Ekta Bhattacharjee talks about conceptualising and creating movie and theatre posters

Film posters can be quirky, stylised or straightforward. Ekta Bhattacharjee, founder of Ekta Creative Tales, has designed a wide variety of movie posters. Edugraph caught up with the 30-year-old resident of Kolkata.

Edugraph: What do you love about designing posters?

Ekta Bhattacharjee: The best thing about designing posters is that I get to work on various themes and storylines. It is not only creating something of your own but also depicting the entire film through the poster. That’s what I find the most challenging about designing a poster or designing artwork for a film. I genuinely try to inculcate variations in the poster through different modes and mediums. It can be hand-drawn or digitally illustrated or created using certain tools like Photoshop or illustrator. So that is very fascinating for me.

How did you get into poster designing?

Ekta: I have always been very interested in designing and art. I am a huge fan of Satyajit Ray. I feel if he wasn’t directing movies or writing scripts, if he would have just been an illustrator, he would have still been world-famous. The illustrations that he did for his films and posters are so impactful. He has always inspired me.

I wanted to revive the hand-drawn poster medium because of late we were just working on digital medium. Somewhere the age-old medium of hand-drawn things was getting lost. That’s why I thought I could revive that medium in my own little way. I just started doing things using basic painting.

A friend of mine from St. Xavier’s College used my artwork as promotional material for his film on social media. The amount of appreciation that I got for the poster was overwhelming. That’s how I got the courage to follow my dreams.

What are some of the most memorable posters that you have designed?

Ekta: I have worked on more than 1,600 projects. There are a few theatre posters that are very special to me like A-pabitra by Chandan Sen, Kalmrigaya directed by Poulomi Chattopadhyay starring Soumitra Chattopadhyay, and Misfit by Falguni Chattopadhyay. In films, my favourite is the poster for Mahalaya (2019) by Soumik Sen and the hand-drawn poster of Kedara (2019) by Indraadip Dasgupta.

I have also worked for Robibaar (2019) directed by Atanu Ghosh which starred Prosenjit Chatterjee and Jaya Ahsan. Here, too, I chose the hand-drawn medium and then digitised it.

Did you train in visual arts or a subject related to this field? Could you tell us about your school and college?

Ekta: I studied in Assembly of Angels Secondary School, Barrackpore. Then I did my graduation and postgraduation from West Bengal State University. I was never a part of any art college or school. I learned everything from YouTube. I had a basic degree in painting. Like any other child, I too would go to a painting class in my locality. I have written all the Bangiya Sangeet Parishad examinations.

While designing, what are some of the things one should keep in mind?

Ekta: See how unique and neat you can make the poster. I genuinely don’t design it from a designer’s point of view. I do it from an audience point of view. While crossing the road, if I see a hoarding or a poster I stop and look at it. Try to make it innovative, unique, bright and neat. These are the four things that I always keep in my mind while making a poster.

You need to depict the entire essence of the film through simple artwork. It’s very challenging but at the same time, it's very interesting because different films have different storylines. It’s a huge responsibility. It's all on your shoulder, how you can attract people and make them go and see the film or theatre.

After a filmmaker briefs you about a film how do you proceed?

Ekta: I always try to discuss with the director what he has in his mind because ultimately it’s his or her baby. He has already visualised what he wants to see in the poster. First, I try to understand what he is looking for and then I do drafts. I discuss the colour tone and basic composition I am creating.

We tell the actors to stand or pose in the way we want. We show them the draft too. I generally take their inputs as well. I try to present the basic draft, ideas, colour composition, and design. If two or three posters are required, I try to show them at least 6 to 7 options. For me, watching the film is very important before coming up with a poster.

How did you start as a poster designer for films?

Ekta: Initially, I was designing posters for plays, dramas, events and book covers. Social media has been a boon in my life. I have always posted my work on my accounts. People have come across them and appreciated them. When they needed me to do their work, they contacted me through social media. That’s how I kept getting work. Social media has worked as a mediator and helped me connect to people, directors, producers and event organisers.

When did you set up your company? What are the services Ekta Creative Tales offers?

Ekta: I started working as a freelancer in 2013. Four to five years ago, I started working on film posters. It was becoming difficult for me to handle it all alone. I needed team members. There are a whole lot of designing, adaptations and laterals attached.

Also, there were a lot of youngsters who were in search of work. They wanted to learn and assist me. I formed Ekta Creative Tales in 2016. Since then, we have been working on various dimensions like customised invitation cards and motion designing.

Motion designing has been one of the most satisfying and gratifying things we have done in the last one-and-a-half years. It is very challenging to give motion to a static image. You can easily change while the thing is static but constant changes in a motion picture is a very tedious process. But when you see the final result, the amount of happiness that it gives you is immeasurable.

We do campaigns for various brands, brand identity designing, rebranding designs. Since last year, we are also catering to social media promotional posts that are required for everyday promotion.

Do you offer internships to students who are interested in visual art? How and where can one apply?

Ekta: We have a page on Facebook and an Instagram page for Ekta Creative Tales. Budding artists can contact us through social media. One needs to send a basic portfolio with a few artworks.

Any film posters that have influenced you?

Ekta: I’m a huge Satyajit Ray fan because of the way he shaped the entire promotional campaign for his films. I have been following Paul Zeaiter. He has designed a lot of Hollywood movie posters. For me, that is also a learning process. I keep updating myself with whatever is happening around the world, how the designs are being structured.