Dean Newman interviews designer, Kyle Robertson on his Steven Spielberg posters for the BFI.
Steven Spielberg, his movies have not just changed Hollywood
but shaped our lives. Throughout June and July the BFI have been spoiling us
with an amazing season celebrating the films – and some television – of Steven
Spielberg, covering everything from Duel (released theatrically here in Europe)
to Amazing Stories and of course his summer blockbusters. Close Encounters,
Indiana Jones, E.T. and the granddaddy of the modern summer blockbuster as we
know it, Jaws.
To accompany such a breadth of work, the BFI commissioned
four pieces of work promoting the season utilizing striking and iconic imagery
that is ingrained not just in film culture, but that of popular culture. Images
were chosen from Jaws, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park, each
riffing on a Spielberg classic that celebrates both the man and his movies.
As a lifelong-Spielberg and Jaws fan, I, Dean Newman (DN),
took the opportunity to interview its designer, Kyle Robertson (KR), who works
for the BFI as part of their in-house design team, he’s also a senior digital
designer and illustrator.
I took the opportunity to speak to him about Spielberg’s
films, the changing face of film posters and tips for anyone wanting to get
into film poster design
DN: The four designs are simple yet inspired, how difficult
was it coming up with a new take on such classics?
KR: The main objective of this campaign was to capture the
iconic films of Spielberg. We decided to
DN: Were you given these four films as design options or did
you have any say? Was it only these four or were any others in contention, such
as Schindler’s List or Close Encounters?
KR: There was a long conversation over the titles we were
going to feature. In the end we settled on his summer blockbusters due to the
fact we were screening the season in the summer and wanted to create a lighter
mood than say featuring Schindler’s List or Saving Private Ryan.
DN: Jaws, Jurassic Park, Raiders and ET, classic films,
classic scores but also classic posters. How did you approach these film
posters and associated imagery that are so ingrained in our pop culture?
KR: I started by watching the films again, doing a lot of
reading and image research. Looking at the classic film posters, book covers,
fan art, and everything else out there. This gives you a good idea of what
works and what doesn’t. While designing the early sketches I would even listen
to the soundtracks. The goal was to capture the essence of the film that
everyone knows and loves, but come at it from a different angle.
DN: Once you had the fin, dinosaur head, Indy’s head etc,
were there several options for main images to be included in them? Any spring
to mind?
KR: We were limited in terms of imagery as we only used
imagery from our own BFI Image Database, with exception for the Jurassic Park
still which we got from the studio directly. We wanted to use iconic imagery
that creates a certain mood. A good example was Jaws. Using the image of the woman
in the water screaming within the shark fin shape stirs up all kinds of fear
and emotion. We used these themes across the four designs. Fear for Jaws,
wonder for E.T., Adventure for Raiders and Thrills for Jurassic Park.
DN: Four posters for one season, normally I’ve only ever
seen one, was it unusual to have so many?
KR: It is quite unique to do several pieces of artwork for
one season. Ordinarily we use just one poster for a season. But for big seasons
which span several months there was an opportunity to do several.
DN: Did you have to pitch for the job with the design we see
or do you do a lot for the BFI?
KR: Pitching for the work was not necessary as I work at the
BFI as an in-house designer.
DN: Which one are you most pleased with and why? My personal
favourites are Jurassic Park and Jaws.
KR: I like the concept of Jaws, but E.T is probably my
favourite due to it being one of my favourite films and the colours work well.
DN: Do you have many alternative designs/sketches/scamps
that weren’t used?
KR: Sorry, not allowed to share these designs, but yes many
were created. Some photographic, some illustrative.
DN: Have you heard any reaction from Spielberg himself, or
anyone associated with him re the designs?
KR: We worked very closely with Spielberg’s production
company and Steven Spielberg had to sign off the artwork himself. The reaction
was very positive.
DN: You mention ET as being one of your favourite films, why
that film?
KR: It’s just a one-of-a-kind film that has everything;
adventure, excitement, laughs and takes me right back to my childhood. I saw it
recently at the BFI on the big screen and it still gives me chills watching the
bikes take off with that amazing John Williams score.
DN: What was the first Spielberg film you saw at the cinema and
how old were you?
KR: Jurassic Park was the first film I saw on the big-screen
and I must have been 11.
DN: There have been lots of great designers and artists work
on Spielberg posters, such as Drew
KR: The Drew Struzan posters for Indy are great. His style
is so amazing and when you see his work you know it’s a Drew Struzan poster
immediately.
DN: What’s been the reaction across social media to your
work?
KR: The reaction to the work has been great. A lot of people
making nice comments about it reminding them of their childhood and going to
the movies which is great to hear.
DN: The designs have an immediate impact, how was it seeing
them writ large on the giant billboards?
KR: I cycled past the Jaws billboard in Shoreditch and
nearly fell off my bike when I first saw it. It’s a great feeling to see any
artwork on a big scale, but the Jaws artwork looked very cool.
DN: The posters – like many film posters today – rely
heavily on photographic images, do you miss the era that the likes of Alvin,
Struzan and Kastel were working in with their detailed artistic designs?
KR: A lot of the BFI posters are based on photographic
elements due to the nature of us portraying film and the moving image. We still
do illustrative design work such as our current ‘Architecture on Film’ series.
I am a big champion of the illustrative style and feel when handled correctly
it can make a big impact.
DN: I guess it’s the same with the James Bond posters – I
loved the likes of The Living Daylights, the last of the art designs. It all
seems to be Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop these days. Do you lament what some people see as the
dying art of film posters?
KR: I think it’s inevitable for methods and practices to
change regarding this. In my experience this is mostly due to time restraints.
To illustrate a poster takes a lot of time and what you have to remember about
film season artwork is that it is hugely political and involves a huge amount
of people’s input from many departments.
So unfortunately there just isn’t the time to do this. We
quite often pencil sketch concepts roughly and then take them into the Adobe
suite to design and artwork. This gives you a huge amount of flexibility and
freedom to work.
DN: Any tips for anyone wanting to design posters?
KR: You have to have a love of film naturally and spend most
of your spare time watching films! You should also have a good knowledge of
different design techniques and treatments. I try not to design the same thing
twice.
DN: What do you think makes a great film poster?
KR: A simple but effective idea. Keep it fairly minimal. The
more you add, the more the impact is lost from the design.
DN: Are you working on any other exciting projects?
KR: I am currently working on a big campaign for the BFI
celebrating black talent in film.
The Steven Spielberg season continues into July with
cinematic delights to offer everyone, whether its Jurassic Park, Schindler’s
List, Saving Private Ryan, A.I., Catch Me If You Can, War of the Worlds,
Lincoln, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Amistad, Minority Report, The Terminal,
Munich, Bridge of Spies, The Adventures of Tintin – The Secret of the Unicorn
and War Horse.
Other highlights include a whole day devoted to the Indiana
Jones films – Saturday 9 July – although they can also be caught individually
across the month on other days as well, and there is also a very special
screening of E.T. on Sunday 26 June which features a Q&A with producer
Kathleen Kennedy – her first producing credit – and director Edgar Wright, who
collaborated on Tintin. Access the remaining programme here.
If your reaction to the Spielberg season posters designed by
Kyle Robertson is as positive as the director himself, then you are in luck as
you can now buy copies of the designs from the BFI Printstore.
Credit belongs to the British Film Institute (BFI) for all
images that appear in this article.
Dean Newman
Twitter: @Loxley_1975
Lifelong Jaws, Spielberg, Robin Hood and James Bond fan, Dean used to blog for the Syfy Channel but is now a budding scriptwriter and blogger of film, TV and everything inbetween.
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