FAQ #1

How can I get into making film posters?

Okay, firstly we call it key art, not film posters. It sounds Far More Important and we can also make believe we’ll still have jobs in five years’ time when no-one prints posters anymore.

Basically any design skills are secondary to your ability to analyse and dissect a film, and interpret the film in a creative way (this is a good thing as I — obviously — cannot design for shit). Which takes a lot of watching and discussing films — the design bit is just a simple spewing out of ideas you’ve already worked through in your head. Stay away from high concept blockbusters and immerse yourself in stuff with ideas. Watch The Cremaster Cycle. Watch The Holy Mountain. Watch The Seventh Continent. Watch Inland Empire. Anything that makes you think ‘what the?’ but is obviously dripping with ideas just beyond your grasp is a good place to start. Watch stuff in other languages, from other cultures.

Analyse and interpret, and work out what you want to say about what the film wants to say. Think about who would enjoy the film and what they would enjoy about it. And even if you hate it, you have to analyse what people who will like it would want to see on the poster, that will attract them to come along and pay their $15. So aside from the gut response you have to have a really strong marketing instinct. It’s not art — graphic design is about selling stuff and all the technical skill in the world will not help if you don’t understand sales and marketing.

Roll it all up and design ‘posters’ for everything you watch (if only in your head). Visit IMPAwards.com regularly. I’d suggest trying to do book jackets or cd covers as well, given they are solely metaphorical and ideas-based, rather than measuring actors’ heads to avoid getting shouted at by their agents, which is dull.

Short film-makers always want posters and dvd slicks for their films whether they need them or not, so that’s a good place to start. Hassle the local film school or theatre companies for work. You may be doing stuff for free or cheap but it’s all about getting contacts and a portfolio up together. Don’t think of it as selling your soul.

That comes the first time you have to disregard everything I’ve just said and stick three actors’ heads floating in the sky.

Good luck!