:30 Second Spot

I worked on the 30 second spot for SuperImage Ltd. The point of the spot was to give viewers a look into the work that we have already done in a very tight, compact package that is both energetic and clear.

A video had been previously used as a promotional tool but it was overly long (at about 4 minutes long) and had not been updated in a few years. So, in keeping with the fresh, bright style that is reflected in the rest of the design campaign, the video was revamped, using material from the original video as well as more recent works and behind-the-scenes clips.

We made sure to keep the logo and the visual style similar to the rest of the campaign to both attract new audience members and reinvigorate current clientele.

The video can be found on the website which will be live at https://superimageltd.wixsite.com/mysite.

Design Campaign Objectives - SuperImage, Ltd.

Communication objectives, audience psychographics, and design analysis of competition’s campaign

Objectives

1. Get clients interested
2. Give explanation of services

Audience Psychographics

1. Russell Chang, 22, is a senior in college studying film. Russell recently found out that his girlfriend is pregnant and has realized he needs to be better prepared to launch his career so that they will be able to afford to have a child. He is interested in participating in an internship with SuperImage, Ltd. in order to gain more experience and exposure to the film industry and hopefully receive a job in the film industry very soon after graduating.

2. McKinley Johnson, 32, single, and had adopted 3 children. McKinley is a vegan and enjoys boxed white wine. While on the toilet reading a magazine she came across our ad for SuperImageLtd. McKinley developed the app Optimal Vegan that assists vegans with their lifestyle. McKinley reached out to us to make a video for her app.

3. Bart Murray is a 57-year-old man. He’s a retired architect and watches movies to pass time. His wife, Clarice, died three years earlier in a car crash with their beagle, Neil. Bart has always loved movies so he’s always looking to invest his time and money into clever ideas. After Bart’s wife, Clarice, passed away, he had more time to focus on writing the script that he always wanted to write but had no time. Bart is coming to Super Image with his script and hopes of producing and investing in the movie that’s a dark comedy about a film crew recreating the holocaust footage after the Second World War because they lost the originals.

Design Analysis of Competitors

• Many of the production houses and video production companies that were looked at were based in California, mostly southern California. This is because they are targeting the same audience SuperImage would like to appeal to.
• Examples like Cresta Creative (www.crestacreative.com) and Brandefy (www.brandefy.com) are focused on industrial videos as well as branding for companies and individuals.
• As far as design, some of the marketing campaigns were relatively minimalistic, letting their content be the shining example that draws audiences. Others used more flashy, eye-catching websites and promotional materials. But the media and the content were always the most important aspects.
• Also, none of the “competitors” that were looked at offered or seemed to be heading towards motion picture production    

Compose Your Frame

When discussing the concepts of Still Composition, I went looking through the many photos I have taken of the many places I have seen. I always try to incorporate these elements when I take a photo. In the photo I ultimately chose, I feel the concepts have been illustrated very clearly.

The rule of thirds places the end of the alley in the left of the frame, utilizing the diagonal lines created by the alley as well as the brickwork making up the wall to draw your eye in a line down towards the other side. There is even an arrow under the address that further emphasizes this diagonal line. The vectors are all pointing towards the end of the alley which gives viewers a sense of clarity.

There is also contrast between the blue of the sky and the red of the brick with creates a lot of visual interest as well as making the colors pop.

Design in Movie Posters

When we discuss the difference between good and bad design, there are many designs we could talk about. Similarly, the difference between good and bad design is a very subjective topic to discuss because different people from different backgrounds and lifestyles have different responses to different types of designs.

The basic function of a design is to reach out to the person viewing it and try to create that visceral response. Designs are created with the purpose of making people want to buy a product, use a service, or, in the case I am going to discuss, watch a movie.

Movie posters serve as one of the ways for potential audience members to become attracted to see a film, giving them just a slight hint towards what they could expect from the film they are about to watch. It has less media to offer than, say, a movie trailer, which means it has to work doubly hard to grab the attention of a potential viewer with nothing but a single, still image.

Let's look at one of the most classic movie posters of all time: Jaws.

This poster says so much with so little. The one-word title is lettered in bright red against a stark white background, a contrast so bold it almost pops of of the page. Then there is the vertical-upwards facing arrow that is the shark, leading our eyes upwards towards the small, doomed girl swimming. The shark also directs our eyes back up towards the title, which further reinforces in people's minds the title of the film as well as the sense of dread that it will evoke. There have been many other discussions about the poster for Jaws and the possible symbolism that was intended (the shark is an oddly phallic shape heading towards the female swimmer), in terms of design it is near-perfect and is iconic for this very reason.

In fact, many movie posters from this time were special because each one was unique and each one had its own purpose.

Fast forward to the modern era of movie posters and movie advertising and there seems to be a strange lack of creativity with each successive advertisement. Take a look at these examples:

While they are not necessarily "bad" posters, they definitely lack the iconic sting of the Jaws poster. Out of these three, The Dark Knight definitely stands out to me as having the most superb design due to the use of contrast in colors (blue and orange) as well as the use of scale and lines to draw the eyes upwards towards the giant, flaming bat-logo. However, these are all examples of the modern trend that has seemingly taken hold of cinematic advertising these days which involves just placing the hero on the poster and having him stand there looking either at the ground or off-frame. There is no storytelling there, just a guy standing there looking cool.

Jaws' poster tells a story and makes us want to see if the girl survives (even though we have a pretty good idea she won't).

Another lazy (and in my opinion poor) choice of design layout on movie posters is placing the main character's face on the front, looking right at the viewer while angled slightly down. Take a look at these examples:

Again, there is no story, nothing significant about the movie being said. Based on these posters, why should a viewer be interested in seeing the film? In these ways I feel these design fail in comparison to some of the more classic poster designs. They contain the generic design laws and follow basic rules but don't do what design should do: grab attention.

Gestalt Principles

Contrast, Balance, and Harmony

Contrast is everywhere in our life so it only makes sense that it would translate over to our art. It is seen in paintings, writing, music, and, most recently, film. The interesting thing about film is that it can encapsulate all of the types of ideas regarding contrast from all of the various different mediums, including thematic, visual, and sonic contrast.

Likewise, film also allows its artists to utilize contrast in order to find a sense of balance or harmony. Sometimes, however, filmmakers like to subject people's expectations and create disharmony or dissonance in their images, moving the audience to feel a certain way.

Take a look at the image below, taken from the film Citizen Kane:

This iconic image shows many things in  the form of contrast. The most obvious is the stark contrast of black and white. Orson Welles shot this film in such a way that the black and white scheme creates more drama than if the film had been filmed in color. Likewise, the juxtaposition of the angle of the shot draws the audiences eyes upwards. The lines on the poster and the way Kane is motioning upwards with his hand makes him seem larger than life. Or maybe it is his ego that is larger than life as Kane himself is very small compared to the gigantic poster with his name imprinted on it. This contrast in size makes us realize that Kane desires power, that he is, in reality, a very small man who desires more power to feel important.

What is very interesting to note, however, is that one doesn't even need to see the film to get these concepts. The image is very basic and yet very complex. We see this image and think of our own connections to this image from what me maybe have seen on the news or television. We see the dictators of history and the businessmen who rose to power over time and we see Kane in those instances. 

Visceral Response

This image is from one of my favorite films, The Dark Knight. Now while an image from a film might be somewhat more convenient to use in making a case for what Richard Seymour calls stupefying, I consider this image, stripped of any music, sound, and other inclusive mediums, to be an amazing work of art that tells so much in just one frame.

The Dark Knight stands alone, dramatically with his cape in the air. But it is not a heroic pose. It is one of defeat. The building structure next to him is broken and crumbling. The place is on fire, the bright yellows and oranges contrasting sharply with the blue color temperature of the rest of the space. Ever since I first saw this film, I have been struck by this image. It's composition and suggested breakdown of structure matches the themes of the film. It occurs at a point in the film when hope seems least likely and evil looks to prevail. It shows Batman's inner struggle in a way pages of dialogue could never do.

My visceral response is not necessarily one of sadness, although the sad strings and the tone of the film at that point is very sad... but rather I feel loneliness. I get this feeling in my gut, a feeling as if I am standing in that very wreckage, feeling as if the entire world is against me. It has been a very strong feeling ever since I first saw this image. It is beautiful and haunting but upon first viewing I couldn't tell you why.