Post 14: Ancillary Task 1- Postcards

Big budget films such as Hollywood films have film posters to advertise their film. There are typical conventions on these posters and these are ways of tying to advertise and promote their film. On a film poster the conventions are:

• A dominating picture/ characters which is a 'top billing approach'.
• The cast names, these are usually at the top of the poster.
• The name of the film, this is usually placed in either the lower or upper third. The font is a very important aspect.
• Some films will have a slogan.
• They will advertise the release date of the film.
• Will show the awards and endorsements which they have got for the film to try and promote how well the film has done.
• At the bottom of the poster in a smaller font there will be names of the production companies, director, producers and the executive producer.
  This is an example of a Hollywood film poster..

This is an example of a British film poster..

All of these conventions on a film poster all contribute to the promotion of the film and to try and make their audience go and see it. The examples above of the Hollywood film poster and the British film poster have the same conventions. Big films such as these have the same conventions as they are trying to promote their film to attract their audience.

Short films and postcards
Short films may find it hard to market their films as they do not have a big audience such as films from Hollywood. Short films have to find different ways to approach their audience such as the Internet. Another way which short films might promote their short film is by using  postcards. Postcards can be more direct to their audience and also they can be picked up and passed around. Postcards are an easier way for short film producers to market and promote their film.
Postcards are a way of marketing a short film and this is a better way of doing this because short films are not as popular with a big audience and are mainly targeted towards art students. By using a postcard for marketing purposes this allows it to reach more of the audience that these short films are targeted to. If you was to use a poster for a short film it would not be seen in the same way as a poster from companies such as Hollywood as short films are produced on a low budget and would not have the same look and the same effect as a poster which has had a high budget.
Here are some examples of short film postcards..

 The back of the postcard
-On the top left it says the name of the short film. Just below the name of the film it tells us who the writer and the director is. It also tells us who is starring in the short film.
-On the bottom left hand corner it tells us the names of the people involved in the production of the short film.
-On the top right hand corner, there is a space for you to put a stamp.
-The bottom right corner shows a logo of the film company.
The front of the postcard
-There is a big picture which covers the whole of the front of the postcard. The main character is slightly more to the front and slightly bigger.
-The title of the film is at the top of the postcard and it is in a font that will stand out and be remembered.
-At the bottom there is also a slogan and this is catchy for people to remember and this will help promote their short film.

The Back of the postcard

- They have the title very big and bold.
-It has the synopsis of the film and this is along the top.
- The page is split up into two and on the left hand side it tells us who the cast is and on the right hand side it tells us about the production team.
- At the bottom it has logos for other companies such as sponsors.
- On the right hand side of the page it has a place for the stamp and the year of when the film was released.

The front of the postcard
- There is a big image of a location from the film.
-At the bottom of the page is the title and this is bold and big so it stands out.
- There are smaller images down the left hand side from the film.
- On the images there has been an effect put on it and this makes it look different and stand out more.


From looking at two different postcards I have compared them and looked for the similarities and the differences. I have looked at the typical conventions which are used for a postcard.

Postcards are a good idea for promoting short films because short films do not have as big of an audience and this will be and easier way of targeting them. For our short film I have drawn drafts of two ideas which I have for a postcard for our short film. I have drawn out a front and a back for the postcard and this is what I have come up with...

This is my first idea for the postcard. I have got a close up of Billy and it is in the last scene when he stops at the hedge on the field because he has realised he has no where else to go. I have made the image very big and in the background it will be the hedge but I will make it blurred so the focus is on the image of Billy and also the text. I have got the title big to stand out and also got the slogan which our group has decided on at the bottom of the postcard. 

This is my design for the back of the postcard. I have got all of the information about the short film on the back and I have also laid it out as a postcard would be laid out. I have got the title of the film and also the names of the production company. I also have room for people to write on and also I have split it up in to two sides and this is the typical style of a postcard.

This is my second design for the front of the postcard. I have shown the main character with his back to the camera and I have shown him standing in front of the hedge because this is a very important part of the short film as it represents the fact that he has no where else to go.

I have annotated my thoughts of why I have designed this for the front of my postcard.

This is the back of the postcard and I have annotated my thoughts. 

This is the second design for the front of my postcard and I have annotated my thoughts about the design. 

This is the front of my postcard.

This is the back of my postcard.

I am very happy with the way that my postcard has turned out. I like the front of the postcard as it is very bright and it focuses on Billy and the background is blurred out. I also like the title, this is the writing of the actor which we used as we wanted to give it the effect of a child has written it. I have also done the same on the back of the postcard. I really like the way the image on the back of the postcard is faint but you can also see it very clearly at the same time.