Poster, Teaser Trailer & Production Diaries

[RottingCorpse]

On my last film, First Session, we started marketing the film AFTER we made it, which I'm going to tell any aspiring filmmakers is the totally wrong way to do it.
The reason? Buzz is half of what we buy when we purchase a movie ticket or DVD. I want to add that this doesn't excuse sloppy or lazy filmmaking. But let's face it, what did we really pay for when we saw The Blair Witch Project?

With Women's Studies, marketing is in the forefront. This week, I'm hoping to reveal the totally kick-ass poster we've designed. Next month we're going to shoot a teaser trailer that's pretty damned exciting too.

Right now though, we're working on our website which we hope to be really fun and interactive. One big thing we're adding is video production diaries, not too different from the ones you may have seen on http://www.kongisking.net and http://www.bluetights.net for King Kong and Superman Returns respectively. (Though we will not rip them down and package them as DVDs to be bought as Universal did with the Kong diaries.)

We've got our own ideas for things we'll do, but I'm open to suggestions as well. Something you want to see us cover? Let us know here.

[nacho]

Time to get FS up for download/viewing!

[RottingCorpse]

That's being worked on.

[RottingCorpse]

This is the Women's Studies poster design. I'd love to hear people's thoughts, feedback, etc. The big questions you should ask yourself are a) "Does this image make me want to watch this film?" and b) "Is it an image that "grabs" me? Does it pique my curiosity?" The first image would be for big one-sheets, smaller posters, and print ads.

http://www.ningenmanga.com/old/wsposterfinal.jpg

Here's the image cropped for a DVD cover.

http://www.ningenmanga.com/old/wspostercrop.jpg

[Goblin_Queen]

It makes me wonder what this movie is about.  Did I miss the thread where you tell us what the movie is about?  Hey, is that a butcher knife?

[nacho]

More tits.  (Not bigger, I know who that is and don't let her hit me), but more revealing.  Peel back that top a little bit more so we can get a full tit hit.  I also suggest a longer necklace, and more obvious.  Is that the female sign she has?  Get that to be more clear and have it down just above and between her breasts so we're drawn to the tits instead of the shiny thing around her neck.  The whole point of tits is eye catching -- so use them!  Shiny things are also a distraction.  Because the tits are covered, and it's all the way up there, I spent more time trying to figure out what it was (looked like a cross at first glance).


The knife looks odd, too.  Less steak knife, more hunting knife.  And holding a place in the book doesn't quite work for me.  I don't know what's better, though...

[nacho]

It makes me wonder what this movie is about. Did I miss the thread where you tell us what the movie is about? Hey, is that a butcher knife?

http://www.greatsociety.org/forums/index.php?topic=1033.0

[fajwat]

for a full minute i thought the knife was a (leather) backpack strap, because it's small, the colors blend in, and the rest of the photo doesn't make me expect a knife.  The knife is just suspended somehow?  Horrific, systematic slaughter with a pristine kitchen knife?

The tits are great but Nacho's right -- the modesty is dismayingly respectful.  I realize you have your reasons (I recognize her), but this is a horror film set against rabidly PC college femenism, and that particular cleavage could be drooled over 3x as long for each half inch you reveal.  If you don't reveal a little more, I think the viewer will be questioning your motives. 

[nacho]

Here -- a great example of blending a necklace with tits.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401302009

[RottingCorpse]

The tits are great but Nacho's right -- the modesty is dismayingly respectful.  

If you don't reveal a little more, I think the viewer will be questioning your motives. 

Explain what you mean a little more.

On more tits: Part of the reason it's less revealing is the angle the photographer took the shot at. Full on front, there's was much more cleavage and bosom. Also, I feel that there's just enough tits to be a tease, Like catching a glance of the tits of the hot chick you work with when she stands just the right way and her shirt opens a bit.

Plus, the main focus of the image isn't supposed to be the tits. It's the logo on the book cover. I understand that the tits are supposed to draw you in, but remember that the only bright colored things in the image are the woman's skin and the book cover. Kay, and the necklace, but that's against the skin. Everything else is dark contrast to draw attention to the title.

We actually discussed the necklace quite a bit and I felt like you do, that it should be clearer so people could see what it is. (It's an ankh.) However, the photographer convinced me that it's really a secondary element and that if people are taking the time to figure out what it is, they've already registered the important elements.

I guess a better question is what was the first thing your eyes went to? The necklace? The book cover? The tits?

The knife. I originally wanted her to be holding the knife, but it looked really awkward so we went with the bookmark idea which is only less awkward.

I lactually like the cropped version better, even for a big poster. What do you think?

[nacho]

What my eyes went to:  The necklace, the tits, the awkward knife, the title.

You can't have tits of any sort in a poster and say it's not about the tits, especially in horror.  Of course it is.  Didn't we talk about this in an old convo about the Sleepaway camp 3 poster? 

Also, jewelry of any sort will draw the eye.  That's why we wear it.  So if it's going to be there, it needs to accentuate the tits.  (Look at the placement of the blood on that Sleepaway Camp poster).  The photographer is a drunk! 

Both versions have merit.  I actually lean towards the big one, though.  Lips and hair and her hidden smile.

[RottingCorpse]

Yes, the tits are important, but their job is to lead you to the title. I don't want people to remember tits, I want them to remember "Women's Studies."

Also, I want it to be an eye-grabber when up against other posters/DVD covers. When we went to the Temecula Film Festival, our poster for First Session seemed to get lost among the others, even though it's a friggin' awesome poster. There was nothing to make it stand out. We're trying to make this one "pop" a little more, hence the contrast of light and dark.

My biggest concern is the knife. The bookmark idea seemed to be a good one at the time, but like I said, it was secondary to the woman HOLDING the knife. The problem was that we couldn't just jettison the knife when we saw how unnatural holding the book and the knife was. (Without the knife, it's just a hot chick holding a bloody book.) Like you Nacho, I'm not sure how else to do it. I'm trying to walk a line between subtle and over-the-top, and unfortunately, that's a wide expanse of gray area.

In the final "yea or nea" though, does this image work? I think it does, but I'd rather know I'm wrong now than later.

[nacho]

Your concern is valid.  The knife is a problem.

[Goblin_Queen]

You could always stick the knife between the tits like the Ren Fair women do.

[nacho]

You could always stick the knife between the tits like the Ren Fair women do.

Oh, god, I love that.  There was this redhead to die for last year...man.

So I've been sitting here staring at your poster, partially amused that everybody recognizes the model based on her tits, and I'm wondering if you may be underestimating the book design.  Do you even need the knife?  The book sort of speaks for itself.  It's spiky, dripping blood... It's not "just a hot chick holding a book."  In fact, the more vague it is, the better.  Don't give them too much.