Pre-Production Poster

[Jsthompson79]

I was hoping I could get some input about my poster for my upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands. The film is in pre-production and I am currently working on the script. However I wanted to create a teaser poster for my Facebook Fanpage for the movie. The fanpage can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/ChirophobiaTheMovie

The poster was designed in a minimalist sense and is also a teaser since I have no actors/actresses for the project yet.



I am open to suggestions on what you guys like and don't like about it. Anything you guys think can be added etc.

[Ernest Worthing]

It looks like a screengrab or a photo to me instead of a poster, if you know what i mean. I'm all for minimalist designs but i think this needs some more work to make it look more like a professional poster.

A random suggestion: If it is just the hand, try making it more 2D instead of 3D.

[that1guyy]

Reminds me of an old album cover...

But I agree with Ernest, doesn't look very professional. It looks like you got a photo and put it into photoshop and took 5 seconds to add text.

The photo you used is a bit blurry and muddy looking. I would use something else. Also, the font is a little distracting. I wouldn't use it and it's a little plain. I would drop shadow or at least SOMETHING to make it a little better.

[mussonman]

I concur with the above two statements.

[Mannie Bothans]

I like the red and black color scheme.

Is this a dollar baby? Have you seen the Kevin Erhard version?

[Jsthompson79]

Originally Posted by Mannie Bothans

I like the red and black color scheme.

Is this a dollar baby? Have you seen the Kevin Erhard version?

Yes it will be a dollar baby and no I have not. I read through the synopsis of all the stories available and decided I liked this one the best. I have made it a point not to watch others work on this particular short story.

[Santhem]

One thing that bugs me most about alot of the movie posters that i'v seen here is the full white text on a full black background. Its exactly that that makes it look amateurish, imo. If you make a poster and want to use white text, set the opacity to 80% or so, let it blend a bit with the colour of your background. I dont think i'v seen much actual film posters with this black and white contrast.


The fact that the image doesn't cover the whole poster is also not really helping. Add to that that your image is already scaled up and doesn't actually work on this resolution, I wouldn't really put this out there. Maybe wait till after the shoot till you make a fullsize poster. I think the image at its current resolution would make for a nice timeline-cover-photo-thingy, just tweak the text a bit so that its side to side. And maybe add some texture. Personally I find that even a bit of texture overlaid at a 10% opacity with a nice blending mode can make a whole lot of difference, and make your poster look richer and more mysterious.

A good example of both texture and text opacity is this, although the text opacity is quite low (they actually go for the see-through effect, rather than just colour blending) it does give an idea of what im talking about.

[Jsthompson79]

Originally Posted by Santhem

One thing that bugs me most about alot of the movie posters that i'v seen here is the full white text on a full black background. Its exactly that that makes it look amateurish, imo. If you make a poster and want to use white text, set the opacity to 80% or so, let it blend a bit with the colour of your background. I dont think i'v seen much actual film posters with this black and white contrast.


The fact that the image doesn't cover the whole poster is also not really helping. Add to that that your image is already scaled up and doesn't actually work on this resolution, I wouldn't really put this out there. Maybe wait till after the shoot till you make a fullsize poster. I think the image at its current resolution would make for a nice timeline-cover-photo-thingy, just tweak the text a bit so that its side to side. And maybe add some texture. Personally I find that even a bit of texture overlaid at a 10% opacity with a nice blending mode can make a whole lot of difference, and make your poster look richer and more mysterious.

A good example of both texture and text opacity is this, although the text opacity is quite low (they actually go for the see-through effect, rather than just colour blending) it does give an idea of what im talking about.

Thank you for the detailed review. I will take some of your advice into consideration. Especially concerning the text. The hand is only for the teaser poster, the final movie poster will be different but I see your points and will try to improve on it.

[zan609]

heeeem, maybe the link for your facebook page??

so people will know how your fim development

[Lucky Hardwood]

I would suggest a black/grey scale shadow swirl background with a full hand print as if pressed onto glass in shades of red/brown/green. Look for a font with a microbe feel to it. Good luck.

[ClockworkNinja]

Is that hand supposed to be covered in blood or some type of oil? It's a little hard to tell from the texture and the lack of streaks in front of the hand.

[Jsthompson79]

Originally Posted by ClockworkNinja

Is that hand supposed to be covered in blood or some type of oil? It's a little hard to tell from the texture and the lack of streaks in front of the hand.

It was meant to represent blood. However this poster is being reworked and will change based on the advice I have been given here. It has just taken a backseat to my personal life right now. The last two weeks have been absolutely horrible for me.