Poster design for American Film Institute Film, Balloon. Balloon is a remix on the superhero myth which explores the questions surrounding how our culture has turned masculinity toxic, and how that affects one boy as he comes of age.
We chose to visualise fragmentation, as it symbolizes two prominent themes within the film:
Liberation through fantasy eg.‘breaking/floating away’ but also speaks about ‘internal fragmentation’ in the sense of breaking one’s spirit through bullying - which means you end up with weirdly wonderful mix of upliftment vs. an ‘aggressive’ melancholy.
The stippled fragmentation effect was combined with bright colours and a bold headline treatment which was inspired by vintage comic books (a subtle nod to the superhero aspect). To give it a human touch, we merged the fragmentation graphic with a solemn picture of the lead actor, bullied and staring defiantly at the viewer.
There’s a definite sense of sadness and fear but strangely also a feeling of lightness/relief/fantasy.
Image to Defragmented Graphic
Final Poster Design
Film Teaser
Concept + Design: Blood, Sweat + Polony
Balloon is Written + Directed by Jeremy Merrifield
Thank you for viewing, we appreciate it.
