The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Your Own Film Poster

Karen Han (ISB 10)

Is she a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess or a criminal? Karen Han is none of these, but is instead, quite fittingly, a movie buff.

In her Buddy! debut “The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Your Own Film Poster”, Karen provides a perfect crash course on the art of film poster making. By sharing her insights and observations, she encourages her readers to exercise their creativity in these times of boredom and worry.

As of today, the world is run by chaos and confusion. Masks are our daily choice of fashion, Zoom is our idea of a movie night, and 'stay at home' is our new life motto. However, with the world gone astray and life put on pause, one might say that this is the prime time to pick up a new skill. With the internet providing us endless tutorials and online material, one might wonder: "Where do I start?" So if you're looking to master a unique yet useful trade, look no further, as this article will serve as your ultimate guide in crafting your very own movie poster.

Diving Fast and Furiously into Action, Thriller, and Sci-Fi

Courtesy to assorted artists

Ah, the big-budget movies that set their scenes in alternate worlds full of crime, action, suspense, and adventure. To make a poster within these genres, you want to begin by diving into cool color palettes, specializing in blue hues, purples, cyan tones, and a touch of desaturation. Many sci-fi, action, and thrillers take place in unsettling environments, some even in dystopian societies. As warm color palettes usually bring the audience a sense of comfort, they can be counter-intuitive to these genres in many respects. Furthermore, using a cooler pallet will go a long way in creating an unsettling and mysterious feeling for the viewers.

Let's take a look at Minority Report's poster as an example. The movie is an action-detective thriller set in Washington D.C. in 2054, where police utilize a psychic technology to arrest and convict murderers before they commit their crime. With this in mind, let's take a look at the movie poster. Tom Cruise, as the main character, is portrayed against a cool color pallet, with blues and greys. These colors give the audience a sense of the futuristic world and put them on edge and made eager to know more about 'precime' and the story itself.

Courtesy to Minority Report

Additionally, if you want to achieve that, "who is he?" panic and confusion among your audience, make sure you include only half of your main character's face. Whether it's the side, profile, or front view, block at least half of the face using shadows or edges to create a complicated and conflicted portrayal of your character for your audience to predict. Just take a look at Shutter Island as an example. The film centralizes on Teddy Daniels and his new partner as they investigate Ashecliffe Hospital after the implausible escape of a brilliant murderess. As the film moves forwards, the central character's detachment from reality grows. In the poster, Leonardo DiCaprio's character is (portrayed against a cool/dark color palette :) ) concealed within the darkness of the poster, with only half of his face lit by the flame he holds. This depiction foreshadows the character's journey and ultimate end in the film and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats as they wonder which reality they should believe.

Courtesy to Shutter Island

For the Ones Who Want a Jack to Their Rose or Sally to Their Harry

Courtesy to assorted artists

If you're going for the classic boy meets girl (or boy meets boy) storyline, first, think white. White is a color that represents virtue, fullness, and new beginnings. As rom-coms often tell the story of new love and excitement through a comedic light, white is the perfect choice for your poster. A white background will set a light, friendly, and understated tone for your star-crossed lovers. With that in check, have your main characters pose as the focal point in the middle of the poster, and your story is set! For some extra flair, don't forget to add in aspects that relate to your story to give it a unique spin that will definitely swoon the audience before the commercials roll by.

Courtesy to 10 Things I Hate About You

Let's take an example by looking at the popular teen rom-com, Ten Things I Hate About You. In the poster, the main couple, Patrick and Kat, are seen posing together on a sofa. As this is a boy chase girl story, Kat is staged as the dominant character, while Patrick is in the back peering over with a helpless expression. Through this composition, the audience is already informed of the general direction this story is heading. With the characters placed in front of a white background, they also appear to be more conspicuous, and the movie is brought forwards into a light-hearted, comedic, and sweet tone.

Life Moves Pretty Fast...So Make a Comedy Poster!

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Here's a sunnier formula for those you that are interested in light-hearted dramas, crafted to amuse, entertain, and provoke enjoyment: the all-yellow poster. As comedies often humorously exaggerate situations, language, actions, and characters, the color yellow stands as a bold and fitting choice for the genre. Yellow symbolizes happiness, relaxation, humor, and warmth, providing the perfect tone and mood for the style at hand. It will also have a psychological effect on the audience, making them feel energized, cheerful, and ready to laugh. Against the light, sunshine yellow background, titles in black, red, or white are the way to go. These colors for titles create contrast between the visuals and the texts, as both aspects are equally important. In doing so, the viewers will be able to view all features of the poster in full view, absorbing the bold, comedic, and happy mood in provides.

A great example of this formula is Little Miss Sunshine's poster. This film centralizes on a family as they travel across the country when their daughter wants to participate in a beauty pageant. The film poster's focal point is the family's van, as that is the main vehicle they travel in, while the family members are positioned around it. Already, the composition foreshadows to the audience the light-hearted story of an unconventional family. The background of the poster is, of course, sunshine yellow. The bold background sets the comedic mood and captures the viewer's attention. The title of the film is also in bold black letters that contrast with the background and fully tie the poster together.

Courtesy to Little Miss Sunshine

Here Comes...Horror!

Courtesy to assorted artists

If you need a little darkness after all that light, here are the steps in creating a horror movie poster. Here, darkness and shadows are your best friends. Horror is a genre of fiction whose purpose is to create feelings of fear, dread, repulsion, and terror in the audience—in other words, it develops an atmosphere of eerieness. Therefore, you need to create the same atmosphere of fear in your poster. To do so, the best color to use would be black. As the absence of color, black naturally became an emblem of death, sadness, and the unknown. When the viewer sees this color, they are usually overwhelmed by feelings of uncertainty, which causes them to be afraid. At the same time, the thrill of being scared intrigues them to investigate more into the poster and into the film. Moreover, the usage of black and shadows sets a mysterious and chilling mood for the audience, inviting them to come closer and see more.

The titles of horror movies are often in red or white. Both colors create a bold contrast against the dark background, and the color red is especially appealing as it often symbolizes blood and death-things that are common in horror movies. Last but not least, horror movies often have memorable taglines-catchy, enticing short phrases that sell the movie sum up the plot, tone, or themes of a film. For example, Stephen King's It has, "you'll float too," and Stanley Kubrick's, The Shinning, has the famous line, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Taglines are essential to any horror movie poster, as one line can terrify to audience enough to watch the full film.

Courtesy to Get Out

Let's take a look at Jordan Peele's Get Out for inspiration. This horror-mystery film is about a young African-American who visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend and is revealed to an unsettling truth. The following poster for the film is a fantastic example of the horror film poster formula. First, the poster itself is shrouded in blackness, providing an ominous mood for the viewers. The title of the film is clearly stated in white block letters, creating contrast and drawing viewer's attention. Last but not least, the poster includes a tagline: "just because you're invited, doesn't mean you're welcome. This tagline not only ties into the story, but gives the viewer just enough to be intrigued, and dying to watch the film.

A 'Transition' into Coming of Age

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Ah, last but not least, my personal favorite, the coming of age genre. Coming-of-age focuses on the psychological and moral growth or transition of a protagonist from youth to adulthood. This transition, like the film posters for this genre, is quite unpredictable and unique. With this said, there are still some common features that coming of age posters include. As the story centralizes over one, or multiple protagonists, these characters must be the focal point of the poster. All the other aspects and design of the poster serve the purpose of adding unique characteristics and touchups. Additionally, the color palettes of these posters are vibrant and colorful, which perfectly symbolizes the beautiful yet struggling journeys towards adulthood.

And that's a wrap on your film poster guide! I hope you enjoyed learning some techniques in crafting your own film posters and perhaps were introduced to some new films. Of course, these are just a few guiding tips to get you started, so don't be afraid to take your own creative liberties and make something one of a kind~