MANILA – It’s hard to forget a JP Cuison movie poster. The Publicis JimenezBasic creative director has designed several now, all bold, all illustrated, and all unlike those blockbuster posters that feature the movies’ stars in all their photoshopped glory.
His latest work is for the CinemaOne original Blue Bustamante, a story about an OFW who ends up secretly playing a superhero on a Japanese TV show.
The poster has a strong reference to old Japanese woodblock prints, but its pop feel and Cuison’s hand behind it are undeniable.
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As Cuison told adobo, he tries to bend his style a bit to fit each movie, but characterizes his style as predominantly "pop."
Cuison shared that he started out doing posters for gigs, but was asked to do his first movie poster by Marlon Rivera, producer of Cinemalaya hit Babae sa Septic Tank.
"The difference between a poster for a gig and for movie, is that anything goes ang gig poster, eh. Magdrawing ka lang ng Elepanteng may rocket sa pwet na may nakasakay na astronaut na may ulong alligator tapos lagyan mo na ng pangalan ng banda sa taas and date and place ok ka na," Cuison shared.
"Versus sa movies, kailangan ma-itranslate yung mood, feel and story nung movie with the poster. If the movie is action kailangan lumabas yung ka-bruskohan sa poster, kung comedy dapat nakakatawa rin yung poster," he said.
One understands why Cuison’s work is so unique–as he shared that he will only take on projects of movies that he believes in, and only if the producers allow him creative freedom.
"Sinabi ko sa sarili ko, gagawan ko lang ng poster yung pelikulang papaniwalaan ko. Ayoko rin yung magpapagawa ng poster tapos may bitbit na peg ng ibang artist," Cuison said.
"Nagye-‘yes’ lang ako kung bibigyan nila ako ng creative freedom. Swerte ako sa tatlong movie poster na ginawa ko, hinayaan ako sa gusto ko. In return, I hope nakatulong ang posters ko i-promote ang movie nila," he said.
