Source: The Dark Knight Rises (official website)
Being asked to write your first blog post for print is a bit like being picked out of a crowd and asked to bare your soul on stage in your underpants, mainly because similar questions come to mind in both scenarios: what do I talk about? Are people going to laugh at me? And why is it suddenly so hot in here? After consulting the wisdom of Mark Twain, I realised it’s probably best to stick to writing what I know – which probably isn’t an awful lot, but hey, it’s a start. So, being the AD team’s self-appointed movie buff, I decided to write about film, or rather, one particular film that’s been on my mind for a while.
Unless you’ve been hiding away from all news sources for the last few months, you will have realised by now that a new Batman film has been released, The Dark Knight Rises. Thrilling stuff, but what has that got to do with print? As it so happens, something caught my eye on my last trip to the O2’s Cineworld. It wasn’t the impressive art or the sumptuous design of the many one-sheets and standees for the latest blockbusters adorning the halls and corridors (I could go on about the merits of print in film art, but I’ve got a word count).
No, what caught my eye was a little pixelated black and white barcode at the bottom right of Batman’s imposing cut-out figure just outside Screen 6 – the omnipresent QR code. In one swift move, I scanned the code with my phone and was redirected to the film’s website, to be confronted with a secret and infinitely more cool Catwoman poster. The impeccable and highly stylised composition features a sharp heel shattering a tiny bat emblem, with a provocative red lipstick mark smudging the title.
It is only upon examining said poster that I realised the wonders the QR code has done for movie goers. Ever since the geek-asm I experienced in Cineworld, I’ve been on the hunt for more QR codes at the bottom corners of posters or on the back of DVD box cases. Most of the time all I get is a You Tube trailer. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I might just be treated to a sample of ingenious and utterly cool viral marketing. The potential of QR codes is truly amazing and opens up a whole new path for Hollywood marketing bods. For a true film buff like myself – the kind that enjoys the hype as much as the final product – the prospects are salivating.
And in case you haven’t seen The Dark Knight Rises yet, go see it. It’s brilliant.