advertisement to be seen so that their product gets exposure and so they follow the rules that are set down by the ASA.

 The film is a crime, drama and thriller and this gives the film several themes it could work with, the main ones Dead Man’s Shoes work with are guilt, murder and revenge. Murder specifically would have been bad if it was glorified in the graphic design work, as they would most likely be displayed to the public and so would be unsuitable. The graphic design restricted itself to showing the protagonist with a weapon; this either being an axe or a rifle and this can connote danger and even death. There’s also one example of murder shown on the DVD cover’s back cover as an image that shows a guy whom has been murdered.
The only features on the graphic design work that could inflict copyright are the several logos that are owned by the companies involved in the production of the film, these are typically placed at the bottom of the graphic design pieces.