Film Noir Inspired Movie Poster
About the Project
This movie poster was an exploration of all techniques and skills I had gained thus far from my Photoshop class at BCIT. Photo retouching, masking, color correcting, composition, and more techniques. What made this project unique was the requirement that only photos we had taken ourselves could be used, and it resulted in an experience that I found both rewarding and exciting.
Poster Design, Photoshop, Typography
Challenge
Create a professional looking movie poster to showcase all techniques and tools that we had learned in our Photoshop class while also only using photos we had taken ourselves. We could use as many images as we liked, however at least three images needed to be utilized: a portrait (face visible), a background image, and a third image for texture. Retouching on both the background and portrait needed to be applied, with masking and color corrections also utilized to create a good composition.
Solution
I designed a movie poster inspired by film noir films from the 1940s & 50s. I started with sketches and crafted a storyline. My solutions were influenced by what I knew I could achieve in the allotted time. The result was a movie poster that effectively communicated a storyline while paying homage to real film posters of the genre
Outcome/ Impact
The requirements resulted in an experience that I found rewarding and exciting. It was far more engaging than if we had been allowed to use photos from online, as I had to get creative. I started to see photos less as a whole and more for their parts. How I could isolate, manipulate, layer, and have it work for the composition.
Additional Process Details
The male subject in the foreground happened to have a vintage trench coat from his grandfather, a fitting hat, and a toy gun which significantly eased the process. The lighting on him was done in the photograph and touched up in post. The hidden female subject in the middle-ground had a sizeable collection of dresses that we were able to photograph her in and choose from later on. A last minute issue arose where I needed her to be holding a gun, however she was unavailable for a reshoot. So I was able to photograph my own arm in the position I required and edit it in.