Movie Posters

In our love affair with all things cinema, we can't ignore the evocative art form that is the Movie Poster. Essential in any marketing campaign, here's a site that features them with awards for the best.

www.impawards.com/index.html

Somewhere around here, I recently posted a link to an article on how many millions studios spend on a movie poster. Can't find it now. Sorry

Anyway, for the top 9 films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, the Academy has commissioned special edition posters to be made.

Two of them are absolute genius for me; Argo & Beasts of the Southern Wild. The latter actually being better than the movie.




insidemovies.ew.com/2013/02/11/oscars-be...gallery1988-posters/

Hmm Love those!
I like the Saul-Bass reference in the Argo poster (at least that is how I interpret those vertical lines), but Beasts of the Southern Wild is my favorite. Love the composition and color-use there.

Also I enjoy the minimalism of the Amour-poster, which fits the atmosphere of the film well.

In general though, I have to say, movie posters are a bit of a sad story for me. They used to be 'art' to my eyes. The design put in to them in the 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s was something special. The aforementioned Saul Bass with his Vertigo and the Shining posters comes to mind, but just in general, the were often gorgeous in their design and concept.

There still are some good posters these days (like the prism-one of The Master), but I feel the best ones are often only put out for enthusiasts. Cinemas are filled with basic headshot-posters, often filled with that over-used orange-blue color contrast.

Just check this link and image any one of these posters was used to promote Prometheus instead of that basic alien-head-shot we got:

www.liveforfilms.com/2012/03/14/promethe...fake-but-oh-so-good/

Nice to hear from you again, Reinout. How interesting that you associated the vertical lines with Saul-Bass, I took them for symbolizing documents that had been shredded as was the case & style for that era when abandoning embassies. Actually, as I type this, I'm recalling from the Argo film the bad guys enlist children to spend the hours necessary to put such long shredded strips of jigsaw back together. Thus obtaining the identities of the fugitives. Of course our modern shredders now crosscut into tiny diamonds making any such attempt beyond futile.

Those Prometheus posters were rather dark, 2nd one looked like the shroud. Haven't given up all hope on post millennial posters, though most follow a predictable formula, occasionally I see one that's artistic, clever & original.

What is that formula, you ask?

Well... as you see from these few examples, it's one that certainly lacks any imagination.

www.boredpanda.com/movie-poster-cliches/

www.imdb.com/list/cZR_TBEXXx8/

movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/proof-...ideas-184257816.html

You've seen the blue, here's the yellow...

awesomenator.com/content/2011/11/yellow-same-posters.jpg

Don't forget your sunglasses...

archdezart.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/0...s-de-films-moyen.jpg

But if you're promoting your action movie, the poster formula is simple, only 4 important elements (remember your sparks!)

www.slashfilm.com/movie-poster-design-tr...ebris-sparks-flying/

You may have just completed the must amazing film, any ideas on its promotion? An outstanding poster goes a long way. Hopefully you'll have a common theme that runs thru all your promo (poster, website, etc). A bold striking image & a masterfully composed poster greatly contributes to the Hook Factor. Drawing them in, the mystery, the imagery, the statement.

Suddenly Strips are in.

I like it.

I noticed the stripes theme became popular around the time they were promoting the Bourne Legacy movie.

The trailer for that movie was absolutely fantastic; and they used the stripes to reveal parts of the imagery. It worked well in the context as the minds of the characters are hidden under layers of conditioning, and over the course of the movies they peel back the layers to reveal the true personalities hidden beneath.

Both the Poster and the Trailer for the Bourne Legacy use stripes effectively:



Look at this little masterpiece:

Yes that's a great trailer. I like also how the early stripes give way to color the first time we see him in full frame. The way the whole thing closes out on the eye after his shot, is also compelling.

But there's another component in the poster which isn't in the trailer. The word reveals. It's reminiscent of those secret documents once released yet have all these black lines obscuring most of the words, only letting you see a few of them. Redacted, I think they call it.

Heavy Hook Factor here. Just goes to show, my ongoing contention, the promo campaign can either make or break a picture.

Redacted. Yes, thats it. I had been trying to think what it reminded me of (I had been thinking about ransom notes and how they clip out words from newspapers, but that wasn't it). Its funny how clever design can work on so many levels.

The funny thing about that trailer is that it shows so little of the actual movie, combined with the physical way in which we cant see all of the image because of the stripes (and along with the spoken words there 'This is the tip of the iceberg' etc).

In the movie they travelled from Alaska to the States to Asia. There were gun fights, fist fights, parkour, motorbike chases through exotic Asian locations, Predator drones etc. None of that is shown. There are a number of celebrity actors - Rachael Weisz is heard in the trailer but not seen.

This is a very ballsy and minimalist trailer that just works because they figure the audience doesn't need to see every set-piece stunt in advance.

The Bourne franchise is becoming like the thinking mans 007....

Indeed, I'm basically done with Bond. Not that I'm purporting to be a "thinking man," I hope we all are. But that franchise has lost its charm for me, whereas the Borne stories are darker & more mysterious with a gritty edge that the induction of Craig promised but petered. Again, it all begins with the story. Pick up Borne Identity & read that, you can't put it down. As for Bond, I think they ran out of Flemming books in the 90's.

Also, speaking of the courage to release a trailer with so little, we must keep in mind that there's a definitive strategy to a release. Much like this strips & segments of info, bits & pieces are leaked & revealed in an ongoing process. Different posters & trailers come out over time, building on the initial curiosity, getting the Hook Factor in deeper as the pre-release buzz builds to a fever pitch.

That's the ideal, that's what they shoot for. Of course for that kind of top team effort, you're looking at upwards of 30 million just for feature's promo.