My poster idea

This is my poster idea for our documentary. I followed the usual conventions of a typical channel 4 poster, but I also had to deviate from the usual and try new techniques. Firstly because we didn't have a picture which would be suitable to fill the page, and the pictures we had weren't breathtaking or eye catching, I used three pictures. All three are iconic in Barnsley as they are the main buildings that have been created in the last few years. The large picture at the top symbolises the importance of that building over the others. Also as I didn't want to stretch the picture out as it wouldn't look nice. I used the Channel 4 font for all the writing on the poster as I wanted a consistent look to my poster. I have a white background as I wanted the writing to stand out so people can see it clearly. My title though, is over one of my pictures; I have done this because as the picture suited the message we wanted to get out, and also the space at the top of the picture suited some writing at the top of it.

Poster Idea

This is my idea for a poster for our groups project that would be shown on Channel 4, before making my poster on Photoshop Cs5 I researched many documentary posters to start with and then more specifically posters for Channel 4. On my poster I've added three photos that we took of the locations in our documentary and put them side by side to compare them with the same kind of photo from decades ago, e.g the bus station from 50 years ago to the modern day one from 2010. For the title and the tag lines I used a fairly rounded, friendly looking font that is easy on the eye for the people viewing it, I also added colour to make the two bits of important text stand out.

C4 Poster Idea

This is my poster idea, for our group documentary on channel 4.

Using the C4 style guide I have attempted to match the poster to one of their designs. Having first analysed this, and a number of other channel 4 posters . The difference being that my poster contains four photos  taken from the location shots we had.  One of the problems I  encountered when designing the poster, is the lack of a central image, suitable for use in the project . To counter this I used a central back ground colour, in place of the single image, and then added  four photos on the left hand side of the poster , in contrast to the C4 logo normally seen on the right hand side.  For the font I used the typical highlighted text ,but I was not able to use the C4 font as it is exclusive to them, instead I looked for recommendations on the internet, and found the closest matching one which was Etelka Narrow Text Pro.

Poster Idea

 

This is my idea for the documentary poster. I followed most of the conventions for the Channel 4 poster style, except I deviated from the norm in a few different ways. Firstly, I found it hard to find a building that could make a single memorable and eye drawing image that would successfully represent the variety of buildings we look at during the documentary. So I used nine different photos of different buildings to show a variety and produce a look which suits the style and topic of the documentary than most Channel 4 posters do. Also, for the main title, I chose not to use the C4 font but to use a more unique one. However. the use of the C4 font and text box for the slogan and the use of the Channel 4 logo makes it easily identifiable as a Channel 4 documentary.

Documentary poster reaseach

The poster here advertises the program on channel 4 called the Promise. The poster has many convection's to draw the viewer in, and attract the  attention of the audience. One of the convections, is the use of the writing in the C4 posters, this is usually a short sentence or slogan which will be the overall theme of the production. The example here  is “Divided land, divided loyalty”, which sums up the series quite well, giving us an immediate insight. The font style and text used is another convection of the poster, the text here is highlighted, contrasting to the rest of the poster.
Also the font used C4 text, is exclusive to channel 4 ,this  bold and distinctive font  and the highlight text make the poster immediately  eye catching to the viewer. The use of the C4 logo is also a frequent concept in channel 4 posters, and is usually positioned to the right-hand side of the poster, and changes colour depending on the text and background.  The main image of the poster uses a collage effect from what appears to be an ariel view of  the west bank , forming  the two faces of the main characters from the series separated by the wall, this ties the slogan into the text . Both this and the image  itself are  striking ,and draw  the viewers attention.
The posters  many conventions tell us several things about the series. What it is called,what channel it is on,  when its shown , what is it about, who is in it ,and where is it set . All these questions are immediately answered from a quick glance at the poster. 

For the Style guides C4 uses for both its posters and TV programs follow the link here - http://www.channel4.com/about_c4/styleguide/

Poster Analysis

This poster is a poster advertising a comedy drama called Shameless. Several different conventions are used in this image to advertise the T.V series and to attract more viewers. Many posters for programs that air on Channel 4 keep to the same template for their design, an example of this is the large picture that takes up most of the space on the image, and is the thing that grabs your attention straight away. The picture itself is used for comedic effect and in many ways sums up the main character from Shameless Frank Gallagher, he is looking fairly intoxicated and is trying to steal the Channel 4 logo with again fits perfectly to his character. One main feature of this poster and most Channel 4 posters is the simplicity of it as it only features are one large background picture, a slogan to give information and the Channel 4 logo. The poster features a tag line that tells the audience the name of the series and the fact it is a brand new series, and also says what time it is on. The font used on the poster is a font used on all Channel 4 posters and is exclusive to them, the font itself is rounded which makes it more friendly to the viewer which makes it fit very well with a comedy style program, and also it is fairly simple to read which makes it perfect for a poster. The tag line is highlighted which is common in most Channel 4 posters, it is highlighted in a bright colour to make it stand out to the viewer. We don't get told much about what the series is about we just get information on when it is on and a brief look at the main character, this simplicity is a device use to intrigue the audience, not giving too much away gives a mystical impression of the series and makes people want to view it more. The main point of the poster is to give the viewer an impression and brief information about Shameless

The style Channel 4 uses for their programs and posters can be viewed below

For the Style guides C4 uses for both its posters and TV programs follow the link here -http://www.channel4.com/about_c4/styleguide/

Poster analysis

Here are two posters depicting two TV programs on Channel 4. The first one is the soap, Hollyoaks and the Second one is a documentary on the care system in Britain. Both of these posters use a picture as their background as it's eye-catching and tells what is going on, they also use white background behind the text to make the text stand out. The text follows the usual and exclusive Channel 4 font which is easily recognizable as a Channel 4 product. Below the tag line they both have a date on which the programs are going to start.

Looking at the actual posters, the Hollyoaks poster with it's bright orange background with people in it, depicts that something such as a fire is going to happen in that week. With the line "The week that will change Hollyoaks forever", it shows that, with the background and the tag line, something crucial is going to happen that week. 

Moving to the care system poster, the background picture depicts that children are falling underground to the care system. The picture of the girl getting sucked underground symbolises this perfectly. The tag line "Britain's forgotten children", tells us that there is something wrong with the system or the care system has been forgotten by most people in the world.

Documentary Poster Research

These posters both advertise documentaries being shown on Channel 4. There are several conventions that all Channel 4 posters share. First, the use of a large memorable image or several smaller images that hold significance and obviously tell the viewer what the documentary is about. The famous Channel 4 logo is placed somewhere on the image and depending on the colours of the image, it can be different shades and colours. It is important for the colour of the image and the colour of the logo to completely clash making the logo as eye-drawing as possible to make sure the viewer identifies the documentary as a channel 4 show. The poster usually includes a catchy slogan that relates to the topic of the documentary. This is written in Channel 4's own font called C4 text. It is usually a very short sentence, usually written across two lines, then placed in a text box the opposite colour to the colour of the text. The same rules and conventions on colour from the Channel 4 logo apply to this text. The title, the date and the time it starts are then written somewhere in the exact same layout but slightly smaller. The slogan is usually placed close to the top with the title placed lower down in the poster. Finally, the poster may often include the logo of a sponsor or affiliated company.

Style guides for Channel 4 advertisements can be found here - http://www.channel4.com/about_c4/styleguide/