Fine Line Kreative is a design company based out of New York that creates and produces posters, consumer print ads, logos and interactive online content. Lately they have been focusing their effort towards projects related to the entertainment industry. They have recently tried their hand at a few movie posters based off of comic book characters and would like the ComicBookMovie.com community to give them some feedback. Below you’ll find a brief interview with the company’s founder, Jones Acquah, where he shares his thoughts on the promotional aspect of comic book films.
What qualities does your company bring to the table in regards to comic book based movie designs? How familiar are your artists to the source material these films are based on?
We feel like our company has a true sense of understanding a character’s story; the ability to capture that plot or story and transform it to a likable image that will in turn sway people into seeing the actual film. A lot of our understanding comes from hours and hours of research studying old and new movie designs which helps us approach each unique character in a way that won't stray away from the film's story. We’re very fortunate to have a dedicated crew that is driven by the love of design in general. There are a lot of great components set up within our group to help us tackle these types of projects. We feel like in order for us to get to the next level, and this can apply for everybody, you have to be willing to take the next step with no second guessing.
What do you believe is the most important aspect in transitioning a character's comic book theme to a live action promotional piece?
In our opinion character development is a key ingredient that should be translated into the promotional artwork. We’ve seen the promotional work for films like Daredevil and Ghost Rider, which many fans thought would have been classic pieces because of the magnitude of the characters, but they turned out to be duds or flops. Some of the work almost seemed to follow the ‘cut and paste’ mentality; where any character could have been substituted and no one would have noticed the difference. It’s in part due to the lack of understanding the origins and uniqueness of the character and highlighting them. From a design standpoint, it leaves us disappointed.
If you had to pitch your comic movie posters to a major studio in one sentence, what would it be?
When we’re presented the opportunity to produce this kind of original work we don’t just put forth every bit of effort to make an inspiring design; we also make sure the final result is something that we, as fans, would love to see.
Is this your first attempt at comic book movie posters?
We've tried out a few designs for a Flash movie as well. You can find them at our website: FineLine Kreative. We're about to start on a series of Deadpool movie posters, that should be fun. As much as we'd love to put more time into these types of designs we can't allow it get in the way of our current production slate. It's definitely something fun to do to pass the time.
And what of the 'R Rating' logo included in the posters?
That's just a little wishful thinking on our part. We know the Captain America movie will be rated PG-13, but we'd be all for an rated R Director's Cut.
We wanted to display Captain America's shield in a unique and gritty way. This poster design actually went through a series of different looks before getting to this point. This image represents a concept we had that soldiers during WWII were putting Cap's symbol up where ever they went; displaying the shield was displaying patriotism itself. We doubt there are that many people out there that don't recognize that standalone symbol; it's a pop culture icon. We tried incorporating aspects of the shield into each of these posters.
We know that Steve Rodgers was a guinea pig for the US government's super soldier experiment. Since the experiment takes place in a military lab so we decided to reference it. We think the color tones distance it from being confused with a bright, hospital setting; it kind of exudes a clandestine feel. We wanted to make this poster the first in a series focusing on the Super Soldier program itself.
This is number two in the above mentioned series. We feel that this poster explains more about the Steve Rogers character than rest. We decided to feature the US Army Code of Conduct as the focal point for the piece and included a little Easter Egg for fans underneath it. If we have the opportunity to continue this series the next poster would showcase something hinting at the serum station and Vita-Ray machine.
This one probably presents the biggest risk but is also the most eye catching because of the glaring swastika in the center of the image. We wanted to do this as a 'propaganda style' poster not for the US government but for the Nazi party. Since the concept used for Operation/Project: Rebirth was taken from the Nazis, we feel it would be immediately recognizable to fans. It was pretty clear cut that this was a chance we were willing to take and that it would probably draw a range of both positive and negative reactions. In the advertising industry you try to sell a product activating an emotional response from the costumer. It's all about piquing the costumer's interest with bold and intriguing imagery. We think this poster successfully implements those things. Keep in mind that these ideas and concepts are solely based on our driven nature in putting out creative material and having fun while doing it.
All images are property of FineLine Kreative and may not be used without their express written permission.
Alright CBMers, time to share your thoughts. The guys at FineLive Kreative want to how you feel about these posters. Remember that these are geared towards the non-comic book reading audience. Do you think they will grab their attention, pique their interest and also fit the style of the film? Do you feel they portray the film in a positive light? What do you like/dislike about them? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and the provided poll.
Many thanks go out to Jones Acquah and FineLine Kreative for taking to time to talk about and share these images with us.
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