Filmmaking for Change, 2nd edition by Jon Fitzgerald

Author:Jon Fitzgerald [Fitzgerald, Jon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions
Published: 2017-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

Website Development

While this may not seem like part of post-production, the website tends to evolve here. You want to be developing this hand-in-hand with your post schedule. This is your window to the world, so it’s critical that you give this proper attention. There is quite a range of design and functionality to film websites, and while studios spend more on their film sites than you probably did on your entire film, you can still create an interesting one. A number of sites offer user-friendly templates, with Square Space and Weebly being two of the leading candidates. They’re very easy to use, and much more intuitive than WordPress.

Remember that you are not selling coffee or appliances. You are in the film business, a visual medium, and there is a level of expectation from audiences for film- related sites to have a certain level of visual style and presentation. This will become your single biggest support vehicle—your branding opportunity—so think of interesting clips, the core themes, images and color schemes. Think of the key art that you will use to sell your movie.

As with many of the other categories, the price fluctuates for web design. You want to be innovative, while being informative. But there are many new companies looking for opportunities to work on film sites and design students willing to work for next to nothing to build their portfolio. Be sure to consider many options. Sure, some people would like to believe the film should sell itself. It’s just about how good the movie is. Personally, I think presentation is very important. This could be likely be your first impression, and we all know you only get one shot at those.

Beyond your color schemes, key art, and maybe a tagline, there are few key elements to any legitimate film site. Keep in mind that you may be launching your site before certain elements are in place. For example, you may not have a trailer yet. You may not have festival screening dates, or clips ready to show. Be sure whoever designs Phase I of your website knows you intend to expand. This could affect their initial design layout and programming. You want to develop the site with opportunity for expansion without a total redesign. Here are some of the basic elements:

About the Film (with sub navigation for synopsis, cast and crew, filmmaker bios)

Trailer (may not be ready yet)

A contact link

Key art or branding, from title treatment to color scheme

Email collection or join feature to collect info

Social media icons

A call to action to get involved

Eventually, you will add:

How to see the film (whether at fests, in theaters or online)

Store (either you fulfill or link to distributor)

Press kit

Reviews

Tool kit (hopefully!)

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