proposal

1. PROJECT TITLE
Terry and May
FORMAT & SIZES
30 x 40 (762 x1016mm) quad or quad crown, landscape poster
27 inches by 40 inches (686 x 1020mm), portrait format, one sheet posters- theatrical and teaser
PURPOSE
The purpose of my poster is to intrigue and engage audiences into wanting to watch the film its
promoting; by using simplistic and vague themes/ imagery from genre and plot elements explored in
the narrative of the movie. Using vague and ‘mysterious’ imagery hopefully will hook people in and
inspire them to look out for more information about the film in their own time. It will utilize an
appropriate design that includes the correct codes and conventions of my chosen genre (drama/
romance) but offers the audience a variation/twist on what they have seen before is required.
DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCT (GENRE & PLOT ELEMENTS FEATURED)
For my product for channel four- I wanted to go down a slice of life, romantic/ drama route. The plot
follows a newly paired couple that are experiencing a rocky start. We pick up after a date gone wrong-
as our unreliable protagonist (Terry- red jacket) finds their partner (May- brown jacket) at a reception
for a funeral in a local activity centre. Confused she goes in and tries to talk things over with May about
what happened a couple weeks prior. May reluctant, doesn’t respond, only occasionally side eyes
them, looking absolutely horrified. The one side conversation begins to get heated, and Terry begins to
spiral, certain that May never was interested in her and was just using herself as an experiment. May
storms out- leaving Terry behind her. We follow May as she eventually ends up by the neighbouring
graveyard, stopping briefly to look down at a fresh gravestone that has Terry’s name on it- before
walking on.
I wanted to emulate a mystery/ “romantic” drama that films like the Sixth sense (1999) emulate (that
was and is still considered vastly popular). Though I will take some elements of the characters/ themes
to be used in the poster- for the most part I’m disregarding the plot for the posters, as I don’t want
much given away about the story. I will utilize costume as I hope the running re occurrence of the pairs
jackets adds consistency to the posters.
OUTLINE OF STYLE
I want to outline a style in all three posters that not only feel cohesive, but reflects the somber tone of
the film-
For my theatrical poster use an extreme close up on the pair almost kissing, the models blocked in a
way that is reminiscent of a composition that posters like Persona (1966)’s criterion cover and the
theatrical poster of Talk to Her (2002). I find that this gives the effect of the two being one in the same;
in both posters I have taken inspiration from, the actresses are framed to look as if they complete each
other (literally as well as fugitively). More so by leaving a slim gap between the two in my poster with
their ‘near kiss’, I want to reflect this ‘so close yet so far’ theme- where their relationship has slowly
been pulled apart. For my colour scheme, I want to use the running motif of red and brown
(symbolizing the twos jackets) to further adopt the colours as reflections of the characters; red being
symbolic of lust, impulsiveness, optimism and courage)- the colour is bold much like Terry, however in
stark contrast, brown symbolizes simplicity, dullness, timidness and even mourning. Brown is a very
calm, neutral colour compared to red and showcases Mays reluctancy to Terry’s lifestyle. Furthermore,
by using their colours, it succeeds in adding cohesiveness to all three posters.

2. For my teaser poster I would use a mid/ long shot (to create an isolated tone) of the two’s jackets
firmly giving one another a hug, without the actresses in them, accompanied by a black backdrop. I
took inspiration from the promotional posters of Lobster (2015) where the two main leads (in their
own separate posters from their own perspective) are sharing an embrace with one of the two’s
bodies, cut out of the other. I wanted to explore this in my own poster by having the two leads missing
but their jackets visible to add an element of mystery and isolation that will attract audiences into
wanting to know what's going on and who these people are. Most romantic dramas model their
promotional materials all around the two leads (mostly in rom-coms) as that is a key selling point-
everyone loves watching films where their two favorite celebrities fall in love. By not having this
element to my teaser, it will stick out as people are more inclined to keep their eye open and go away
and look up who's going to star in the film, by having the leads out of the picture, hopefully it becomes
more interactive and engaging for mass audiences.
In addition to this, it also pays service to the tone and theme of the film; the two jackets hugging not
only symbolizing the two’s relationship (as the tight grip shows this grudging to let go), but
furthermore, reflects their characters. The red, flashy, leather jacket for Terry tells us she's confident
and loud. Like previously stated, red is a bold colour, she commands our attention. The shine of the
jacket depicts her modern approach to life, looking forward and never back. Meanwhile, May wears a
baggy, old, brown suede jacket. This tells us she's much more closed off and sheltered. She, like the
colour brown, gets looked over as it’s soft on the eyes. The wear and tear of the jacket reflects that
she's stuck in the past, she's conserved and hesitant of the future.
Lastly for my landscape poster I will use a longer mid shot (placing the audience in a distant and
isolated position- we are just bystanders) of the pair standing with their heads on each other’s
shoulders (white backdrop), and a red and brown paint stroke going across both of their faces.
Stylistically I thought the paint will come off as a personal motif as it reflects the character’s colours but
more so indicates to the poster/ photo been tempered with, like a discarded photograph with a face
scribbled out sort of thing. Colour scheme wise, excluding the red and brown paint and jackets, the
overall poster will be black and white, not only does it lock more focus on the brown and red but more
so adds to the ghostly, old timey attitude of the film.
IMAGE LIST & BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Teaser- Mid/Long shot: the red leather and brown suede jackets in view but terry and may aren't
visible - backdrop solid black to create a sense of isolation, adds a layer of mystery, ‘who do the jackets
belong to?’ intimate lighting- slight glow on the jackets from the right angle. Channel four film red and
black square logo (Obtained from channel four’s website) in the corner of the poster. Age rating (R
Restricted) symbol in the opposite corner (obtained from BBFC).
Landscape- long/ mid shot: you can see the characters (in their jackets) and their (empty) surroundings.
Both faces smeared/ covered with a streak of paint correlating to their colour
(paint PNG from VHV.RS) Channel four film red and black square logo/ film 4 text logo (Obtained from
channel four’s website) in the corner of the poster. Age rating (R Restricted) symbol in the opposite
corner (obtained from BBFC). Copyright logo, protagonist pictures logo (obtained from protagonist
pictures website) UK council lottery funded logo (obtained from arts council England)
Theatrical- extreme close up: a near kiss between the two, keeping their identities a secret Channel
four film red and black square logo/ film 4 text logo (Obtained from channel four’s website) in the
corner of the poster. Age rating (R Restricted) symbol in the opposite corner (obtained from BBFC).
Copyright logo, protagonist pictures logo (obtained from protagonist pictures website) UK council
lottery funded logo (obtained from arts council England)
FONT LIST & BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Assassin (in white) for the title for all three- at top for teaser/ theatrical and bottom for landscape. The
slender but bold format of text is stylistic but still presentable, it gives the film an epic look whilst
having (obtained from font generator.com)

3. Antro Vectra (bolder in white/ black) for tagline of all three- below each title- handwritten effect,
romantic swirls, all words connected. (Obtained from font generator.com)
Kiona regular (white) thin capital text- for general text on the poster, actresses’ names, ‘coming soon’
copyright print and link to social media. (Obtained from font generator.com)
SF Movie poster condensed (white and black) for billing blocks for theatrical and landscape. Thin,
slender text to emulate the style of font billing blocks use in theatrical posters (obtained from font
generator.com)
TARGET AUDIENCE (AGE, GENDER, LIFESTYLE, INTERESTS, SPENDING
POWER)
the brief’s target audience consists of both males and females, aged from late teens to those in their
30s )- that in mind, I wanted to cover something that not only doesn’t have much representation in the
media but something that will resonate with younger viewers- gen z/ millennials ( an audience with
some spare money in their pocket who watch movies- at home or out- in their spare time), though this
a more female centered film it's just serious, tragic and ' un-romantic' enough to appeal to a mass
audience. The main protagonists are in their early twenties, so they meet just in the middle with my
demographic oldest and youngest viewers.
HOW THE POSTERS WILL APPEAL TO THE AUDIENCE
By making it clear, that the poster reflects its romantic theme- I hope to attract a mass audience to
watch. Romances are more likely to go pretty well with mass audiences as all age groups can find
something they relate to, older audiences will connect to the characters and enjoy the somber themes,
whilst younger audiences will be invested in the actual relationship and the drama the two characters
go through. I hope by more so incorporating a mysterious theme, where the main characters are never
revealed, nor the setting, it will engage audiences to want to watch and find out for themselves.
However I will mix in dark, unsettling themes/ imagery to still coney the films real ‘unromantic’ motif
such as uncomfortably close up imagery, missing bodies and paint strokes brushed over the pairs eyes.
DISTRIBUTION
Overall my poster campaign will fit into the overall distribution of the film. Firstly, I will release my
teaser poster of the two jackets hugging, roughly about 5 months before the film is released to
introduce the film to the target audience (late teens to early thirties according to the clients brief) and
it will show the initial information that the target audience a mainly interested in such as release date
and the clients logo)- I want it overall to be very vague to keep people invested into seeing what comes
out next. When distributing my posters , I want to take into consideration how social media plays a big
part in reaching a global audience- social media campaigns are released to get a wider audience
involved and interested. This stereotypically attracts a younger audience participation. Audience
members who see the teaser posters can respond to what they see and discuss it with other people.
That in mind when distributing my posters- having an official social media might help to get the word
out online to a global audience. More so having a presence online aligns with the target demographic
of teens and young adults as they are more active online. Soon after this release there will be a teaser
trailer released, usually only around 10 seconds to 30 seconds (again showcased on social media
platforms like YouTube)
Shortly after this, I will release the first portrait theatrical poster (the near kiss) a couple of months
later as this will show more information and create excitement for the audience)- we now see parts of
their faces and actresses etc. crew will be credited. When this has been distributed I will then finally
release the landscape theatrical poster (the heads on shoulders) as it then contains even more

4. information and will be aesthetically pleasing for the audience having now showing the two actresses
fully. The clients brief wants all the requested posters to have an appropriate design that includes the
stereotypical codes and conventions but offers the audience a variation / twist on what they have seen
before. This will be taken into consideration as in all three of my posters I have incorporated twisted
imagery that puts a spin on the ‘romance’ genre.
Usually around the same time as this, the main trailer is released which means the audience are fully
knowledgeable on the narrative and information from the film. Enigma codes are beginning to be
answered, however the full trailer still leaves unanswered questions for the audience. The posters will
also become available on the official website for my film as well as channel four film’s so followers/
watchers of heir site can be updated with the new release, as well as publishing in popular areas such
as billboards in towns and cities as this attracts mass audience. This use of the posters is an effective
way of advertising for the film as they contain a large amount of information and are the most eye
catching way of engaging people's attention. movies produced by streaming sites like Netflix use their
platform and theatres to distribute their films ( likewise mega corporations like Disney more so use
their site and cinemas to reach a mass audience) when scrolling through either one of these sites you
might come across a ‘coming soon’ catalogue where the site is able to promote new tv shows/ films to
their users, this is as notion our film can too when distributed as channel four has a similar streaming
platform that could be used to advertise the new film. Channel 4 clearly states in the brief that the
purpose of the poster designs is to capture the attention of, promote and inform potential audiences
and attract the target audience which will be reflected in the final product.
Overall, the target audience will be looking clearly for romantic/ drama codes and conventions which
will attract them to viewing the film. These will include a clear tagline that provides enigma codes in
relation to the film, something ominous but displayed in a fancy or fairy-tale like font, photography
that shows a clear indication to the narrative of the film being the relationship of Terry and May
meeting the needs of the client’s brief.
MARKETING - HOW & WHERE THE POSTERS WILL BE ADVERTISED
I believe that there is a gap in the market for this type of film/ poster. When I conducted my research
on drama/ romantic posters and films, I noticed that many of the drama and romance genre posters
looked very similar, similar blocking and performance had been used across nearly all under the
genres; When Harry met Sally (1989) is near identical to Sleepless in Seattle (1993) or composition in
drama posters like Midsommer’s (2019) ‘half face’ poster and The Revenant’s (2015) ‘half face’ poster.
whereas I have taken into consideration the client’s needs in the brief and the stereotypical codes and
conventions of a romance/drama poster and made it my own which will stand out when they are
advertised. I am also going to use social media to advertise my product as this will lure in a larger target
audience from many different backgrounds. This will include advertisement through the official
website. I will also use synergy to advertise on one or more platforms within the same company such
as on the social media platforms, over billboards and on the website of the company. I would also aim
to have synergy with a cinema company such as Vue or Showcase. The synergy with a cinema would be
the most successful because the audience who go into the cinema to view other films are the type of
people who would return to watch something that interested them and they would pay to go and
watch the film after seeing the marketed products. The final posters will also be advertised around
public spaces and therefore need to be appropriate for all audiences, however the target audience will
be mainly interested to fulfill the client's needs.
POSITION IN THE MARKETPLACE

5. Like previously stated I believe there is a suitable gap in the romance and drama genre that this film
and its posters can fill. Not many romance movies are coming out now as mass audiences are familiar
with them and are looking for something new and exciting- that’s where Terry and May can introduce
audiences to a darker side the genre, they thought they knew. The posters are still in keeping to the
conventions of a romance poster: actresses names at the top of the poster as a call back to have films
like How to lose a guy in 10 days (2003) and the Ugly truth (2009) would have their actors names at the
top of the poster, having a solid backdrop in all three like Her (2013) or Dirty dancing (1987). Whilst
also subverting them by not having the actresses as the USP and incorporating a sinister and tragic
narrative within the images. This more so hits the brief as it subverts conventions and introduces
audiences to a new side of the genre. Furthermore, it helps establish Film4 as being alternative and
refreshing in its content compared to other production and streaming platforms
RESOURCES
A tripod
Canon EOS 4000D
Lighting (flash on phone)
PERSONNEL
Graphic designer: Clara Hennig
Photographer: Clara Hennig