PRODUCTION SHOTS- POMEGRANATE SYMBOLISM

These are some production shots of our symbolism pieces involving the pomegranate. In total we went through eight pomegranates: repeatedly re cutting until the eventual shot was delivered. This was also a second attempt since we had tried this fruit symbolism with a grapefruit and a blood orange, however found that both of these (especially) the grapefruit held profound similarities to body matter which made it appear too much like a horror film etc causing it to lose all sentimentality/ emotion.
What we found better about the pomegranate was that as it looked like blood, it had a more stylistic relationship to body matter and the concept of her losing herself, without appearing gory. Furthermore, there is a larger amount of symbolism surrounding the pomegranate especially within historical paintings. The pomegranate is said to have been the fruit used to tempt Eve within the Garden of Eden instead of an apple, paying homage to the Original Sin you can link this concept to the idea of sexual assault by associating in how both contexts the women are blamed. This concept of temptation and punishment associated with pomegranates is also recognised in the Greek myth of Persephone trapped in the Underworld due to her consuming pomegranate seeds. The fragility of the branches of the pomegranate tree can also link greatly to our characterisation as it highlights her vulnerability and fragile nature as she is on the verge of breaking point due to the ordeal she has been through. What is most poignant however is how the pomegranate is deemed a symbol of fertility often being used within ceremonies such as in Turkish weddings the pomegranate is thrown onto the ground, the number of seeds that fall out are an indication of the future number of children. In Chinese culture pomegranates are an offering to to the Goddess of Mercy in they're prayers for children. Within Christian art also, acting as a symbol of Resurrection and rebirth, due to how in early paintings of Jesus as a child he is seen as offering a pomegranate to the Virgin Mary: this idea of rebirth is central to our plot as the protagonist inevitably finds herself again once she realises that she is not to blame for her ordeal.
The symbolism pieces were filmed on a Canon 700D and a tripod. Filmed in the kitchen window during daylight was to ensure that you could see the detail within the pomegranate and its hexagonal structure of the seeds within it (as these are the symbol especially of fertility).
(source on symbolism: http://www.metmuseum.org/pubs/bulletins/1/pdf/3257268.pdf.bannered.pdf)

INITIAL IDEAS OF OUR FILM POSTER- USE OF SHADOWS

The use of shadows is one of complex design but can reside in beautiful depictions of particularly normal or everyday images (shadows in this case). However, it is their construction or their deeper meaning which adds to their elegance. Within art as you can see below, shadow art can be constructed using objects and matter or with the use of ledges for example positioned in the direct way of the light source. But this is a difficult means to construct within a film poster. Below are some inspiration images: (the post continues further down the page) 

We thought that it would be difficult to find a means of incorporating this within our work. This was until we came across in our research this fan art piece inspired by "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" where it was a portrait covered by a painted or graffitied side profile of the female protagonist. Therefore we thought that we could take direct inspiration from this, utilising an extreme close up of our protagonist, with a male silhouette shrouding half her face in order to hide behind it, as if him and the act he committed has become part of her identity. Behind however would not be a plain background but the backdrop of our feather motif found as a running symbol within the teaser trailer. 

The problems we will need to be careful of however, is to make sure it doesn't appear too comic like as this will lose the social realism aspect and in turn lose the sentimental nature of the emotion found within our character's face 

Poster deconstruction - Cake

The film poster for Cake stood out to us as we took a liking to the idea of a close up shot of the protagonist's face. Clearly the poster reveals a character and possibly their characteristics through their facial expression and image. However, this poster in particular doesn't reveal any of the narrative or setting. The bland colours used also make it effective as the character's sparkling blue eyes are extremely visible. The font and colour of the title is fairy simple with the use of red on a white background making it stand out. There are no slogans or tag lines on this poster which also adds to the mystery of the plot. There are no ratings or reviews however at the top above the character, the poster displays visible recognition of the film's nomination for a Toronto film festival award. The release of the film is mentioned on the poster but without an exact date, instead 'this January' is displayed. 

Poster deconstruction - Shank

This film poster does an excellent job at revealing the film's genre, from the colours used to the characters shown, everything about it shouts gritty British social realism. The general colours of the poster are dark, grey, 'smokey' colours which makes the bold, red title stand out massively. The title appears above the six characters, aligned in the middle making it impossible to miss. Faded into the background 'sky', images of what looks like young gang members are briefly visible thus hinting a possible theme of crime. No reviews or ratings are displayed which is fairly rare for a film poster of the social realism genre. The narrative isn't very clear however the strong use of characters, especially the line of young children behind the six leading characters, presents a brief idea of setting and working class themes. Like most film posters, the production credits are shown at the bottom and the acting credits are shown above the title. The six characters all break the fourth wall too which comes across as very effective too. 

DECONSTRUCTION OF OUR GENRE- THIS IS ENGLAND 83

Being a social realism piece on the Skinhead culture of the 1980's, 'This Is England 83' fits into our genre as it is a commentary on societal issues, in their case British Working Class, in our case sexual assault. What is quite original about this poster is that they have utilised a symbol specific to the stereotype of Skinhead culture (tattoos) instead as a means of typography. Not only is this eyecatching and even leaves the viewer both disgusted and mesmorised, it utilises the space well since it combines both the content of the poster with the typography, instead of sharing the space between the two. Acting as a running symbol within the film to ensue a sense of place and be identified with the rest of the group, it is highly suggestive in the poster that Skinhead culture will be central to the plot of the entire film. Even if the typography was lost, the small cross that is freshly being tattooed is widely known to the British population as being a symbol associated with such culture, evident in the film on Woody's head. 

Another convention associated the social realism culture is the lack of USP's but instead more focus on the director, due to his previous films placements within these genre it associates his name with the genre itself: so from the poster alone the audience understand it is not a hollywood blockbuster but a social realism commentary.

The dirty finger nails even further emphasise the above genre, as it loses any glamour but makes it appear more as a picture of real people getting a real tattoo.

The top third of the poster is lined with film awards demonstrating the praise which it has received from film festivals. The top winnings highlighted with "WINNER" due to the symbols of the laurel wreaths are all signifiers of the 'Sundance Film Festival' particularly prestigious awards especially for independent films. Below to heighten the praise even more are ratings and quotes of reviews all to raise its status even further as a prompt for audience members to go.

However, these are not within a large font as not to distract from the main picture, highlighting that even though he is proud of his reviews, Meadows is not solely focussed on them, but that the film itself and its title is of far more importance.