Stanley Donen's Film Festival Annotated Process Journal

THE ANNOTATED PROCESS JOURNAL Flora Cruells Benzal

The Professing of Emotions and Courtship in the Films of Stanley Donen

Flora Cruells Benzal GR 612 SP13

Contents 4

The Director & The Venue

5

The Thread & The Films

6

The Title & The Logo

20

Initial Bucket Ideas

21

Initial Foil Stamping Ideas

22

Photography Style

26

Poster Development

30

Film Tickets

36

Film Advertisements

38

Film DVD Collection

40

Film Soundtrack

42

Box Carrier

44

Film Poster Tube

45

Business System

46

DVD Packaging & Booklet

50

Soundtrack Packaging & Booklet

54

Ticket Packaging

56

Film Products

62

Film Catalogue

64

Final Project

For me directing is like having sex: when it’s good, it’s very good; but when it’s bad, it’s still good.

— Stanley Donen

Annotated Process Journal

3

THE DIRECTOR & THE VENUE

I chose Stanley Donen as my film director. He is mostly known for directing musical movies during the 1940’s and 1950’s. I decided on Stanley Donen mainly because I grew up with his movies. I love classic musicals with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and I was already familiar with some of his films. Another reason why I chose Donen was the fact that no one had done a film festival on him before in school. I thought it would be a good idea to go with a director that my project could not be compared to some other student’s work. Finally, I also liked the fact that his movies are not dark, gritty or heavy in content. Most of the film festivals tend to depict directors that are drawn to the darker side of human nature, and since Donen is on the opposite side of that spectrum, I thought it would be a good challenge for me.

I decided to set the venue of the film festival at the Gruman’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles. The reason behind it, is because the film festival takes place on the 60th year anniversary of Singin’ in the Rain, and that film opens with a movie opening set at the Chinese Theatre.

4

Unnspoken Words

THE THREAD & THE FILMS For the film festival, I tried to choose movies that not only were signature pieces in Donen’s film repertoire, but also that followed a specific thread in mind.

The Thread: Finding that words will never be enough to express his true feelings, a man finds the courage to profess his emotions in a way that will allow him to finally win the affection of the woman he so desperately loves.

ON THE TOWN 1949

SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS 1954

ROYAL WEDDING 1951

IT’S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER 1955

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN 1952

FUNNY FACE 1957

Annotated Process Journal

5

THE TITLE & THE LOGO I went through 200 titles, along with possible subtitles. Some of them were really cheesy, but it was part of the process.

For the logo, I researched typefaces that were used during that era as opening credits for the movies. I explored and played with different typefaces in order to achieve the desired look.

6

Unnspoken Words

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8

Unnspoken Words

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10

Unnspoken Words

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12

Unnspoken Words

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14

Unnspoken Words

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Unnspoken Words

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18

Unnspoken Words

FINAL TITLE AND LOGO

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19

INITIAL BUCKET IDEAS

20

Unnspoken Words

INITIAL FOIL STAMPING IDEAS I experimented in creating my own foil stamping, using various techniques. The process is tedious and frustrating, since most of the time the foil becomes brittle to the touch. In time I was able to create my logo and some other pieces of the project in matte gold, giving it a classic look.

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21

PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE I wanted my photography to have a sense of nostalgia and vintage glamour. It had to convey the first stages of a romance and it had to have a timeless look. I asked a friend of mine to pose with me in order to shoot the images.

I used black and white photography and overlaid a bokeh effect on them.

22

Unnspoken Words

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23

FINAL PHOTO STYLE LOOK

24

Unnspoken Words

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25

FILM POSTER

26

Unnspoken Words

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27

28

Unnspoken Words

FINAL FILM POSTER

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29

FILM TICKETS

30

Unnspoken Words

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31

32

Unnspoken Words

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33

FINAL FILM TICKETS

34

Unnspoken Words

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35

FILM ADVERTISEMENTS

36

Unnspoken Words

FINAL ADVERTISEMENTS

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37

FILM DVD COLLECTION

38

Unnspoken Words

FINAL DVD COLLECTION

Annotated Process Journal

39

FILM SOUNDTRACK

40

Unnspoken Words

FINAL FILM SOUNDTRACK

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41

BOX CARRIER

42

Unnspoken Words

FINAL BOX CARRIER

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43

FILM POSTER TUBE I used different tonalities of linen paper and velvet ribbon as my primary sources of materials in order to create most of my packaging.

44

Unnspoken Words

BUSINESS SYSTEM

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45

DVD PACKAGING & BOOKLET

46

Unnspoken Words

FINAL DVD PACKAGING

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47

My two booklets along with my film festival catalogue are French Fold bound. The insert of the pages are colored or filled with the bokeh effect.

48

Unnspoken Words

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49

SOUNDTRACK PACKAGING & BOOKLET

50

Unnspoken Words

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51

FINAL SOUNDTRACK PACKAGING

52

Unnspoken Words

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53

TICKETS PACKAGING

54

Unnspoken Words

FINAL TICKETS PACKAGING

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55

FILM PRODUCT 1 – CANDLE

56

Unnspoken Words

FINAL PRODUCT 1

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57

FILM PRODUCT 2 – EARRINGS

58

Unnspoken Words

FINAL PRODUCT 2

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59

FILM PRODUCT 3 – PERFUMES

60

Unnspoken Words

FINAL PRODUCT 3

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61

FILM CATALOGUE

62

Unnspoken Words

FINAL FILM CATALOGUE

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63

FINAL PROJECT

64

Unnspoken Words

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65