Poster of the week...

This week: FULL METAL JACKET (1987)

Designer: Philip Castle

Source: http://www.impawards.com/1987/full_metal_jacket.html

This poster proves how simplicity can be very effective. The helmet shape and camoflauge pattern are instantly representative of the Vietnam war, making the poster tell all it needs to to be intriguing but not to little to be vague. The helmet alone gives off the same mix of messages as the film itself. The bullets and 'Born to Kill' writing both symbolic of the violence, and the killing-machine attitude that the Vietnam war pressed on its young fighters, in contrast to the peace symbol, representative of hope, and anti-war prostesting. I'm still unsure why I find this poster so appealing, I supose, after reeeling through so many similar posters, this one stands out as plain yet bold, with a powerful, masculine sense about it. It is straight to the point and has a in your face appeal, almost mirroring the cockey attitudes of the some of the films soliders. This whole idea is sometime by the brilliant tagline which adds the black humour of parts of the film.

Its going ok...

I now feel I have a good amount of research surrounding each era before the 1950's. The books I am using are very detailed and I'm finding it hard to pick out specifically what I need. I keep reinforcing the fact that this is to be a creative piece and I would like my poster responses to speak for themselves as to the style of a decade. However I will be including a small amount of written research and analysis, so I will continue with my research.

Poster of the week...

This week: FARGO (1996)

Designers: Creative Partnership
Optic Nerve

Source: http://www.impawards.com/1996/fargo.html

This is one of my favourite posters out of the hundreds I have looked through. I love the way it brings 'normal folk' into a twisting murder saga, by using the knitted effect. The poster conveys the black comedy of the film as well as the crime genre. The Coen brothers are known for breaking formalities and trying things that don't quite go with the norm and the poster perfectly combines everday people and murder, as does the film. The poster is very simple and the welcoming stlye of the writing and sewn border contrast with the image depicted. I like posters which stand out from the pack and this really does, I think its a very clever technique to have used and instantly portrays that 'this is going to be something different' idea.

I've got some books...

Today I went to my local library and, rather than looking specifically for film poster books, I found some about design throughout the century. I have began to collect notes from these books, although they are useful, I would like my final piece to be very creative and want to focus on creating good responses of my own, and therefore am trying to condense the information surrounding design int small chunks.

The books are:

BLISTENE, B. (1999) A History of 20th Century Art, Paris: Flammarion
HILLIER, B. (1998). The Style of the Century, 2nd ed, London: The Herbert Press
TAMBINI, M. (1996). The Look of the Century, London: Dorling Kindersley

Poster of the week...

This week: 'CHINATOWN' (1974)

Designer: Jim Pearsall

Source: http://www.impawards.com/1974/chinatown.html

This poster appeals to me as it has a classic hollywood stlye about it. As a piece of artwork uses colour and line to convey a sleezy, seedy atmosphere. I like the way the writing mirrors the smokey effect, and the poster has a real sense of classic film noir about it. The shadowy character of Nicholson creeps in from the black background as the bright yellow contrast highlights the title.

Just more research...

This week has been filled with more research. I am pleased to have collected basic research surrounding the film industry in the pre 1930's, 30's, and 40's. I hope to do a large amount of more detailed research next week as I have set aside time to do so, and I will make sure to look more specifically at design aspects of each era.

London...

Today I visited the Movieum of London. Its a great place, definably worth a visit if you love films, however I was disappointed not to find a gift shop, where I was hoping to find some Film Poster books. Still, it was a good day out.

Poster of the week...

This may seem a little cheesy, but I am going to post a film poster each week (If I remember) which has for some reason grabbed my attention.

This week... ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959)

Designer: SAUL BASS

Source: http://uk.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-25341/Anatomy_of_a_Murder.html


Saul Bass is a notable poster artist and typographer, and many of his works a highly appealing. He certainly has a unique stlye and this poster uses simple colour, shape, and typography to create an iconic piece. It appeals to me as I like its simplicty, I find it impressive how such a simple piece can be so iconic. The clashing colours, make the black of the body so clear and the jagged shapes give an edgy sense to the piece.

Ok, here goes...

I joined the Extended project late as I only just decided on doing it so I'm going to have to back date some of the things I have done...

Way back in July-

I have decided on taking an EP at college next year. I want to combine Media and Graphics when I do this and do something which involves film posters and being creative

After speaking to all the clever people and those in charge of the EPQ I have decided on making a book! This will be full of film posters through time and will also include some of my own designs. I think it will work best if I look at decades of this century, collect some notable posters and make my own which suits the era.

My supervisor recommends that I include some written information in this book which looks at design and cultural aspects of each era, but other than that she is keen on the idea.

August begins-

Its the summer holidays now, but there is no rest! I have begun some general, quite laid back research into film posters. This has been pretty interesting and I have found some really interesting designs from over the years, as well as some information about the film industry.

That pretty much brings me back to now, I'm currently continuing to research, I have had a look in my local libraries for relevant books, but all are pretty pants and I haven't found anything useful. On Thursday though I am going to the Movieum in London and hopefull this will be of some relevance.