Website Question

[etnad0]

We are currently designing the website for our mini series and I want to know if we should take pictures of the actors in costume or in regular clothes?

Also, how much or how little information about the series should the site contain? I looked at a lot of the pro sites but they have very little information on them about movies, but series have somewhat more info. I guess a mini series would be something in between but I'd like advice and suggestions.

http://www.thefallseries.com

This is a quick temporary trailer I did to spark some interest. I'll put up an actual trailer once we start filming. The actual site for this part of production will be:

http://www.thefallseries.com/retribution

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Will Vincent]

I would do character bios, with stills from the set with your actors in character.. and then maybe their headshot along with a quick rundown about who they are as an actor; what they've been in before, etc.

As for how much info about the series you want to divulge, that's your call. Will giving more information make people want to see it, or will it make them not need to see it as they'll feel they already know the story?

Presumably the purpose of the site is to generate interest in the project. So the question you need to answer is what amount of information best serves that need.

Off the top of my head, one option you might consider (I've seen this done a lot with TV series) would be to have your characters blog about their lives.

The key there is that it's the characters not the actors. Technically speaking these wouldn't have to be written by the actors -- and some would argue they probably should NOT be written by the actors, but rather by the writers of the series. This might be a good way to get some backstory out there, without having to worry about unnecessary exposition dialogue.. (not having exposition dialogue is almost always a good thing)

 

[etnad0]

I would do character bios, with stills from the set with your actors in character.. and then maybe their headshot along with a quick rundown about who they are as an actor; what they've been in before, etc.

I agree. I have those pages ready to go, I just haven't dropped the info in them yet. I am still putting everything in the order I want it to appear on the site. One idea I had was to take pics of the person in character and put their picture with the bios. I would also have an ongoing behind the scenes update as we progressed. I'll definitely consider adding some of the previous work they've done.

As for how much info about the series you want to divulge, that's your call. Will giving more information make people want to see it, or will it make them not need to see it as they'll feel they already know the story?

I'll keep that in mind. I wrote a short description on the second link. Hopefully its enough to draw interest but not too much so as to make people feel like they know the story, which I guarantee they don't, but they won't know that until they see it.

Presumably the purpose of the site is to generate interest in the project. So the question you need to answer is what amount of information best serves that need.

Off the top of my head, one option you might consider (I've seen this done a lot with TV series) would be to have your characters blog about their lives.

The key there is that it's the characters not the actors. Technically speaking these wouldn't have to be written by the actors -- and some would argue they probably should NOT be written by the actors, but rather by the writers of the series. This might be a good way to get some backstory out there, without having to worry about unnecessary exposition dialogue.. (not having exposition dialogue is almost always a good thing)

Very good idea. I'm thinking a video blog might be great in addition to the written. Maybe I'll post the video along with the words so depending on which one people prefer, they'll watch or read it. Thanks for the awesome suggestions.

 

[Jamster]

Melanie 18; very shy, keeps to herself and still lives at home with her mother. Best friend Travis worries about Melanie's unnatural obsession with the supernatural and weird claims of missing time.

Whilst Melanie browses in a local book store, a chance encounter with a stranger leads to pregnancy.

Just the beginning? Or an entry into a world that she knows absolutely nothing about...



Kayli; the new and therefore friendless, girl in town, has strange dreams with no one to share them with except her psychiatrist, Dr. Martin.

Her dreams soon turn to reality when a man appears in the middle of the night and after a few revelations, Kayli embarks on a mission to convert the world.


Marco; a high school drop out with no future, as far as he's concerned. Until a man appears from nowhere and offers him a job, which he quickly declines.

However, the man can’t take no for an answer and shoots a bullet into his brain.


Is there a connection between the three teenagers and if so what?

Who is the mysterious man that won’t take no for an answer and why?

And what will happen to them and those involved once his plans come to fruition?



"The Fall": a fast paced supernatural thriller that'll leave you wanting more.

Coming THE FALL of 2011.



Hey E, this isn't 100% right (I SUCK @grammar - lol) more to illustrate/inspire a less passive way to do this.

I wish you all the best going forward - please feel free to pm if you want to discuss farther

- cheers, Jim.

 

[etnad0]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look at rewording some of it.

 

[AlessandroN]

In my opinion the first think that makes a user decide if to spend more then 10 seconds on a site is the first impression, so I would suggest you to try to design a site that recalls the atmosphere of the TV series. If you want to use Word Press, feel free do to so, but find someone able to do some cool graphic that will make your site, and so your entire job, look more professional. The teaser is simple, but good, but the site needs more attention.
At this stage then I would concentrate on characters and I would avoid speaking about the actors in the main site ( you could have a blog where you introduce the actors). The main site should be an experience of the series, should almost be a virtual reality.
Make the users want to come back to discover the universe you are creating! Forget writing about technical staff like actors, casting, production etc.. Use a different site for that. Give users a magical world and they will come back.

Of course this is my humble opinion.
Take care,

Alessandro

 

[etnad0]

Thanks. We actually have that in mind. We are scheduling a character photo shoot for next week. Once its done we'll put the pics online and the background and header will be changed to include the actors. Right now its more of a skeleton to build on. This particular WP theme has tons of options that allow it to be customized without actually messing with the code. However, changing the code is an option as well. Thanks for the advice, I'll be putting it to use.