The Moving picture world (January 1924-February 1924)

Wh the AdvepQising Brains AWeekly Discussion of The New^ Unusual r "Novel in promotion aids CONDUCTED BY BEN H. GRIMM CLOTHES may not make the man; but it's a generally accepted fact that the average motion picture fan will form his advance opinion of a picture by the paper that is put out on it. Going even a step further, the point is generally conceded that motion picture poster making is a definite art. The old days of jumbling together a few capitals in wooden type, a lurid design and a ballyhoo idea have passed into the discard. Picture poster making today is a huge process of manufacture in which each poster presents a concrete problem to be worked out. Indicative of the New Year's line of posters that First National is producing under the direction of C. L. Yearsley, its former director of publicity and advertising, are the sets on "The Love Master" and "When a Man's a Man," two forthcoming releases. Specific Rules Followed In his specialization on poster work "Bill" Yearsley has formulated and puts into practice specific rules. It is not a haphazard, hit-or-miss proposition that the artist may or may not turn into a selling lithograph. Every question of color, design, balance, lettering and proportion is weighed in the scales of experience and decided on the basis of proved results. "Every poster presents the problem of getting over a certain, definite impression," is Mr. Yearsley's explanation. "On every poster there must be some spotlight. Everything else in that poster should be subordinated to point up to that one point. The question then offers itself as to what offers the best selling point in every picture. In 'The Love Master,' which is the latest production with Larry Trimble's and Jane Murfin's dog star, Strongheart, we had to sell 'dog.' "We tried to do this in a variety of ways — with what result the exhibitors themselves are the best judges of. One of the most interesting studies is the twenty-four-sheet. The dog was the all-important factor. He was the center of the poster; but to give him the predominating position we had to reduce the other characters, which was done by taking a scene where the man was flat on the ground and the woman in the background. Color Harmony "The coloring was ordered with the same idea in mind. Cold blues were used for the lettering; but the dog's head was done in black silhouette (the man was also in black silhouette) against the only bit of white on the paper, the white moon. The dog, by this color contrast, was the center for the poster with his only rival in the man's head. The latter was necessary to picture the dog as the heroic rescuer but the relative positions of the two naturally gave the dog the benefit of the display. The background of yellow only served to accentuate the witness and silhouette outlines of the twenty-four sheet. "All the paper on this production was designed with the idea of bringing out the dog as a heroic character. The six-sheet showed the dog again as the protector of a defenseless woman. The implication that he is leaping to attack the wolves is obvious. Again the one idea — 'dog' — occupies the cen ter of the poster, accentuated by the light display in back of his head — the declining sun's rays. Dog Center of Interest "The other posters endeavored to carry out the idea of variety — with, of course, the dog always holding the center of interest. One one-sheet shows Strongheart and his mate, the quaint idea of dog domesticity. Another shows the dog prying on two human lovers. "The two three-sheets show the dog as a defender — once protecting the girl from the heavy and, in another scene, caring for his injured master." An entirely different problem presented itself in making up the posters on "When a Man's a Man." "In this case," Mr. Yearsley explained, "we had to sell a book, a well-known title and an author whose name means a great deal at the box-office. The book, title and author — with the players subordinated to it — formed the basis of the twenty-four-sheet and six-sheets. It is interesting to note in this particular, that instead of placing the book below, or at a level, we designed it so that the average spectator would seem to be looking up at it. Tried experience shows that people pay most attention when they have to look up at something. We benefited by this in planning our drawings. Variety in Smaller Bills "For the one sheets and three sheets we reverted to the players and story for the sake of variety; but in every bit of paper STRONGHEART Lillian Rich The Love Master rence Trimble £j A Tint national -Attraction AJirrt national Attraction . STRONGHEART THE LOVE MASTER ,., "■.■usaw^tssjsW RICH MOVE MASTER LILLIAN BICH STRONGHEART THE LOVE MASTER A JtrM notional Attraction