In case our first REMAINDERED posters are too “violent” for some venues or publications, our ace graphic designer Brian Bolin has put together these two mock-ups for an alternative poster. What do you think of’em? (The picture quality will be sharpened on the final posters).
I like the top one the best. Even better than the previous ones that were posted to facebook.
Oh, the second one, by a mile. It hints at what the story may contain without sacrificing the head shots.
the pictures are not telling anything about the story. usually you use faces if the actors are famous. even for films that has weak story lines as long as the actors are famous then you may get away with it. in your case maybe it is better to devote poster space for pictures that would tell more of the story lines.
I like the first one, the second seems a bit busy.
The first one got me at a glance, the others I had to study for a few seconds to decode.
Is that a stand-in for the actress or is that really her back?
I like the second one. It has the great shot at the top-left where it should be and a side-by-side shot showing the predatory menace of the girl, to define their relationship. The two shots really compliment one another.
Of the bottom two shots on the second poster the one on the right, where the guy is reading the book, doesn’t belong, I would argue: the story is about something deep and real in the human condition which is dark and not comedic. This should be replaced by a shot of the girl looking seductive, then it would go with the second lower shot where the guy is reacting to her with that look of startled interest combined with an attitude of questioning self-protecting, which is at the heart of the ambiguity the story is exploring, raising the question of which reaction wins out, and what are the consequences.
In any case, I think both posters are miles ahead of the original, which had too much brown in it, making for few contrasts, and which gave away the plot.
Warning: honest opinion follows
* I wouldn’t know it was a mystery, even with the “Forensics” book. Something about books (Those are books, right? Not rolls of film, or light bulb boxes? Do people still buy boxes of film?) Um, fantasy sexual circumstances aimed at men (see below), and concerned faces. Male-oriented film trying to be a romantic comedy? Like, something Jack Black would be in if this had a higher budget?
* The standard-isue undressed-woman-dressed-guy (yawn) tells me it’s a movie primarily for men, with women as an afterthought. In other words, men = everybody, women = smurfette. Or, in other other words, yet again, I am not part of the target market. (I’m a woman over 40; nothing is marketed at me anymore unless it involves wrinkles. I have no idea whom you’re trying to appeal to, but I know I’m not it. (If you are trying to get women and men (not just men and insecure/naive girls) in to see the movie, I’d recommend watching a couple of versions of the “Killing Us Softly” series for more insight into standard depictions of women, and why we’re beyond fed up with them, and also why they’re lame as h*ll.) This feels a little like overhearing an rude conversation from the guy’s locker room.