Introduction to Film

There’s a lot to tackle when discussing movie poster aesthetics: Foreign films are a lot more likely to have poster design that might not appeal to an American audience; older posters might be considered boring by today’s standards; teaser posters might not have all the information that a person might want to know; smaller budget/less well known films might not be all that exciting to all people. All of this and more are things to consider when judging a poster.  

Classic

Vertigo (1958)

In the past technology was limited in the creation of movie posters. Offset printing presses were limited compared to their modern day counterparts. So designers had to choose and pick colors and how they work together carefully in order to create the maximum visual appeal. Hitchcock’s Vertigo is often chosen as one of the best movie posters of the past, as it takes all the challenges of design of the time and creates a compelling presentation.

Modern (Good)

The Dark Knight (2008) Teaser and Theatrical

One of the most recognizable movie franchises of the last two decades, Batman doesn’t need too much to identity itself. Numerous teaser posters were made for the film involving the main characters. This one is, in my opinion, the most visually appealing. Vertical lines, calming blue colors, and the silhouette draw the viewer into an unsuspecting calm in a movie that would be anything but. The theatrical poster is a great example and being visually interesting, but getting in all the necessary info a theatrical posters require. The biggest difference between all the teasers and the final poster is the adding of a new color: orange. It adds a new dynamic sense of urgency to the poster, one that the teaser posters purposely lacked.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) Teaser

This is probably one of the most interesting posters I’ve seen in recent memory. It has the right balance of colors, compelling action and movement. The biggest thing though: font. The font is the biggest draw; it’s different and stands out in a world of sans-serif fixed width titles.

Modern (Bad)

Thank You For Smoking (2005) Teaser

A valiant attempt to use common iconography used ironically to draw the viewer. It is forgettable in the world of movie posters and comes off as propaganda for a smoking/anti smoking campaign and not a movie.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) Theatrical

All Twilight films suffer from the same graphic design pitfalls: High Contrast, desaturated colors, and fog. It might have been appealing the first film, but to continue the same ideas over the 3 films released blurs all the posters together, and makes none of them memorable.

Speed Racer (2008) Teaser

A forgettable movie with an ad campaign that turned bright colors on overload and was an assault on the senses.  Less is more.