Key art, also known as key visual, is the artwork which is repeated across media such as posters, print, television and digital advertisements, streaming or download thumbnails, and game or film DVD/Blu-Ray box covers.
Key visuals are defined in the field of media studies as "functional equivalents to keywords" that "emerge, or... are strategically produced and distributed... and considered worth being archived, remembered, called for and used as a major element in (audio-) visual horizons of actions and means of co-ordination or (ex-)communication for some time." [1]
Key art is most commonly understood as advertising for entertainment media such as films, television and video games. [2] [3]
The term key art was defined by The Hollywood Reporter (who awarded the annual Key Art Awards, founded in 1972) as “the singular, iconographic image that is the foundation upon which a movie’s marketing campaign is built.” [4] Nicole Purcell, the president of Clio (who incorporated the Key Art Awards into their own awards in 2011), explained that key art was historically understood to be movie posters, but has expanded especially due to the influence of digital media. [5]
In 2005, key art from The Silence of the Lambs and The Shining were voted to be the most iconic key art of the previous 35 years. [6]
Key art is often shaped by contracts with actors, directors and others, and so post-release adjustments to advertising can be limited by these contractual agreements. [7]
Unlike book art and film posters, television key art is horizontal and is most often produced at 16:9 ratio. [8]
Netflix state that their research indicates that people focus on key art for 1.8 seconds, and that such artwork is the biggest influence upon their viewers' decisions to engage with content. [9] Netflix key art is currently thumbnail- rather than design-based, as artwork is shaped by user activities and demographics, and built by algorithms extracting screenshots from video. [8]
In video games, key art is produced earlier and helps to convey a vision of the game to the team of artists working to develop it, as well as then being used in advertising and on box art. [10]
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically used to promote a specific good or service, but there are a wide range of uses, the most common being commercial advertisement.
Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication.
Film promotion is the practice of promotion specifically in the film industry, and usually occurs in coordination with the process of film distribution. Sometimes this is called the press junket or film junket. Film promotion generally includes press releases, advertising campaigns, merchandising, franchising, media, and interviews with the key people involved in making the film, such as the film's actors and directors. This process is an important part of any release because of the inherent high financial risk; film studios will invest in expensive marketing campaigns to maximize revenue early in the release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal about half the production budget. Publicity is generally handled by the distributor and exhibitors.
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic, or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at Walt Disney Productions during the early 1930s, after several years of similar processes being in use at Walt Disney and other animation studios.
Digital art refers to any artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process. It can also refer to computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960s, various names have been used to describe digital art, including computer art, electronic art, multimedia art, and new media art.
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple languages.
Computer art is art in which computers play a role in the production or display of the artwork. Such art can be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, video game, website, algorithm, performance or gallery installation. Many traditional disciplines are now integrating digital technologies and, as a result, the lines between traditional works of art and new media works created using computers has been blurred. For instance, an artist may combine traditional painting with algorithm art and other digital techniques. As a result, defining computer art by its end product can thus be difficult. Computer art is bound to change over time since changes in technology and software directly affect what is possible.
Digital Domain is a global visual effects and digital production company headquartered in Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California.
A trailer originally for a feature film that is going to be exhibited in the future at a movie theater or cinema. It is a product of creative and technical work.
Digital asset management (DAM) and the implementation of its use as a computer application is required in the collection of digital assets to ensure that the owner, and possibly their delegates, can perform operations on the data files.
Concept art is a form of visual art used to convey an idea for use in film, video games, animation, comic books, television shows, or other media before it is put into the final product. Concept art usually refers to world-building artwork used to inspire the development of media products, and is not the same as storyboard, though they are often confused.
Henry Guy Jenkins III is an American media scholar and Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts, a joint professorship at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He also has a joint faculty appointment with the USC Rossier School of Education. Previously, Jenkins was the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities as well as co-founder and co-director of the Comparative Media Studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has also served on the technical advisory board at ZeniMax Media, parent company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks. In 2013, he was appointed to the board that selects the prestigious Peabody Award winners.
Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large population segments. It utilizes various forms of media as technology has made the dissemination of information more efficient. Primary examples of platforms utilized and examined include journalism and advertising. Mass communication, unlike interpersonal communication and organizational communication, focuses on particular resources transmitting information to numerous receivers. The study of mass communication is chiefly concerned with how the content and information that is being mass communicated persuades or affects the behavior, attitude, opinion, or emotion of people receiving the information.
Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online-based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. It has significantly transformed the way brands and businesses utilize technology for marketing since the 1990s and 2000s. As digital platforms became increasingly incorporated into marketing plans and everyday life, and as people increasingly used digital devices instead of visiting physical shops, digital marketing campaigns have become prevalent, employing combinations of search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e-books, and optical disks and games have become commonplace. Digital marketing extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones, callbacks, and on-hold mobile ringtones. The extension to non-Internet channels differentiates digital marketing from online marketing.
R/GA is an innovation consultancy, and digital design and advertising agency, headquartered in New York City, with global offices in Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, London, Berlin, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo. The company has received a number of industry honors for its creative and media work, including Adweek's Digital Agency of the Decade in 2009 and Campaign Magazine's Digital Innovation Agency of the Decade in 2019. R/GA is a subsidiary of Interpublic Group of Companies.
A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be used for many purposes. They are a frequent tool of advertisers, propagandists, protestors, and other groups trying to communicate a message. Posters are also used for reproductions of artwork, particularly famous works, and are generally low-cost compared to the original artwork. The modern poster, as we know it, however, dates back to the 1840s and 1850s when the printing industry perfected colour lithography and made mass production possible.
Tim Palen is an American photographer and motion picture marketing executive. During his 17 years at Lionsgate he became known for using his own photography as part of the promotional campaigns for films. After Palen left Lionsgate in 2019 to found his own company, Barnyard Projects, he and Tyler Perry announced a joint venture, Peachtree and Vine, a production company located in Atlanta and Los Angeles.
The Clio Entertainment Awards is an awards program by Clio that recognizes "excellence in marketing and communications" across the entertainment industry—i.e., the industries of film, television, live entertainment, and gaming.
Drew Struzan is an American artist, illustrator and cover designer. He is known for his more than 150 movie posters, which include The Shawshank Redemption, Blade Runner, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, as well as films in the Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, and Star Wars film series. He has also painted album covers, collectibles, and book covers.
Arcane is an adult animated steampunk action-adventure television series created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee. It was produced by the French animation studio Fortiche under the supervision of Riot Games, and distributed by Netflix. Set in Riot's League of Legends universe, it primarily focuses on sisters Vi and Jinx. The series was announced at the League of Legends tenth anniversary celebration in 2019, and its first season was released in November 2021. A second and final season is set to be released between November 9 and 23, 2024.
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