Movie Poster Redesign

This project entailed a redesign of the movie poster for the cinematic classic, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Retaining the essence of the original, I preserved its iconic typeface and key visual motifs, notably the mysterious glow of the horizon along a deserted highway. I recreated these elements using my own photography, capturing a sprawling landscape and ominous mountains as a backdrop. The starry sky is a separate layer which I enhanced and then placed behind the mountains. The gradient glow just beyond the horizon was then added to mimic the iconic original poster. 

New elements added to the poster include the three flying saucers and tractor beam. The UFOs in the movie were memorable for having many different colored lights and I felt it was important to reflect that in the poster. I wanted my flying saucers to have a tangible, realistic feel, so I photographed an actual object – in this case a light-up frisbee – and enhanced the colors in post-production. Likewise, an actual photograph (of a light fixture) was used to create the opening in the bottom of the green craft. I then added the tractor beam to create drama and dimension – it provides a sense of how close the UFOs are to the viewer. Overall the poster has a nice feel with all elements balanced well, the new elements blending seamlessly with the original ones.