If There's a Minimalism, is there a Maximalism?

Posters are hard. There. I said it. I am not a graphic designer, have never taken a class on computer programs, and I only know how to use basic tools on Photoshop.

However, I know more than Lisa, so this wonderful task was handed over to me (to be fair, the website was handed over to Lisa).

Because of my lack of knowledge with all things design, I took to researching. I started with "what makes a good movie poster." Next, I researched drama movie posters. Then, I thought about how to make ours different, so I looked into minimalist movie posters (minimalism is in right now, right?). From there, I noticed that many minimalist posters are also graphic posters, so I took the time to look into those.

With all these poster ideas running through my head, I got stuck on the idea of branding. We need a central image that can carry over between all media, as well as one that can be used for the campaign we're our production companies are starting to go along with the movie.

That, my dear friends, was when I recalled The Hunger Games poster:

It's a graphic, central image that is representative of not only the movie but also the cause. Granted, this cause is fictional, but the idea is still the same. The best part was that The Hunger Games has just about the same target audience as Alma's Angel, so I knew that this marketing technique would work. Picking an image was easy: The movie is called Alma's Angel, so our graphic should be wings. I had the perfect movie poster sitting in my brain.

After all this, though, I still didn't know how to make the poster, so I once again took to the Internet, uncovering this little beauty:

A wonderfully large photo of a basic outline for a movie poster.

We already had a font, I had our central image, and we knew who the actors all were. I quickly came up with a hashtag (#BeTheChange) and less-quickly came up with a tagline (It only takes one person to make a difference). All that was left was putting it all together.

Wow. I just made that process sound so much easier than it actually was. Suffice it to say, Photoshop is not a user-friendly program. But I did it! It's complete!

Ladies and gentlemen, I am so much more than simply proud to present the completed movie poster for our film,  Alma's Angel. You may begin the applause.

The completed poster for Alma's Angel, credits, ratings, and all.

And, because no long message is complete without a P.S., here's mine: I also made a campaign poster. Here it is:

This poster will be featured in our trailers.

To Begin Again

Now that we have completed our AS project, Lisa and I have begun work on our A-level project. In order to ensure we have enough time, we decided that we should spend our class time writing the scripts for our two trailers so that we can start filming as soon as possible. We have completed the script for the first trailer, which will be uplifting and inspirational. Our script (which, if our opening was any indication, will probably need to be cut down) is as follows:

Black screen. As REPORTER voice is heard, the screen fades into an image of ELEANORA making eggs in the kitchen.

REPORTER

In other news, 17-year-old Alma Rodriguez committed suicide last night.

ELEANORA whips around, dropping the egg-y whisk on the ground. Report takes over the screen.

REPORTER

The Harrison High school junior was reportedly being bullied at school for being gay and died from drowning herself in her bathtub.

ELEANORA

Oh my God.

Fade to black. Cut back in to see Eleanora, flyers in hand, walking from door to door, handing out flyers and giving speeches.

ELEANORA

I thought Alma was really brave. She put up with a lot of shit just for being gay, and I always admired her. I’m bi, and I never really told anyone and she just… I dunno. It’s my last year, and I want to make sure that what happened to your sister never happens to anyone again.

Cut to ELEANORA’s face, pleading with RAINA.

ELEANORA

Or, y’know, at least try.

RAINA

I appreciate that, but now isn’t the time.

ELEANORA

I understand. I’ll go. I just wanted you to know.

Fade to black. Cut to ELEANORA opening her door to RAINA, the two of them working on Photoshop, RAINA passing out flyers on campus. While this is happening, ELEANORA’s doing a voiceover.

ELEANORA

There is no difference between us. Gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual, demisexual, transgender, and all the rest: we’re all just people trying to make it in the world, trying to find our joy and our pleasures.There is no need to be cruel to each other. There is no need to belittle those who are different from us.

Life gives us enough troubles.

Cut to ELEANORA on a stage.

ELEANORA

Why do we need to help it along the way? Sign the pledge, join Alma’s Angels, and together, we can make a difference in lives across the city, across the nation, and maybe even across the world.

Music can be Quite the Perplexing Condundrum

So now we have our film and after much deliberation (we've been throwing songs at each other since the second day we started working on the project, much to both of our frustration), we have picked our song: Medicine by Daughter. We like the the beat, the lyrics, the mood it sets, everything.

Then we had to obtain the rights to use it. After researching the record company that runs Daughter's music rights, Glassnote Records, we found the proper person to contact about gaining said rights and subsequently emailed a Mr. Marc Nicolas.

Lisa's original email to Marc Nicolas, sent on March 16.

Well, we contacted who we thought -- based off of the company's FAQ page -- was the right person. Our email somehow landed into Mr. Chad Brown's inbox, and the next day, he responded to our inquiry.

The response Lisa received from Chad Brown on March 17.

Fun fact: we got this email at 8:43 p.m. the night before we had to wake up at 4 a.m. to catch a flight to New York for a journalism convention, where we wouldn't exactly have a lot of time or computer access to work on this. Therefore, when we weren't sure how to answer some questions for the document and needed to contact our teacher for assistance, we were in a bit of a bind. 

The document we had to fill out. We weren't sure what to put for territory (U.S., U.K., or international?), duration of use (did we need it just until our project deadline, a few weeks after, maybe even a year?), or options (we just had no idea).

While we received a response from our teacher the next day, our location hindered us from being able to complete the document until we got back on Sunday. So now we've done as much as we can and we're waiting for a response from Glassnote Records.

Unnamed: The Complete Script for the Two-Minute Opening to a Film We Haven't Named Yet

Low angle shot of a girl’s bedroom with the door closed. We see a Alma open the door (alcohol in hand), walk in, and close the door as she tosses her backpack to the side, taking swigs from the bottle. MUSIC starts playing. She kicks off her shoes and walks into the bathroom, turning on the tub. She then goes to the medicine cabinet and pulls out several pill bottles, downing an indeterminable amount from each, using the alcohol to help them go down. By this time, the tub is full and she steps into it, fully dressed. She closes her eyes, sinks til she’s almost under the water, and the screen fades to black. Over the black screen, we hear a casual news report about a lost dog being found.

REPORTER

The Grayson family is very grateful they were able to find Spot after a large group from the community got together to search for him on Friday. They will be offering free ice cream at their parlor, Berries and Cream, tomorrow, Sunday March 12, to everyone who helped out.

Cut to ELEANORA making eggs in the kitchen.

REPORTER

In other news, 17-year-old Alma Rodriguez committed suicide last night.

ELEANORA whips around, dropping the egg-y whisk on the ground. Report takes over the screen.

REPORTER

The Harrison High school junior was reportedly being bullied at school for being gay and died from drowning herself in her bathtub.

ELEANORA walks forward, grabbing the remote.

REPORTER

A memorial service for close family and friends will be held on Tuesday at 4 in the Rodriguez's home. The school has refused to comment, and our hearts and thoughts go out to the family during this troubling time.

ELEANORA shuts the TV off, then clutches the remote to her chest. Fade to black.

Open to ELEANORA at the door to RODRIGUEZ house. She knocks. SISTER opens door.

ELEANORA

Hi, my name’s Eleanora. I, um, I went to school with --

RAINA

This is for friends and family only. We don’t want anyone from school here.

RAINA starts to close door.

ELEANORA

Wait, please,

RAINA stops.

ELEANORA

I know, I understand. I just wanted to say that I thought Alma was really brave. She put up with a lot of shit just for being gay, and I always admired her. I’m bi, and I never really told anyone and she just… I dunno. It’s my last year, and I want to make sure that what happened to your sister never happens to anyone again. Or, y’know, at least try.

RAINA

Listen, I really appreciate that, but now isn’t the time. I just can’t right now.

ELEANORA

I understand. I’ll go. I just wanted you to know.

RAINA closes door. ELEANORA walks back to her car, closes the door, sighs, and turns the car on. Cut to TITLE SCREEN.

Progress

I feel like Lisa and I are on the right track and moving at a great pace. I know, big disparity from my last post, but we've accomplished a lot in the past couple of days. Let's enumerate in order of size of accomplishment because, as I've shown, I'm a big fan of lists:

1. Finished first draft of our script
2. Made plans to begin filming on Friday (!!!)
3. Tentatively cast actors
4. Began planning settings
5. Narrowed down list of possible songs for suicide scene
6. Finished first draft of our script (I know. It's repeated. I'm that proud.)
7. Thought about costumes

The more progress we make, the more excited I am to see the final result, which in turn pushes me to want to work faster. Progress is happening, people, and I couldn't be happier.