Task: Create a unique film poster for the documentary "The Other Side." The film follows students at The Other Side Academy, which offers incarcerated individuals a chance to learn better habits and get real-life working experience in exchange for shorter prison sentences.
Software: Adobe Photoshop
Concept: Throughout this project, I worked to create a visually interesting poster that showcased the values of the film and told viewers vaguely what they might be getting into. In the initial brainstorming session I had for this poster, I had numerous ideas that I felt were interesting, but a little off-base from what the filmmakers would want. Most of my initial ideas surrounded a more metaphorical take on the film, for example: Sisyphus reaching the top of the hill with the boulder.
Eventually, I decided on a more literal approach, using a stock image of a hand lifting someone up, as The Other Side Academy does for its students. With this image, I wanted the audience to be very aware that the person was being helped up, so I used the path blur tool to convey that motion. The black and white imagery helps add a dramatic feel to the poster while also leaving a level of anonymity for who is helping and who is being helped. I made the background grainy to add visual interest and highlight that the people in this film are gritty; they’re working hard, and what they’re doing isn’t easy, so it doubles as a token of respect towards them. Lastly, I knew I wanted to use black at the bottom of the poster and have a gradient to the light, showing that even when we’re in our darkest places there is a way out, it just takes a hand sometimes.
Final Result
Early Versions
