Part
1: Study various genre movie posters which incorporate portraits of the characters in the layout. Inspiration can come from almost in genre and decade but any distasteful subject or one suggesting gratuitous violence should be avoided. Film noir, comedies and horror are good genre themes for this project—use your imagination!
Type two brief (and different) proposal themes abstracting your basic story plot. The final movie poster theme must be o.k.'d by the instructor before production is begun. You will then draft a final 8 x 10 inch color comp showing your final layout including movie title, title, sub-title and credits in your design.
You must include two image sub-vignettes that are smaller in relationship to the portrait image of the main character. Sub-characters/vignettes may also be of yourself but you are welcome to incorporate other people or objects into your composition (all must be photographed digitally—no stock, scanned or downloaded images form the Internet).
Part
2: Organize props, makeup and costumes in bring to class for our studio shoot which will take place over two days. We will also photograph any 'props' needed for your photo illustration using a studio lighting set-up. Basics of working with a digital SLR will be covered in this step.
Part
3: In this step you will work with Adobe Photoshop to create a layered digital montage for your poster. We will learn a variety of digital imaging techniques using Photoshop including image resolution, color and level correction, working with selections using layers and basic digital retouching.
Part 4: In this step you will lay out the title, sub-title and credits in a page layout program called Adobe inDesign. We will discuss typographic issues and rules. Final layouts will be exported in the Adobe PDF format for printing at a professional service bureau.
Part 4: Print your poster at a professional service bureau at the resolution and size determined by the instructor. Mount your poster on black matboard with two inch black borders. Label your board with a typeset label on the back with name, course title, session and project name. All mounted projects should follow these specifics. Be sure your cuts are clean and mount your image straight. Boards should clean and professional with color sheet.