1. Source / take a photo

Make sure you’re getting a high enough resolution. Movie posters tend to be large. The industry standard size is called ONE SHEET (27 x 40″ / 686 x 1040mm). What this means is that to reach the recommended minimum print resolution of 150 dpi, your image size would have to be 6300 x 4050 pixels. Make sure your camera is up for the job!

As for the subject matter, this is obviously determined by your film. Here are some ideas:

1. A low angle shot of a dark forest (where you shot the film)
2. A low angle shot of a run down house (your main location)
3. An eerily lit, expressionless photo of your lead actor
4. An extreme closeup of your lead actor’s eyeball or other body part

(Our sample photo is by Martin Walls, from FreeImages.com)

2. Make it unnatural

Boost the dark tones and make sure the details pop. Reduce saturation to absolute minimum – or go for greyscale.

When working with a human portrait, skin needs to be porcelain white and flawless. When the human canvas is good and ready, go nuts – mutilate it in Photoshop! Flip the eyes around, exchange a mouth for an ear… anything you like. It helps if it has something to do with the film.

3. Surround it with black

Download the Photoshop template available on this page. It is in the standard ONE SHEET size with bleeds and crop marks, ready for print. This is the largest size you will need. It is always easy to scale down for digital posters (templates available for Filmsourcing subscribers).

Bring your pic on the poster template. Add necessary masks and filters so that everything non essential around the edges is swallowed by black. Add grain / noise to make the gradients less ‘photoshoppy’.

Choose the appropriate color tint:

1. GREYSCALE if your film is based on “an unverified true story”
2. BLUE (caucasian corpse) if your film has technological or medical themes
3. GREEN (night vision goggles) if there is evil lurking in the forest
4. PALE YELLOW (old bone) if there is a serial killer.

5. Add finishing touches

Film scratches, more noise, poster folds or reddish discoloring on the edges. These are especially handy if your original photo or subsequent photoshop work isn’t of the best quality.