Boris Vesselinov—a talented filmmaker, and close friend—asked if I could create a poster for his proof-of-concept short film Zero. This WWII story explores the tense alliance between two enemy soldiers, after they become stranded on a deserted Pacific island.

I knew I wanted to avoid a conventional ‘floating heads’ type poster, where the actor’s faces take up half the piece in combination with some element of the environment. We were aiming for something more creative, that could capture the severity of the situation these characters were in without feeling forced.

Inspired by Midnight Marauder’s poster for I’m Thinking of Ending Things, I was drawn to the idea of artificially extending one of the stills from the film to create a wider image. The director wanted to ensure both characters were featured prominently, along with an indication of their at-odds relationship. I felt this moment best indicated that these are men at war, always with a finger on the trigger.

Part of what I think works so well about the title/credits design here is how it bears down on the protagonist. Rather than just having a clear sky above him, he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Once the title design was complete, my last adjustment was adding a hint of yellow to the top left of the poster. It gave it more texture and depth.