Bringing a Close Encounters Documentary Film Into the Light

THE APROACH

The plan was to create a web design as sensational as the film’s central theme: “real-life close encounters of the third kind.” In addition to this, the 701 team needed a strategy to ensure their website could expand along with the film’s growth—from the fundraising stage, through filming and film production, and onto the final movie site with promotional merchandise and teaser trailers.

Regular updates played a major part in this plan, and the film crew needed full access to update content and publish or hide sections as the production schedule demanded. We saw a WordPress site as a natural fit, as it would allow multiple users to access and manage site content. The challenge lay in creating an engaging website that could comply with their state-of-the-art request for scalability.

THE RESULT

To curate content for the site, we identified key stories by sifting through the sheer volume of film and photographic assets that the talented 701 production team had gathered. Our creative director worked closely with the 701 director and producers to select content for four feature cases that included documentary film footage; behind-the-scenes production photos and videos; archival print materials, audio and video.

When crafting a brand identity and web design to anchor their online presence, we concepted a style and theme by interviewing key stakeholders and combing through the asset libraries for creative inspiration. These interviews led us to research targeting the 1940s and 1950s—particularly print materials from the U.S. government and military. This collage represents one of the mood boards used in the style discussions that centered around the final look and feel.

The biggest piece of the puzzle was creating an entirely customized WordPress website design with features like: 1) a custom auto-play full-screen video animation on the homepage and internal pages to create an “iMax” theatrical experience for site visitors (this enabled us to showcase high-definition content in the best light); 2) customized slideshows to display the film assets in beautiful settings for maximum impact; 3) featured content showcased in customized, expandable overlays onto film and photography assets, allowing the viewer to read, watch, and absorb the story all at once; 4) parallax scrolling to provide an eerie yet elegant effect to maximize impact; 5) and a responsive web design to show the best views on any screen, without compromising the effects that make the film experience so compelling.

Lastly, our website designers created a custom Services landing page that features three main categories, from which users can expand to see additional subcategories. This approach not only improved search engine optimization, but also made it easy and intuitive for site visitors to find a direct path to access more information.