While talking to a co-worker buddy of mine last week, I began discussing the excellence of the Horror Movie Genre and how it's evolved over the years. One unforgettable filmmaker in this genre is undeniably Alfred Hitchcock, who brought us many top notch films that stand the test of time. It's pretty tough to deny that moments from 'Psycho', 'Rear Window' and 'The Birds' are still anxiety inducing at best. Throughout this discussion, I spoke to the idea of doing a photography study on taking Horror Movie Posters from the 40's-80's and recreating them with a more contemporary styling. Although this is not what this upcoming project would entail, I was inspired to play with one of my favorites by Hitchcock, 'The Birds'.
I decided to go with one of my favorites in the Alfred Hitchcock filmography, "Rear Window". The film had a lot to play with visually and iconically which made it extra fun to work on. I also wanted to play a little more with the typography on this one, which I felt quite happy with in the end.
You'll notice the visual trend I'm working with on this set, one that will be carried into the last in the series.
I was initially hesitant to approach this film, as the original poster by Saul Bass is such an iconic and memorable vision. I knew that by taking this on, I'd have to put a frak-load of thought into how to bring it to life. In the end, my initial fears actually helped me most. I was so fearful of coming remotely close to the excellence of the original, that I went way too far in the opposite direction. In the end, I decided to create a modern, stark homage to the original while keeping the style and focus I had on the last couplet.
Overall, I couldn't be happier! Initially, I was only going to do 3 in a set but I've decided to add one last request into the mix.
After a lot of work, I finally present the completed set in the "Re-Envisioned" series of posters based off of the films/books by Stephen King. When I first approached the "Hitchcock" set, I never knew how far ahead this would lead me. I can happily say that it's been quite the joyride. I have been able to really utilize my abilities as a designer and challenge myself to take a different perspective on the iconic works of these amazing creators.
Stephen King is a creator that I particularly have a fond spot in my heart for, as I've followed his work in film, television, literature and comic-books for years. He's always been a source of inspiration in terms of mood and atmosphere, therefore being a natural next step in this series. I wanted to make sure to stay true to his roots and make these posters a bit more geared to the stylings of "Book-Jacket" designs, giving them a grounding that was honest to the source material. Overall, I'm extremely happy and thank everyone for helping yet again to decide which of these designs came to be. You voted, you got them and you sure as heck challenged me in the best ways imaginable! Take a closer look at the finished work, below:
Ever since I was a child, I've been a huge King fan. His books & films have had such gravitas and depth aside from the genre, that he seemed like a natural progression after Hitchcock. One thing I wanted to make sure to do with this set, and feel comes through, is some variations in style. The Hitchcock set was about strong figure work & defined color palates, but with the King set I wanted to explore more with color & shape. I also wanted to take two ideas into account. King is an excellent writer, so bringing an homage to Book Jacket Design was a must, as well as a personal choice on giving it a tinge of 1920's Poster Art Styling. I felt the 20's had a strong sense of iconic imagery that wove together, and it felt like a right match for the King Set.
This was hands down the toughest poster I've had to approach thus far. After going back and watching the Stanley Kubrick film last week, I had almost too much to work off of. The film has such a wealth of iconic scenes and imagery, but this is also a poster/film that has had so much attention in the design realm. This made it tough to choose imagery to work with that was not too cliche or typical. No matter what, I knew I'd end up with something that was easily recognizable and like where I ended up. I wanted to represent the scenario of the fim, include some iconic design cues (that gorgeous carpet pattern) and initial threat to create mood (Jack's silo peeking/looming from the door).
I was drawn to going for this one, as it was full of potential and more of an obscure Stephen King film. In the end, I'm glad that the concept I had initially worked out and am extremely happy to have it book-end the set.
This one was an interesting poster to tackle, as I had an idea of what I wanted to do right away. Usually I sit on it or go through multiple ideas before sticking with one, but not for this particular piece. I knew all of the elements I wanted, the colors, etc. The thing that became challenging was once everything was in place, I needed to really consider how the scaling and composition worked. This made the process a little longer, as I wanted to get it to the right place and have it all be cohesive.
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