Looking For Local Poster Artists... The Beginning Of Alternative Designs
The above newspaper clipping, part of an Australian wide film poster contest promotion, appeared in a Perth,W.A. newspaper on Tuesday 20th February, 1934. The aim of the contest was to hopefully discover some new Australian film poster artists. Interestingly the entries would need to be in daybill size. Note the daybill size is mentioned as being 15 x 35 and not 15 X 40 as we know them today as being the size of long daybills. The 5'' difference therefore would be the blank area I assume. As Paramount were running the completion and the Richardson Studio, since the 1920's had been producing all the Paramount daybills, the using of the daybill size possibly was to make it easier for the participants in the contest to handle. I am thinking Paramount's aim was to enhance the local appeal by altering the artwork from being exactly the same, as the International House one sheets from 1933 appearing above are, with the U.S. one sheet on the left and the Australian one sheet on the right, to what would appeal at times more to Australian audiences. I believe Paramount had in mind that any talent found, if any, would be used in the designing of one sheets and three sheets, and work would be found for them with the printer's that would produce locally designed posters down the track for Paramount. I notice a few MGM Australian one sheets and some other companies posters from 1931 were exactly the same as U.S. artwork. Sometime or another after 1934 the same duplicate artwork was changed on some Australian posters with alternative designs used, often sourced from various sources, and not just the one source.
Comments
March 1934:
Here are some great articles on some of the great aussie poster artists of the 20s.
You can go to the source directly...Everyone's in the 1925 editions...search for Knights of the Pencil and Brush.
I could only locate 8...seems they stopped there.
However if anyone finds any others or anything similar in their travels, I would love to know about it
https://www.moviemem.com/articles/australian-movie-poster-artists/fred-powis-australian-movie-poster-artist