MONSTER PROMO PIC:
FOGGY CROSSROADS
Hi Chia! We’re nearing the end of this long-ish process of working on Never’s promo photo. I hope my efforts are not annoying. I’d love if you’d consider this webpage of options. I’ve been romanced by the idea that this promo photo could be distinct from our others. Instead of a character in a room with props, it would be a character on a black background, like so many decades of movie posters. I’m still grasping to see if there is a better version of this concept.
*you can click any of the photos to enlarge*
Never in the gym
I try to include a new pic with every Houseworld email blast, and so the photo of Never in the room has already been released with this week’s ticket sales, though only our closest followers have seen it. I feel like the pic that first goes on social media will be a more official sealing of the deal, although we can always go back and re-edit and re-release.
I think that Never in the colorful room is good. It’s worth stating that I am potentially numb to its charms given that I have probably spent more time looking at the gymnasium than any other person.
Andrew’s original amateur hour
To me, Never on a clean black background too much evokes current iPhone sticker making technology. The next idea I had was some kind of magical background. Fog was the first substance that came to mind. As you noted, my own FX evokes its own amateur technology. Posted here is my original.
Your first response to my Never + black + fog concept are pictured here. You noted that respecting fog’s adherence to the laws of physics may be an important ingredient. We have some versions where the fog hugs the ground. My itch longed for a fog that is less uniformly filling the space, although this itch may be an itch of ignorance.
A few more options
I got the feeling that you were feeling uninspired by my idea, and I didn’t want to force you to keep engaging with the concept if you thought it was flawed at the core. I hope you do not take offense, but I commissioned a couple options from a photo editor on Fiverr. They are next.
Creating a wide version of the black background + fog
While my focus is on the vertical movie poster, I realize that it might also be valuable to have the source material in every format, including wide. So I spat out a wide version of my amateur treatment above. I won’t post it here.
First Fiverr variation
I gave the Fiverr guy open-ended instructions, and you may find the first result to be pretty cringe, but here’s a wildly different take.
I asked the Fiverr editor to rein in the saturated color and make the magic less globular and more foggy. Here’s the second result.
I like this one better, but I think it needs to be reined in more. Rather than have the editor make a 3rd version, I putzed around with the PSD file and made my own subdued versions of Fiverr #2. I also made them vertical posters with the logo. Keep in mind that if the 2 on the right have signs of amateur tinkering, this may be solved by more capable hands performing a similar action. Here they are below.
What’s your reaction, Chia? Are these appalling? Or is there something there?