Seven answers on 7Q (also known as the FAQs of life.)				Interviewed by Tom Mangan Jon C. Allen, maker of movie posters Here's his Web site, and his log		AUTHORS Michael Fuchs Elizabeth Hilts Paul Riddell Gary Rivlin Jim Motavalli Barbara Shafferman Jules Siegel Keith Snyder ARTISTS/POETS/ PHILOSOPHERS Jon C. Allen Will Baker Mike Leung Jon Sarkin COOL SITE KEEPERS Mike Cash Scott O'Neal Colf Godfrey Daniels Cliff Davis, DDS Tammy Hocking Wes Modes Frank Rogan DIARISTS Ralph Becker J. D. Bruns Linda DeVault Mike Reed Moira Richardson Jessamyn West FILMMAKERS Ben Kufrin Dean Mermell JOURNALISTS Bernie Mary Cooley-Jones Lindsay Crysler Jamie Dupree M.O.A.T.M.A.I. David Moll Robert Niles John Orr Steven Ovadia Pierce Presley Mack Reed Rip Rense Curtis Ross Neal Ross John Scalzi Catherine Seipp David Sheets Dwight Silverman Matt Welch MOVIE MAVENS MaryAnn Johanson Brian Koller HUMORISTS Debbie Farmer Mike Jasper Madeleine Begun Kane Patrick Keller Bob Sassone Valerie Sprague Ken Swarmer Ian Wolff SOLDIERS Maj. Jon Anderson, USAF TEACHERS John Warner TECHIES Chris Adamson Mike Gunderloy Michael Ivey Greg Knauss Floyd Maxwell Ellen McDonough Mike Pingleton Wayne Thume John Worth TEENS Gary Baum Marty Beckerman UNDECLARED Bev Gibbs Beth Reid WEBLOGGERS Jason Kottke Jish Mukerji
ONE				What got you interested in movie posters? Well, I've always been a movie buff, even at a very early age. When I grew older, I started collecting movie posters. At the same time, I was always interested in art and design. By the time I was deciding on colleges, I knew I wanted to combine the two -- so designing posters was the only thing I ever wanted to do. Being focused on that all the way through college helped me get to where I am today.
TWO				Movie posters seem vaguely old-fashioned, yet all new movies still have to have them. What I'm wondering is: realistically, how important are print posters in the movie promotional process, compared to trailers, press interviews, the Web, and other promotional vehicles? Depends on whom you ask. THE most important aspect of film advertising is the trailer. Movie posters (and all print advertising for the film), the Web, etc. rate a distant second. Some would argue that TV/print press is important, but I've seen enough successful ad campaigns for mediocre films with no stars and bad press shoot down that theory. But with regards to the poster, it probably plays more importance than most people realize. Think of it as the icon, logo, or identity for the film. So many other aspects of a film advertising campaign are built around the "key art" (the movie poster). It acts as a foundation. You might see the movie poster's film title logo used in trailers. Most press junket TV interviews have the film poster featured over the star's left shoulder. Newspaper ads, outdoor billboards, even most film web sites all center around the key art image. Often, the movie poster is the first image you'll see for a film, long before a trailer hits theaters. That's why you see a lot of "teaser" posters walking out of a movie theater lobby for films not coming out for a year. It's the building block that people see and start to associate with the film. When I worked on “Men In Black,” we started a year before the film opened, while they were still in production. We knew early on that everyone would be seeing the letters MIB everywhere -- so we spent a lot of time generating imagery based on that idea. It set the whole campaign in motion. On the other hand, to some, a movie poster is just a B/W image in a newspaper that occupies the space above a local movie theater's show times listed for that particular movie.
THREE				What are some of the most memorable silly/irrational things clients have insisted on inserting into one of your posters? Well, there are too many of those to mention. I do remember having to put a palm tree in the poster I did for “Palmetto” only because the head of marketing at the film's studio happened to “like palm trees.”
FOUR				Briefly, walk us through the process of making a movie poster. Well, there is no one answer to this question. It varies from project to project. Sometimes, it can be a yearlong process, working at earliest stage, generating sketch ideas for possible photo shoots with the actors in the film. Later steps involve using those same photo shoots, body double shoots, and/or stock photography to generate low-res poster ideas on the Macintosh. These poster “comps” then go through a long (and sometimes painful) review/revise/reject process -- the ad agency working with the client, homing in on an idea (or ideas) and revising it until a final poster is reached. Then again, sometimes you can come in at the end of the process, and be given a week or two to finish a poster that other ad agencies were unsuccessful in producing. A "save the poster before time runs out" type of scenario. Those are always fun.
FIVE				How can the rest of us tell a good movie poster from a bad one? It's up to you. If it appeals to you, then it works. Generally, most movie posters tend to be conservative, an effort to appeal to the broadest (and lowest) common denominator. (Wait, am I talking about the film poster or the films themselves? :) ) They tend to mirror each other in their sensibilities. It's important to remember we're not necessarily out to create a “cool image” -- we're trying to market/sell a film. Two “rules” an old employer gave me about working on movie posters: "Can you tell what it is if you were driving by at 40 mph and saw it in a bus shelter"? "Would your mother understand it?"
SIX				How has working in the entertainment industry changed your opinion of it? Well, certainly a bit more cynical about it. But I have a feeling that goes for most industries. Everything always looks different from the outside. But I have no designs on doing anything else right now - I love working on film print advertising.
SEVEN				You moved to southern California from Alabama; share a story of something that happened to you soon after you arrived that seemed to best illustrate the difference between living on the West Coast and the American South. Well, I never believed the cliche: "the friendly South" until I moved to L.A. I remember when I first moved here, I would make eye contact and sometimes say “hello” to people - neighbors, whomever. People would automatically respond a bit defensively - their guard would go up (rightfully so, here in L.A.). It seemed like such a foreign and unfriendly place. I wasn't used to living in an environment that sometimes has that underlying tension. Now that I've lived in L.A. a few years, I've learned to respond the same way -- I'm just like any other Southern Californian resident.:)
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