Drafting and Planning/Organisation: Seven Deadly Sins Make-Up, 'Lust'

After being inspired by Klaire de Lys' make up art of the 7 Deadly Sins, I thought of who I could potentially cast for each sin; (not because I'd think that sin is the person's biggest downfall, but because the make-up could suit them), whether it be a guy or a girl. But I need to know if I could replicate them on myself before slapping them on someone else's face. So, to start it off with something easier, I attempted lust. This look is supposed to look rough, so it's good that precision wasn't key here:

(Klaire's blog about the look: http://www.klairedelys.com/2013/05/10/seven-deadly-sins-lust/) 

Here're my attempts at the make-up (obviously not as good as the original, but pretty good for a first try):

Lust:

My interpretation of 'Lust' reminds me a little of the 1920's 'Chicargo' look rather than Klaire's 'bunny girl' look, but I like that mine's different. And I really like how these pictures turned out. Not too bad considering I didn't originally take it that seriously, nor did I have the best supplies for this look, and that I took the photos in my room (I can't guarantee I could attempt all the looks though, since there are some supplies that I'm missing.) When it comes to any 'official' photography of characters though, I'll need to get me a photography space with some plain backdrop and great lighting - but my bedroom done the job in this case :)  

By the way, I'm going to make vlogs (video blogs) of my progress for this trailer; or at least I'd really want to! I always admired how Peter Jackson made vlogs showing the progress of The Hobbit; it really gives the audience an insight into the project, all that goes into it, and also initiates a relationship between the project/cast/crew and audience. It makes the audience feel part of it. So, I already shot the footage for my Location vlog; I just need to edit it down and make it fun to watch. It's all for editing practice too; I'll give a go at using Premiere when it comes to it.

I did try to make a 'vlog' of me doing this make-up look, but my camera kept playing up, and I don't have the best space for filming at home - it's so much harder than it looks! So for now, in terms of make-up or whatever I do at home in relation to preparing for filming, there may only be photos unfortunately... But I'll try to film as much as possible, regardless.

Here's Klaire's original tutorial for 'Lust' down below:

Drafting and Planning: Songs which correspond to different parts of the narrative

To help me understand the basic narrative of the trailer, I mentioned in one of my previous posts how there's probably a Mark Owen/Take That song which could fit each part of the protagonist's story. Now, to help me get my head around the plot-line, I thought to get the appropriate songs in order; I know this may seem an odd thing to do, but it's done when thinking of the narrative for musicals sometimes actually (like how they used Abba songs for Mamma Mia), so it could surely work to help me with the narrative for the film behind the trailer.

1) Mark Owen: How Do You Love/Head In The Clouds/Come On -

Protagonists' good times with her lover in the beginning. She's basically in a relationship with 'the one'. It all feels like a dream to her.

2)Take That; She Said -

Other guys start to gain interest in her, she falls off track a bit somehow (maybe)

3) Mark Owen; Kill With Your Smile (note: a swear word in this song, not that it'd offend anyone anyway)-

Other guys lust over her, she quite enjoys the attention, and her current lover gets suspicious about her loyalty to him and gets jealous. (but surely she must LOVE her current lover... Unless if there was a 'low' in the relationship at this moment... It'll need more thought)

4) Take That: SOS -

She falls into the trap of cheating on him/she was 'stolen away'. She was so angry at herself for cheating on her man that she isolated herself from him, afraid to face him. Gossip goes around about her.

5) Mark Owen: Wasting Away -

Her health; physical and mental goes down the drain; she decides to live by the gossip people say about her, so begins to lose herself. From her insecurity, she falls down the '7 Deadly Sins' path for escapism. From her trauma, she gets visions of this forest and the once beauty of it turns dark and mislead and chaotic.

6) Take That: Said It All/What Do You Want From Me -

He notices she isn't talking to him anymore, and from hearing the gossip he's heart broken, thinking she went off with another man... He gets angry and they have an argument, or at least a sad argument when they have nothing left to say to each other. She feels he clearly doesn't love her anymore, so perhaps she does go off with the dude who caused her this mess; because she becomes desperate for some love, since she found hatred of herself.

(Big Note: Maybe this 'forest' was a childhood world she used to escape into, or maybe she was a writer, or an artist, and this forest was part of a world she made up, so by it getting trashed up by the 7 Deadly Sins, it shows how she's losing herself. OR this forest was, basically, resembling the 'special' place her and her lover used to spend time with each other. That one place went from the most beautiful place in her world to the worst ever place, since it makes her feel guilt and anguish and heart-break.)

6) Mark Owen: SAD -

One day when visiting the forest in her visions, or maybe in bed, it hits her how her life turned upside down. (think Fauntine from Les Miserables singing 'I Dreamed a Dream')

7) Take That: Circus -

We see the life of her old lover, and how he's doing. We see how life hasn't been the same since she left his life, and how he never told her his true feelings about what potentially happened. She'd never reply to his texts or respond to him; she basically ran away from everything to do with him because of how much this 'scandal' blew out of proportion. OR maybe he dumped her from what happened, so there was no chance of her making things up with him. But he found the truth out of what actually happened; that it was all a mistake and she was vulnerable (but surely he'd trust her enough to know she didn't cheat on him on purpose... There has to be more to this than meets the eye. Well, she does go off with the bad dude afterwards anyway since she had no one to run to left). He hears if he's not too late, he could still get her back. He one day decided to contact her, but she changed her phone and contact details so had to do a little investigation. He becomes obsessed with finding her, that he gets dreams of his own forest, showing him his own weaknesses (only this if he's still angry with her, so he's shown his own faults to show how he's just as bad sometimes)... Or maybe he sees HER forest, and tries to find her. I'm not sure where this is going or if I even like where it's going. I don't want it to get too over the top, since there are limitations to my filming locations. Maybe instead she becomes each of the sins in each part of her life... Oh I'm unsure. I'll continue with what I was originally doing on this post anyway...

Take That: Up All Night -

Perhaps he makes an 'appointment' with her, (maybe that's what happened to her) but she wouldn't respond to him, or she'd avoid him.

(there's a bit of a grey area at this part)

Take That: Shine/Mark Owen: Stand:

Convincing her there's a way out of this and he perseveres with her, helping her to fight her inner demons.

Mark Owen: Come On (again) -

There's a 're-equilibrium' you could say, and they find love for each other again...

But I'm very unsure about all of this, since there's now less of the 'forest' idea, and there could potentially be lots of 'jump cuts' to loads of different locations, depriving it from the fantasy genre... But it's been fascinating exploring what could be going on in the protagonists' 'reality' you could say. I've also enjoyed arranging my latest favourite songs into a potential story anyway! But the story always needs developing and thought.

I suppose, since I'm focusing the lyrics of the songs in correlation to what's going on in the 'real world', in this post there's less focus on the 'forest', 'queen' and Deadly Sins (and perhaps Virtues), but, I'm thinking perhaps I could use some of the lyrics in these songs for aspects of the script for the trailer! That's a brilliant idea! I'll have to pick them wisely though.

Drafting and Planning: The Queen Character

From after discussing ideas about a Queen of the Forest, I thought to research 'Fantasy Queens' to get an idea of the fantastical level and concepts I could go for when it comes to making the Queen (and perhaps in terms of casting)...

Fantasy Queens:

I love the authority and seductive style of this Queen; especially in the 'forest' the protagonist is feeding her dark side, this image could help with that. Especially since this queen seems to have a hold over her two henchmen, emphasising her beauty and power.

I'm fascinated by the concept behind this image; she looks tied against a pillar- so there could be the possibility that the 'inner-most self' of the protagonist could be tied against a tree or something more dark and concrete. Who knows!

I love the way this queen is sat, rather outrageously relaxed, making herself at home in her position of power. Like how the Deadly Sins are making their home in the protagonist in an unhealthy way.

I love the dramatic, glorious colours and light in this image; showing a sense of redemption-perhaps could inspire the Queen when in her 'good', 'empowered', 'balanced' mode?

From a great artist called Sakimi-Chan, one of her early works was this image of a Elf Queen; I love the sense of longing and sorrow in her eyes, as well as the elaborate costuming. Obviously these are all the extreme ideas, and I could only do so much in terms of costume and make-up. But exploring ideas is always great to do.

Also from Sakimi-Chan, it's fascinating that this image has the woman's eyes covered, like some sort of psychic or high priestess of great and terrible power. The costume here is more simple to craft, and I love the idea of being blind-folded; like how the protagonist is blind to the damage she's causing to herself as well as others.

Again, a Sakimi-Chan piece, this takes a simpler turn; perhaps rather than a grand Queenly facade, the 'Queen' could instead have a more humble appearance since she's become stripped of who she is since turning down the wrong path. Perhaps it shows her innocent, ignorant side since she feels victimised. But either way, I quite like this simple idea too, with great emotion.

Forest/Nature Queens:

I always adored this picture; I love the sort of 'Bird', 'Peacock' like appearance of the grand headdress and detailed gold dress, as well as the warm make-up. This Queen looks good though, so I'll need to get a grasp on something; does the Queen look the same, or is she Glorious when she's in love and good, but then looks seductive and evil when she's fallen? Or, perhaps when she's fallen, she becomes like the 'humble' image, whose tied against a tree or something she can't be free from, and treated badly by the deadly sins; perhaps caged in some way; taking on the 'Circus' idea from before.

Since it's based in a forest, I thought a forest-looking queen could suffice too. I love the obvious nature aspects of this character; so detailed and interesting to look at; but powerful looking too.

I do love this one with it's range of colours and the make-up as well. I think an ornate, elaborate headdress perhaps of roses and flowers etc would be interesting to craft.

I do love this image; the simplicity of the woman is beautiful; that the gorgeous blue dress does the job in terms of giving her status and a position of power. The forest background is utterly beautiful too.

Again, a great example of elaborate headdresses and even the devious expression is a great thing to use, even if not for a Queen character, this could be a great 'Deadly Sin' appearance idea. For, as I said, Pride could end up taking over the reign, since it's Pride which justifies your wrongdoing. 

I found this one incredibly pretty and interesting. She might be a butterfly queen, but this gave me ideas in terms of different girls I could use; you don't need to have dark or severe looking features to look powerful; curly hair and light colours could give you status too; especially with that devious expression!

Here's a very dramatic image I found which I thought was inspiring. It's the extreme I think in terms of the Queens, since, it's a human tree! But it still looks awesome and thought it had a place in this little post.

Either way, I think this exploration gave me lots of food for thought in terms of this 'Queen' character I have going on. Klaire-de-Lys again can give me lots of ideas in terms of how to do the extravagant make-up; but at the end of it all, it's down to what I can make possible. And I'll try and use what I can to bring this story to life, and make this trailer as great as possible. 

Note: I don't own any of these images.

Drafting and Planning/Organisation: Development of narrative ideas

When I woke up this morning and switched on some music, I decided to continue with the recent new routine of only listening to Take That and Mark Owen (a member of Take That) songs. I listened to Mark's song 'Come On' (it's so beautiful! Mark's such a poet in all his songs, I'll place it down below...any excuse to express my new obsession!)

(Oh the last line breaks my heart "Then... Then my only friend, give me all you can, say you'll be my love....")

And as I listened to it, I looked through my phone pictures including this picture which I included in my previous post:

Now with the mix of the gorgeous, moving romantic song and this romantic picture, I thought about the story of my trailer and if I could possibly include romance in there (the very thought of it takes my breath away...)

If so, then the thought of the virtues with their harmonizing sin act like couples; one cannot be without the other. Perhaps in the re-equilibrium of the story, the 'couples' find love for each other again, and embrace (like the picture above...)

But this may seem... I don't know, maybe not appropriate some how since I quite like the idea of the Virtues not being there at all, maybe. Because, what if I can't get a 14 odd cast! So if there's a romantic element, maybe the Queen had a relationship, and the reason why she 'fell' is because of the relationship failing momentarily, but in the end her lover returns to her, or she makes peace with his memory/their conflict... Aww. That could be so tragic and beautiful too. 

But then what of the 'Alice-like' character? Would she even exist... The idea of a normal girl breaking down from a boy friend seems rather over-used; unless if what happened was a real drama! But let's just explore a few ideas then...

Idea A;

Oh! I have a brilliant idea, when you're 'In Love' you feel so beautiful and like royalty in your heart, yet all you want to do is make your other half happy (like how a monarch are to serve their people). So maybe this 'Queen' character was a normal, virtuous girl (in her early to mid-twenties, I don't want her too young and ignorant I think, though I could only get a young actor...), I could imagine her wearing a pretty floaty dress with long-ish dark curly hair smiling happily in the meadow with her lover. She imagines this precious place where herself and her lover always go to as her kingdom in which he's the King and she's the Queen. (this very meadow soon over grows into the forest which she becomes the Dark Queen of) who is a good guy. 

I don't want there to be the whole 'he cheated on her so he's the bad guy' thing. I sort of want HER to seem like the 'bad guy'; she goes from ignorant blissful love to being broken and hardened and extremely complex. But I'm not so sure, perhaps her lover somehow dies though, and she gets so heart-broken that she falls into the Deadly Sin path, in which in her mind, she's fallen from her Queenly position into a wretched woman and becomes self-absorbed and the ball in her mind becomes a circus act.... Wait, when you think of a circus, you sometimes think of a 'freak show'... Perhaps the lad DID do something to hurt her, and she falls down the deadly sin path because she becomes desperate for love and feels like a fool for submitting to him and his sexual desires.... 

But then what about the beautiful ending.... I want there to be a redemption between the two. I want there to be hope when it comes to 'disloyalty' and 'cheating' that it was just a stupid mistake and there could still be peace made... 

Idea B (taking on the 'cheating' idea):

From thinking of the video game called 'Catherine' (it's a fantastic game about a guy who made 'a mistake' and got caught in a love triangle mixed in with a supernatural twist). It's story line taught me how easily one could fall into some stupid life traps, so I don't want to antagonise those who make stupid relationship mistakes like how society antagonises them. Because though they deserve to be told off and given the silent treatment for a  long while, we're all human and are guilty of making dumb mistakes (but if it's on purpose, then that's a different story... There's a fine line I guess...). Also inspired by a play I just read called 'Woyzeck' as well as the play 'The Crucible', perhaps the girl had a 'safe' relationship and she had hard principles to keep her Chastity (a virtue) but her one weakness is flirting at times, and perhaps she felt chained by her relationship for a while (maybe her old boy friend was breaking down himself/ill) and she noticed another more exciting man was interested in her. And she was seen kissing the other guy or flirting with him. Desperate for love, maybe he had his way with her. The trust and loyalty was broken, and her old boyfriend left her and she chased the dude who had his way with her, desperate for some love so she couldn't end up with nothing. (But then again, I'd want to explore the story of this 'other guy' who made her disloyal. Was HE in a problematic relationship too? Or was he just an inconsiderate idiot?) in which the metaphor of the reign of the Sins come to play and the virtues in the ball get caged up/knocked out. She felt like a fool all her life and fell into more Sins from that one mistake (the Circus metaphor coming to play too).

But maybe in her lowest moments, she had to learn to forgive and forget in terms of herself and the 'other guy'. But I want her to find love in the end. Maybe she comes across one final guy who IS a genuine lovely guy. But by this point she has trust issues with others as well as herself. But he helps her fight her inner demons by showing her virtue and love again by simply being there for her and being patient... But all this 'reality' will be mixed in with her imaginary world in the forest. 

Actually, I think I want her old boy friend to return to her. Because it was a MISTAKE. He watched her get lower and lower and as life went on, he tried to make himself good enough to help her again. He found girls but found he loved none like how he loved her. He tried to find her again (maybe their connection was so strong that he 'shared' this forest world with her in his dreams. He found this wretched woman and by hearing her story, he found his lover again! In which, in the end, he falls for her head-over-heels again and tries to fight for her again, and she learns to fight for him. And in the end, the image above happens; and embrace between the sins and virtues as well as themselves. Maybe she had the sins in her 'forest' and he had the 'virtues', and they had to blend them again to create harmony and forgiveness. Yet he'd have got angry by the thought of her cheating on him; REALLY angry, so why was he so 'forgiving'? Hrmm... I feel this story getting so close to it's 'perfect' finish, but there's still more to think on. 

And, to be honest, looking over at it, I could think of a Mark Owen song to fit each moment of this story... I might to a post on that another time. But for now, though I liked the previous ideas of someone re-finding themselves on their own, this has been a fantastic exploration of additional ideas and is really getting to a brilliant story. Obviously the trailer would show teasers of it's potential brilliance.

Final Note: Maybe the affair really was a mistake not by her doing and she ADORED her last boyfriend so so much, she was pining for him to propose to her. So this would make the fall so much harder in which a greater reason for her to fall into the 'Deadly Sins' path. But I'll have to think about her man's pathway of life and emotions too, because would he really be THAT forgiving if the love of his life cheated on him? Or maybe he loved her so much that he almost idolised her and just wanted her back, but she ran away because of her guilt and hatred of herself. Wow... That's an idea.

OR

Maybe her old boyfriend done the same mistake in HIS past so knew the torture one could go through over it, so was able to empathise because he knew the route of how to get through this 'dark forest' because he was there before. That could be another pretty decent idea. I somehow feel the story-line slowly reducing down into something simpler and simpler with less questions and loop-holes... which is fabulous!

Research Into Similar Products: Pictures that Inspire me

I enjoy coming across beautiful pictures full of story and emotion which could really help me when I'm struggling for thought. So I thought I'd share a few here, and at any rate, most of them stimulate my imagination to think deeply about the character or the story they've been through etc which could help me with building the story of my trailer.

Inspiring Pictures:

I remember when I found this photo I was looking up 'angels' but when I came across this one, I just asked so many questions about the story between the two of these characters, where they are, how they came to be in this situation... The way they're holding each other looks just so loving, comforting yet mournful. It looks as if the mechanical-like angel is attached to the earth in some way-why is that? And even the fact that the female angel has horns on her wings could suggest that she's strong and probably there to fight or even intimidate at times. But yes, I'm always one for a beautiful artwork with a romantic connection involved; displayed in a moving way like here.

               

I found this image stunningly beautiful and dramatic. I remember I found it on a website called 'Behance' where artists go to show off their work... But I don't remember who done this picture, but I remember the artist done many more which I love too (some more of which I'll show next). I absolutely adore the drama, the elaborate costume and headdress and the emotion of the character's face. During this time I was inspired by Klaire de lys so wanted to invent my own interesting characters which are physically unique, and this is the sort of thing I was looking for. I'd wonder what this character is all about. But personally, despite the fact she's holding a swan, the religious elements of this woman reminds me of a passage of the Book of Revelation in the Bible in which the Church and Jesus are described to be like the Bride (Church) and the Bridegroom (Jesus) coming together at the end of time. I find that incredibly romantic and interesting too. But art has multiple interpretations to them which is what's so refreshing. Either way, the elaborate design and the fact the woman looks almost twisted up in her dress echoes so much potential story and makes this 'fictional' concept of a woman into a character, a person with a past, present and future.

This picture was done by the previous artists too (if I remember correctly) and I just find the concept incredibly fascinating. Maybe her dress is like some sort of fortune telling thing; when someone goes to her 'please tell me why my daughter went missing' or something, she whips open her dress and they're like 'oh my I remember that day at the fair! Maybe she went missing there!' or something crazy like that. She has great hair too. 

This artist too, which I found cool, is that she takes pictures of the models (probably in a basic setting and clothing of the resulting picture) and she edits it, adding the elaborate hair or elements of the costume and fantastical elements. It's not purely digital art...)

Again, by the same artist as above, with the theme of the 7 deadly sins, I wondered if this concept could link in with 'Lust', like they have wandering eyes; or simply displaying the trauma one goes through when in complete submission into a dark way of life. But I just found this interesting, especially with the violent looking things happening to this woman who's mainly pure in colour scheme.

On the subject of 'pure' things, when thinking of the 'Heavenly Virtues' and 'heaven', when you don't see white cloud and blue sky, thankfully some artists splash in some elaborate colour and grand golden light like in the image above. If I'm to include the Heavenly Virtues, perhaps I could use a similar pattern of colour scheme with make-up on my actors.

When it comes to thinking of fantasy, I adore mythical creatures, and Sirens/Mermaids are a big favourite of mine. Unfortunately they're vile when they turn nasty... But it reminds me of 'lust' again, with the beautiful temptress leading one to darkness, the stereotype of the 'femme fatale', but that concept is way over-used. In terms of this picture though, I just love the 'female beauty' aspect of it as well as the colour scheme and movement of the character (also the contrast with the beautiful Siren and the floating skulls around her). It makes me wonder, what if a Siren wanted to rebel from her dark destiny of leading men to the depths of the sea. What if she didn't want her 'beauty' to be a mask of a ugly truth; alike the Succubi. Does the ship in the background need to be careful since there's one mermaid around; yet, mermaid's mostly work in packs, so why is this one alone? Now, questions over... onto the next set of pictures...

Now the next set of pictures are fan images and concept art from a game called 'Alice Madness Returns' inspired by the Alice in Wonderland stories. My trailer is heavily influenced by Alice Madness, especially in the idea of the potential 'Alice-like' protagonist 'going mad' (like Alice does in this game) and needs to save herself from her own demons (which Alice does in this game too).

I absolutely love this Cosplay and the photography in this above picture. The far left image, submerged in darkness, could almost look like a film poster if accompanied with a title and the typical conventions. And it'd be a very intriguing poster indeed. I always find the Victorian stories of what they done to the poor souls who simply gone mad incredibly fascinating and dramatic, and the game of Alice Madness really shows how ignorant they were to mental illness back then (and arguably still are now) but it could be an element to touch up on in my film idea, since the protagonist possibly turns down the dark road and has to face her demons (the deadly sins).

I love the use of silhouettes in this image and how they show the truth behind the intentions of these characters. This could be a fascinating idea for a poster idea.

I love the burst of whats in her 'Wonderland' and Alice in a powerful, swooping pose, embracing the fact she's torn up in her mind from her dark past and ill-treatment in the asylum. This idea of a 'burst' showing the protagonist's inner demons or qualities could be a good idea too for a poster.

I love the Victorian look to this one too, and the simple silhouette of Alice sowing a diagram of a brain, showing where her main problem originates. Again, a fascinating concept for a poster.

Now this is NOT from the Alice Madness game. This is a fan art from a scene from 'Howl's Moving Castle'. Trust me to find another romantic picture. Again, like the previous post about film posters, I love two-shots, showing the connection between characters. I find this image captivatingly inspiring merely by the emotion of both characters; Sophie feeling such deep love, wanting to bring Howl back to his senses, and Howl in despair, losing himself. 

That was a fun little journey looking at a few sources of inspiration, and I'm sure there'll be many more to come, since this journey of making this trailer has just begun, really!

All this helps me with exploring different types of story, especially in the fantasy genre, along with looking into character and relationships with oneself (like with the Alice pictures) and others.

Research Into Similar Products: Movie Posters!

Before I go wild with finding a load of my favourite movie posters which I find inspiring, I'll go through the conventions of a film poster; you might as well delve into the fundamentals to make sure you're doing it right!

Conventions of a Film Poster:

It must be eye catching and captivating to the audience.

There must be a focal picture that will draw in the audience's eye.

The title is displayed in a large, eye-catching, legible font.

It clearly defines the film's genre.

The poster should be designed to attract the largest audience possible.

There is usually an indication of when the film is being released - either a date or 'Coming Soon', although they are sometimes less specific, for example they might say, 'In Cinemas This Summer'.

Information on the Directors, primary actors, and Production Company is often displayed in a billing block at the bottom of the poster.

There could be reviews or titles of other films that the company has made.

Now onto the posters I love (I got loads!)

Initially, I thought of cool posters with all sorts going on which could give a dramatic, grandiose effect such as:

The posters of The Hobbit trilogy tend to be very crammed and packed full of artistic effects, warm coloures, storytelling and full of drama as well as beauty. You can tell it's a fantasy movie by the mise-en-scene; clothing, props, locations, massive dragon, the warm coloures and even the font of the logo (reflecting the same font of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, showing how they're part of the same franchise!) And the handsome beardy men (well, dwarves, men, wizards and beardless elves and hobbit). You can't go far wrong with going all dramatic with computer graphics mixed in with raw photography when it comes to a fantasy film because the very nature of fantasy is that it's not entirely real. Well, it is, in film... and in your heart. 

This X-Men poster is just so cool (and was an awesome movie too!) Alike the second Hobbit poster, there's lots of Photoshop having been used to get all those characters into different sizes within the body of Wolverine and Mistique! Great idea.... But I do find it effective and I love the contrast of colour; the blue of Mistique reflecting the blue of the sky on the right, and the more black/brown coloures of Wolverine is contrasted with the red sky on Mistique's side! You can tell near the bottom of the poster that it's incredibly action packed.... It just screams ACTION... whats more to say?

There's lots to say about this one, not only does it show mystery for it's fantasy genre, but the way the characters are circled and individually shown gives it the Broadway Musical poster effect. Also, the fact all the characters are shown entangled within the trees can show the dramatic effect the woods had on all the characters and how they found the woods manipulated and changed them forever, entangeling them into all sorts of situations and mind-sets and relationships, discovering more about themselves, each other and life. And the focal point, being the title of gold, send the message directly home of what the film is, and the usual colour scheme being of blues and blacks again makes what's important stand out; the characters, the title and the mystery behind the film.

There are many posters which use simplicity as key to capture the audience's attention too. (Now not all these are movie posters, but some other types of posters and art work which embrace the simple effect):

I love the artistic, niche look they seemed to go for with this poster, yet it's striking with the way it appeals for the 'comic' effect since the photography was manipulated to show a pop of colour of Superman in contrast the the black and white of Batman. They look like posters that have been badly pressed against the wall, like what you see in subways or brick walls, showing how the superheroes have become of our culture so much that they seem merely part of the furniture now, and often looked at only as something aesthetic rather since people got so used to their influence. But through this acknowledgement, they breathed new life into the concept of superheroes and the style could also hint at the tone of the film. The fact that Batman was stamped with Superman's logo and visa-versa can also give an element of rebellion and protest between Batman and Superman, reinforcing the idea of 'what side are you on?'.

Not only does the above poster tend to mess with your head with the Eiffel Tower dangling from the earth with skulls looking the right way up on the earth's surface along with the simple red and black colour scheme (connoting to death and danger) but it's simplicity gives a striking statement, as if it's saying 'Yeh, this is what's going on here. Watch it to see what's happening with Paris'. I quite like how the slogan 'The Only Way Out Is Down' is hidden and quite hard to see within the skulls, since it adds to the air of mystery and how the point of the film is that there's catacombs hidden under Paris.  

These are Theatre posters, not movie posters (the play was absolutely phenomenal by the way), but when I saw them, I saw just how much theatre posters could almost be pulled off as movie posters; they're becoming so effective and film posters could learn a thing or two from them (well, I guess they always had, since theatre posters were before film posters originally). I just adore the single mid-shot of John Proctor (the gorgeous Richard Armitage) surrounded with darkness and it looks so arty; the simple coloures and detailed textures of his skin/coat and dark hair and the shadow and light touching him... The brooding expression telling a story...Oh it's just so effective. The second one has pride of place on my wall...

I adore this 'Fury' poster, especially how the very title is on the bar; not fresh paint either, but looks as if the title's seen the face of war along with the characters, making the 'story' and the 'lives' of the soldiers one. That's rather deep. I also love the angle, that most of the shot is taking up by the dark clouds, making the emotion of the poster so melancholic and sorrowful, yet rather thoughtful too. I love it.

I do love this dramatic two shot! Nothing but the Elder wand dividing Harry and Voldemort. And Voldemort's the one holding the wand, showing him at the advantage, but Harry's face is still quietly determined. I can't resist a poster with actors looking a bit battle ridden and with deep detail of expression. I love the limited text too, letting the photo itself take the spotlight, because, come on, that photo deserves the spotlight; such drama and contrast between light and dark along with the colour connotations. It's quite curious because the red blast of light resembles Harry, so it could perhaps symbolize how Harry is actually the one with the upper hand. But either way, I love a two shot like this full of drama and emotion and story.

This is a poster based on the Studio Ghibli film 'Howl's Moving Castle' and I love how it only has the shape of Howl and Sophie but with parts of Howl's mechanical 'Castle' within their silhouette. With nothing more than a date, it makes itself exclusive to those who know about it, making the film more of a rarity. Also, you can see the connection between the two characters too which is the heart of the film.

I remembered when I saw this poster on the bus I was instantly intrigued by the simple stylishness and the fact this girl has awesome mechanical legs (as well as Colin Firth, of course). The contrast, again, of white and black, shows just how clean-cut the secret service of Kingsman is and also the stylishness of the fight scenes! There's a British appeal aswell, with the glass of whiskey and Colin Firth in a smart suit, glasses and black umbrella like a dapper gentleman (with a brilliant fighting skill)!

I loved this musical; so moving, but the simplicity of the posters really grasped me too. The blue-ish background can reflect the sadness and sacrifice involved in the beautiful story along with the hope beneath all darkness. The mid shot of Jean-Val-Jean emphasises the deep human emotion being the essence of all things in the musical as well as truth and selflessness and faith.

Oh, Sweeney Todd's one of my favourite musicals, and it's because of Tim Burton's version that I love it so much (the original Broadway version is too operatic for me). Though it looks like there's quite a lot going on in this poster, I just love the simple two shot here, with Mrs Lovett leering over Todd's shoulder, showing how she's behind Todd's decision to murder men and how her love for him is what consumes her. Yet with Todd looking at the audience, it shows how he has one thing in mind; to avenge the life of his wife and daughter, that he could trust no one fully and he sees practically everyone as an enemy. There's a slight canted angle too which can resemble the uncomfortable mentality of both of them, as well as the small elements of red connoting to certain things. The red around Mrs Lovett's chest could resemble how she has love and lust for Sweeney Todd more than anything, yet the red of the chair and Todd's razor case shows not only how these are his weapons, but how for him, his influence to kill is from beyond himself and he blames others for his actions because it's all for revenge. Or also how it's out of his character to kill, and how he's changed his name especially for the fact that he's going against his conscience by killing. He's made himself into someone who see's black and white (emphasised by the fact he is only black and white, really) with a black and white mentality; he must kill the one who destroyed his life, and anyone else who gets in his way. I love how these subtle elements tell the story so vividly. 

This poster struck me too when I saw it on a bill-board, the submission in water and the slight nudity and the expressions all showing how they're 'getting in too deep' and how they're constantly on edge by being with each other (emphasised by the fuzzy parts of the title). Yet because the man is looking at the audience, it could show how he feels in control and that he wants this, yet the woman looks away, as if suggesting her conscience hits her harder and she knows what she's doing is wrong. The simple bold capitalized font of THE AFFAIR again could resemble how, because of the guilt and sneaking around, the emotions are 'capitalized' and enlarged since they shouldn't be doing what they're doing. 

When I saw this poster on the bus I remember thinking how cool it looked! Again, the simplicity of a two-shot can show more about a story than an entire composition of separate elements. Even Spiderman's body language is shouting 'come at me!' with his arms pushed away and his head pushed forward to his enemy. The lightning striking from behind him as well echoes Spiderman's power and determination to strike at anyone who threatens him. 

Sin City has such an interesting style, with the simplistic black and white comic look with only splashes of colour which only occur when to symbolize something iconic. In this case, the title is iconic. I love this simplicity since it's unique and suggests more beneath the surface.

I've loved exploring these posters, and though there's loads more I could delve into, I think the above ones are enough for now. I'm especially leaning towards a poster which shows the relationship between two people or just focusing on one person, since it's more personal and shows the deepest element of a person; their relationships and essence.