The problem with key art for independent films is there is often a low budget involved when they are first released. This usually affects the quality of the key art. So, often even quality films shown at top festivals can’t be sold because the presentation is poor.
A distributor in Hollywood asked me to create fresh key art for their DVDs to help them to sell. Here is the first one I created for The Minority.
The DVD package for the independent film, Moving In has been printed. I worked on the opening titles for the short film. It went well, so filmmaker Chase Gordon asked me to created the DVD package. Stories On Film needed a package quickly so they could send it out to film festivals.
This project happened during the summer. I’m now allowed to chat about it.
While Mike Binder was working on the script for his next feature film project, he asked me to start designing key art to help flesh out the look and feel of the movie. No Talent Jones is a musical comedy set in Detroit. Mike was trying to sign Leon Jackson to star. Jackson was the winner of The X Factor, Britain’s version of American Idol.
Mike liked the retro Blue Note Jazz look of one of my early comps and wanted to explore that direction further. I used one of Jackson’s music videos as a resource. I presented these three designs in horizontal format that would be used for both outdoor and online.
Mike liked the top one with Jackson’s arm extended. I created a web page with the lock-up that will promote the concert accompanying the screening in selected cities.
The project was due to be shot this winter but is being delayed for six to nine months. Leon Jackson has agreed to do the project.
Warner Brothers in Burbank hired me to design a logo for Warner Bothers India. Now That’s Hollywood is going to be a WB channel in India that shows classic Hollywood films.
Their primary concern was that it would read at 2 inches square. I presented about 12 tight, digital black & white sketches. They seriously considered these three before picking the middle version to have color added. I wanted the logo to be reminiscent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but I didn’t want it to be a literal interpretation of it. I also went with warm colors to give it a slight old Hollywood feel.
I have worked on several movie title projects, making storyboard sketches and art directing an AfterEffects artist. But, I was eager to get more hands on. So I studied up on After Effects through Lynda.com. When filmmaker Chase Gordon asked if I would design the title sequence for his independent film, Moving In, I jumped at the chance.
Moving In is a quirky film is about a young couple who decide to take the big step and move in together. I promised Chase that I wouldn’t be a spoiler and share much more about the film. But I can tell you the title design was created to convey a sense of excitement and fear about the couple’s new commitment.
click PLAY button to start
I like to work on small projects with low budgets sometimes as much as the bigger budget, high-profile jobs. Agents For The Audience is a site in development that didn’t have much money to spend, but I took it on because I thought I could turn it around quickly.
Garth Meyer, one of the founders, described it as a site that will review movies, music and TV “from the point of view of the audience – as opposed to the more highbrow critics.”
They wanted to use a short acronym so it may catch on, so I went with AFTA with a supporting descriptor. I sent them just two black & white ideas. They went with this one.
