Drew Struzan; 'Frankenstein poster'

First post on my brand new college blog (aah!). Thought it would be wise to post something related to Graphics in some way or another, so here we go!

Frankenstein poster by Drew Struzan. More  awesome interpretive movie posters can
be found on: www.reelizer.com

'Frankenstein' is a gothic novel and film adaptation about a scientist who creates a man composed of dead human bodies. After his creation, Victor Frankenstein rejects the ‘monster’, who later seeks revenge...

It has often been debated about who is really the ‘monster’ of the story, the creation or Frankenstein himself due to his immediate abhorrent nature towards the creation. Struzan effectively illustrates this common argument by using half of each character's face to form one; hinting that they are both similar in some way or another.. (their monstrous tendencies.)

I also notice that he has used photography for this element of the poster; whereas illustration has only been used on the iron railing image beneath Frankenstein's face... why? Although mixing media has brought different layers of atmosphere to this creation, I believe it would have further emphasised the previously mentioned argument, if illustration were used for the Monster's face and photography used for Frankenstein's.This would portray Frankenstein’s belief and message that the Monster should be a thing of imagination and how he wishes he had never created him.

The typeface used on here really stands out: the font is orange, which is commonly associated with Halloween, just like the tale of Frankenstein commonly is too. The font also suggests links to the Halloween, as the writing is crooked and uneven like ghostly writing in scary movies is. The intrinsic bond between the two things portrays the genre of the movie; therefore I believe that the typeface used is very effective.

The background is generally monochrome with a sepia overlay to portray the mood of the film. With these effects the film is portrayed as being grim, dark and intense through the use of colour, which give these connotations. I find this a very effective way to portray the mood of the film, as it makes more of an impact than putting text at the bottom like on some movie posters.

Another possibility for the purpose of the dark coloured background is to allow the orange used on the poster to stand out. I think that the simple colour scheme along with the predominant bright colour being orange really emphasises the overall plot due to the connotations of the colour orange.

(The following either means that Struzan looked into what orange means before making this poster or it's just me being a tad too analytical)

 It is said to stimulate creativity and endurance: two things which link in to the film’s plot due to the creation of the Monster and the endurance of pain which Frankenstein undergoes when the Monster seeks revenge.

I like the subtle way that Struzan has used the colour to highlight various aspects of the plot because it is relevant to the plot but the fire also foreshadows one part of the film and there is the obvious connection between orange and Halloween.

... That's all for now! Bye x