Planning for My Poster

Research into TV Drama Posters

When i was looking into researching on soap opera posters i found it very difficult to locate any.  I think its quite hard to find soap opera posters as there is hardly ever a new soap being released .  This could be as existing soaps are very successful so it is hard to come up with a new idea that will be just as successful as the existing soaps.  So in this blog entry i have looked at TV Drama Posters.  I have done this as TV Dramas are regularly being advertised on posters as a new series with diferent storylines start very often.  This can give me ideas into how i could layout and make a successful poster.  I have listed posters from a British television drama and an Americian television drama.

This poster is from the ITV 1 drama, marchlands which is a supernatural drama.  The story is set around three families at three different generations in the same house.  They are all linked together by the spirit of a young girl who drowned in mysterious circumstances.  I liked the use of the image that they represented for the storyline of the show in this poster.  It tells the viewer that this young girl that drowned is haunting the house by the fact water is running down the stairs, also informing us how she died.  The light at the top of the stairs behind the girl suggests that she is a spirit and giving the viewers perspective can ultimately tell you that she is good rather than evil.  However this opinion can be altered by the fact the water is streaming down the stairs so you wonder, why would she be allowing this to happen and in doing so makes you think about the narrative behind he character.  I thought this poster is very effective as it has one image and not a selection of images. Even though it is one image the image itself is very thought provoking and along with the information on the left side stating the programme title, date, time and channel it is also simplistic in design.

This is the poster for the Hit American drama series, Dexter.  The programme centers around Dexter Morgan who is a forensic stain pattern analyst for the Miami police and by night a serial killer who targets criminals who he believes have escaped justice.  The poster like the marchlands poster is very simple in design but detailed in imagery.  It contains the main character dexter and him running his finger along a butchers knife.  He is made to look guilty in this picture but by his actions you can tell that it is actually the opposite.  His smile also makes him seem menacing.  There is a blurred image behind him, personally this makes it seem like that image is who he has to pretend to be when he is working and the dominant image is who he really is.  The reason why i think its blurred is because that person he pretends to be is almost an illusion.  The poster also has the same font that is at the beginning of the programme.  The colours in the picture are very clean and neutral compared to the title which is presented as a blood splatter.  I think this is made to represent his personality when he is the serial killer, that he has to ensure to do a clean job.  The poster also states when the show is being played and what channel it is on.

Overall the posters i have researched for TV dramas have one dominant image in them not a series of images showing different aspects of it.  This is the main point i have picked up as without prior looking at posters i would have thought various images would be across the page.  The images however normally have two meanings depending on how the viewer interprets it this is what interests the viewer on the information on the drama, they wont to know which side of the meaning it is.  Also the poster contains the shows title, the date its on, the time it begins and what channel.  This informs the viewer about relevant information on the show rather than crowding the page with points about the show that are saying too much about it .

Research on Posters

This poster was set for the inferno week on hollyoaks. The narrative to the poster comes from the revelant storyline onfolding in hollyoaks.  A huge fire is about to rage through II Gnosh which can be the unfortunate ending for some that are doomed to not escape and those that will escape.  The tagline for the inferno week is very effective, the sentence "A week that will change Hollyoaks forever" It is effective in the fact it grips the viewer to want to find out what could be so dramatic to change hollyoaks forever.  The pictures themselves link and support the storyline the poster is aiming at.  Its linking to the fact that in this weeks episodes there is going to be a fire, so the characters are represented as being ablaze.  However the images are still appealing to the target audience of the soap. Noted points on the poster:

• warm colours
• the dominant image of the characters go across the page lined up
• tagline and date at the bottom
• the channel 4 logo to the right

This is the common poster for the soap opera, Eastenders on the BBC.  It has the iconic thames river in it which this aerial view normally associates to the programme Eastenders.  It uses the same font that would be at the beginning of the programme this supports the synergy aspect.  It also has which channel the soap will be on. Points made on the poster:

• very simplistic but effective
• big font for the title of the soap
• has the aerial view on where the programme is set, informing the viewer
• white font stands out against the greens and greys of the aerial shot

Posters for soap operas are in short supple as the soap operas are mainly advertised on TV or in a Tv Listings Guide.  This is because so often the storyline changes it would be alot of circulation to make a new poster everytime an event happens on soaps.  So for big events on soaps they have a poster gripping the audience to find out more.

My Tv Magazine Listings

Planning for my Tv Listings Guide

Magazine Initial Idea

Looking at the common conventions of a magazine cover i had thought out how i wanted my cover too look like. The drawing above was done on a graphics tablet which you essential use as an input device which allows you to hand draw image which can be saved onto your computer. I thought this would be better to sketch out my ideas as its clearer to see and it can easily be saved as a jpeg.  I have gathered the information i analysed from some top tv listings guide and used these ideas in my own sketch.  My initial idea is that the magazine title will be located at the top right hand corner with issue numbers and dates in the titles box.  As the research showed that other programmes are normally situated at the sides of the magazine i kept to this convention as well, including the other programmes at the side and an exclusive article along the bottom. The dominant picture will also take up the majority of the page. A border at the top will inform a release of a new programme with an image in the top corner that will be circular. 

Conventions of a Magazine Front Cover



Similarities between the Tv Guide Listings

After Researching into the top rated Tv Listings Guide i found that there were alot of similarities between them.  These are the similaritieas that can be accounted for in the magazines:

• The magazine title is normally located at the top of the magazine cover
• Titles for the magazine are Eyecatching, clear and very simplified
• Bold Fonts
• Backgrounds tend to be a blue/light blue colour as its relaxing and generally doesnt contrast with the dominant image.
• The main storyline image covers the majority of the page
• Coverlines are always at the side and bottom of the cover
• Other storyline images are bordered off in different shapes
• Use emphasise on the price of the magazine but stating "only"
• Date and issue numbers are located near the magazines title