Branding Our Film

 We know what a basic brand is, for example, McDonald's, Nike, Microsoft, etc. It is defined mainly as "a class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer". As we see with these companies, they all sell lines of products, for example, McDonalds has the Big Mac and Microsoft has Windows. Each of the companies listed also have very recognizable logos and color schemes that they use to distinguish themselves from other brands. For example, lets look close into the logo for Puma and how it represents their products.

 As we can see, a black and white color scheme is employed to have certain psychological effects on the viewer. White is used to invoke passion and creativity, as it is often associated in our minds with a blank canvas, making us feel free and innovative. Black is very powerful and sends across a message of power and strength. The combination of these two factors achieves the inspirational athletic feel that is trying to be conveyed. The use of the Puma leaping is used for two things: 1) to emphasize speed and power, which fits the intended athletic message and 2) separates itself from other brands with different logos.

 Based off of this we know that brands such as the ones listed have a definitive name for a product that it sells, making it a brand. However, what would make a movie a brand? Well, another definition for a brand is also "a public image, reputation, or identity conceived of as something to be marketed or promoted", which clearly shows that something does not require a definitive class of goods with a name to be considered a brand, but anything with an image, reputation or identifying factor that is used to market and advertise can also be considered a brand. So this leaves the question, what "identifying factor(s)" can we employ to help promote our film?

 The term "identifying factor" can be used very broadly. We do not need a specific and original image to promote our film, as that would not only be very difficult to do but also it might not gain the attention from our intended audience that we are looking for. So firstly, what are some key factors of our film? Water and eyes are very important parts of our film, as water is going to play a part in the film as the death of a protagonist's loved one was caused by drowning and the sound and image of water constantly gives him memories and flashbacks. Eyes are used to show the window into his mind, where the truth is held, and he has to search for it. These two things are very central and symbolic to the film, so it is best to advertise those things specifically to give an accurate representation of what the film is about and reach our intended target audience.

 Above is a film poster that I made for our film, incorporating the imagery of the water, the eyes and a psychedelic color scheme, which all fit the effect of a psychological thriller, and all as explained above have relevance to the story. The eyes are positioned in such a way as to show a normal face when looking right side up, but a demented looking one when turned upside down, to represent the sinister truth that the protagonist has to discover. The color scheme invokes abstract thoughts and is associated with dreams and hallucinations, which is a very large part in this film, as the protagonist will see the truth through his own hallucinations and visions. The water is in the background as it is the main thing that invokes the visions of the eye of the protagonist, and is the main outlet into the protagonist's mind we see in the film. The title "Lucid Elucidations" foreshadows this, as we can assume it is something to do with hallucinations or dreams, and the meaning of elucidations is "explanations", so it almost says that the truth is within his visions.

 Advertising the film based on these factors will help our intended audience be intrigued by the imagery and slight deviation in color scheme and imagery as compared to typical thriller/horror films, and will give a good idea into exactly what sort of film it is, a psychological thriller.

Sources
https://www.fatrabbitcreative.com/blog/psychology-of-black-and-white-and-what-they-mean-for-your-business

umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/E/eyes.html

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brand