Rough Print Designs

The responses I received from my focus groups regarding my poster templates largely influenced my rough design. My focus group made it clear as to which template they preferred most and because of their choices and comments the main image of my poster consisted of the killer holding a knife to the throat of the final girl which is positioned behind the camera and tripod. The main image is slightly obscured but can be seen through the screen reinforcing the recording and camera element of the film which feature prominently throughout. This image also featured a knife which is an icon of Slasher films and widely recognised with audiences to represent violence and bloodshed. It is a convention of a lot of Slasher films to include a weapon within the poster to foreshadow all the violence that the weapon will cause in the hand of the villain.

Our final girl is also used within the poster. Her position is below the killer as he is in control of the situation and she is weaker, more vulnerable than him. Some film posters such as ‘Scream’ have female characters on the cover but it is not completely clear from the aesthetics that they are the final girl which is also the case with my film poster especially considering that our final girl is blonde and not the conventional brunette.

The typography used has sharp points on some of the letters reminiscent of a knife’s edge. The ‘O’ in particular looks like the tracking on a camera screen which is why we put a red recording dot in the centre of it to reinforce the recording theme of the film. The colours chosen were the typical red, black and white that have become a convention of Slasher films. The black and white represent anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary opposites especially good vs. evil whilst the red obviously symbolises bloodshed, danger and violence.

The slogan of ‘Knife Camera Action’ is ‘Smile For The Camera’ which is a well-known phrase yet when accompanied with the image of the knife takes on a chilling, eerie effect especially as it is in a red typography. The other piece of text in a red typography is the film’s website which is use of synergy and a multi-platform approach.

There were other conventions of film posters (not just Slasher films) that had to be abided by such as the names of the principal cast and crew which are normally positioned at the bottom of the poster as well as any film festival wins/nominations. I had neglected to feature film festival logos on my rough design but made sure to include them in my real poster.

The layout and design for my ‘Fangoria’ magazine is quite conventional especially to the ‘Fangoria’ franchise. This is shown with the film reel that goes vertically down the left hand side of the page. In the three gaps ‘Fangoria’ always uses supplementary images to show the readers what else to expect from within the issue if the main image is not enticing enough. These images are normally accompanied by feature stories that give more details as to what the images are offering.

The image used is the same one as the one on my poster without the camera on the tripod obstructing the whole image as there was not enough space on the cover for the camera to be included. The shot used is one where the killer holds a knife to the throat of Charlie (the final girl). The reason I chose to use the same image is because even if the buyer just glances at the cover they will glimpse the main image and understand that it is connected to the film poster they may have already come across in their everyday life.

‘Fangoria’ is a film magazine that generally uses the film’s typography within the issue as they are more about brand loyalty and giving fans details about the films rather than just making a profit. It is also a convention of this magazine to use the film’s branded typography i.e. in the case of ‘The Shining’.

The colour scheme is the standard one used within all of ‘Fangoria’s issues as the combination of red and yellow is reminiscent of the infamous video nasty era and will make well informed readers feel especially smart for making that connection. Other conventions of the cover have been followed such as having the masthead bigger than any other text, using a barcode in the bottom corner and having other information such as issue number, price and date etc.