On a Life’s Edge
The front of this postcard features a still establishing shot of the main location of the shot film. For those who haven’t seen the film, this main picture isn’t significant but still is an interesting picture. For those who have seen the film, this shot means a lot. It is the main location of the film; it is the place where the lead female has been continually committing suicide. Perhaps for my postcard I can take shots of the most iconic location.
The rule of thirds has been used in this picture as the building and the digits of “2001” are located in the thirds segments. The colour has also been toned down but not so much that it is a greyscale, but more of a “brownscale”. This creates a unique and interesting look. The bleak colour could signify the bleakness found in the short film. Bleakness is an element that our film shares with this film; perhaps I could emulate the use of colours in my postcard.
The background is mainly white with yellow and light brown abstract circles. The white could be signifying the heavens and the abstract circles indicating halos, both are themes found and explored in the film. However, this may just be an over-analysis. The title of the film is located at the bottom right in white and with a soft light grey glow. There is also the production company name “Carlton” at the top left. The postcard avoided giving away any plot spoilers as it would ruin the twist found in this film. Our film also features a plot twist so I will take care with the pictures I do use on the postcard and avoid using shots that ruin the twist.
The back of the image has more information about the film than the front. The back features the title of the film, a synopsis, cast list, crew list, duration of the short film and the companies which helped with the creation of the film. This is a lot of information which the receiver of the postcard can take away and gain an understanding of what type of film this is.
The Hero’s Journey
In this postcard instead of having snippets of photos, like in the “On a Life’s Edge” postcard, there is a singular dominate picture which makes up the background. The image of a boy holding a lightsaber introduces the audience to the main character and hints towards the plot of the story. The reason why this postcard shows a character unlike the “On a Life’s Edge” postcard could be because this is character lead short film unlike “On a Life’s Edge” which is story lead. The frayed and worn effects they’ve added to the edges of the postcard add an authenticity to the film postcard which I like; it helps draw in all the different codes found in the postcard.
The written code of the title is interesting as it uses the similar font and rendering of the logo for the Indiana Jones films which are a series of serious action film. However combined with the lightsaber seen held by the boy creates an impression that this film isn’t to be taken seriously and a story about fun. I think this is a great use of uniting visual and written codes together to create a new message. There is also the written code of “Enemies in the base, enemies in the base!” which I’m assuming hints towards the plot of the film and is quoting a potentially iconic quote from the film. I like the use of quotation and may copy this for my film postcard designs because it creates intrigue as the audience want to know the importance of that quote.
There isn’t much to say about the back as there is hardly anything there. However, it shares the same use of a plain light, almost white, background as the “Chicken soup” postcard. There is also a huge space left in the middle and an image from the film in the stamp position. At the bottom are the production companies’ logos. This is probably to save on printing and also to allow consumers of the postcard to write what they want.
Chicken Soup
This postcard is a part of a series of postcard which all follow the similar style. This postcard shares with “A Hero’s Journey” the use of a singular image as the background as oppose to the multiple images found in the “On a Life’s Edge” postcard. The picture in this postcard is so effective and dominates there really isn’t a need to distract with much text. In a single portrait of a man we can tell so much about him and what he’s doing. The reflection of the man in his sunglasses does not only add to the awesomeness of this photograph but suggests that there is a conversation between these two thus suggesting a feature in the plot. A very brief written code is seen, as an over use would simply decrease the overall effectiveness of this film postcard.
The back of this postcard has a brief description of the plot, the director, producers and some images of the businesses which supported the creation of this short film. As mentioned before, this postcard back design has a light grey for the background. This is to allow consumers of the postcard to write on it in ordinary blue/black biros. There is half of the postcard left to write a message/address. I like the simplicity found in the design for the back of this postcard and much of this will be reflected in my design.
Conclusions
Out of the three postcards I will take away many factors. I will ensure I use an iconic high-quality image and use it as the background for the front of the postcard. I didn’t like the use of small snippets of images used in the “On a Life’s Edge” postcard as I felt it made it feel messy and not as effective as the other two postcards. What was scarce in all postcards was the use of actor’s names on the front. Our film is character lead and has a strong, well performed actor and I feel it would be unfair not to feature his name on the front of the postcard. For the back designs I like the “Chicken soup” and the “A Hero’s Journey” use of a light colour as the background and a simple layout leaving room for the consumer to write what they want. Unlike the “A Hero’s Journey” postcard, I will put information about cast and crew and a synopsis of the plot like the “On a Life’s Edge” postcard.
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