Movie Poster Design
L'Arroseur arrosé - Also known as The Watered or The Sprinkler, is a French short, black and white silent comedy, that first screened on June 10, 1895.
It has the distinction of being the earliest known instance of film comedy, as well as the first use of film to portray a fictional story. Up until this point in film history, movies were hard to shoot and produce, and where usually about mundane chores or simple actions, such as someone sneezing.
This short movie also has another distinction. It is considered to be the first film in cinema history to use a poster to advertise it's showing. The poster is the image to the left, and it depicts the audience having a laugh while watching a scene from the movie. A movie poster depicting a scene from the movie it was advertising for, is also a first.
This is a short clip from the movie L'Arroseur arrosé.
The plot is that a farmer is watering his plants, while a trouble making young boy steps on his hose, stopping the flow of water.
Wow! Very exciting plot, huh?
How far movies have come.
Sound was not introduced into movies until 1927 and were called 'talkies'.
1920's:
Posters of this time continued in the tradition of a hand drawn illustration depicting a scene from the movie.
1930's:
During the 30's, the design of posters shifted to a focus on characters from the movie instead of scenes. Also, there was more importance put on the movies title.
1940's:
Posters from the 40's are not much different from their relatives from the 30's, except that they are slightly more subdued, with less focus on a characters face.
1950's:
This is when designers created posters that were totally different then ones from the past. In the 50's, the poster now hinted at the plot with graphic queues, symbolism and concepts.
Designs from this era are the closest thing to what we see in today's modern graphic design.
1960's:
Continuing in the style of more modern graphic design, this era's movie posters put minimal focus on the characters, but more on type and design.
1970's:
Here we see the introduction into a focus on photography to show plot and spark interest.
1980's:
This is where we see the birth of the modern movie poster design. Either a photographic image or illustration highlighting the characters is often used, while in balance with the movie's title.
1990's:
Posters of this time often took the minimalist look. They usually had a very expected design: Actor's name on top, Character faces in the middle and film title at the bottom with film credits.
Today:
If you look closely, you can see the graphic design influence on modern day movie posters by the designs of the past.
Like the 20's, the type is highly designed and has a focus on it. Like the 30's there's a shift to see the characters face and a scene from the movie. Like the 40's and 50's, modern posters now hint at the plot and often have a concept behind the artwork. Exactly like the 70's and 80's, photography is now used over illustration. And finally, the basic layout of the 90's has stayed the same. Type on top, characters in the middle, with the movie title and credits at the bottom.