Client : MEDiAKiN / White Light Pictures Pty Ltd
Brief : Work from supplied design rough.
Medium : Digital : One of several Original presentation visuals Created
in Adobe Photoshop 2008 a.d
Design Notes : In pre-blockbuster days, the horror shelf in the local video store was a special place—a vast undiscovered country of illicit sights. Today, as most people order their dvds from Amazon based on movies they’ve already seen or heard of, or worse yet, they `flix everything they watch, DVD cover art is a pretty sanitized business. Actors you recognize, a scene from the film, the promo poster you’ve seen a thousand times. Mid-80's VHS cover art was different, especially in the horror aisle. Intense color and extreme graphics were the only ways to give your film a chance to be seen, especially in an era when many horror films were independently produced or released direct to video. VHS covers could be downright terrifying. A trip down the horror aisle at the video store could often be an act of bravery for my 13-year-old self, and, unfortunately, most often a much richer artistic experience than viewing the films inside those nightmarish Technicolor cases.

Note to self : Working with so-called 'creative types' who produce artwork that appears to have been drawn with a sphincter clenched crayon can be problematic.

One-sheet refers to the standard north american sized 70 x 100cm (27 inch x 41 inch) movie poster, what is misleading is the one-sheet size isn’t necessarily consistent or standard, and can vary by several inches/centimeters. This is especially true of some borderless full-bleed posters, which may be 66.04 x 101.6 cm (26 x 40inch) or smaller. The sizing can also change between film studios, with each film company in-house ad production group following it’s own sizing and printing standards.

Lobby Card (LC): 35.56 x 27.94 cm (14 x 11 inches), printed on light card stock. Originally made in sets of eight per movie for display in theatre lobbies. Most sets have one title card featuring title and production credits plus related artwork. The other seven cards are coloured photographic scenes. Lobby cards are no longer used in the US, but are still sometimes produced for the overseas market. Finding complete lobby card sets is not easy, as most desirable title sets have been broken up. Often, sets will have what are termed 'dead' cards - cards that do not feature main actors or scenes.

There are also Jumbo Lobby Cards (JLC) which were made before 1940 and are usually found only as single cards. JLC come in 14 inch x 17 inch size.

Window Card (WC) : 35.56 x 55.88 cm (14 x 22 inches), are printed on card stock and come flat. These smaller posters were usually used for off-site advertising e.g. in windows of local stores in exchange of movie passes. Top four inches were left blank by the printer for the local exhibitor to fill in. For this reason, WC posters are sometimes found with the top 4 inches trimmed off.

There is also - though not so common among poster sizes - a Jumbo Window Card (JWC), measuring 55.88 x 71.12 cm (22 x 28 inches). A Mini Window Card (MWC) is also available, measuring 11 x 14 inches; these are also printed on cardboard.

1/2 sheet : This is probably the second most popular among movie poster sizes. It measures 71.12 x 55.88 cm (28 x 22 inches), is printed on card stock, and come rolled. Image is usually different from that used on 1-sheet; instead, it is often the same as the first, or title card, in the lobby card set.

Lenticular : These come in approximately the same poster size as the one-sheet (approx. 27 x 41 inches); lenticular posters are printed between composite sheets of plastic and lit from behind to create a 3D/holographic effect.

76.2 cm x 1.016 m (30 x 40 inches) Heavy Stock Posters : Printed on heavier card stock. artwork invariably the same as 1-sheet but may be silk screened instead of lithographed. These posters come rolled and do not exist for many film titles.

1.016 x1.524 m (40 x 60 inches) : Printed on heavier card stock, otherwise similar to the smaller 30 x 40 heavy stock posters though the image may differ, and again may have been silk screened. Designed for use outside the theatre, on an easel, exposed to the elements. This is sometimes, incorrectly, referred to as a 2 sheet.

Banner : These movie posters measure approximately 2.0574m x 60.96 cm (81 x 24 inches). Older ones were printed on bookbinder's cloth or light card stock. Modern ones are vinyl or light card stock or paper, while banner poster sizes are highly variable.

3-Sheet Movie posters : 1.0414 x 2.0574 m (41 x 81 inches), printed on paper stock on two and rarely, three separate sheets using lower stock paper. Often pasted onto wall outside of theatre. From the 1970s on, three-sheets were sometimes printed in one piece and issued as 'international' versions.

6-Sheet Movie Posters : 2.0574 x 2.0574 metres (81 x 81 inches), printed on paper stock, usually in four sections, and comes folded; for use in larger U.S. theatre lobbies and movie palaces, or on the outside of the building. This poster size is not so popular, and therefore rare.

Billboard or 24-sheet Movie Posters : Approximately 2.6924 x 5.9436 metres (106 x 234 inches) but may come in various poster sizes, usually in 12 sections, for use on roadside billboards.