I'm wondering about press kits. Namely, what's included in them, aside from pictures that have cast and crew information. How critical are they for shorts submitted to festivals, and what's the best way to go about making them (aside from withoutabox.com : :shock: )? Are there specifications? Any information would be helpful, thanks!
well, the one i have in front of me for the cooler just basically has lots of information on the film, and lots of background stuff on the cast and crew... it doesn't look like it has too much else.
A few key items that should be included in the press kit are a LOG LINE, a TV GUIDE SIZE SYNOPSIS, and a ONE PAGE SYNOPSIS.
Biographies of the key players, Director / Writer / Producer / Actors
PUBLICITY STILLS
Any film info, making of etc... Showing at...
Those are key, then you can dd on with Cast headshots, behind the scenes photos and anything else relevant.
I've recently been doing my press kit on the business card CD-ROM's, a great hand out for anyone. Business card and press kit in one.
What kind of paper should things be printed on in press kits? Are there special ways of doing this?
Just a basic clean white paper, yuou might want to go with a slightly heavier weight to make you seem like a heavy weight (meh....)
Seriously, I would use something slightly better than the typical printer paper, but don't worry about it to much. One thing that really adds to the press kit is make the folder impressive, use clear folder labels and print out a logo or films still or something and put it on the cover. Unless you have a printer that can feed the whole folder through and actually print on it.
But don't leave your folder front blank. For my web series "Smoke & Mirrors:The Magicians" the folder (before I went to cd-roms) was a slick black with my Feast of Fools Films logo and then my tag line "secrets, deception and manipulation... it's their job" and the title bold and center.
The best thing to do is to get yourself into a press screening of a movie wherever you are. There are usually press kits handed out there -- professional kits. Use those as a template. Glossy folders, types of sleeves and envelopes, etc.
Ultimately, as much as people like their work to speak for itself, presentation DOES MATTER.