Final Draft 1

What could be improved? I think I need to edit the credits because the last line is too close to the symbols and company logos in the right hand corner. The colour isolation effect stands out however I need to go back and edit the edges because if you zoom in you can see a minor grey outline around some of the flowers. I'm not 100% sure about the slogan too; perhaps I need to change the font style because it looks too uniform. 

I may need to reconsider the fonts for the sell lines because they don't look as appealing as  I would like them to look. I am content with the images on the right hand side however the font for the title beneath the images look somewhat out of place; maybe the colour white is not the appropriate colour... I think  I need to edit the barcode to be in line with the bottom line of the headline. I also may need to lighten the male model's shoulders so that his blazer doesn't blend in too much with the background or I could lighten the background. I also need to add a slogan near the masthead. I might edit the sell lines so they are more interesting. 

Photography

GROUP CHAT

As I am an open-minded person, for me it is important to have variation in photography so as to not limit the possibilities to just the initial idea. To achieve this variation I explored different shots, angles and played around with the focus and props available such as the wooden swords and the gun (which we spray painted black).  

Next to the images I took are my inspirations. 

Construction

'The Bonsai Tree' Film Poster Ideas

'The Bonsai Tree' is a stylised British Japanese gangster film so to enhance my insight, I also looked at Japanese Yakuza film posters. 

Our main protagonist is a young woman who possesses a strong sense of self-determination so I looked at existing films that featured a strong female main character. Angelina Jolie has starred in many action films as a character who embodies similar beliefs and traits to our protagonist. I looked at the poster for 'Salt' to help stimulate ideas. 

 

One thing these posters have in common is the weapon the character is holding; the weapon helps establish power and authority as well as strength ang the genre. My initial poster is character based with only the main character in it. 

For my first idea, I intend to have the model's side profile as my focal image while holding a gun. The actors' names will be placed at the top and the tagline will overlay the model to show that this is possibly what she is thinking "How deep are your roots?" I have decided to make the font dark red because it is a deep colour and will resemble blood. The billing block will be placed at the bottom like in the majority of movie posters.

For my second idea, I wanted to showcase the bonsai tree icon so I drew smoke arising in the shape of a tree and the model wearing a bonsai tree necklace. I subverted conventions here because I placed the billing block at the top of the poster and below it is where I will put the main actress' name. 

Here are some Japanese/Oriental looking fonts that I may consider using from dafont.com

Out of my two ideas I think the first one will do a better job of communicating the genre because of the prop gun and trying to do the smoke effect on Photoshop for the second poster may be time consuming. I have come to the conclusion that the first idea will entice the audience because it is more visually and mentally engaging.

Magazine Front Cover: Ideas and Planning

TYPOGRAPHY
I had three ideas for the name of my magazine: 1) 'Impression' 2) 'Climax' 3) 'Footage'. Out of the three I liked 'Impression' the most. I loosely based the house style of Impression on 'Little White Lies'. It comprises of impartial reviews that give the audience a thorough insight of the writer's film experience. The magazine consists of honest, personal and objective reviews that clearly communicates the writer's impression of the film. 


On the left are the different styles of typography I picked out from www.dafont.com that appealed to me. From the magazine case studies I carried out, I noticed that two out of the three mastheads were sans-serif typeface.

Although all six of them stood out to me, I  thought fonts 2, 4 and 6 were the most appropriate for my magazine cover. I liked the second font aka 'Kenteken' most because some of the letters have pieces missing as if a slice was cut out which I linked to editing because a lot of material gets cut during production. 

PHOTOGRAPHY 
The concept of my front cover revolves around the theme of power and status. I wanted to explore different physical levels to show the different levels in status whilst the film plot remained ambiguous. This image from the Godfather franchise inspired me to use the chair as a prop because the arm rests and the stance of Michael Corleone resemble a king sitting on his throne. I particularly liked the lighting of this image because it illuminates the model; his surroundings are quite dark and there are little props therefore all the focus remains on him. Michael Corleone has his hair slicked back with gel, a full black suit and has a stern yet melancholy expression on his face. In terms of body language, his hands are relaxed on the armrest to suggest comfort and ownership whilst his legs are crossed over each other portraying confidence and skepticism. 

I need to include a renowned symbol of a gangster film i.e. a weapon so that the audience can establish the genre of our film. The person holding a gun to the male model's head creates ambiguity because their identity is hidden. It also creates tension because it looks as if he is about to be executed; a common theme in gangster films is dying with dignity. 

To create juxtaposition and to increase tension, I want a female model to sit on a chair and look responsible for arranging the execution.This will attract more customers to view the magazine as they will want to know who the attacker is and the significance of the characters. Although the male model is standing behind the chair and appears to have some authority, evidently the female model sitting on the chair looks more powerful because she dominates the front cover in the foreground. The costume adheres to the typical gangster costume: tailored black suit, white shirt to emphasise his wealth. The female model is wearing a kimono which links in to our cultural theme and is symbolic of her wealth because kimonos are quite expensive. The background will be kept minimalistic but it will appear lavish and adorned in oriental style furniture. 

Applying Repertoire of Elements to Gangster Film

Institutional Context

According to 'eBaum's WORLD', the top grossing gangster movie was 'The Godfather' trilogy, the total domestic gross is $335.44 million, this is the average per film.

The second grossing gangster movie according to 'eBaum's WORLD' is the movie 'The Untouchables', the total domestic gross is $144.47 million.

The third grossing gangster movie according to 'eBaum's WORLD' is the movie 'The Departed, the total domestic gross is $142.97 million.

Companies with high box office rating and movies with high grossing movies:

• 'The Godfather' movie was made by the company 'Paramount'
• 'The Untouchables' movie was made by the company 'Paramount'
• 'The Departed' movie was made by the company 'Warner Bros.'

 

Looking at the movies and their distributors, Paramount Pictures Corporation is the one of the main companies that distribute movies of the genre movies gangster crime. Three movies that Paramount Pictures Corporation distributed that reached one billion dollars was Titanic (1997), Transformers: Dark of thee Moon (2011) and Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014). Paramount has become successful by having good investments, small investments include 'BabyTV', a cable channel in USA aimed at 0-3 year old, Network Ten, commercial TV stations in Australia and Channel 2, commercial TV station in Israel. Big investments include becoming the parent of DreamWorks SKG and The CBS library.