Attention APFers ... Please help me with my University Dissertation!!

[AdamCarterJones]

Hey guys,

I'm beginning to write my University Dissertation ... FINALLY!  

I'm writing on the evolution of movie advertising from its formative years to the present day.
- Basically, it concerns what has stayed the same, what has changed and why, and what may be coming in the future.
- This includes the change in almost 100% use of illustration to that of photography and Photoshop.

I'm looking at posters as well as EVERYTHING to do with advertising of film from standees, trailers, virals (online campaigns) to anything considered weird and/or different!

I'm at the research stage...
...And I need YOUR help!

Can you give me your views?
Can you provide me examples?

It would be fantastic if you could help me.
I really would appreciate it.

I have until January 12th, 2012   to write the dissertation and hopefully you can play a part in it.
Anyone who helps me will be acknowledged fully in the dissertation without question (I would require your full name for this - please pm me these details).

Thank you very much in advance,
 
Adam

[Neo]

Congrats on almost being finished with your degree, Adam.  Great topic for a dissertation.  

I think the most important thing, similar to what your best internet friend Mel would say, is that the best art on advertising material is that which people can relate to.  If a viewer thinks about the advertisement after seeing it, then that would be considered “good” advertising by many people, and it’s probably considered “great” if people see it and want to watch the film.  For older movie campaigns, I see some faces for actors and I have no idea who they are, and many have artwork that is not anything like what my 1980s era brain thinks is cool, and I cannot relate to it any way, so I will likely never see the movie.  That’s where some of the older science fiction and horror stuff is really cool, IMO, because they have creative art on them that can expand one’s thinking and the art allows them to envision how cool the movie could be.  That’s why people see movies and not read books, right?  A book can of course provide a lot more content than a movie, but it’s not nearly as powerful (IMO) as seeing it in a medium such as film where it is a much more realistic experience.

Some things haven’t changed since the birth of movie posters, such as placing lead characters’ faces on the posters.  Nowadays, that’s a lot easier with the whole “floating heads” campaigns, funnily described in this video.  One floating head poster that is one of my favorites is the Canadian video one sheet for Vanilla Sky.  It’s a lot better than the regular one sheet because it includes some scenes from the film that add a lot to it, and I’ll just leave it at that.  

Some friendly advice from a semi-professional student is don't wait until the last minute to finish it.  Good luck.

[CSM]

That's an awesome and interesting subject for a dissertation!  Jealous...

If you need some reference material look into Reel Art: Great Posters From The Golden Age Of The Silver Screen .  The first few chapters contain a nice overview of the history of movie poster advertising etc.

[Harry Caul]

Who were some of the early collectors of movie posters?  I remember reading a story about one of them (can't remember who... maybe a doctor by day?) who loved the fact that back in the day, posters were one of the only ways to get butts in the seat.  You were constantly bombarded by radio, TV, internet, etc... ads like we are today. Now they are just marketing reinforcement tools for stars and films.  I don't think there are many people who go to theater today *without* know what movie they are seeing.  Back in the day you might not know what was playing (unless it was a really big film) and would have to compare between posters.  I love that idea...

You might also write about how the value of posters with particular genres/titles/stars are able to transcend the interest based solely on the nostalgia factor of when they first saw the film, while others do not.  For instance, I highly doubt there are many collectors who saw the horror films of the 1930s during their first release... yet the poster values are hotter than ever.  While genres like westerns, musicals, and animation are all on the decline (with certain star exemptions like Wayne, Astair, and Mickey). 

Who knows... someday Bond too might decline in value for lack of collectors!  I hope not as I recently started a quad collection 

[CSM]

For instance, I highly doubt there are many collectors who saw the horror films of the 1930s during their first release... yet the poster values are hotter than ever.  

 

Yep, most appear to have first come to know them on early 50s television!

[Charlie]

Make sure to have a chapter on social media.  Website on advertising and the website themselves.  Not to mention fandango and IMDB.  I use to sit at the computer and watch trailer after trailer so I would know what I wanted to watch.  Trailers are even hotlinked on movie schedules. 

You may also want to look into the whole control of advertising materials, exchange houses etc. and how they would actually rent out the materials back then. 

There is also a semi-new or new to me evolution of giving out the small format posters at theaters.  I know in Australia they would have stacks of upcoming film materials free to visiting moviegoers.

Of course the death of the stone litho and offset printing styles to Mels floating heads.

How the hell are you going to write a dissertation in a month?  Is this a Ph.D. dissertation or just the Thesis part of it? 

[Harry Caul]

How the hell are you going to write a dissertation in a month?  Is this a Ph.D. dissertation or just the Thesis part of it? 

+1

My masters thesis took about 1 year and my phd thesis took about 2.5 years!

[Charlie]

+1

My masters thesis took about 1 year and my phd thesis took about 2.5 years!

Yepper, my master thesis was about 8 months of hell and 2.5 hours of torture...

[AdamCarterJones]

Hey guys,

Thank you very much so far!
I like what has been said - food for thought with some info! 

It's only an undergraduate course, 6,000 words, so nothing much.
I wrote a 5,000 word dissertation in 5 days back in 2006 for Sports Therapy and achieved a grade equivalent to 65%, so hopefully I will do better with this one!

Ad

[110x75]

Adam, this was posted today on MOPO by Kirby McDaniel:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/movies/the-birth-of-promotion-inventing-film-publicity.html?ref=davekehr

[CSM]

Adam, this was posted today on MOPO by Kirby McDaniel:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/movies/the-birth-of-promotion-inventing-film-publicity.html?ref=davekehr

Thanks for reposting here - wish I were in New York!

[AdamCarterJones]

Adam, this was posted today on MOPO by Kirby McDaniel:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/movies/the-birth-of-promotion-inventing-film-publicity.html?ref=davekehr

Thank you so much for this!
Brilliant stuff!

Anyone know where there is anything else like the above?

Cheers,
Ad

[AdamCarterJones]

Hi guys,

I created a questionnaire for my dissertation.
Would you be kind enough to take the time to complete it?

I decided to create a separate page on my website for the questionnaire, which means you can complete the questionnaire directly on the website; thus saving you the hassle of having to open up Microsoft Word & saving your answers as a new document and/or printing it out and sending to me.

Here is the link:
University Dissertation Questionnaire

I would also be very grateful if you could forward this on to anyone you know with an interest in film advertising in any form (in our case it's mostly posters) - the more answers I get, the better my dissertation!

Thank you to all those who take the time to help me.

Best,
Adam

[AdamCarterJones]

OK, having a nightmare.
The "comments" boxes aren't working, when they should be!

The "comments" box for question 18 is working, and so is the "Further Comments" box, but that is it.
I am so annoyed because it was working fine when I finished it.

I would appreciate it if those who have completed the questionnaire so far redo it, typing in any comments in the "Further Comments" box at the end.

I am so, so sorry for the inconvenience.
I have spent hours trying to rectify it, but nothing is working.

Best,
Adam