Here's how it shook out: John Hargrove & John Jett voted for the original poster, as best version. Carol Ray & Jeffrey Ventre voted for the new poster. Samantha Berg liked them both about the same.
JJ: I like the old one. Just my two-cents.
Carol: OMG, I LOVE this! Now I really want a t-shirt. [I] loved the other one too, don't get me wrong, but this is fantastic. And, I love the, 'Don't capture what you can't control'....awesome!
JV: Pardon my French, but Holy F-ing Shit. Amazing. Thx Gab!
JH: I like the old one too! But this one isn't bad.
Samantha: Oh wow! I love it! I get chills just looking at the poster. Powerful. I do miss the old picture, but the tag line is PERFECT.
NEW VERSION
Original Version
The original is brilliant because of the play on the orca, it catches the eye. The second is chilling, dynamic and haunting all at the same time. That being said, I have to go with two.
ReplyDeleteMy vote = combine old picture with new tag line
ReplyDeleteAt first, I was sad to think the original version was replaced with this new poster. But as I kept looking at the new version (with the powerful tagline: Never Capture What You Can't Control) I realized the sense of loss was more about aesthetics. The original poster is amazing, as well as haunting, but more in an other-worldly way.
ReplyDeleteThe new one, however, is a punch in the gut -- I think because you realize that's a captive blackfish, and his whole body looks so bent and beaten. It brought tears to my eyes the first time I saw it, and given the content, that kind of emotional response is exactly what people should be feeling looking at this image.
I think I’m still going to miss the cool factor of the original poster, but my vote goes to the new one.
The old version is beautiful in a very artful way, but compared to the new, makes the orca seem too ominous (think JAWS). The new poster allows more empathy. It's a better design, and is clearly anti-captivity.
ReplyDeleteThanks everybody for commenting, thus far. We've got Whale & Dolphin Conservation (WDC) & Jordan W. voting for the original version via Twitter & Tumblr, respectively. Jordan brings up a good point, and that is, it appears the new version is modeled after Keiko, whereas the original is Tilikum. We also like Michelle's idea of the "old" Tilikum image with the new tag line. Please keep the comments coming! We've got this posted at Tumblr with lots and lots of comments there.
ReplyDeleteI think the new image makes for a captivating poster, it reminds me of the first photos of Morgan in a tank that ripped my heart out! The first image though, with its symmetry, would work beautifully on a t-shirt. I'd buy a bag with the second image on it though :)
ReplyDeleteI like the new picture more, but do not like the tag line at all. For me it implies that *if* you can control it, it's ok to capture it. Just how I interpret it.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point.
DeleteThat's how I read it also. Egos think they can break a spirit to eventually control it. Blackmailing blackfish with food etc to do their tricks on command. Disgusting!
DeleteI have to agree, it sounds like it's fine to capture any wild creature if you can control it. Like the humiliating old chimps tea parties, dancing elephants and preforming big cats where pain equals control and blackfish behaving like clowns for food. It's disgusting and humiliating for these amazing and regal animals.
DeleteI do like the picture in the new poster but it doesn't have the haunting effect of the second. Difficult call. I love both images for different reasons, though I can see where someone said the 1st image felt ominous in a jaws type way.
I really liked the first one a lot, as it gave me an feeling of impeding doom... That said I do think I have to go with no 2. It's dynamic, the tag-line couldn't be better, and from a commercial point of view I think this poster will interest the public, drawing a crowd, and that's what a poster is all about in the movie-business I suppose. Still, I wouldn't mind having both, AND the t-shirts too!
ReplyDeleteBoth sounds good!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree about the control comment. While it is a catchy tagline, captivity and the captive life of dolphis is an ethical issue, not about WHO we can control.
DeleteI love everything about the second poster but the original has a powerful image. If she decides to go with the first image, I think it would be a good idea to lighten the background slightly so that the whale "pops". It is difficult to see his silhouette from a distance with that image. I would still keep the tagline on the second though :)
ReplyDeleteThx Heather. Good points. And not sure who makes the selection (G vs Magnolia, etc)
DeleteI actually liked the original better. It made a statement of a dark side...some may say a dark side to Tili and others may say a dark side to the industry, and even others may say a dark side to the controversy of captivity. The new one is beautiful, but the same statement is not made in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteGood point, I hadn't thought about it like that but I think you're right.
DeleteGood point, I hadn't thought about it like that but I think you're right.
DeleteThey're both beautiful, but PLEASE lose the tag line. "Don't capture what you can't control." I don't like the whole dominance message (so if animals are passive it's okay to capture them?). Both images are amazing; I do agree the first one is more ominous and second is more empathic. #2, sans tag line. <3
ReplyDeleteWow such great comments! Thanks to insightful remarks above, I'm questioning now the wording of the tagline.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't know what blackfish is in the new image, but I definitely think it should be Tilikum or Keto, preferably Tili.
And I really liked Meli W's point that the dark side (of Tili & the #SeaCircus) plays more in original image; and also points to branding and merchandise. As far as that goes, the original image would be my pick, hands down.
I agree whatever sort of image you go for it needs to be a picture of Tilikum.
DeleteI agree whatever sort of image you go for it needs to be a picture of Tilikum.
DeleteI prefer the old one.
ReplyDeleteMy issues with new one are firstly, the orca looks so much like Keiko, it immediately looks more like a Free Willy poster. Secondly, the orca looks kind of cuddly? Again, giving the wrong impression.
I feel the original poster is darker, more striking and attention-grabbing and better reflects the tones of the film. As others have mentioned, it also has an alien, other-wordly feel to it, which reminded me of what John Jett said about orcas being 'from another planet'.
I do love the new tagline but Orcinus makes a very good point. Ideally, I'd like the old poster combined with the new tagline but perhaps it can be reworded.
I liked the old poster. It was striking. It made you stop and look at it and think, “What IS that?” It also made the Orca look villainous and I think the film will ask us to consider that we are the villain for what we have done to these animals over the past 50 years.
ReplyDeleteThe more I look at the new poster the more I like it. I like that every poster and every DVD cover will show an Orca with the words, “NEVER CAPTURE.”
I understand why some don’t like the tag line. But the poster needs to appeal to kids at the mall. What would be a better tag line?
Is this poster design final or is it being tested?
I see the film has gotten a rating: PG-13.
I wish great success for Gabriela Cowperthwaite and her film, Blackfish.
The original is better by a mile
ReplyDeleteI see Tilikum staring at me, daring me to watch a film that will be hard to watch but which has a very powerful message behind it. I see an orca that lives up to the name "blackfish". I see an orca that's been abused, shoved into a life he never should have been in. The effect overall is very haunting - it forces you to take a step back and realise that this documentry will hit a sore spot for some. He stares directly at you, daring you to face the truth.
You don't get that feeling from the second one. The orca isn't daring you to watch, he's begging you to. The orca is NOT TILIKUM. The orca in the second poster is Keiko - an orca that has had his story told and was released into the wild. This is false advertising. I want to see the story of Tilikum, not Keiko, and using the second poster with an image of the wrong orca pushes me away instead of drawing me in. It's not as compelling or visually inspiring as the original one.
re: the tag line. i think we are all pretty sensitive about such linguistic subtleties in our work for cetacean freedom, though i think the point of the poster is to be catchy to a potential (uninformed) audience and i think the tag line does that. and, if we think outside the box a bit... perhaps the 'what' isn't always about 'the orca'...perhaps it's about greed, perhaps it's about the psyche of a being, perhaps it's about tilly capturing keltie/daniel/dawn and the ramifications for him, etc. it can be interpreted many ways and that is what i like about it. the movie is about more than tilly and changing the tag line limits it's potential interpretations and 'play on word' appeal. imo. -carol
ReplyDeleteI have to go with the old one. It speaks volumes without a tagline.
ReplyDeleteThe caption of the first poster should be on the second poster, the way the whale is facing you so straight forward and then having that caption can bring haunting chills down your spine.
ReplyDeleteAesthetically, I like the new poster, It is more powerful and offers a punch in the gut to viewers. I think the distortion of the original poster detracts from this. I wish they had an image of Tili to use in this pose, rather than Keiko, but Keiko's story offers hope for Tili's future. His release was successful and Tili can do the same!
ReplyDeleteOriginal one.
ReplyDeleteI like the new poster but the tagline is iffy for me. "Never capture what you can't control." It implies that if we can control an animal, it's okay to do so.
ReplyDeletethe new one is awesome! I would love a shirt with that "never capture what you can't control" whoever thought of that is a genius! I live in maryland and will be traveling to new york to see it next friday! I cannot wait!
ReplyDeleteI like the new one! The original one is harder to distinguish the orca for those less familiar, and the tag line on the new one is well done.
ReplyDeletePlease, please, please,
ReplyDeleteKeep the original one for sure! It 'says' everything without having to state the obvious.
I say both are good. If you wanna make shirts to help, I say make both into shirts. I'd take the image of the orca in the new version, keep the tagline and the title, and make that into a shirt. Though the old version is more scary looking.
ReplyDeleteI like the NEWER version. I do not like Variety's comment though touting Blackfish as a "Thriller". There should be no doubt or question that this is Based on True and Factual Events.
ReplyDelete