Most film festival movie posters just plain suck. But don't worry, plenty of successful films have had bad posters as well. Weak tag lines are commonplace even in mainstream movies. Consider Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, whose "memorable" tag line was: "It's Terrific!" Wow. Or George Lucas' Star Wars, whose original tag line read: "It's about a boy, a girl, and a galaxy." Yikes. That sounds like crap!

Most posters seen at film festivals have an amateur look that, well, represents the film in a bad light. The festival is like a job interview and there you are in jeans and a grubby T-shirt. You need a poster that feels like a smooth Armani suit, not a stinky T-shirt.

The first piece of advice for any filmmaker wishing to create an eye-catching poster is to acknowledge that you are a filmmaker - not a poster designer. Filmmakers, especially on small productions, have a tendency to want to make the poster themselves. You made the film, so now back off and allow others to do their jobs. If you tell a designer exactly what you want them to do, they will do exactly as you tell them. If you allow your designer some creative freedom, you are more likely to get newer and cooler ideas. However, if your budget does not allow for a poster designer and you are forced to create your own poster, there are some basic things you should know.

To see examples of great movie poster design, visit www.onesheetdesign.com

Allen suggests asking the right questions before embarking on a design. Is the poster positioning this film in the best possible way? Can you tell what it is as you drive by it at forty miles an hour, looking at it in a bus shelter? Really, a designer has to be aware of the issues beyond the obvious aesthetics and layout. For me, a great poster is one that manages to straddle all of the fences just mentioned: sell the film, offer the slightest hint of something new, be well-balanced in layout and design - and look really cool.

In order for an indie to create a poster that stands out at a film festival, it's important to know your market. "There are a lot of factors - film markets, for example. Some foreign markets lean towards more action-oriented posters." says Allen. "As far as the US film market goes, I would take advantage of the fact that you aren't in the studio system and avoid some of the clichés that tend to creep into those type of projects. You don't have to do the over-used and -abused "Two-Big-Heads-Floating-in-the-Sky" look that so many studios rely on. The best piece of advice I can give you for your poster look is to keep it simple.

"Whenever we work on a smaller film, we always make it simple to make the movie feel bigger. Less really is more, in this case. So often smaller indie projects with low advertising budgets fall into the ‹kitchen sink design trap" - let's show everything this movie offers so they know how hard we worked on it. Granted, in some cases, a distributor wants you to show all kinds of action, explosions, sex, etc., in your poster. But sometimes, it might be better to show less. Especially if you have no stars, no photography - often in those cases, we go with a simple icon, or a concept idea that captures the viewer's attention.ž

Allen offers a few final thoughts: "People ask me, 'Why do the majority of movie posters suck?' Well, it's all subjective, but those same people should ask, 'Why do the majority of movies suck?' Film advertising mirrors many of the same traits, good and bad, as the rest of the film industry. Whenever you have to please a significant number of people, compromises will be made. Sometimes this will improve something, often it will not. 'Design by committee' - just like 'Filmmaking by committee' - doesn't always work. I encourage someone working on their own one-sheet to make the film poster their own vision. Please yourself first, everyone else second. Hopefully, those same rules applied when you made your movie.

Jon C. Allen can be reached via his website, www.onesheetdesign.com.