The Artist

Who knew black and white could be so appealing.  This is so beautiful and so simple. I love it. I don’t know the movie but I want to see it now, and I hope it is as wonderful as the poster.

The angle their gazes create is perfect. His downturned head and her upturned face create an excellent diagonal line that crosses the page and draws your eyes around the page.  Their shoulders mimic the angle and so does the line where their bodies cut off.  The light highlights their face and helps them stand out from the dark background subtly. This makes it intriguing and sort of seductive.

The font choice is perfect. It is artistic and simple. The red “the” is a nice subtle touch of color. This is so simple and so nice. The passion in their eyes is mimicked in the layout, lighting and font. This whole poster is wonderful and romantic.

Shawshank Redemption/Crash

I’m so glad this poster is amazing because this might just be my favorite movie ever. Although it was a long one it was so interesting and emotional. It had such a captivating story and throughout the whole nearly 3 hours I was enthralled. This poster never ceases to appeal to me. I don’t want to look away from it. I will buy this and put it on my wall.

Although the man is facing away from the camera there is so much emotion in this picture. This angle is made dynamic because of the way it is lit and the back view is not an awkward angle, unlike the old Footloose poster. Even though we can’t see his face his body positioning expresses freedom and relief, and the rain storm in the glowing light is cleansing. The relief in this photo is catching. It is very indicative of the movie. The joy at the end and the emotion within the story are projected in this poster. The font and location of the title is simple and perfect for the image. It doesn’t take away and only adds. The caption at the top spikes interest and directs the images emotion. This image just shows how important body language is and demonstrates that sometimes, if done right, you don’t need a face to express emotion.

This image for the movie Crash reminds me and seems to reference the Shawshank photo.  I think the correlation exists in the projected emotion. Both are incredibly emotional, though I believe they are completely different. While Shawshank is relief and joy based crash looks riddled with pain and frustration. Both make you feel something and both are dramatically lit. Crash is lit from behind the head so you can see the agony in the man’s face, but Shawshank is lit from the back side eliminating his face, but getting across the same intense level of emotion. Both posters also have a tagline that I feel sums up the general feel and content of the movie. Both posters are set up very similarly and have a very similar use of emotion and may to evoke it.

One unique thing about the Crash poster is the way the names of the actors are listed. It is great. It is interesting; the names are positioned artistically so your eye is drawn to them. You want to read them but they are not distracting to the overall message and emotion. It is a wonderful poster.

I love both of these posters. They are art. Their style and ability to capture and evoke an emotion from the viewer is so far without comparison. I love the contrast in types of emotion when they are compared. In my opinion the Shawshank poster is just a smidge better. It gets across the same amount of emotion as the Crash poster but without a face. That is more difficult to do, and makes the image more interesting. 

THOR

Thor has a multitude of posters. Some of them good, some bad, some with good foundations, and some that are questionable. The coloring and composition of the photos are excellent. The colors are dark, rich and metallic. They have a warriors feel and look.

 The above is by far the best poster. The dark silver and metal and the subtle red vibrant cape work so well together. Though the cape is red it does not take away from the rest of the photo. This is most likely due to the light resting on the front of Thor. The angles at which the cape lies and hammer hangs complement each other and emphasize Thor’s straight strong image. Now while this one is fantastic and I would totally hang this on my wall, the one bellow has some issues.

Though the image is striking because it is all in red and head on, there are problems. The image is good. The intense determined look makes it so you can’t look away. But, the red is too intense. This vivid red haze is obnoxious and unsettling. It should be lighter so the gray and metallic show through, a light haze instead of drenched in red.  That would be more stunning. I also really dislike the words down the center of the photo on his face. It is uncomfortable, distracting, hard to read, and the font is bad. I especially hate the word “’GOD” on his nose. I would have much preferred to have the words going down the side of the photo vertical or horizontal. Either would have been better than this. Unfortunately whoever came up with this must have thought it was a good idea because they made a series in the same composition.

 The only one of these that looks acceptable is the one with Natalie Portman. If the words were shifted to the viewers left it actually would be good. The use of her profile was a good idea. It makes the words less intrusive. The other two just look silly. The words cover their face and cheapen the photos. Not someone’s best idea, especially for a campaign.

The font for the title is perfect. I especially like the way the R is. It really balances the word and adds some interest to the title. On the other hand the font used for the face words is bad. It is silly, cheap, doesn’t suit the photo in mood or message and over all just lessens the impact of the image.

Though I don’t have many good things to say about the posters I loved this movie. Unlike the awkward posters the movie was stunning, enthralling and exciting. I loved it! It is officially one of my favorites. This sort of movie is right up my alley and I love Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman so I might be biased J I recommend it to all.

City Lights

What a cute poster. I have not seen this but the poster makes me want to go find it watch it and hang this poster on my wall. It is well designed, fun and happy! The colors like the breakfast at tiffany’s poster are primary, but work really well. The font is very indicative of the time period and suited to the film. This poster also uses the rule of thirds, just as the last one did. Bu this one uses it horizontally and in opposite. The words for this one are in the smaller third. But because of their size, it works. One of the nice things about the word City Lights is that they extended the Y and G off the page. It is always nice to break barriers. The silhouette image of Charlie Chaplin mimics the black behind the words and ties it together. The image has a ton of leading lines. The lines the buildings create down the middle, the lines from the lights. The lines lead into the city and then the lines that create the vertical buildings lead your eye to the words. Leading lines are beautiful! Especially when they are implied! There are not many of those in this little masterpiece but the lines are nice nonetheless. Again don’t know much about the movie, but it its Charlie Chaplin, so it’s probably pretty awesome J

Dark Water

This is a very vertical poster. And by vertical I mean the imagery.  Most poster are more horizontal based so this is particularly attractive and interesting. And look at that creepy woman….. paired with that dark font you know this is some sort of thriller or possible horror movie. It also uses the rule of thirds, one third to the left with the woman in the door, two thirds with the words. If it were half and half your eye would not know where to go and it would have no movement in the image. The artists of this do a good job integrating the 1/3^rd and the 2/3^rd the vertical white lines reflected from the door and the water. The image works really well with the words and the title. As I mentioned the font matches the feel well and implies the proper context but the image also mimics the words. Dark water. Hey, looks what’s in the picture, dark water. And to make it more creepy that woman in the doorway, her gaze that is directly at the camera and the viewer  makes it more creepy.  The lines in this image are fantastic and this is one of the best divisions in a poster I have seen. The division between word and image is fluid and inventive. I have not seen the movie but by sources tell me the movie is pretty mediocre and doesn’t live up to the poster. I also watched the trailer and it look ok but when the threat is dark colored water……. That doesn’t seem horribly scary or terrifying. The trailer lacks what the poster has.

Children of Men

This is a wonderful, intriguing, chilling poster.  The font is lovely. The breaks in it reference the biohazard font and the smudges imply a problem or mess, something apocalyptic. The four red statements tell you all you need to know about the movie and the layout and style just enhance the gravity of the implications and the feeling of the poster and the movie. The expression on Clive Owen’s face as he looks through the class is one of worry and concern as well as resolve.  The lines from the broken class are what lead you eye to the words. Your initial gaze goes toward Clive Owen’s face and the expression in his eyes.  Generally eyes in any image are where your eyes go first. It is what people recognize as human, it is what they connect to first because your eyes truly are the window to your soul. The broken glass, referencing a broken dream, society, or hope, has beautiful lines that take your eye away from him and too the words and the title. It explains his expression and the font the words weight, meaning and understanding. Yes, font does have that power. Imagine those words written in the stupid curly font everyone likes to use. (If you ever want to be taken seriously don’t use that font. Most professionals will not appreciate it.) If it was written in that font you would be confused and the movie be given the wrong mood.  Mood is incredibly important especially in a poster where all you have is a moment to capture a person’s attention and only a moment longer their interest.

This is a great poster for its mood and its incredibly appropriate font. In the visual world font is possibly the most important element in an image with words. Be aware of it. It can make or break a mood or a purpose. 

Winnie the Pooh

This Winnie the Pooh poster is fantastic. It uses white space perfectly. It is primarily image and it works wonderfully. One of the reasons this is possible is because the characters are so iconic. Everyone recognizes the characters and so words are not necessary. By dividing the page into 1/3 white and 2/3rs white the rule of thirds is used and creates visual interest and by making the image of the characters small in comparison to the honey river it emphasize them and their journey. Their gaze looking up creates a line and makes them smaller. The way they are dressed and positioned lends itself to an adventure. . Pooh at the helm of the honey bucket references many explorers going off into the unknown. I have not seems the movie but it seems an adventure is evident.

The white space (space not dominated by image, so this includes the honey) it what creates most of the feel. It is slightly over whelming, but not necessarily in a negative way. It draws you in, but also makes you wonder what is contained outside the poster. The space creates so much intrigue and a definite feel and excited mood to the poster. 

Angles are important in this image, the tilt of the jar, the gaze of the characters. All the characters are looking and the angles are pointing up. It makes you wonder what they are looking at. They look so small but strong.  The poster makes you wonder what they are looking at the coloring give you a fun feel.

I had no intentions of seeing this movie, but the poster is so well done and so intriguing that now I think I will.