Love Some input...........
- Thread starter Doc Bernard
- Start date
Ted Arabian
Member with Ladder
No, no.... not just you, Jon.
Doc, I am wishing that I was a better PS artist, as I'd love to throw together what I see in my head.
I like how you are progressing in this but the comments I read are valid. Don't be disheartened by anything you read here (and I don't think that you do. You seem to "listen" which is AWESOME!). You are asking questions and responding to advice. That is a quality attribute!
In my opinion.... the font is still "fancy." Not that it has curly-qs and flips or whatnot.... To me, the font is too thin. It needs to be a bolder font. Impact. Power. Punch.
The comment about the realism of the broken-glass cannot be over-looked. I love the idea you have! Brilliant!!! Gotta love those flashes while driving. Good for you. Now.... commit to it and produce a result that is completely believable. Seriously. What you did is imaginative BUT you sold yourself short by not taking the extra time (and I am sure that it requires a lot of time) to produce a broken-glass effect that looks REAL! Jagged edges would be SO MUCH MORE POWERFUL. And I might put the images you've been trying to incorporate into EACH broken plate of glass. At different angles and such. You could get a really tight shot of your assault team in there (not the whole wide shot but a close-up on a section you like).
okay.... other notes.... (if I may)
The Hero (imho) NEEDS to be larger if he is the sole focus. I get no impact looking at his thighs. Seriously. The power is in the face and blood-stained shirt. Make his face 40% of the poster. Not 10% the size (or whatever the numbers should be). What I am saying is... This Hero and the Title are your "selling" points in this poster. They are the only two things that are going to drive me to see your film. Make them SPEAK to me. Don't delude your work.
You have creative talents AND you listen and implement. Good luck to you and best in your ventures. I'll keep an eye here and offer my thoughts as long as you welcome them!
-Ted
Doc, I am wishing that I was a better PS artist, as I'd love to throw together what I see in my head.
I like how you are progressing in this but the comments I read are valid. Don't be disheartened by anything you read here (and I don't think that you do. You seem to "listen" which is AWESOME!). You are asking questions and responding to advice. That is a quality attribute!
In my opinion.... the font is still "fancy." Not that it has curly-qs and flips or whatnot.... To me, the font is too thin. It needs to be a bolder font. Impact. Power. Punch.
The comment about the realism of the broken-glass cannot be over-looked. I love the idea you have! Brilliant!!! Gotta love those flashes while driving. Good for you. Now.... commit to it and produce a result that is completely believable. Seriously. What you did is imaginative BUT you sold yourself short by not taking the extra time (and I am sure that it requires a lot of time) to produce a broken-glass effect that looks REAL! Jagged edges would be SO MUCH MORE POWERFUL. And I might put the images you've been trying to incorporate into EACH broken plate of glass. At different angles and such. You could get a really tight shot of your assault team in there (not the whole wide shot but a close-up on a section you like).
okay.... other notes.... (if I may)
The Hero (imho) NEEDS to be larger if he is the sole focus. I get no impact looking at his thighs. Seriously. The power is in the face and blood-stained shirt. Make his face 40% of the poster. Not 10% the size (or whatever the numbers should be). What I am saying is... This Hero and the Title are your "selling" points in this poster. They are the only two things that are going to drive me to see your film. Make them SPEAK to me. Don't delude your work.
You have creative talents AND you listen and implement. Good luck to you and best in your ventures. I'll keep an eye here and offer my thoughts as long as you welcome them!
-Ted
Ted Arabian
Member with Ladder
Nice work, Pookie! I like what you did.
The sharp edges are exactly what I was talking about. And here, the face has been lightened up and I can see the eyes. I like! I'd still enlarge my subject and throw him off-center but there is progress!!! (not that I expected Pookie to completely make over the poster! lol)
Doc, you are getting some nice feedback here.... I am looking forward to seeing your final poster!
Keep up the good work!
The sharp edges are exactly what I was talking about. And here, the face has been lightened up and I can see the eyes. I like! I'd still enlarge my subject and throw him off-center but there is progress!!! (not that I expected Pookie to completely make over the poster! lol)
Doc, you are getting some nice feedback here.... I am looking forward to seeing your final poster!
Keep up the good work!
Pookie
Veteran
The concept works for me, the extra glass seemed like a nice touch considering the main character.
Pookie
Veteran
Yea, Doc just needs to play around with the placements etc, but I think he's onto something.
Doc Bernard
Indie Arms Member
I completely agree. especially the dual layer glass. Pookie, with your permission..... gonna incorporate your ideas. Need to find that font.
Doc Bernard
Indie Arms Member
Watching the evolution of this thing is amazing. You should all get an award for Best Co-operators!
Doc, I did a four year stint at UC, Riverside way back when. My neighbor was an animal trainer/supplier for movies so there was the requisite alligator, wolf etc. behind chain link in my backyard. I have fond memories of the Beat Farmers playing in the Barn, the best Mexican food in the world at Templo del Sol, all the bartenders doing the Time Warp perfectly at the near campus bar, etc. Probably way before your time.
Small world though.
Doc, I did a four year stint at UC, Riverside way back when. My neighbor was an animal trainer/supplier for movies so there was the requisite alligator, wolf etc. behind chain link in my backyard. I have fond memories of the Beat Farmers playing in the Barn, the best Mexican food in the world at Templo del Sol, all the bartenders doing the Time Warp perfectly at the near campus bar, etc. Probably way before your time.
Small world though.
MattinSTL
Sound Modulator
Eyes get dilated... your main character has emotive eyes... I say close in on his eyes to fill the bulk of the poster... his face from nose to mid-forehead... and blend some images behind... and the most powerful image into a reflection in his eyes.
I'd get more abstract then this... seeing the entire guy (cowboy shot) doesn't serve the poster well. (In my opinion... you want to intrigue... you want to offer some story or peak curiousity about the story... this happens with eyes... push into his eyes... FILL the poster with his eyes/face if you have to... working other elements in and around that.) Then if you must... make it somewhat abstract... right now it's too clean. If the story involves blood then get some splatter on there...
I'd consider a font that plays with the meaning of the word dilated... perhaps a hollow font... with a letter or two from "dilated" exaggerated a bit... If you mean something is "expanded" by "dilated" then stretch out the spacing between letters through the middle of the word, but have the letters more bunched up at the ends.
Just brainstorming here....
I'd get more abstract then this... seeing the entire guy (cowboy shot) doesn't serve the poster well. (In my opinion... you want to intrigue... you want to offer some story or peak curiousity about the story... this happens with eyes... push into his eyes... FILL the poster with his eyes/face if you have to... working other elements in and around that.) Then if you must... make it somewhat abstract... right now it's too clean. If the story involves blood then get some splatter on there...
I'd consider a font that plays with the meaning of the word dilated... perhaps a hollow font... with a letter or two from "dilated" exaggerated a bit... If you mean something is "expanded" by "dilated" then stretch out the spacing between letters through the middle of the word, but have the letters more bunched up at the ends.
Just brainstorming here....
Doc Bernard
Indie Arms Member
Doc Bernard
Indie Arms Member
Matt, the title "Dilated" is still a working name. Already been told, "don't fixate on the name, it's probably going to change."
Doc Bernard
Indie Arms Member
LOL, they meant not using "Dilated" for my theme. Hence the eye idea is out.
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
That right there is practically a design killer. A title and title treatment mean so much to getting a poster right. You can throw as many images at the poster you wnt, but without establishing a theme, you have no proper direction. That's the main thing I see missing from all of your treatments: a theme.
Remember, a poster isn't suppose to tell the whole story of your film or even be a scene from your film... it's supposed to be a marketing piece that uses certain elements to emphasize the story theme. And sometimes the title is central to that, especially in terms of creativity.
So far you have extremely busy designs.. just trying to cram too much in there.
PM me if you want to talk about a poster design. I should be able to help.
Doc Bernard
Indie Arms Member
Latest version. Based on everyone's comments about the "busy look", I decided to go another direction.
JeganRX
Well-known member
That version is a regression if you want an honest opinion (As everyone here has been giving).
The idea of framing something isn't bad in itself, but the focus is taken away by the bright background (it can still exist, though keep it dark). The embossing has almost definitely got to go... it's almost objectively amateurish at this point.
I also recommend removing the graffiti or subduing it some more. Again, darken the BG A LOT, and see if it helps.
But you know, to be honest, I really think the image in the center - alone - would be a far stronger poster, with perhaps a light gradient on the top portion for the title. KISS is the best principle here!
The idea of framing something isn't bad in itself, but the focus is taken away by the bright background (it can still exist, though keep it dark). The embossing has almost definitely got to go... it's almost objectively amateurish at this point.
I also recommend removing the graffiti or subduing it some more. Again, darken the BG A LOT, and see if it helps.
But you know, to be honest, I really think the image in the center - alone - would be a far stronger poster, with perhaps a light gradient on the top portion for the title. KISS is the best principle here!
Doc Bernard
Indie Arms Member
Impressive......Linking the EP to it. Totally agreeing.
Visualizing concepts are my forte. Once I receive a concept I take it to the n'th degree. But developing the actual concept is my problem. I have been trying to develop an actual concept, which may be my mistake.
Visualizing concepts are my forte. Once I receive a concept I take it to the n'th degree. But developing the actual concept is my problem. I have been trying to develop an actual concept, which may be my mistake.
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MattinSTL
Sound Modulator
I gotta' say that last one there looks pretty good.
I was going to suggest making that lead guy there a little dirty (as he's done)... images that are too clean scream "video"... and the poster is about intrigue, not revelation.
Look at the Shutter Island poster... you have the top of the A-List actors... and still they make him subtle and grainy... if the S.I. poster had DiCapro all crisp and well-lit, it wouldn't look right.
The RX782 poster there is a step in the right direction... a big step... but I'd knock that white jacket down a few stops.
Try this experiment... grab a piece of paper right now, tear it (jaggy) so that it only reveals the camera right side of your actor's face... as if he's looking at us with the eye in the key light, from around the "torn visual obstruction".
The jaggy line should fully reveal the wound (so that you see the wound, plus everything below that. See what you think. If you like it, make that jaggy obstruction out of some other production element... like a bomb damaged wall or something dark... that he appears to be emerging from behind.
I was going to suggest making that lead guy there a little dirty (as he's done)... images that are too clean scream "video"... and the poster is about intrigue, not revelation.
Look at the Shutter Island poster... you have the top of the A-List actors... and still they make him subtle and grainy... if the S.I. poster had DiCapro all crisp and well-lit, it wouldn't look right.
The RX782 poster there is a step in the right direction... a big step... but I'd knock that white jacket down a few stops.
Try this experiment... grab a piece of paper right now, tear it (jaggy) so that it only reveals the camera right side of your actor's face... as if he's looking at us with the eye in the key light, from around the "torn visual obstruction".
The jaggy line should fully reveal the wound (so that you see the wound, plus everything below that. See what you think. If you like it, make that jaggy obstruction out of some other production element... like a bomb damaged wall or something dark... that he appears to be emerging from behind.