Movie Poster Project Guide: Design Your Blockbuster!

Overview

Welcome, aspiring Graphic Designers! Your exciting mission is to design a movie poster for the newest animated movie hitting theaters. This is your chance to showcase your creativity and Adobe Illustrator skills, bringing a fantastical film to life through compelling visuals and information.

Objective

By the end of this project, you will have designed an original movie poster using Adobe Illustrator. You will demonstrate your mastery of Illustrator tools, as well as your understanding and application of key design elements and principles.

Instructions

1. Understand Your Movie: Before you open Illustrator, brainstorm ideas for your animated movie. What is its genre? Who are the main characters? What's the central conflict or theme? Having a clear vision will guide your design choices.

2. Software & Setup:

   • Open Adobe Illustrator.
   • Create a New Document.
   • Set the canvas size to 11 inches wide x 14 inches high (portrait/vertical orientation).

3. Create & Design: Begin designing your movie poster. As you work, ensure you incorporate all of the following required components:

   • Movie Title

     • The name of your animated movie. Make it catchy and reflective of the film's theme.
     • Consider typography (font choice) carefully to convey mood and genre.

   • Tagline

     • A short, intriguing sentence that provides more information about the movie beyond its title alone.
     • It should pique audience curiosity.
     • Example: "Every legend has a beginning."

   • Imagery

     • Visually represent your movie's theme and characters.
     • This could be an illustration of characters, a key scene, or a symbolic object. Ensure the imagery is high-quality and visually compelling.
     • Remember, this is an animated movie, so your imagery should reflect that style.

   • Opening Movie Date

     • Clearly display the fictional release date for your movie (e.g., "Coming Soon", "July 26th").

   • Actors & Actresses

     • Include at least two fictional names of actors/actresses who would voice characters in your animated movie.
     • Typically placed below the title or near the bottom.

   • Credit / Billing Block

     • A small, condensed block of text usually found at the very bottom of the poster.
     • Includes names of key production personnel (director, producers, writers, composer, animation studio, etc.). You can use fictional names for this as well.
     • Focus on the layout and readability of this block.

   • Studio Logo

     • Include a logo for the fictional animation studio that produced your movie.
     • You can use an existing famous animation studio logo (e.g., Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks) or create a simple, original one.

   • MPAA Rating

     • Choose an appropriate rating for your animated film: G, PG, PG-13, or R.
     • Display the rating prominently, usually in a corner or near the billing block.

Design Elements & Principles to Consider

As you design, keep the following in mind:

• Hierarchy: Is the most important information (title, main image) the most prominent?
• Typography: Do your font choices enhance the movie's theme and readability?
• Color Palette: Do your colors set the right mood and appeal to the target audience?
• Composition: Is your layout balanced and visually engaging? Does it draw the eye?
• Contrast: Do you have enough variation in color, size, and shape to make elements stand out?

Submission

Your final movie poster design file (.ai or .pdf) will be due on Thursday.

Movie Poster Rubric: Design Your Blockbuster!

Student Name: ________________________
Date: ________________________

This rubric will be used to assess your Movie Poster project, evaluating both your technical skills in Adobe Illustrator and your understanding of design principles.

Total Score: ________ / 24

Comments:

Movie Poster Warm Up: What Makes a Blockbuster Visual?

Instructions: Take 5 minutes to think about your favorite movie posters. Then, answer the following questions in your journal or on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Think of three movie posters that immediately grab your attention. What are the movie titles?
   
   
   
   

2. What elements on these posters make them so effective? Consider the imagery, colors, fonts, and overall layout.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. If you were designing a poster for an animated movie, what kind of feeling or mood would you want to convey, and how might you achieve that visually?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Movie Poster Cool Down: Initial Thoughts

Instructions: Take a few minutes to reflect on today's project introduction and answer the questions below.

1. What is one specific component you are most excited to design for your movie poster (e.g., tagline, imagery, studio logo)? Why?
   
   
   
   

2. What is one tool or feature in Adobe Illustrator that you think will be most important for this project?
   
   
   
   

3. What is one question you still have about the project or how to get started?
   
   
   
   

Teacher Script: Movie Poster Magic!

Introduction & Hook (5 minutes)

(Teacher): "Good morning/afternoon, class! Today, we're going to kick off a really exciting project that taps into both your creativity and your growing Adobe Illustrator skills. Let's start with a quick warm-up. Take out your journals or a piece of paper, and open up the Movie Poster Warm Up on your screens. You have about 5 minutes to think about your favorite movie posters and answer the questions. What makes them stand out? What catches your eye? Go ahead and get started!"

(Allow students 5 minutes to complete the warm-up. Circulate and observe, offering gentle prompts if needed.)

(Teacher): "Alright, bring your attention back up here. Who would like to share one movie poster they find particularly effective and why? What elements did you notice that made it memorable?"

(Call on a few students to share their responses, linking their observations to design elements like imagery, color, or typography.)

(Teacher): "Excellent insights! It's clear you've all been paying attention to the power of visual communication. Because today, you are going to become the graphic designers for the newest animated blockbuster!"

Project Overview & Requirements (15 minutes)

(Teacher): "Let's dive into your mission. I've prepared a Movie Poster Design Slides presentation to guide us. You can also find a detailed Movie Poster Project Guide in your materials for all the specifics. This project is all about designing a movie poster from scratch using Adobe Illustrator, applying everything we've learned about design elements and principles."

(Advance to Slide 2: Your Mission, Graphic Designer!)

(Teacher): "As it says here, you are a Graphic Designer in charge of creating a movie poster for the newest animated movie. Your objective is to design a poster that showcases your knowledge of Illustrator as well as effective design. We'll be working in Adobe Illustrator, so ensure you have that open or ready on your machines."

(Advance to Slide 3: Illustrator Setup)

(Teacher): "First things first, your canvas. You'll need to create a new document in Illustrator with specific dimensions: 11 inches wide by 14 inches high, in a vertical or portrait orientation. This is a standard size for many posters, giving you a good space to work with."

(Advance to Slide 4: Required Components: The Hook!)

(Teacher): "Now, for the creative juice! Every great movie poster has key components. The first is your Movie Title and Tagline. The title should be catchy and hint at your movie's theme. The tagline is a short, intriguing phrase that gives a little more info, like 'Every legend has a beginning.' It's about hooking your audience!"

(Advance to Slide 5: Required Components: Visual Story!)

(Teacher): "Next up is Imagery. This is crucial for an animated movie. You need visuals that clearly fit your movie's theme and genre. Think about your main characters, key scenes, or symbolic elements. This imagery should be engaging and high-quality, reflecting an animated style."

(Advance to Slide 6: Required Components: The Details!)

(Teacher): "Then we have the more logistical details: an Opening Movie Date – pick a fictional date for your release. You'll also need to include at least two fictional Actors & Actresses who would voice characters. Every poster also has a small Credit / Billing Block at the bottom with production info – you can use fictional names here too. You'll also need a Studio Logo for your animated studio, either an existing one or a simple one you create. Finally, choose an appropriate MPAA Rating for your film: G, PG, PG-13, or R."

(Advance to Slide 7: Design Principles in Action)

(Teacher): "While you're creating, constantly think about the design principles we've discussed: Hierarchy – what's most important? Typography – do your fonts match the mood? Color Palette – do your colors evoke the right emotion? And Composition – how are all your elements arranged for balance and flow? These are the elements that will elevate your poster from good to great."

Illustrator Setup & Initial Design (5 minutes)

(Teacher): "Let's quickly ensure everyone can set up their canvas in Illustrator. If you're unsure, watch my screen for a moment as I demonstrate creating a new 11x14 inch document."

(Briefly demonstrate creating a new document in Illustrator, showing the dimensions and orientation settings.)

(Teacher): "Okay, now it's your turn. Spend these next few minutes just getting your canvas set up and beginning to brainstorm your movie theme. Think about what kind of animated movie you're creating. What's its story? What's its visual style? You can start sketching ideas or collecting inspiration."

(Circulate and assist students with Illustrator setup and initial brainstorming.)

Assessment & Next Steps (5 minutes)

(Teacher): "To ensure you know what's expected, your poster will be graded using the Movie Poster Rubric. Please take a moment to review it; it outlines exactly how each aspect of your design will be evaluated. Pay close attention to the criteria for required components, Illustrator skills, and design principles."

(Advance to Slide 8: Assessment & Next Steps)

(Teacher): "Your final movie poster design file will be due on Thursday. You'll have dedicated time to work on this in class, but you should also plan to work on it as homework to ensure it's polished. Before we finish today, let's do a quick cool-down. Please complete the Movie Poster Cool Down to share your initial thoughts and any lingering questions you might have. This will help me understand what support you might need going forward. "

(Allow students to complete the cool-down activity.)

(Teacher): "Great job, everyone. I'm excited to see the blockbuster posters you create! If you have any questions as you start, please don't hesitate to ask. Let's get designing!"