Posters?
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Other Topics
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URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3259
Printed Date: 11/24/24 at 11:41am
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Topic: Posters?
Posted By: tonyboling
Subject: Posters?
Date Posted: 6/27/08 at 6:15pm
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So I generally make posters for productions in town. I don't think I'm great or anything, but I'm better than the hacks they were getting to make them before. My question is how do you integrate so much info into a poster and have it still look good? |
Replies:
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 6/27/08 at 7:19pm
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They look good to me. However, in light of the recent discussions about intellecutal property rights: I'm not sure about Samuel French but every play for which I've been involved with licensed by Dramatists the legal requirement is that the name of the author has to be on the poster in a type size that is 50 percent of the size of the largest, most prominent letter used for the title of the play. Your Miracle Worker poster does not satisfy that requirement and your Fame poster doesn't have the author's name at all.
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Posted By: tonyboling
Date Posted: 6/27/08 at 7:27pm
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I had heard it was just supposed to be larger than the directors. Also the MTI contract I saw mentions the authors name in the program, but didn't mention it for the poster. |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 6/27/08 at 7:33pm
Let me say again, the posters look great! And I'm not sure about MTI or Samuel French's requirements. But let's just say there's a lot less chance anyone in the know is going to scrutinize your posters for legal technicalities if they're only hanging in Jackson, Michigan than if you post them on this site. 
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Posted By: GoldCanyonLady
Date Posted: 6/28/08 at 10:49am
I am scratching my head wondering how you saw the posters.  I don't see a link to them. I would like to take a look at them too. ------------- Barb Hofmeister, MountainBrook Village Players, Gold Canyon, Arizona. |
Posted By: tonyboling
Date Posted: 6/29/08 at 9:01pm
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I took em down because the other guy suggested that maybe I shouldn't make them public in case someone important saw them and I hadn't done something to contract specifics. I can send a link to you personally if you'd like |
Posted By: dboris
Date Posted: 6/30/08 at 12:47pm
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There are often rules about how the authors name should appear in pubilicity materials, these are usually spelled out in the license contract, or somewhere in the front of the script.
I think the most important thing about a poster is that the majority of the space it taken up with artwork, photos, etc, this is what is going to catch people's eye. Also if the title of the show isn't part of the artwork it should be fairly large, and your theatre's name should be prominant. Besides these thing, and legal requirements from the contact, eveything else can be made pretty small. Once a poster has caught someone's attention they won't have a problem getting closer to read the rest of the information.
If you need to trim down the info that on the poster, just be sure you have a phone number and website address so people can get all the information.
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Posted By: bbpchick
Date Posted: 7/01/08 at 3:05am
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We have our posters printed in 11 X 17 size. As long as you have the correct specifications according to the companies that are publishing them, you can incorporate other information in any size you like. Here is a link to some of my posters http://www.murphysblackbartplayers.com/photo_album.html - http://www.murphysblackbartplayers.com/photo_album.html
And here are my favorites:
 This one is my very favorite
 I hope this helps,
Kendra ------------- Kendra http://www.murphysblackbartplayer.com - www.murphysblackbartplayers.com You are NEVER too old to dress up! |
Posted By: mary051756
Date Posted: 7/01/08 at 2:55pm
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I have found , like dboris, that the licenisng agreement will usually tell you what has to be included and the size variances for each - Author must be 75% of title, music & lyrics - 60%, etc... Also, if you are producing the play in conjunction with another organization (my summer shows are part of a continuing ed program at the local colege, you want to try and get them in (lest they be not so generous the next time!) ------------- “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” EMERSON |
Posted By: Onstage
Date Posted: 7/31/08 at 6:00pm
| I'm a graphic designer and make lots of posters. I know it is difficult to cram everything on but it it is possible. If you would like to see some of the posters I've made, email me and I'll send you a few. |
Posted By: Dave Charest
Date Posted: 8/07/08 at 1:00pm
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Hi Tony,
Since I haven't actually seen your posters, I'll offer the following tips to keep in mind in general, (This barring any legal requirements for sizes on playwright, etc.) Three is the magic number: Whether it be the number of fonts or number of colors, you should try to avoid using more than three. Once you go beyond three, the brain starts to get confused and it makes it more difficult to process the information. Contrast: By using contrast, you'll be able to better highlight the information that needs to be seen and draw the reader in. Use bold choices for headlines and sub-heads and make sure the copy under them is completely different. Proximity: Keep related items close to each other. Use space to separate different groups of information. This will help your poster communicate more clearly. Alignment: Try to keep the entire page unified. Have the edge of every object align with the edge of some other object. Flush left or flush right often offer a stronger line for the eye to follow than aligning everything in the center. Website address: Whenever you publish your website address, you should always (especially if it's long) start the beginning of each word with a capital letter with the others in lowercase. This makes it easier visually to decipher the information and remember the website address. Example: www.docomevisitmytheatercompany.com or WWW.DOCOMEVISITMYTHEATERCOMPANY.COM versus www.DoComeVisitMyTheaterCompany.com (much easier to read.) A great book to check out is: The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams. Hope this helps. Warm regards, D. |
Posted By: whitebat
Date Posted: 8/29/08 at 12:20am
| Kudos to everyone out there designing posters for their theaters. I've seen so many boring posters that are all text, or the standard images from the Broadway (or whatever commercial) show (and I wonder if they are included in the licensing agreement). |