I’m happy to share some new work with you finally… this poster and title screens (used in the movie itself) for a new movie ‘Summertime’, which is set in the Lower East Side of New York. The movie is the first feature length movie by up-and-coming director Max Weissberg, a New York native.

The 1 sheet poster was created to be the cornerstone of a promotional campaign aimed at various international film festivals over the year, from which a distributor will be sourced. The movie is about a tangled web of relationships between 10 New Yorkers, all of whom work in a creative field. The story centers on the relationship between a director and his actress, which deteriorates towards his ultimate demise (due to his betrayals) as the movie unfolds.

The tone of the poster sought to capture the colors of a New York Summer, whilst adding drama with the illustration (hand-drawn by me) of the director and actress together, the gun in her hand hinting at the climax of the movie. The typeface is Solomon and was chosen for its East Village and Jazz spirit (the movie’s setting and soundtrack). The color palette also draws on the art of Kazimir Malevich, a Russian artist referenced in the movie.

I also created a series of title to be used throughout the movie itself, introducing the characters when they appear together onscreen for the first time, setting the tone for the coming scenes. The typographic treatment is based on the movie logo (which I also designed) from the typeface ‘Solomon’ in it’s deco and sans-serif weights. These provide a point of interest to the viewer, and give them a chance to catch their breaths after each scene (most of which contain a lot of information and subplots to take in).

The typography also sets the general tone of the movie, placing it squarely in the realm of the artistic Lower East Side of New York world, with nods to the jazz/art deco era in America. These title screens are themselves a play on the interstitial title screens of the silent movies (popular at that time), introducing the characters and giving a sense of narrative to each forthcoming scene.

I am very pleased to note that this poster was a winner in the prestigious 2011 GDUSA American Graphic Design Awards. If you would like to learn more about the movie, you can visit the official site here, and view the extended trailer (worth a look, if only to see how the poster illustration came about) here... Enjoy, and let me know what you think below, I always appreciate feedback!