COLOUR THEORY IN ACTION

"I've found myself paying a lot of attention to the surface of films, since I read a blog post by filmmaker and motion-graphic artist Todd Miro about "the orange/ teal effect". He contends that since it became possible to digitally treat the colours of a film, mainstream Hollywood filmmakers have been led by colour-theory logic to make their movies pre-dominantly teal (blue) and orange. (Orange is a close approximation to Caucasian flesh, and blue and orange "pop" when put together. So, to make something arresting, everything goes blue and orange.) Think of Transformers II or Tron: Legacy. Once you notice this you can't un-notice it. You're looking deeply into the surface."

- Russell M Davies

For more examples of this phenomenon see this list of film posters:

http://www.slashfilm.com/orangeblue-contrast-in-movie-posters/

And you can even find examples in comics from the 1940s to the present day!

ENDER'S GAME MOODBOARD TASK

TASK

Using your trailer analysis as a starting point, create a moodboard of visual images that suggest similiar concepts or ideas or other directions that you could possibly move your designs in.

Use a mix of photography, graphics and comics art. Think about looking at book covers or film posters or graphic novel pages. Videogames and computer screens and interfaces might also provide ideas and inspiration. 

Your moodboard should cover an A4 sheet. The following links may be useful:

  • http://www.design-skills.org/mood_boards.html
  • http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/mood-boarding-introduction/
  • http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/mood-boards-812470

TRAILER ANALYSIS NOTES

Watch the two official trailers for Ender's Game:




TASK

  • On your blog note what you learn about the mood and tone of the film from these two trailers.
  • Which are the key moments in the trailers? What plot points or scenes are emphasised?
  • Are there recurring motifs, images or symbols that appear in the trailers?
  • Which colours predominate in terms of costumes and settings? 

  • Take screengrabs from either or both trailers that stand-out for you as possible references for developing your ideas. Think about interesting images, compositions and use of colour or special effects.
  • Select NINE images and present them numbered in a three by three grid
  • Annotate the nine images, describing your choices and reasons for selecting each image. 

ARTIST CASE STUDY: REBECCA LEMKER

Enders Game Book Jacket Progress

Graphic Designer Rebecca Lemker has documented the process by which she redesigned a book jacket for a re-issue of the original novel by Orson Scott Card on which the film Ender's Game is based. You can read about her workflow and see images of her work in progress on her blog:

http://rlemker.com/?p=111

TASK

On your own blog, using screengrabs from Rebecca Lemker's blog outline the different stages she went through in order to complete this brief, from initial research to final product mock-up. Describe in your own words what she did at each stage and consider how you might adapt this way of working to your own design brief. Which stages were most important do you think and why? 

Compare and contrast Rebecca Lemker's cover design with that of Emma Alexandra:

Divide each design up into its different areas: Front Cover, Back Cover, Spine, Flaps. How does the Cover Design work across these areas?

Think about the use of Colour, Composition and Typography and how these relate to the overall Concept of the Cover Design

MAGAZINE COVER DESIGN ELEMENTS

Identify the different elements that make up the design of this Total Film magazine cover:

  • MASTHEAD
  • TAGLINE
  • QUALIFIER
  • MAIN COVER LINE
  • SECONDARY COVER LINES
  • SPLASH
  • PULL QUOTES
  • INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION
  • PUBLICATION DETAILS
  • ADDITIONAL CONTENT/FEATURES

TASK

  • Compare the Total Film cover with the cover of the Little White Lies Man of Steel issue.  
  • What does this cover design say about the type of reader who might be interested in the magazine?

FILM POSTER ANALYSIS

FILM POSTER ANALYSIS

It's important to remember that movie posters are advertisements. The goal of a poster essentially is to "sell" the movie—to make you want to see it. Compare the two posters for the forthcoming movie Ender's Game and for each poster consider the following questions:

1) What is the genre and premise of your film? What in the poster supports a viewer’s understanding the genre and premise even if they knew nothing about the film?

2) What characters if any are featured on the poster? What does the way they are represented on the poster say about the character and/or the actor?

3) What can you tell about the tone or mood of the film from the poster? Think about lighting, composition of the items in the poster, and the font of any writing.

4)  Is the title large or small? How does the tagline add to the poster and intrigue viewers? Are any actor/actress names in a larger font? What does this say about the main appeal of the film? 

5)  What in your opinion is the main hook in the poster that would encourage people to see this film? How is the hook highlighted in the poster? Who do you think the target audience for this film might be and why?

Produce two annotated A4 pages discussing each poster and answering all the questions above. Remember that each sheet should be clear and you can use arrows, box-outs, frames and highlights to help illustrate your points. Save both pages as PDFs and upload to your blog.