question about "press kit"

The statement by the director is just that.. a statement, from the director, about the film. So, imagine you were in an interview, and the interviewer asked you to describe the movie.. That would be your statement.

This way, they can get actual legitimate quotes from the director, without having to interview him/her. You might also briefly put something in about the filmmaking process, challenges you faced, that kind of thing. Basically the kind of statement you would give in an interview. Short, of course -- I'd say a page at the most (double spaced)

Here's mine for HFD!

Greetings!

"High Fire Danger!" is our attempt to return to simple, old-fashioned fun in the style of a 20's era silent comedy. In doing so, we also had the fantastic opportunity to shoot on film, and to capture the picturesque beauty of the Rogue River and it's surrounding landscape, located on the southern coast of Oregon.

Personally, I found shooting silent is easier in that you don't need total silence and can command your actors while filming, but it was also more difficult as it has been many decades since actors expressed themselves with such large movements, as is necessary to convey the story on screen. The additional task of having the same actor play the three main characters of the film presented a rather difficult deliemma: With no split screen available, how can you cut together shots of two characters talking to each other in a scene when only one is at a time? How to make it believable to the audience?

In the end, my terrific team of actors, lead by Don Hayes, really performed well for the camera, and I think it shows in the final product.

The reversal (7265 Kodak) film we shot on was very limiting in its latitude - but again the end product is all that matters - and the film definately retains a very authentic look, which is exactly what we've been going for all along.

Our score was composed by our dear friend and local artist, Ted Gunlock, mixing and matching some of the finest ragtime piano scores ever created.

Recorded in 5.1 surround sound, the soundtrack attempts to recreate the old theater experience as well, offering the pianist located at the right front, and a projector from the rear center.

Hopefully the combination of all of this means a truly unforgettable experience for our audience... a true step back in time to days of simpler, more upbeat entertainment. In any case, it was a joy to work with such enthusiastic cast and crew on this film, and to get to relive the past myself, in back of the camera.

Trevor Greenfield
Writer/Director of "High Fire Danger"
http://www.highfiredanger.com

Thank you both, that helps immensely. I wasn't sure if it was a synopsis, etc, because most of the entry forms asked for that seperately, so I thought it might be some legal statement, such as 'By signing below I agree to the terms of yadda yadda...'

When talking about the experience of filming, should I highlight the low cost tools used to create the film, or would that degrade their opinion of the piece before even seeing it? I shot the entire thing on my Sony Cybershot, which is a 3 Megapixel still camera that just happens to let me take 15 sec movies with no audio.

Well, I didn't put any director's statements in the Macbeth 3000 Press Kit (the director prefers to remain silent and deadly), but since it was more or less a 5-person driven effort, we did a bio for each major player in production. We're kind of a silly example, and I learnt how to use photoshop WHILE making the press kit, but if you're interested in seeing ours:

Click this muthafucking link

Now, you'll notice the 3rd or so page lists all the low-budget techniques... but our movie is SUPPOSED to be a low budget, hackish piece of crap. If you are aiming at attracting people to a quality work (not a Z-list action/comedy bonanzarama) I'd leave out your low budget techniques. It'll also lower the selling price of your flick if you plan to sell it to distros. If it looks like a $10,000 production, then go for it. If it looks like a $50,000 production and you made it for $10,000... sell it, and then brag about the budget after.

But wait a minute... I just re-read what you shot it on... hell, that's kind of impressive. In your case, I'd go for it. It's so anti-pro that it could work as a selling point. Is it a feature though?

Thanks for that example!

No, the film is not a feature (link in my sig to the critique thread here, if you wanna check it out). I was just using the tools I had at my disposal. I took a few classes on Cinema 4D and Vegas in college (I dropped out, but not before taking advantage of my student ID to get al the shiney software at ridiculously low prices). Eventually I'd like to get a real video camera, even if only consumer grade... or maybe I can go on making quirky silent shorts with my still camera. We'll see...

Here is a link to my HORRORS OF WAR press kit
http://www.horrorsofwarmovie.com/internal/presskit.pdf

That has just about everything. I based it on Miramax's 1998 SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE press kit.

I also made an online "EPK" (Electronic Press Kit) that contains additional stuff like press releases etc.
http://www.horrorsofwarmovie.com/epk.php