Another poster I really liked was the teaser poster (or maybe it was only ad art since I first saw it in Entertainment Weekly) of ICE HARVEST. I liked how they cut both lead actors in half, with Thornton half visible on the left side, pulling the trunk, and Cusack on the right side, cut in half as well. I thought it was a very arresting visual.

No doubt that Netflix has changed the business model a bit. Video-On-Demand is going to change it even more.

You’re absolutely right that VSDA has changed too. This was waaaaaay back in 2001 and we’re talking KEY retailers – BB, Hollywood, Borders, Hastings, BB franchisees, etc – not Mom & Pops. It’s no fluke that BB won’t pick up an indie title until it’s been seen, rated by the MPAA (unless it’s obviously family fare), and they have a chance to approve the artwork. Yes, they judge the art. It’s that important.

In fact, we once did a special for Hollywood Video where we did a key art just for their stores. They didn’t like the art we originally came up with for the film and wanted something different so they could position the film in a different category slot.

And yes, we do agree key art is that — key.

How many years ago was your VSDA experiences? Because, sadly, there are fewer small retailers these days — the death of the “Mom and Pop” video store. (And if Netflix has it’s way, one of the biggies will die off too.)

All of the big retailers have so much more control over the studio’s campaigns and DVD releases. (I believe Wal-Mart won’t stock an “Unrated” title if there isn’t also a “Rated” version to sell.)

Anyway, I’m not belittling DVD key art and home video advertising — of course the box art can make a crucial difference when placed on store shelves — but you have seen the shift in the way DVDs are marketed in the past year or two, no?

Someone visits Netflix and remembers they want to rent THE GRUDGE, not because of the “box art”, but because they saw a commercial for it on TV last night with Sarah Michelle Gellar. Even smaller films like Saw will rely on generating word-of-mouth via horror fans, which takes a lot more work than just good key art. (None of us saw the Blair Witch Project because of the poster art, did we?)

Studios make most of their money via DVDs — so that’s where all the advertising dollars seem to be moving to. It seems like every other film commercial on TV ends with “Coming to DVD this Tuesday.” rather than “Opens in theaters this Friday.”

Then you have the other recent trend of straight-to-DVD releases, such as American Pie: Band Camp, which is a whole other topic.

The point of all this is, we agree that key art (via DVD or otherwise) is important, otherwise we’d have no web site. ;)