Kingston Canadian Film Festival

Short Film Series

Idea Proposal

To approach this project, I began by making a mind map of words that I associate with the subject matter. As I see it, the poster will carry two major thematic references – Canada and Films. The mind map helped collect a wide variety of potential visuals to represent these two fundamentals. The images I am currently working with are a stack of classic film reels to represent the cinema, and maple syrup to represent Canada.

The film reels or canisters stacked vertically resemble a stack of pancakes. The maple syrup flowing over top represents the country with its ideals and sensibilities. The image will be fairly silly or even dada-esque. It will be eye-catching in its absurdity.

The imagery will be rendered with vector graphics and a limited colour palette. There will be cartoonish deliberate white highlights on the metal of the film reel and the shine of the maple syrup. My vision is for the poster to have a resemblance to the attached music festival poster in its style. 

Strategic Brief

Task definition

Create a poster for the KCFF, specifically the short films portion. Engage the target audience and draw attendees to the festival.

Information seeking strategies

A good way to begin is to examine previous work for this festival. There are surely other similar festivals across Canada, North America, and the World at large. Each of these areas should scanned for relevant comparative material.

Location and access

A number of the posters are hanging in the Graphic Design Studio and many more have been made available digitally. Archives of the festival are readily available online. The internet and Vimeo.com in particular have an impressive collection of well-curated student short film collections. Other independent short film collections include the 48hour film project, which is conducted in a number of different cities, notably college towns.

Use of information

Peruse the promotional material and look for trends in attitude and design. Make note of useful clichés and overused clichés.

Synthesis

Apply research to create a metaphorical image that serves as the focal point for a series of promotional posters and advertisements. This focal point must function in both horizontal and vertical applications.

Evaluation

Simplicity is key. Being able to have an impact at a glance is more important than being a well-resolved dramatic narrative. Emphasizing humour is likely more effective than trying to focus on drama or tragedy.

Current State

Film festivals can be fun and enlightening, but audiences may have preconceived ideas about the event. Independent films are sometimes dark, dramatic, and challenging. Potential film goers might be turned off by these themes.

Ideal State

A wide array of new patrons will buy tickets to attend the festival. They will be made aware of the festival through a compelling visual design that appears on a variety of advertising media. A keen understanding of the audience and the style of the event will be key in creating an appropriate poster design. The design should be modular and easily adapted to a number of different aspect ratios.

Target Audience

Kingston has a great number of educated people with a desire to experience high-minded events. There are many college-aged students who are eager to be exposed to new ideas. The city is close enough to Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal to potentially attract out-of-towners to the festival as well.

The typical film festival attendee is an educated young adult with a penchant for smart hobbies. They may be young college aged or as old as mid-50s. They are likely city-dwellers, although the suburbs are not out of reach.

Brand Values

The KCFF is both serious and playful. Their brand stands for realism and honesty in film. There is a significant effort to remain connected to the local region. The KCFF is youthful and energetic. They wish to shed light on difficult topics and encourage audiences to engage with the reality of life.

The KCFF knows the reputation for independent film is dark and brooding. Their visual communications all seem to express a certain degree of humour and weirdness. There is always something a bit odd and unusual about independent film.

Key Message

The Kingston Canadian Film Festival is a fun and enlightening experience. All are welcome to view the creative work of local individuals. Expect to be entertained by the unexpected.

Brainstorming

The design process began with a word cluster exercise to identify a number of key ideas to work from. The basic idea was to combine some iconic tools of film with some iconic representation of Canada. After spending some time helping a relative with their maple syrup tree-tapping operation this past March, I came to identify Maple Syrup as a key image of Canadiana. From there, it was easy to decide on an appropriate iconic tool of film. The classic film reel remains a recognizable symbol as it has been adapted to digital iconography in myriad ways.

Ideation

The next phase was to sketch and find an appropriate layout. The most compelling layout was one that features a pouring line of syrup right down the middle of the image. This creates a basic narrative that most anyone is familiar with. The idea is further connected to the idea of short films when the viewer considers the temporal nature of a diner breakfast. This is an experience that lasts around 20 minutes, not unlike a Short Film.

Drawing and colouring

My forte is vector art, so I made the key visual element using Illustrator. The colour palette is primarily earth-tone warm greys. These soft beige hues remind one of a classic diner from the ‘60s and ‘70s. The era was famous for the popularity of colours and textures like cocoa and wood panelling. To me, this aesthetic is reminiscent of coffee stains and cigarette burns. While unsightly, these feelings augur familiarity and comfort by hearkening back to a simpler time. In addition to mirroring the colours of a dingy diner, this palette is also referential to a sepia-tone film process, which further connects the image to the practice of creating artistic film projects.

Final Considerations

When the central design was completed, the layout could take form. I made each part of the image modular so that it could be rearranged in any way depending on the needs of the client. All text elements were made fully editable for the same reason.

When assembled, the arrangement seemed to be compelling but incomplete. I chose to add a fork and napkin, a coffee cup, and a handwritten bill that further fills the scene. A simple cream coloured box overlay contains the text elements cleanly. The stark empty wall was made less vacuous by adding some pale grey stripes, which further hearken back to the design style of the 1970s wallpaper.