It is sunday morning and i should be at my editing desk. Since i edit my own films (as i’m poor to afford an editor) , it can be a bitch to start on a less exciting job after shouting “lights, camera and AAACTION!” So, here i am, procrastinating again, creatively. I thought it would be fun to explain my posters.
An honest filmmaker will set the mood to the film using his poster. This avoids misunderstandings and wrong expectations. A correct mood setting poster works a long way into letting the audience into the premise of the film.
Regular Jobs (2009)
Regular jobs was my graduating project from Copenhagen Media School (a.k.a Rampen, Københavns film og foto skole). This is one of the first time i relayed entirely on the plot. The setup was very ‘Reservoir dogs‘ meets ‘Collateral‘. The bank robbery, millions of dollars, American gangsters and Muscle cars were the spice of vision. A frame grab of the car toned into red, browns and blacks conveys the gritty nature of the scenario.
The Suspect (2010)
When i wrote the script to The Suspect, i had planned to make it a story happening next doors a random day. My friend had allowed me to shoot the film at her apartment. As i made a study of her apartment, it had a very ‘Gotham City‘ looks to it. Her apartment was very girly and the building was an 18th century build. I now decided to take the girly things down and splash a poster of Brooklyn in 1800 on the wall. An old dial telephone added to the timelessness of the film. I decided to give the main character a mask to create a better visual impact. But it was coincidental that i had taken a picture of street in Copenhagen a few days before that fit right into the mood of the film. I did later shoot the opening shot of the film at the place where i shot this picture, which of course ended up as the posted of the film.
designing the looks by Cecile Mindegaard
the storyboard
The Suspect - poster inspiration
The Suspect - The final poster
Karma Currency
This film is currently on the edit desk (which i should be working on right now !). The filming of Karma Currency was very hectic (10 days in INDIA) and i never managed to get a photographer as a crew member. But thankfully, Jeena Chacko, who was the script supervisor of the film is an excellent artistic photographer too. She was roaming around and taking pics of the set and i noticed that she was taking a pic of the Police Chief (Played by Rone). I saw that the Police constable (played by Ahamed Shaheen) was lurking around the scenario, and i asked him to step into the frame. And just like that, i managed to get a poster material. I played it with grunge overlays to tune it to the match the mood of the film.
See how the iPhone is very visible in this pic
The orange band covered the iPhone tragedy
Poster 2
On the third day of shoot, we were driven to this location early morning. It was a beach and was full of character. Fishing boats, fishermen and a broken down shack. This set the excellent mood of the opening shot. Jeena and i took some test shots, and i decided what would be the opening shot and the landscape poster of the film.
Testing the shots
Poster reference
final Landscape poster
On the closing note
I use the current poster of the project i’m working on, as my google splash screen as a reminder of an unfinished project.
