Unearthing the artistic appeal ft. The Collateral show
For a marketer, the poster of a show extends an invitation to the audience.
Hey! I narrated a story. Now, I want you (the audience) to be a part of it.
Now, a marketer doesn’t want the audience to be lazy and mundane when they receive the big invitation on a billboard or phone screen.
Hence, the marketer starts to design the poster mindfully. Creating tension through semiotics while making the poster.
What and how much should I tell my audience so as to keep them hooked to D-day?
The first impression, indeed, goes a long run.
Let’s see what impression we as an audience can make from the poster of the Netflix Original, Collateral.
Before we move ahead, let me tell you that I don’t know what this show is all about. I have decided to make things interesting for you and me by interpreting the creator’s artwork solely through the poster.
Let’s begin the road to inspiration and observation!
What did you observe first? I, for sure, did the faces of the six characters. These can be the six people around whom the story of Collateral revolves around.
A bird’s eye view sees the figure of a woman in which these six faces are put together like the pieces of a puzzle. A puzzle? Remove one piece, you won’t be able to see the whole picture.
Hmm, so the genre can be suspense and thriller.
Now, the figure’s face is a woman looking right. She could be the lead of the show. The rest of the five characters are looking left. They could be playing supporting roles in the show. But major ones, of course.
In fact, this group of five could have different viewpoints on the same story or puzzle as opposed to our protagonist’s.
Further, to bring out the emotions of separation and dreariness, shades of greyish blue have been used. Dark tones to the left. Light tones to the right. Different perspectives colliding? Probably.
The gloomy and dark aura created by the poster continues on to the facial expressions of each of the characters as well.
The two faces located on the upper right seem suspicious but bold and confident. The three located on the bottom showcase different gestures. The left one is crying and seems she might be suffering a lot in the show too. The middle one feels heavy-hearted with her mouth open. The right one is looking too serious to maybe witness or commit a crime.
As you make sense of the faces, you realize the tagline of the show — The truth doesn’t take sides. Does our above character analysis make sense now? I think YES.
The opposite-looking faces. Who is telling the truth? Who is telling a lie? Or…
It could be “Truth is fact”. What’s true is true. No one can change that.
One idiom that surely comes to our mind is Every Coin Has Two Sides. Well, this show is going to be full of drama.
The title “Collateral” has a lot of connotations, indeed.
It could be collateral damage — Wrong Place, Wrong Time. The lives of these six characters are intertwined. Who’s going to survive till the end? Haah! Would be fun to watch now!
Or the show’s creators are hinting us toward a more legal usage of the term — Collateral Fact.
To simplify the meaning for you, if a witness in a case is being questioned about a crime, the fact that they have a criminal record could be considered a collateral fact.
Sounds like our protagonist’s credibility and honesty are in big trouble? Feels like so.
It might be the show’s storyline is being created in your mind till now. It could be a little blurry. But it is forming, isn’t it?
Using that emotion, observe the font of the title and the tagline. Simple, equally spaced, bold capital letters. Doesn’t it represent a statement or an assertion of facts?
I am guessing this font is Avenir. To give you context, Avenir font gives a balanced and harmonious appearance, with even spacing, consistent stroke widths, and a streamlined look. This font is particularly used to give a sense of modernity, professionalism, and sophistication.
The font choice, indeed, makes the poster more exciting.
Well, what did you all interpret from the poster? For those who have watched the show, how close was I? Were you able to relate to some parts of my interpretation?
Let me know what you think! Would love to know your thoughts and point of view!
