Creating a movie poster

[dasher]

i used to work at a place that got 200-400 feature films a month. The interns and I've seen a lot of poster / concept art and something as simple as that can get a dvd case thrown into a recyclable bin in seconds by an uptight assistant or aq. head.

The more artistic it is than photoshop the better. Choke is a perfect example about it. Imagine walking past a bus stop in your home town and that catches the corner of your eye and makes you just look at it.

 

[WhiteWood]

Movie Posters that I make for my short films for fun:

I AM LEGEND... MOCK

KEYGEN

KILL WILL VOL.I

WHITEWOOD ENTOURAGE

CLICKASS

 

[Rubbersquare]

The first go at the revamped poster for "detox." thoughts? (i am still working on it, this was a quickie).

 

[WhiteWood]

The first go at the revamped poster for "detox." thoughts? (i am still working on it, this was a quickie).

Movie posters don't feel like movie posters without SOME KIND of credits on it. Some exist, but that's only in the case that you know characters or film enough to know it's a movie. Like 'The Hulk' or 'Indiana Jones' or 'Spider-man'. If I were to see this posted on a wall just like this, I'd think u were a rock band.
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[Rubbersquare]

an entirely valid point about the lack of credits. i was torn on this as it's actually a script promo and what there would be in the way of credits would be very, very minimal - basically "Written by Michael Dunn & Chris Smith" I had, in an earlier iteration, used the tagline "From the creators of the acclaimed film 'The Bet'" but another commenter made the point that calling out an unknown previous film or unfamous stars might not be a good idea. i'm still torn on this, but as it's only for a script (not a film) i can't really see putting in credits (unless the credit block is comprised of "From the creators of the acclaimed film 'The Bet' Michael Dunn & Chris Smith" or something along those lines. I could include "Rubbersquare presents" and a website. Any thoughts on that? What if there's no one really to credit?

 

[dasher]

The first go at the revamped poster for "detox." thoughts? (i am still working on it, this was a quickie).

I am guessing that this is a horror flick or really dark drama. As i mentioned in my golden rule, don't put cast/credits in unless someone in a studio / distribution office would recognize them. (Think SAW or Open Water).

A Film By Michael Dunn & Chris Smith is all you need, really A simple tactic that i used in a class that i taught was this.

If a sales agent is on the phone with a distributor how is he selling your film? Is it the concept, is it an actor or actress, or is it something else?

Unless the distributor's daughter is in it, there should be no reason for any actor/actress to be in a poster if someone is not familiar with them.

here are my suggestions :

1) Play around with the background color (maybe a foggy white or a swimming blood red). I'm not saying that this one is bad, but i go through color schemes about 11-12 times.

2) Maybe their should be more in the photo. A drip of fluid coming from the syringe. One of those strechy tubes that they tie to your arm to get a vein pumped. Maybe even show the needle going into a vein.... that would really jump out in my mind. (Fear of needles is one of the highest phobias in the world) You're selling the Taboo with this image , don't be afraid to show a bit more.


- sort of going into the arm approach (if you have the resources to do it)

Have the needle go in at an angle, and then have a small amount of blood coming from the arm into a puddle. Reflect or embed under on the small puddle "DeTox"

I could be going totally off key on this since i haven't seen the trailer.
Also a line of copy would be nice, even if it is a teaser.

 

[Cryogenic Filmworks]

The first go at the revamped poster for "detox." thoughts? (i am still working on it, this was a quickie).

I like it, and

If I were to see this posted on a wall just like this, I'd think u were a rock band.

I would not think Rock Band, I would see it as the movie it is.

2) Maybe their should be more in the photo. A drip of fluid coming from the syringe. One of those strechy tubes that they tie to your arm to get a vein pumped. Maybe even show the needle going into a vein.... that would really jump out in my mind. (Fear of needles is one of the highest phobias in the world) You're selling the Taboo with this image , don't be afraid to show a bit more.


- sort of going into the arm approach (if you have the resources to do it)

Have the needle go in at an angle, and then have a small amount of blood coming from the arm into a puddle. Reflect or embed under on the small puddle "DeTox"

I could be going totally off key on this since i haven't seen the trailer.
Also a line of copy would be nice, even if it is a teaser.

I like the idea of a stretchy tube sortof curled up underneath it sortof. I don't (personally) think adding blood to the needle would necessarily work. I assume most dopers can get their fix without dripping blood. I know I can generally shoot my insulin without getting blood. (and yea, after 11+ years of shooting, I still hate the needle).

 

[Rubbersquare]

a tagline will be at the top of the poster, though i don't know exactly what it will say yet. some options are:

"Withdrawal is murder" ... "Never trust a junkie" ... "Who's your god now?"

Yes, this revised poster will possiblt stir up some controversy, but hell, as an independent low-budget film, we can use it.

 

[Jim Montgomery]

Whose your god now? - Winner

How about "Father, forgive them for they know what they do"

 

[dasher]

well the jesus thing was totally crazy... to give a bit of fair warning (granted this is a teaser for distribution), the whose your god now is def. my favorite line, but just make sure it's not totally off topic to stir attention. It can sometimes give people a false image of what they are seeing.

one idea.... instead of her tied to the needle what if she was within the shaft w/ the liquid and drowning in it? Just an Idea.

Also i didn't mean that blood was coming out of the needle but from a popped vein. Every have someone miss a few times while trying to inject an IV into your arm? Not a pretty picture.

 

[Rubbersquare]

The (almost) final teaser... (possibly offensive, beware)

http://detox.rubbersquare.com/detoxSM2.jpg

thoughts?

 

[Nathyn]

We called in a pro photographer and shoot each actor in various poses. The irony is my look changed for the film, so my photo on the cover, came from a 6mp Kodak camera. With the Sun as our light the image came out awesome! Keep in mind we only had time to shoot the photo about two times.

The (almost) final teaser... (possibly offensive, beware)

http://detox.rubbersquare.com/detoxSM2.jpg

thoughts?

The "Whose your God Now" Tag will only work with this one. Keep in mind people will be expecting a really hard film if you exhibit this.

-Nate

 

[amiga500]

Here some posters I've done for my upcoming shortfilm 'Tren Fantasma', I think in english the title translates something like 'Dark ride', I know there's a movie out there with the same name in english, but I realize this a lot of time after we start shooting it. However 'Tren Fantasma' literally means 'Ghost Train'.

Some feedback will be very appreciated.

 

[Rubbersquare]

definitely love the first one. has some amazing stuff going on there, and the details, like the burned out lights in the title are great! the second was has a grindhouse vibe, but the first one feels more professional.

 

[amiga500]

Thanks for your opinion, very appreciated.
also I like your 'DETOX' poster, however as some users have said I think it lacks something like credits on it. It will look very proffesional if you just throw some credits on it.
thanks again

 

[Rubbersquare]

Thanks for your opinion, very appreciated.
also I like your 'DETOX' poster, however as some users have said I think it lacks something like credits on it. It will look very proffesional if you just throw some credits on it.
thanks again

there are some credits on it, but since it is for a script rather than a produced film, there aren't many people to credit.

 

[amiga500]

there are some credits on it, but since it is for a script rather than a produced film, there aren't many people to credit.

Oh, sorry. I don't see those credits. Maybe a tagline should help as you said.

 

[Nathyn]

Hi Rbbersquare. This is for you as a response to your request over in the ALPFD thread:

if you could, would you post it in the "post-production/business" section under the sticky for "Creating a Movie Poster" at some point? :dankk2:

Basically this was pretty insane. I needed to make some promos but my priest shirt wasn't fitting right because I had become a flab-master. To pull this off I had to use some old Photoshop tricks. The original photo was from the series as that one I used on the cover of my book "Action Filmmaking". In fact it was the same exact photo save for my head was positioned differently.

I selected the blue suit and found a priest outfit online. I knocked out the blue suit and cloned the priest material. The collar is simply a white brush. The Cathedral background I got from iStock Photo along with the grunge background under it. I turned down the opacity of the eraser and blended the two by moving along the side of the Church and letting the background show through. Then I added my new figure on top.

The main lettering (the title) was done in LiveType. I didn't think my old logo (you can see it in my sig) was good enough. It was too old school and didn't stand out the way I wanted it to. The Eye was just an image of an old man I had and then added a triangle. around it and turned the red up. I originally had the eye from the back of the dollar bill but it didn't look too good. This photo looked really bad originally. It took hours of playing with it to get it here. There photo was shot on a 9mp camera but under bad lighting conditions. The irony to this is the photo on my "Wages of Sin" cover was shot with a 6mp camera in direct sunlight (through a window) and came out perfect. It's crazy. Sunlight gives the best light for photo youll play around with. You get a clean photo you can play with in post.

Same thing for this. I used a shot of a page from the Dead Sea Scrolls, did the same effect as I did with the original background and placed the figure in front.

Same background. The nun was a photo from iStock. I created the head gear from a photo of a nun costume. (You'll notice the headgear is darker but on the one below it's not nearly as in obvious). The sword was taken from an online store. I upped the DPI, blurred it some and cut it out then placed it in her hand. This a concept but I probably won't use it.

A mix of everything. This is the one everyone likes. The B-movie fans and geeks (my people ) will eat this freaking poster alive. Later we will add the face of the actual actress on this one but may keep the rest of it. I have never really seen this character as a sword wielder. She has always used a shot gun and pistols and maybe a knive if anything so I may indeed change this poster again.

-Nate

 

[Rubbersquare]

my initial response was that this was a video game, not sure why, but that was my inital response. POSSIBLY that there is something photographically equivalent to 30fps vs 24fps. i think the third version has a much better composition, which may be what everyone is responding to. but there's still something lacking in the title treatment. the triangle and eye seem okay, but the glow around the type seems cheap, and the subtitle gets a bit lost. i LOVE the tagline "she's preying for you" - great play on words, very fun pun. i'd consider putting that at the top, moving the logo to the bottoms (probably smaller, with a new treatment to the title) and adding a credit block. i love the background. i think, even if they are unknown, putting the actors' names at the top, gives it shelf appeal. maybe consider the "she's preying for you" tagline going across her to make it and her a cross? and it would be great to get a nice, clean shot of the actress, in costume, to replace the whole thing. would be sharper and less "photoshopped."

okay, done thinking out loud.

 

[Nathyn]

my initial response was that this was a video game, not sure why, but that was my inital response. POSSIBLY that there is something photographically equivalent to 30fps vs 24fps.

You said a mouthful, indeed that's my audience. The whole thing needs to look like a high end B-film. (Check out WOS) But we will be doing more photos next year because I want shots in the actual costume. But we will be keeping the background. Glad you like it.

i think the third version has a much better composition, which may be what everyone is responding to.

It's the fourth one everyone likes, and they're only responding because it's a dangerous looking chick with a sword. (That's what we fanboys like, broads with swords. :thumbup.

but there's still something lacking in the title treatment. the triangle and eye seem okay, but the glow around the type seems cheap, and the subtitle gets a bit lost. i LOVE the tagline "she's preying for you" - great play on words, very fun pun. i'd consider putting that at the top, moving the logo to the bottoms (probably smaller, with a new treatment to the title) and adding a credit block.

Yes! That is indeed a good idea but the set up is to draw the eye eventually down to the tags as they'll all be at the bottom.

i love the background. i think, even if they are unknown, putting the actors' names at the top, gives it shelf appeal. maybe consider the "she's preying for you" tagline going across her to make it and her a cross? and it would be great to get a nice, clean shot of the actress, in costume, to replace the whole thing. would be sharper and less "photoshopped."

That will be coming next year. This is the "official mock up" if that makes any sense. That means this is what we're going for when everything is done. We got five lights, over 2000 watts, a green screen and no reason for not getting good photos. Plus, as I talked about in the "Divinity" forum we wanted to do a face wrap and some cleaning up, but we're going to get rid of that sword. This character is NOT a sword user. She's a gunner and has always been and will always be so we will be using new shots with the actress.

The names will be done like mine, stretched across the top once I decide the cast so it will definitely have appeal. Honesty that 1st and 4th poster has the fanboy appeal I'm looking for. (That 4th one definitely). Plus I could float both of these to a certain distributor to whet their appetite but I won't bother unless I get a name actor and make them want it. Then I'll take it to the company I know will pay. LOL.

-Nate