August 28, 2006
colin’s poster
Colin Kennedy, the main contributor to the Hallam Foe blog, had a go over the weekend at designing a poster. I like.
Hugh MacLeod
I'm a cartoonist.
I sell limited-edition prints.
I wrote a book.
I'm CEO of Stormhoek USA, which markets South African wine in the States.
I also draw private commissions.
Prints |
Opening | Current |
|---|---|---|
Bluetrain |
$900 | |
We Need to Talk |
$650 | |
Portfolio #2 |
$300 | |
NY NY |
$275 |
I like, too!
V nice…
A little Paula Scher inspired work. Very nice. Enticing. I would suggest substituting a different word for ‘fucking.’ Seems too crass on the poster. Too American. Great Britain has the greatest English slang, so why not use it instead?
I agree — it needs tweaking in terms of some of the words and to make sure that who is hallam foe stands out more clearly, but the sense of weirdness is definitely there.
I think this is promising because it a) is somehow suggestive of an energised multi-faceted character (which he is), b)asks a question — which seems to be a good way of starting the ‘conversation’ we have been talking about, c) opens up all sorts of fun in terms of opportunities to answer the question with clips, images, cartoons etc. d) it’s an honest approach (very important to me), e) it interestingly ties into our teaser trailer (which I hope will be available on this site very soon) in which a number of the film’s characters attempt to answer this same question. (Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that Colin himself directed most of the teaser trailer!)
I am not sure if this poster might be too oblique for a wide audience, but at this stage the question we are asking is What is Hallam Foe? — both the character and the film. So it seems pretty appropriate for this part of the journey. Well done Col.
Re: Hugh’s ‘Jamie Bell discovers women, women everywhere rejoice’. I am not so keen on this because Jamie’s general sexiness (and yes there is male and female nudity in the film) is not likely to appeal too much to the average straight guy. But also the line’s not about the film, it’s about Jamie. It’s certainly a good idea to let the women know that Jamie has a hot body (I know women on the crew thought so), but I’m not sure it should be the main thrust of our marketing!
I am beginning to get very excited about all this because it does seem that we are throwing ideas around. It may seem strange but as a director I have very rarely been asked to be involved too much in the marketing of my films. I rather disagreed with the marketing angle on my last film but my thoughts were basically ignored. So I am especially happy to be involved at this comparatively early and proactive stage in the process.
We have a big meeting on wednesday with the film’s uk distributors (Hugh and Colin will both be attending) so I am very keen to find out how this all fits in with their ideas of how to promote the film. They have all seen the rough cut and have some expertise in the field, so they are bound to bring some interesting stuff to the table.
One of the things we will be discussing is organising some screenings (in London most likely) in which we invite bloggers to attend. Not I hasten to add to review the film — because it is still a long way from being finished — but to allow those interested to join in our conversation about what the film is and why it’s worth going to see (if of course they think it is)
NB. This idea has yet to be confirmed with the distributors, but they are very excited by the film and, as long as they can see the potential use of this extended conversation, I am sure they will be up for it. I am sure Hugh and Colin will blog about how the meeting goes.
Cheers,
David
Okay, so this is a bit gratuitous: I want to thank David and Hugh for letting us in on the process of marketing a movie. I live in a small town in western Michigan. How would I ever be exposed to this dialogue without blogs? No way. Never happen. Before blogs, would I ever witness a filmmaker struggle to find the right way to get the maximum number of movie-goers to see his film? I don’t think so — the static web doesn’t work.
So, props to Dave Winer, Scoble, Technorati, Seth, Guy Kawaski, the Bloodhound Blogger, and everyone else that exposes the processes of their passions, failures, and successes. I am simply amazed at the willingness to share.
Quoting Hugh: “Rock on!”
That’s why I like blogs, too, Scott =)
I also happen to believe that if you share, your ideas mutate faster in the direction you want them to… which, all altruism aside, from a career standpoint is a very good thing.
Thanks for the feedback on the poster, the words definitely need some tweaking, I think ‘fucking’ should be in there though, just not in the position it’s in.