Film Festival Process Journal - Darks Scars

Process book

Constant reminders of pain and instability push people to do horrible things in the films of David Fincher

Juliana Serejo Galeotti Spring 2017 GR 612 Integrated Communications Instructor: Hunter Wimmer

CONTENTS

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Research The Project................................................................................6 Potential Directors................................................................7 Chosen Director.....................................................................9 Design Brief............................................................................10

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Festival Elements Buckets.......................................................................................14 Photography............................................................................22 Identity........................................................................................24

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Deliverables Catalog.......................................................................................28 Posters........................................................................................32 Advertisements....................................................................38 Tickets........................................................................................40 Schedule...................................................................................42 Business System.................................................................44 DVD Packaging....................................................................46 Soundtrack..............................................................................48 Flying Logo............................................................................50 Website......................................................................................52

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Presentation Container...................................................................................56 End Note..................................................................................58

RESEARCH The trick with this class is to slam the students with a ton of work the very first week of class — they’re amazed by the end of the semester that they’ve been able to do it all...”

—Michael Sainato

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“The creation and presentation of a unique, complex, and focused visual system via a personal, documented, and repeatable design process.”

—Integrated Communications Syllabus

THE PROJECT

The objective of this course was to design a film festival from

DVD Packaging

scratch. An endeavor none of us believed to be so challenging.

Multiple DVD Packaging for the chosen films from the director.

We were asked to design the whole ‘experience’ the potential

Each one comes with an 8-page booklet with information on

audience of our film festival would go through during our event.

the movies.

Every decision was tied to out chosen thread, which set the mood for the festival and tied our visual system together.

Website Fully functional website containing pertinent information on the festival

Chosen Deliverables From a list of many potential deliverables to pick from, the ones below were the ones of my choosing. I decided to stick with the ones I was more familiar with and although I did try to tackle the ‘Product’ deliverable, due to lack of time I had to make the smart decision not to. This project also tests your time management skills ,psychological and emotional balance. The amount of work is enormous, but in the end I feel very proud of what I was able to do.

Research Design Brief Identity The overall look and feel of the festival – Logo, type style, graphic style, and a business system consisting of a letterhead, envelope and business card.

Posters Real size posters (30x40 in and 12x16 in) to announce the film festival, with appropriate branded holding tubes.

Catalog Narrative limited edition printed piece that explains the chosen narrative of the festival and showcases all the real necessary information for a film festival.

Advertisements Three different advertisements designs to promote the festival.

Soundtrack A list of chosen tracks from the original music score of the festival. Conceived as a limited run and open to be in any format, however must be appropriate to chosen narrative.

Tickets 3D comped entrey to the films. Could be in a booklet format or with some sort of appropriate container.

Schedule Information package with acess to dates, screening times, events, and a small city guide of the festival’s location. No forma or size restrictions.

Presentation - Container All designed materials should be presented in some sort of conainer or housing. Once more, it should tie back to the chosen narrative and doesn’t have to be elaborate.

Annotated Process Journal A process journal that documents all the design thinking, strategy and process of this project. Includes the key stages, inspriation, processes and outcomes.

Dark Scars Process Book

POTENTIAL DIRECTORS

We were asked to choose 3 potential directors to do the film festival for. From the provided list, I chose: Pedro Almodóvar, Darren Aronofsky and David Fincher. All of the directors were ones I respected and knew more than one movie made by them. I chose Almodóvar because he in a way connected me to the spanish/latin vibe, but mainly because his movies have a delicate and crude realism to them. Aronofsky I chose because of his twisted psychological and dark features, which also was some what similar to my choice with Fincher.

Pedro Almodóvar Almovodar was born in a small and impoverished town (Calzada de Calatrava). He went to Madrid in 1968 and started work as a flea-market seller. A self taught filmmaker, who started by producing short films with his Super 8 camera. Became a participant in the Spanish counter-culture and pop cultural movement of the lat 70s of Madrid called “La Movida”. His first feature film was, Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom (1980). He achieved internationall recognition for his film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988).

Movie List 1. Julieta (2016) 2. The Skin I Live In (2011) 3. Talk to Her (2002) 4. Broken Embraces (2009) 5. Volver (2006) 6. Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown (1988) 7. Matador (1986)

Style Complex narratives, pop culture, irreverent humour, strong colours, melodrama. His themes circulate mostly around desire, passion, family, and identity.

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Darren Aronofsky Aronofsky was born February 12, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York.

He went to Harvard University to study film, live-action and animation, which helped him produce and wine awards with his thesis film. Aronofsky only went to produce his first feature film five years later in 1996, and in 1998 his Pi movie was a success.

He followed up with other critically aclaimed movies as Requiem for a Dream (2000).

Style Aronofsky is known for his editing skills, which help convey the

Movie List

psycological madness of most of his films. Bleak and violent subject matter, split screen and very tight close-ups, long tracking shots and time-lapse photography. He is known to get

1. Noah (2014)

into the heads of his characters and be able to convey visually their madness.

2. Black Swan (2010) 3. The Wrestler (2008) 4. The Fountain (2006) 5. Requiem for a Dream (2000) 6. Pi (1998)

David Fincher David Fincher was born in 1962 in Denver, Colorado, and was raised in, California. Fincher started his career by producing TV commercials and music videos. He worked for Madonna, Aerosmith, and Michael Jackson, and many other artists. After the success of his career as a music video director, Fincher made his way up to the film industry. He achieved great success with his thriller Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999) and, Panic Room (2002).

Style

Movie List

Psychological thrillers, unconventional plots and storylines. His movies are suspense thrillers with dark and glossy treatment, attractive and intimidating characters. His characters face

1. Gone Girl (2014) 2. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) 3. Social Network (2002) 4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2009) 5. Zodiac (2007) 6. Panic Room (2002) 7. Fight Club (1999) 8. The Game (1995)

dangers and bizarre situations. Backgrounds and locations in his movies are highly symbolic.

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CHOSEN DIRECTOR

David Fincher In the end I chose Fincher, for he seemed to have a balance between the 3 potential ones: a dark twisted perspective, but showcasing life and human behavior as it really is.

“You know I don’t try to piss people off, right? It’s just always been the right thing to do.”

—David Fincher

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DESIGN BRIEF

A design brief was established to help me keep track of my goals and project parameters. It outlines a quick director’s bio, the thread (theme), films, history, location, audience and other elements to serve as a guide while moving forward on the project.

Biography David Fincher is an American director who explores psychological thrillers, suspense, unconventional plots and story lines.

Festival Filmography 1. Gone Girl (2014)

His movies are dark and intimidating. He started his career by

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

producing TV commercials and music videos.

3. Fight Club (1999) 4. The Game (1997) 5. Se7en (1995)

Thread Strong and turbulent characters are taken out of their comfort zone in order to find answers to a problem. They are anti-heroes who are constantly fighting with their own emotions and what’s expected of them. In the end they either succumb to their own instability or raise above them.

Positioning/History of Festival The film festival I’m proposing will be the first time Fincher’s movies are analyzed in a psychological environment. The screening will focus on the characters and their own psyche, with the addition of a group panel consisting of psychologists who will give a break down and better insights on the movies characters.

This will give a greater insight to his character’s dark intensity, sexy and dangerous personalities. In this way providing the viewer with a better understanding of his work.

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Audience

Positioning

Urbanites ranging from 25-45 years of age who are ethnically di-

Create a film festival to celebrate the works of David Fincher

verse and have a liberal lifestyle. From students to professionals

and his accomplishments as a director. It will be a one-time

they are the early adopters of new technology, like to check out

unique film festival that extends to 3 days in the city of Oakland,

new nightclubs, restaurants and coffee shops. They watch for-

California.

eign movies and are up to date with cultural events and trends.

Upper to Middle class who are mostly college graduates and do not own their own home and are renters instead.

Location and Dates August 8th, 2017 Oakland 16th Street Train Station - 1405 Wood St - Oakland, CA When Fincher was 8 years old he was already making movies with an 8mm camera he got as a birthday present. For this reason his film festival opens in the 8th month of the year (August), on the 28th (his birthday.)

The Oakland 16th St Train Station was chosen for it’s physical attributes, to make the audience feel amazed but at the same time uneasy. Something Fincher himself said he likes to inflict on his spectators.

Events Associated to Festival - 25th World Summit on Psychology, Psychiatry & Psychotherapy October 19-20, 2017 - San Francisco, California, USA - The Impact of Trauma on the Individual and Collective Psyche May 12, 2017 at 7:00PM - 9:30PM, The C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco - UNSEEN series Spring 2017 March 24, 2017 at 8:00 PM, Gray Area 2665 Mission St. San Francisco, CA

Titles & Subtitles

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FESTIVAL ELEMENTS Buckets Photography Typography Identity

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BUCKETS

We were assigned to design “Buckets” of visuals from which we could pull out inspiration.

I myself had a hard time with the buckets, not initially, but later on my visuals weren’t matching my thread and that set me back a little. Fortunately, I managed to get back on track and although I ended up still photographing till Week 12, I’m happy with the results of my photography and visuals in this project.

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Photo Style - Imminent Danger This style is meant to capture the feeling of suspense and the anticipating moments before something bad happens.

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Type Style This type style is meant to represent something that has been split, scratched and scarred, torn and ripped.

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Photo Style - First Person Perspective This style is meant to capture the visuals seen by the perspective of a first person narrative.

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Graphic Style - Office Forms This style is used to represent the vernacular of office forms: lines, boxes, grid, circles, stamp, etc.

FPO

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Graphic Style - Crumpled Paper This style is used to represent things that are imperfect and “not loved�.

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Type Style - Garage Signage This type style is meant to represent the typography used in a garage’s signage: big numbers with the use of all caps, tracking, bold, and directions

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Graphic Style - Scratched This style is used to represent the anger and violence of human behavior due to stress.

FPO

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PHOTOGRAPHY

I took most of my photography early on during week 4, which was a bit risky since we were still figuring out our threads and overall system. Luckily I did manage to use some of those photos. However, I did have to re-take my photos about 3 times after that, mostly because I was not conneting my thread to my visuals and when I finally did, I was mixing my visuals with my materials. Nevertheless, in the end, it worked out.

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IDENTITY

I managed to finalize my subtitle and thread pretty quickly, however, my title I struggled with. Initially I sketched some ideas, but they were either too violent or horrific or difficult to read out. In the end I chose ‘Dark Scars’, after not wanting to use it for a while, which proved to be the best choice and concisive with my thread.

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Final logo and subtitle.

Split and broken logo to express the anger and violence that is deep in us all, even though we can’t see it sometimes. It’s clean and elegant, at the same time it seems a bit disturbing.

Constant reminders of pain and instability push people to do horrible things in the films of David Fincher

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DELIVERABLES Catalog Posters Advertisements Tickets Schedule.

Business System DVD Packaging Soundtrack Website

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CATALOG

The catalog was my savior. It was only after I started putting my catalog’s design together that I could see my visual system and potential paths I could take with it. Although I did struggle with the cataloge during the first few weeks, I was brining in new graphic elements and photography almost every other week, it finally came together and provided me with a good visual system to work with.

The catalogue was designed to be a limited edition run with it’s materials and binding tied back to the thread of a middle level employee. It contains the director’s biography, filmography, film synopsis, special interviews, quotes, film reviews, and more.

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POSTERS

The poster wasn’t as much a challenged as I assumed it would be, although I did struggle with it. I didn’t get the photography quiet right in the beginning, my initial photos seemed a bit ‘set up’ like a photo-shoot. Then I decided to focus not so much on the characters of my narrative, but on objects and aftermath of their fatal encounter.

I did struggle a bit with layout and hierarchy. Only after some explorations using textures, color overlays and positioning, in the end the clean version with not too many graphic elements was the one that seemed to work best.

DARK SCARS

FILMOGRAPHY // Gone Girl // The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo // Fight Club // The Game // Se7en

AUGUST 8 - 28th

Constant reminders of pain and instability push people to do horrible things in the films of David Fincher.

2018 +info www.dark scarsfestival.com

// Gone Girl // The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo // Fight Club

2018 AUGUST 8 - 28th

// The Game // Se7en

A DAVID FINCHER FILM FESTIVAL Constant reminders of pain and instability push people to do horrible things in the films of David Fincher.

Pier 70 Building 420 22nd Street, Dogpatch Pier 70 Building 420 22nd Street, Dogpatch

A David Fincher Film Festival +info : www.darkscarsfestival.com

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Refinements on two best

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Final Poster

MOVIES Gone Girl The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Fight Club Se7en The Game

www.darkscarsfestival.com

Date

2018

August 28th - 31st

Location 16th Street Train Station 1405 Wood Street Oakland, CA

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ADVERTISEMENTS

The design for the advertisements came after the main poster was on it’s final design changes. The ads adopt similar visuals to the main poster, purposefully to keep them all looking as a system and setting the mood for the festival.

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TICKETS

Once I’d gotten my materials narrative and thread basically ingrained in my brain so I wouldn’t deviate from it, the tickets’ design came naturally. It would be in a simple paper format and it’s container would be small envelopes with the crumpled paper texture and a quote from the featured festival films. I kept it simple and clean.

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SCHEDULE

Since my materials narrative and thread were about middle level office employee and things you find at an office, I chose the format of my schedule to resonate that. I ended up choosing a simple notepad style schedule, with important information on the festival, featured films, speakers and a small city guide on the vicinities next to the 16th Street Train Station.

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BUSINESS SYSTEM

A simple, clean and straight forward business system that reflected the festival’s theme and narrative.

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DVD PACKAGING

Following the visual system, the DVD packaging makes reference to the file folders found in offices. The DVD cases are shaped with tabs made to be pulled out of the box, and each other is labeled accordingly to their feature. I had the same amount of fun and frustration while mounting this box, in the end I believe it’s one of my first & best attempts to packaging.

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SOUNDTRACK

This one was a big struggle. I tried during weeks to come up with interesting and innovative ideas for a possible soundtrack.

I had already some tracks chosen in my mind, but needed a format to display the music. Unlike most of my classmates, the usb soundtrack idea didn’t quiet seem to work for me and following my thread, I choose the common cd jewel case.

This soundtrack is a compilation of some of the music and themes presented in the festival. It comes with a small booklet with the track’s names and other technical details.

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FLYING LOGO

Initially I believed I could’ve done something simple to go with all my narrative and visual system, but then I realized that this would be the place I could explore a bit more.

Thanks to some of my personal early contact with Nine Inch Nails and “disturbed” videos, I believe I got the festival theme and overall feeling right on point on my video.

Watch it full at : < www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNWUtqKw-Aw >

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WEBSITE

The website was the final deliverable and the one that connected the festival to social media and marked its on-line presence. www.darkscarsfestival.com

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PRESENTATION Container End Note

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CONTAINER

As a presentation piece and support to hold all my design deliverables, in the end I chose the Banker Box. Initially, I wanted to be original and rejected the idea of a simple paper box. In the end, it worked best with the overall system.

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END NOTE

This class sticks true to the reputation for being a very challenging and difficult class. The instructors will push you, turn down ideas you brought in that you believed were amazing, criticize a product you spent the whole day making. This class and this project will test you, you’re emotional, psychological your designer skills. In the end, you’ll become a better designer.

It’s tough, but worth it. I’m proud of all the things I’ve managed to accomplish this semester and I know I have pushed myself.

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Film Festival Process Journal Constant reminders of pain and instability push people to do horrible things in the films of David Fincher.