Local filmmakers, Sandra Garcia-Arceo, and Katelyn Jones asked me to design a poster for their film “Rotten”. If you're curious about the film, they have a Facebook Page.
The first thing I did was watch it and sketch out images or things that I thought would communicate the overall feel of the film. The story closely follows a man who was having a hard time adjusting to the loss of his wife. I knew that I wanted him to be the main image on the poster because his inner journey was the main story. The movie also has a very lonely feel, so I knew I wanted to have a lot of open space, to communicate that feeling of being alone, and adjusting to coming into that new identity as a widower.
Here are some early undeveloped sketches:
And here is the sketch I decided to develop into the final artwork:
I chose the profile because it allows the viewer to be up close with the main character, viewing him from the side, which is very passive, rather than straight on or with eye contact. It is from a scene where he is shown walking between the aisles of a grocery store. I intentionally modified the grocery items to possible look like buildings, or just symbols of everyday life. This was to contrast with the vast open space around the profile. The open space being the loneliness, and the grocery items creating a repeating pattern of the idea that life goes on, very much in a pattern, or routine even after the loss of a loved one.
The movie also had a very drawn out pace and each moment of dialogue had a very deliberate feel to it, and so I chose the yellows in combination with black as the color palette. They seemed to reflect the overall feel of his slow contemplation which goes on throughout the film. I strongly associate yellow to this emotion.
I also chose to have the texture of the sketch illustration because of how rooted the whole film was. Most of the scenes are of ordinary life, so that the viewers get drawn into what the main character is feeling.
Here's the final poster design:
They also asked me to take the poster design and make a DVD sleeve, so here's what that looks like as well:
I really loved seeing the film and coming up with the poster design as a complement to the filmmakers’ creativity.