Influences part 17: poster design

Last week I received a box full of over 500 identical postcards from the printers so that I can promote my graduation film, and as I'm not doing anything else right now (1:30am), this seems like as good a time as any to document some of the film posters that influenced the design decisions behind the aesthetics of my film poster/postcards...
In case you haven't already seen it, below is the poster design for my graduation film: Pigment of Imagination

I had always planned on making my film poster from a drawing or painting that illustrates 'something' about my film, rather than just creating a layout around an existing piece of my film footage... I suppose the original influence for this design decision may have come from Erica's hand-drawn poster for The Gardener, which both I and many others greatly admired.

I have always enjoyed painting, so I wanted to incorporate that into the aesthetics of my poster; and this also linked nicely with my favourite style of film poster - the vintage film posters of the 1940s & 50s, that were painted by hand. Some of my favourite posters in this style include those for The 400 Blows, Vivre Sa Vie, Jules et Jim, and Casablanca:

The third major influence on the design of my poster was the layout of the posters for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho; but The Trouble With Harry and many other designs from the 50s/60s also greatly influence me.


Other notable influences include the artwork of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec...

And various Eastern European/Russian prints.

Sound design (graduation film update)

I've been working with my sound designer (Chris Bathgate) all week, getting my film ready for the Filmhouse premiere on June 15th. The film is now very nearly complete, and with all the sound added it has come together much better than I originally anticipated back in January, which is nice.

Today I got to record foley sounds; play with a synth; and create a suspenseful little piece of violin music with a computer!

It has been a fun day despite all the not-so-good stuff that happened, but this blog post is gonna remain positive... For example, my friend and classmate, Ewan Green, got a 1st Class grade for his degree today and also started his first day of work at Django Films today, meaning that he gets to do his best Forrest Gump impression as a runner for the animation company of Sylvain Chomet (Belleville Rondezvous)... And apparently after hearing my violin composition, I've been asked by Dreamworks to conduct their next animated feature....
Did someone say It's Zimmer Time?

Sketchbook images

(Last updated: 17 July 2009).

Here's a few images from my sketchbook.

Influences part 16: music videos (part 2)

I'm hoping to begin work on several music videos after I've served my time at ECA, so this seems like an appropriate time to update part of my old "influences" series of blog posts - especially the section about my influences from the world of music videos, so here it goes:

Ladyhawke - My Delirium
It's like a big living 3D watercolour painting that is constantly moving - what else do I need to say!?
Well, it also features awesome watercolour illustrations by Sarah Larnach; some great rotoscoping in a similar style to Larnach but created by the guys at Frater (who turned Larnach's paintings into the animation); as well as demonstrating some other experimental styles of animation...
To put it simply, this is my favourite music video just now - if not ever!

Alphabeat - Boyfriend
More arty-farty goodness from those Alphabeat folks (I think all their videos - or at least the ones I've seen - are pretty quirky and cool). This song has 2 different videos, but I prefer the one linked above which was directed by Daniel Eskils.


Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
It just looks so quirky and different from any other music videos that commonly get shown on TV.


Ida Maria - I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked
It has a strong digital production process similar to the Franz Ferdinand video, but this one has a strong pop-art influence, which I like for the styling and bright colours.

Millencolin - Detox
Really cool camera work, that's about it really... (It's also a catchy song from a great band though).


Pink - Don't Leave Me
I can't tell whether I genuinely like the video, or if it's just because the male character (when he has a bandaged head) reminds me of Markku Peltola's injured character in Aki Kaurismaki's The Man Without A Past... Regardless of this, I also like the aesthetic of the hazy focal field in some of the scenes after the male character in this video gets injured.

Blink 182 - The Rock Show
I remember all the hype surrounding the launch of the Take Off Your Pants And Jacket album many years ago, and even after all these years I still love this song and how silly/reckless the video is.
The official video is not available on YouTube, so here is The Making Of The Rock Show instead.

The Dykeenies - The Sound Of The City
One of my friends who does crew work with The Dykeenies (and many other bands on tour), told me that the band made this video (which covers a wide spectrum of playful, yet highly creative, pixelation and stopmotion processes) by themselves.
Due to the amateur/hands-on approach by the band for the creation of this video, there is a strong vibrancy in it that I find exciting to watch because I feel as though it is missing from much professional music videos today.


Just Jack - Embers
It an interesting pan through history (if history were written by Just Jack), with lots of little models and some nice effects.

And finally, while I was searching for Not A Dry Eye In The House by Meat Loaf on YouTube, I discovered this mock video of it (AKA a literal music video) where the user has dubbed Meat Loaf's vocals for a pretty good impression that sings about what happens on screen throughout the official video footage...
I love the original Meat Loaf video, which is a re-telling of Beauty & The Beast, but this mock video is pretty funny and worth including here instead (particularly as I couldn't find the original on YouTube).