So, the first video that I watched was the video by Vanity Fair and it was a really interesting watch. It actually got me pretty interested in the reasoning for why movie poster designers decide to use certain colors or fonts. For example, if the poster designer is designing a poster for a comedy, they are more likely to use a white background with red letters because that is what is represented by comedy films these days. The white background allows the viewer to put all of their attention on the photo that is used for the poster along with the movie name that is in a bright red color. Using blue in a poster indicates that the movie is most likely a thriller and usually has a character running down the street to indicate action and thriller as the movie genres. If the movie is also bringing in more technology, then there might be some yellow and green in the poster as well along with the blue. The use of the color yellow is more prominent in smaller films and films that independent because the marketing budget for these films is a lot less than the big firm movies. Using yellow is considered a cheap way to catch the eye of the viewer and by using it it brings more attention to the movie poster causing these smaller films to sometimes bring more viewers than they would if they used a different color for the background. Moving on, the black, white, and orange color schemes are often used to create posters for actions films. The main protagonist is usually in black and white with the title of the movie being in orange of having an orange hint behind it to help promote the masculinity of the film. This color scheme is a way of speaking to the younger audience and moves away from the traditional clutter of action movie posters. Blue and orange is also a common color scheme for movie posters with the blue being the main point of the poster while using the orange or yellow to lead the viewers eyes through the poster. It also can be used in a way where the “blue world” is lead into the “orange world” which is another way of using color to show the different sides of the movie or the battle between good and evil.
Another video that I watched this week was how Stranger Things got its title design for the Netflix show. They wanted to create a show title that could not be used in any other film or tv show when being used for the title sequence. In other words, they wanted the title to be and feel very original. One thing I found really interesting was that the title designers wanted to cast imperfections on the title sequence to make it look more gritty. This surprised me because it would not make sense to me for title designers to purposely make the title have imperfections because their whole job is to perfectly curate a title for the show. One of the tactics they used for this idea was using a Kodalith that would allow them to shine light through the back of the letters to give more emphasis on one area of the title where the light was being shined. This allowed them to create that gritty, old-fashioned look they were going for. I thought it was really cool in terms of the way they went about creating the title, because they used both physical and digital means to create a title in a world where almost everything is done digitally. I think that this method definitely helped set them apart from other tv shows, because it allows them to be more creative, organic, and unique with their ideas. I enjoyed watching this video because it really showed me how these titles were being made and why so much goes into just one title to try and make the tv show or film that much better.
Finally, I got to watch a interview with Chip Kidd this week titled “Between the Lines: Chip KIdd.” This interview really gave me a good idea and understanding of the connection that exists between design and storytelling. This interview was conducted with Kelly Corrigan and she tries to uncover the experiences that influence the works of Kidd. She tries to gain insight on what sort of information and ideas authors come up with and use to try and create different forms of media for the world to see and enjoy. Kidd explains that he works mainly a book cover designer and sometimes edits graphic novels. He makes it clear that the work he does as a book cover designer is not only very important to him, but also the public, because he aims to capture the essence of the story through just one title page where the images and words come together to try and entice the reader into reading the novel. He says that when trying to come up with a cover for a book he needs to “distill” the book to its “most essential parts” so that he can use those essential parts and ideas to come up with a design that covers the basic idea of the story, and as a result, it allows the reader to also get a quick glimpse into the main idea of the book. This job is very intuitive he says because the titles and book covers can be so different than one another. He states that it is very important to try and come up with a cover for the novel because without one we do not even get the smallest idea of what the novel may be trying to convey and without a cover a book is never truly finished. He also makes a very strong point about storytelling in graphic novels and comics, and states that what is happening between the panels, is just as important, if not more important than what is happening within the panels. He makes the statement that movies and films are somewhat more difficult to understand even though there is less going on because the movie determine the pace at which the viewer is gaining and understanding different pieces of information from within the movie whereas in novels and comics, the reader is free to decide at which pace they want to continue at to fully gain insight on the main ideas of the piece. The main takeaway from the interview for me was that book jackets are very unique, the designer must have a full understanding of the novel so that they can accurately convey that same message in the cover of the book. It is also very important because that is the first thing that people see when they pick up a book and so the cover must make them actually want to read the book. I enjoyed watching this interview because it gave me a deeper understanding of the connection between design and storytelling.
