Movie posters are one of the oldest and Most effective ways to advertise a movie They often have a special fondness with Viewers too So what makes a great movie poster Anyway Hi I'm Daisy eind from envato tots Plus In this video we'll discuss movie poster Design 101 the anatomy of a movie poster Before we dig in remember to check out Envato elements it's an amazing resource For creatives because you get unlimited Access to fonts illustrations Graphics Design templates and lots more all for One low monthly price that's thousands Of assets all included make sure to Check out the link in the description For more info So movie posters have an interesting History we won't go too in depth into Movie poster history in this video but It's interesting to look at how much It's evolved over time For example the 1960s saw hand-drawn Illustrative elements Photography became more widely used in The 1970s The 1980s saw a number of iconic movie Posters like the Indiana Jones series By the 1990s movie studios had even more Comprehensive marketing campaigns And think about movie advertising today In the 2020s even the nature of viewing Movies has changed
But some things aren't all that Different so let's start our discussion With sizing and dimensions 27 inches by 40 inches is a common size Scene in movie theaters it's a big Poster but it's purposely big to command Attention you want moviegoers to see This poster and be interested in what They see [Music] 40 inches by 60 inches is another common Size this time used for other Promotional purposes like at bus stops Or in subways And 24 inches by 36 inches is a more Common size for movie posters sold to Consumers rather than utilize for Commercial advertising purposes Keep in mind that these are common sizes And not necessarily the only sizes you Could potentially work with For example let's say you're designing a Movie poster for something that is Exclusively digital maybe you're Advertising heavily relies on something Like Instagram or Twitter you may then Want to focus on a square aspect ratio Or a 16 to 9 aspect ratio to accommodate Your target platform so consider your Platforms and the best sizes for your Poster design In addition it's a great idea to Consider how the design itself might be Adaptable for different situations
That said what do all movie posters have In common think about the things you Expect to see as well as what the Audience needs to see First and foremost we expect to see some Key information like the title of the Film if we don't have a title we might Not know what the film is at all the Release date might also be an essential Element keep in mind we're advertising The film so people come to see it We might also expect to see information Like who's in the film and who worked on It keep in mind your hierarchy though so For example if the name of a leading Performer is larger than the title that Could be confusing use Design Elements Like scale to create a visual system of Importance with your content movie Posters also have and need some kind of Eye-catching visual component this is Essential because it needs to Communicate an idea relevant and Memorable to the film sometimes this Might be photography that features the Key characters of the film other times It might be something more abstract or Mysterious like what we might see in a Horror movie So let's say you want to create a movie Poster what software should you use Well honestly this is a rather open Question because there's so many Potential answers when it comes to the
What software do I use question I often Say it depends on your outcome and your Resources there's a lot of software out There that can do similar things You could for example use Adobe Photoshop or Affinity photo which could Both be strong choices for photo Centric Work you could also use Adobe InDesign Or Affinity publisher which are Excellent choices for working with Multiple assets and exporting at Different sizes what really matters here Is what you're looking to Output so make Sure to consider that when making your Choice If you're looking for a step-by-step Tutorial check out this Photoshop Tutorial on envato touch plus it'll give You a taste of Designing a poster with a Guided walkthrough make sure to check Out the description if you'd like to Give it a try that said let's have a Look at some movie poster genres and What we tend to see in them Action and thriller films tend to be Just that packed with action so keep This in mind with this genre you want to Visually communicate that this Experience is going to be a ride Consider lots of movement bold colors And maybe even things that shake up or Even break up the typography Comedy on the other hand tends to be far More light-hearted you might want to
Create something that evokes a sense of Whimsy or even optimism think about the Experience of watching the film its aim Is generally to make the viewer smile And laugh so the design should similarly Embody the quirks and spirited nature of The film [Music] Horror would be quite different from This and obviously we're looking to Create a tense frightening experience The poster should look mysterious Unsettling like something is foreboding Or something scary is about to happen Maybe leave a bit of intrigue too so the Audience is guessing as they view the Poster Dramas tend to be serious and so the Tone of the poster should mirror that Too it doesn't necessarily have to be Somber but it should match the mood of The film for example we'd expect a film About war to be heavy serious and Emotional tackling difficult themes of Loss Strife companionship and maybe even Morality Science fiction tends to be Fantastical So this is often an opportunity to Create something otherworldly or even Magical remember it really depends on The tone of your film if you're out in Space for example you may want to key Into the vastness the largeness of how Space feels if it's very Tech heavy you
Might want to reflect that with angular Futuresque font choices for example At the end of the day your movie poster Is kind of like an introduction to your Film if you saw a poster that looked Really scary like a thrilling horror Film and then it ended up being a really Light-hearted romantic comedy you might Feel misled or confused It's really important to visually Communicate in a way that is related to The film's story and tone but in a way That entices the viewer to see the film You don't necessarily want to spoil it So what are some of your favorite movie Posters if you enjoyed this discussion On movie poster design please consider Giving this video a like and subscribing To our YouTube channel you can also Click the notification Bell so you never Miss an update I'm Daisy Ein thanks so Much for watching and happy designing
