Special Shoots
Kill Bill Volume 2 movie poster
Photography used in Movie Posters
Movie posters are often designed using photography shot especially for the film’s one-sheet campaign and other film advertising key art. These photo shoot set-ups are known as special shoots. The shoots usually involve photographing the actor(s) to be featured from the film in various poses and situations conceived by film ad agencies working on the ad campaign. Sometimes special shoots are acquired by the unit photographer working with actors on the set during a film’s production. But more often than not the special shoots are executed by a commercial photographer shooting the actors against neutral backgrounds during a film’s post production.
Kill Bill photo shoot movie poster comparison
For example, while Uma Thurman was trying to Kill Bill, she offered two films worth of character poses when being photographed for the film’s key art campaign.
Kill Bill 2 photo shoot movie poster comparison
While most of the Uma Thurman costume looks came straight from the film, there were a few concepts that never actually appeared in the Tarantino series. (We don’t remember the scene where Thurman’s character “The Bride” wields her Hanzo sword while wearing her wedding dress, but it still looks good for a photo shoot.)
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Tagged kill bill, Photography, uma thurman
Mediafreaks.org » Kill Bill imagesApril 14, 2005 at 11:14 AM
[…] size versions along with many other are availiable here. Images where found while reading this little article on posterwire.com.
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Michael AthertonApril 17, 2005 at 7:14 AM
Interesting that there seems to be some head replacement going on there.
I’d love it if you’d do a feature covering the photo-montaging required to assemble posters – particularly when body-doubles etc. are used (a la ‘Pretty Woman’ etc.)
adminApril 17, 2005 at 9:31 AM
Well, probably not a head replacement, just a slightly different pose in the same series of photographs. It’s hard to get the exact same pose/image as used in a poster, since they’re usually not released. Publicity departments (which usually get the first pick of photography ahead of marketing, etc.) are usually the guility party in releasing photo special shoot images out in the wild.
We’ll be covering all stages/aspects of creating a movie poster, so we’ll be getting to body doubles and “Pretty Woman” soon enough. ;)
Simrit BrarJuly 9, 2006 at 1:51 AM
How do you have access to the raw photos shot for the campaigns?
Also, love your site.
Super Head Strip « Posterwire.com « the movie poster weblogFebruary 8, 2008 at 10:58 PM
[…] to a film’s marketing campaign. For example, when images from a film (in unit shots, special shoots, etc.) become available, the images are first given to the actor for approval. Contact sheets (also […]
No Stone Unturned « Posterwire.com « the movie poster weblogJune 2, 2008 at 12:22 PM
[…] of stock photography, often combined with the first two sources.) We’ve covered the topic of special shoots before — photography shot especially for advertising and promotional […]
Sharon Stone Strips « Posterwire.com » the movie poster weblogJanuary 28, 2010 at 11:38 AM
[…] heads moving from body to body double, the most common being that they haven’t posed for special shoots that some movie poster concepts might require. As an actor reaches a certain popularity, the […]
Girl Power | Posterwire.comNovember 25, 2011 at 6:25 PM
[…] is pointing a very long sword (and thin stomach) towards the viewer. This key art illustrates a “sword” sub genre of the ever popular “Girls with Guns” action heroine movie theme. The UltraViolet movie […]