These are just some of the fantastical images we’ve been treated to this summer – lit up in cinema lobbies, plastered over Tube stations, zooming past on the side of buses – thanks to the print promos for Hollywood’s latest blockbusters.
There’s no doubt that movie posters are still essential to any film’s commercial ambitions, yet they’re now under threat from a growing number of new digital formats – web virals, video billboards, high-definition projection systems – seeking to steal distributors’ marketing budgets. The question is, how much longer can the humble one-sheet hold out against the digital revolution?
Influencing our big-screen viewing habits since the early 1900s – almost as long as the medium has existed – the movie poster is widely considered an art form in its own right, with thousands of iconic designs now firmly ingrained in pop culture.
"Posters are a key part of the cinema experience," says Rosie Fletcher, news editor of Total Film. "They’re often the first entry point into a film. A good poster can raise a campaign, a bad one can crush it."
Phantom menace
Thankfully, movie posters aren’t quite on the back foot just yet. For digital ads to seriously contend with print ones, it would take a mammoth investment to equip the UK with thousands of LCD screens. "Posters are still as important to selling a film as they were 10 or 20 years ago," confirms Jane Robertson, senior advertising manager at Sony Pictures. "Cinemas have so many lightbox frames to display both one-sheet [portrait] and quad [landscape] posters and the cost of replacing all those with digital screens would be very high, not to mention all the bus shelters and other street furniture that use printed posters."
"There are probably more posters being produced now than ever, as there are more movies being released theatrically," agrees Daniel Scott, client services director at The Delta Group, the London-based company that prints posters for a number of film distributors, including Sony. "The standard one-sheet or quad is a given for any release, regardless of how small the title might be."
Print posters may be navigating the digital era relatively successfully, but they have had to change with the times. Even the largest Hollywood studios have been forced to slash marketing costs in recent years, yet they still need their print marketing to be as visually stimulating as the digital campaigns.
"Clients have less to spend, but cannot let that affect their campaigns," says Scott. "We have had to look at introducing various cost-saving methods, but downgrading the stock or ink has never been a consideration. Clients insist that their posters are of the highest quality and I doubt they will ever change that stance."
Not only do today’s posters have to compete with digital displays, each film is also vying with a vast number of rival titles. This means, where budgets allow, more studios are employing specialist print techniques to ensure their posters stand out. "Film companies are always looking for that extra impact, whether it’s special inks or substrates or something else," continues Scott. "For example, with the rise of 3D movies over the past few years, the demand has grown for 3D lenticular posters. We have developed this technology ourselves in-house and can produce 3D posters at up to six-sheet size."
For small-budget, independent films, which must compete for attention with box-office behemoths, even something as simple as a special colour can massively boost their presence. For example, I Am Love, a low-budget Italian drama starring Tilda Swinton, made a huge impact in 2010 by incorporating an eye-catching fluoro pink into its poster design. The design went on to win the poster category at Screen International’s UK Marketing & Distribution Awards. "With posters, our clients are open to ideas, but they might be put off by the expense or turnaround times," explains David Frost of AllCity Media, the design agency that created the I Am Love poster. "But we like to, where we can, do something a bit different."
A new hope
As well as inventive print techniques, many poster designs are now making room for quick response (QR) codes, which can be scanned by smartphones to direct the user to exclusive online content such as movie trailers and games. "QR codes go on everything now," says Frost. "They work well and it’s something that has become prevalent over the past six months." Engaging tech-savvy younger audiences by connecting with new media, these codes are helping to ensure that – no matter how old-school they may be – movie posters can remain relevant to a new generation of film fans.
Selling a film to the public may be the primary role of the film poster, but it’s not the only one. There’s also the business-to-business side of things, with high-profile film festivals in Cannes, Sundance and Berlin (to name a few) playing host to huge international sales markets, where hundreds of independently made projects attempt to snare worldwide distribution. Here, print posters can be pivotal in attracting the attention of buyers.
"Sometimes we will get given a product that’s in its early stages and we need to put something together," explains Frost. "It’s often a bit of a teaser – the films haven’t been made yet and we don’t have any imagery to work with, but we will give the film its branding and then that is sold on the film market."
Then there’s the collectors market, with film enthusiasts around the globe snapping up their favourite one-sheets – new and old – to adorn their spare rooms. As Total Film’s Fletcher says, "What self-respecting cinephile doesn’t have at least one movie poster hanging on their wall?"
Tangibility and nostalgia, it seems, is another advantage that printed displays can boast over digital promos. "I do believe that people have a desire to own these things – well designed, visually appealing posters," says Dean Harmer, creative director at design agency Aitch:creative. "I think that the prevalence of digital delivery will continue apace and that print will diminish, but I don’t think it’s the death of print. Ink on paper is a lovely thing, even when it ages – in fact, especially when it ages."
The poster strikes back
So, while advances in technology have forced it to adapt to new surroundings, the printed movie poster seems to be holding its own remarkably well. After all, the fully digital futurescapes of films like Blade Runner and Minority Report – all giant video walls and floating holograms – are still some way off.
"Digital hasn’t integrated into on-the-ground advertising as we thought it was going to a few years ago," explains AllCity’s Frost. "We’ve had lots of discussions like this, wondering whether one day the printed poster will become like vinyl and become a collectible thing as opposed to a commercial thing, but we’re still producing a lot of them."
"I think the movie poster will be around for a long time yet," agrees The Delta Group’s Scott. "When the agencies begin creating art for a movie, they start by designing the one-sheet. This is then adapted into hundreds of media formats for use across the whole life cycle of the film, from the initial theatrical release to both DVD and video game formats. It remains a staple piece of marketing in cinema chains around the world."
FIVE ICONIC MOVIE POSTERS
Vertigo 1958
Saul Bass, the legendary graphic designer who created some of the most iconic poster designs of the 20th century, created this promo for Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological thriller. Twisted, trippy and eye-catching, it’s a perfect taster for Hitchcock’s masterpiece.
Jaws 1975
Playing on the same fears as the film itself, this one-sheet for Steven Spielberg’s 1975 monster movie – featuring the titular, razor-toothed beast moments away from swallowing an unsuspecting bather – scared a whole generation of holidaymakers off taking a dip in the ocean.
The Empire Strikes Back 1980
Coming off the back of the massive success of 1977’s Star Wars campaign, this poster again employed a beautiful, hand-illustrated design to represent the darker tone of the sci-fi sequel, with villain Darth Vader – already a series favourite – looming large in the background.
The Silence of the Lambs 1991
A simple yet striking one-sheet for Jonathan Demme’s serial-killer movie, with the bleached-out features of Jodie Foster contrasted by her blood-red eyes and a creepy Death’s Head hawkmoth. Named the ‘best poster of the past 35 years’ at The Hollywood Reporter’s Key Art Awards in 2006.
Kill Bill: Volume 1 2003
A none-more-eye-catching preview for Quentin Tarantino’s revenge thriller, the bold yellow-and-black design – with Uma Thurman’s costume inspired by Bruce Lee’s distinctive costume in 1978 kung-fu movie Game Of Death – ensures that this poster stands out from the crowd.
