Studio-Quality Movie Posters (Limited Time Offer)

Vil Verset

Vil Verset



As many of you know...

...promo posters & print ads can have a considerable influence on your production; both during and after filming. They're the first contact most people will have with your movie, and do more than attract attention : they raise expectations, and can even inspire troops during filming and post-production. And while we all like to think we're pretty good with Photoshop, you yourself can probably tell when a poster's been designed by a professional. Thing is, so can your audience.

I've designed the promo posters for several indie movies like Fear Of Clowns I, Fear Of Clowns II, Bounty, and the upcoming Sundance-bound Tom Proctor production The Road To Freedom (in fact, he just contacted me last week to begin working on one, stating he was a big fan of my previous work).

By producer Kevin Kangas' own admission, the poster I whipped up for him actually helped Fear Of Clowns land a domestic distribution deal with Lion's Gate Home Entertainment -- LG spotted the poster on a website and were intrigued by what was behind it. Since then, Kevin's been encouraging me to seek out other indie filmmakers like himself to offer my services.

(Well, you don't have to ask me twice, since these posters are the most fun I've ever had doing what I do. And I'd love to do more.)

So for a limited time, I'm offering my services
to everyone on IndieTalk for only $750 a poster.

And I'm also going to be 100% transparent about my m.o. : First, as mentioned above, I genuinely enjoy the process of creating these things (you have no idea how many assignments in my industry are a bore; I'd trade them all in for movie poster contracts if I could). Second, I know indie filmmakers don't have the 5-figure budget to invest in a single promotional poster that the big studios do... but they someday might. Everyone here is building a small and loyal team to help them get there; and by getting in on the ground floor with some of you, I'm hoping you enjoy my work enough to keep me when the budget *does* increase, and -- like Kevin before you -- distributors and studios take notice.

Please take a look at my work, and contact me if interested.
http://www.vilverset.com

I typically work in standard 24 x 36 high-resolution full-color format, but can customize as well. All I need are hi-res pictures to work with, the movie credits (assuming you want them printed) and the movie logo (if you don't have one, one can be designed for you).

Feel free to use the contact link on the website. I will personally respond to every information request, so if you don't hear back from me, there was a technical problem somewhere. ;)

Thanks,

Vil Verset, aka Erik Ashley
Graphic Design & Production
http://www.vilverset.com

PS: A lot of people make the mistake of assuming you need stellar-level photos to get stellar-level posters... this is not true. Almost all of the posters shown below were created with average-quality raw materials. A large part of the design process is editing them until they become usable.
 
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Definitely the Hollywood look!

:welcome: to the site.
 
indietalk said:
Definitely the Hollywood look!

:welcome: to the site.
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Thanks, great to be here. It was actually one of the first results returned when Googling "movie production forums".

Regarding the posters, I forgot to mention how average the raw photos used for them were. A lot of people imagine the original photos looking a lot like the finished product, and figure they'll never get a poster this nice with the raw materials they have... but honestly, aside from being high-res, there's nothing special about most of the ones used for the posters on my website. In fact, many had very poor lighting, and the colors were nothing like what ends up on the poster. There's a lot of work done to them along the way.

I'm saying this so no one feels intimidated or limited by what they think are average pictures to work with. In the right hands, as long as they're hi-res, there's surprising art to be created using pretty much any of them.
 
Thanks, guys. It helps when you love what you do, have been doing it for 15 years, and would do it for free if you didn't have a mortgage and car to pay for. ;)

Please think of me if you need anything design-related (promo poster, DVD case design, logo for the movie, etc.)
 
I have a degree in graphic design and theater...your work pleases both sides of me. :)

Good stuff.

Can you hand paint when asked?
 
Man if my company did things out of house I would tell then to go for you. Also the price of a poster from you is cost more than our last film lol. It was truly a no budget project.
 
M1chae1 said:
I have a degree in graphic design and theater...your work pleases both sides of me. :)
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That's very flattering, thank you.

Good stuff.

Can you hand paint when asked?
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My only drawing talent is cartooning. ;) I don't paint, sorry.

But if you take a look on my website, in the Advertising section where all the posters are, at the 2nd and 3rd samples... a lot can be done with just pictures, filters, and good old-fashioned hard work, to make a picture look less like a picture.

TheBuck said:
Man if my company did things out of house I would tell then to go for you. Also the price of a poster from you is cost more than our last film lol. It was truly a no budget project.
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Yikes. :) But when the posters attract the curiosity of a major distributor, and the film can hold its own enough to get them to offer a distribution deal... you'll find the investment well worth it! Others certainly have. ;)

Vil Verset, aka Erik Ashley
Graphic Design & Production
http://www.vilverset.com
 
Good poster and web design is a HUGELY important part of marketing a film--and marketing a film is half the battle. Nothing is worse than a poster or website with horrid design.

Most people are familiar with Photoshop now'adays...and they think they are instant designers. I call them 'Photoshop Moms'...but boy can you tell the difference between a point a click amateur job and a qualified designer's work.

$750 is on the level with professional rates...I will admit it's out of reach for most 'micro' budget individuals. But hey, with it comes quality. You want people to see your film...if they see the poster and it looks like a piece of crap, they will think your movie is a piece of crap. You have to at least make the initial wink and smile attractive. ;)

We usually go with the very talented Stephen Romano...his standard rate for strangers is $1000 a poster...so Erik's rates aren't bad.
 
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I'm not qualified to comment on anybody's work as I am inexperienced myself, but honestly I'm blown away by your work. Your posters are very well done and the website is also incredible. It's hard to make a website eye candy and easy to navigate at the same time but you've done just that.
 
DRthunderMD said:
I'm not qualified to comment on anybody's work as I am inexperienced myself, but honestly I'm blown away by your work. Your posters are very well done and the website is also incredible. It's hard to make a website eye candy and easy to navigate at the same time but you've done just that.
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I agree, and it's amazing he does it all on MS Paint.
 
Wow, thanks. I don't get this many compliments from my mom!

The website was a challenge, because it's bottom-justified and can accommodate dynamic pages (ie, pages that scroll, like the Resume page). It also had to work on IE/FF/PC/Mac. Oy, the kinks to iron out. And because I don't believe in Flash websites (can't index them or bookmark individual pages), the whole thing had to be done exclusively with HTML/CSS/Javascript.

As for Stephen's rates... they're actually better than the $2,000-$3,000 I've seen quoted in some places. Heck, I'd be tempted to hire him myself at $1,000 a poster. :)

I just calculated that any lower than $750, and I wouldn't really be making any profit at all, because of the hours invested, which would otherwise be invested in more boring (but better paying) projects. Maybe I work too slowly? I'll have to look into that. I just love doing these posters, as a big time movie buff (I go out and catch two movies a week in theatre, just as a fan).

Anyhow, thanks again for the nice comments. My usual entourage is already desensitized to my work. ;)

PS: I do not use MS Paint. I use Photoshop (for the posters) and Dreamweaver (for the website). ;)

Vil Verset, aka Erik Ashley
Graphic Design & Production
http://www.vilverset.com
 
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