Seeing is believing

My Visual Communication Diary.

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More Scary Movies Inspiration

One of the scariest films I’ve seen has to be The Woman in Black - the made for TV version released circa 1990. The tension was built using ominous music and suggestive cues.

The film was based on a book by Susan Hill which has been adapted for stage and more recently a film was made starring Daniel Radcliffe.

The first poster below was used to promote the 2020 release of the older film on Blu-Ray. It was likely done on a small budget but it still manages to convey the sense of creepiness with the figure in a cemetery in the mist.

The second poster is from the 2012 film. It’s interesting to compare the posters. They are very similar but I think the older poster works better in terms of scariness.

Credits: Top poster: moviesreview101.com

Second poster: themoviedb.org/JH Robbins

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Scary Movies Inspiration ...

The Blair Witch Project was a huge hit upon its release in 1999 due to its departure from the usual scary movie formula. It was shot like a documentary with hand-held cameras and characters talking to camera.

I’ve shared three posters used to promote the film: the “Missing” poster is particularly clever, giving potential viewers the impression it’s based on a true story.

According to star, Michael C. Williams, people believed the film was real. He said his relatives even received calls of condolences from friends who had watched the movie.

Credit: Artisan Entertainment/Joblo.com

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The Twilight Zone

I’m old enough to remember the Twilight Zone reboot being aired on TV in the 1980s. We weren’t allowed to watch it but I still recall a snippet featuring a haunted hidden room. I don’t think there was anything graphic in that episode but the creepy atmospheric effects have stayed in my memory. 

I’m not a big fan of horror but I like scary movies that build suspense through the power of suggestion, use of camera angles, and repetitive associated sounds like phones ringing in a silent house or orchestral music starting at a pivotal point. It’s what you don’t see that is really terrifying...

Credit: studybreaks.com (Illustration by Nick Spearman, Savannah College of Art and Design)

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I love this poster from one of my favourite films, E.T.

The designer John Alvin created artwork for some of the most iconic movies such as the original Star Wars films, Blade Runner, Batman and Disney’s The Lion King.

When researching this poster, I discovered an interview with John’s wife Andrea where she said that the concept of the E.T. poster came from the two hands in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes.

Credit: Amblin Entertainment/movies.fandon.com

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The 50 Best Movie Posters Ever

Some posters are as iconic as the films they're promoting. See Empire's list of the best film posters ever.

My final project for Visual Communication is to research, plan and design a film poster. The most challenging part of this assignment is that everything must be original so I must choose a genre and come up with a plot or storyline before I begin designing my poster.

I found this article on Empire online. Some of the posters I’ve mentioned are on there: Vertigo, Jurassic Park and Ghostbusters. Many on this list are from classics (like 1957 Love in the Afternoon), decades before Photoshop or other graphic design software were available. It goes to show that great design stands the test of time.

Credit: Saul Bass, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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Who ya gonna call?

The 1980s and 1990s were the era of blockbusters such as the Ghostbusters series and Jurassic Park and its sequels. I noticed a pattern while researching the posters for these types of movies.

The poster designs of both have black backgrounds, a mascot or character - ghost or dinosaur, with the film title in white block letters. The use of black, white and red (and yellow in the Jurassic Park one) makes the posters stand out.

Credit: Wikipedia/Columbia Pictures

Credit: Wikipedia/ Universal

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Saul Bass, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This poster was designed by Saul Bass for the 1950s film, Vertigo. What I found interesting was the asymetrical typography (it looks almost handwritten) and bold orange background. Alfred Hitchcock’s billing as producer and director is given prominent status - second only to the stars indicated by the hierarchy of typography. The graphic designer used silhouettes and abstract lines to convey the mood the film, a thriller/film noir. I imagine that the spiral design represents the vertigo of the title and its theme of obsession and perhaps the protagonist’s psychological descent.

Saul Bass, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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Film Poster Design

Our final assignment for Visual Communications is to design a film poster. We must use original imagery and incorporate what we’ve learned using typography, colour, shapes etc.

During my research I’ve looked at the evolution of film poster design.

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Practising my photography skills. I took this shot of a tree while hillwalking in Wicklow recently. The overcast sky provided an ideal background for the ghost-like tree with the complementary autumnal colours of rich grass green and rust-browns.

#nature #autumncolours

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Photography: The Rule of Thirds

In a recent Visual Communications class we looked at the rule of thirds in photography composition. The basic principle is that a photograph is split into thirds both horizontally and vertically to make nine equal parts and the subject of the photo is placed at the intersection of one of the lines.

It’s an interesting concept and it’s given me a new perspective when I pick up my camera or smartphone. I’ve even changed the settings on my Android phone to show the grid lines so that when I go to take a snap I’ll be ready to practice using the rule of thirds.

#photography #ruleofthirds #photocomposition

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Another powerful climate change related image. Like the ocean carpet one, this image tells a story that we can immediately understand even without any words.

Credit: behance/birdlife.org.za

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We’ve been studying visual rhetoric in our Visual Communications class and I’ve found it fascinating.

According to the Oxford dictionary visual rhetoric is "the purposive use of symbolic visual, spatial, and/or spatio-temporal forms to communicate with an audience.”

In last week’s class we were shown photographs and invited to discuss them. Feeling inspired I found this image which has the caption “Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.” Of course, this has an environmental message but I think just on a visual impact level it’s powerful and emotive.

“Lies Under” (2011) by Indonesian artist Ferdi Rizkiyanto. Credit Ferdi Rizkiyanto/artgalaxie.com

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Another one from @irishskies.

Surreal. The “wolf” is his dog Shadow.

#wolfinthewoods #irishphotographers

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We’ve been covering visual rhetoric in class and last week we looked at photography and how images can tell a story with and without words.

I follow some amazing Irish photographers on Instagram. My favourite are those that capture nature, landscapes, people and animals.

Ian Carruthers (@irishskies) takes awesome pics of Ireland.

The photo titled “Turbulent” is of the waves at Doolin Co. Clare. Amazing.

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On May 22nd 2015 Ireland said a resounding “Yes” to marriage equality. I really like this banner from the Yes Equality campaign. It’s both striking and memorable - the white block sans-serif font with gaps stands out against the background of colours displayed like paint splotches - a variation of the Pride rainbow - with two white doves representing marriage.

#yesequality #memorablecampaign

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I stumbled upon this campaign for the brand Lighthouse Coffee by graphic designer Ernie Holiday. I like how he combines two simple shapes - triangle, circle and a solid line with five colours to create branding that really stands out.

Copyright: Ernie Holiday/Lighthouse Coffee Co.