Are you thinking ahead, getting ready to promote your next event? Have you created a project that is garnering awards and recognition and you want to let the media know? Keep reading and you’ll learn how to create an EPK – Electronic Press Kit. EPK is a step up from a press release and provides editors with a lot more information — all in one document attached in your email.
Arizona Dance Coalition member Nicole Romine created, directed and produced a short film introducing one of the ‘characters’ in her planned ‘big stage’ project MOON. ‘Mistress of Tears’ was performed by ballet dancer Anisa Sinteral-Scott, filmed in Prescott, and submitted to ‘short film festivals’ in Europe. Its world premiere was October 1-5, 2020, at the 18th International Festival Signes de Nuit, Paris, France. That was the beginning of what is now a ‘dance short film’ being screened around the world! Outstanding work, Nicole! Plus, Nicole has won three BEST DIRECTOR awards, and BEST SCORE for Canadian composer Dave Klotz.
When I saw Nicole’s posts on Facebook announcing Mistress of Tears’ international screenings at festivals, I asked her if she was letting the media know. We then embarked on a mission to learn how ‘film’ promoters get the word out. The answer — EPK – electronic press kit.
In my old p.r. days (job #1), we created custom 2-pocket folders for editors. The right side pocket contained the press release, background information on the ‘celebrity’ promoting the product, and a schedule of appearances. The left pocket contained photos with photo captions. We used ‘rubber cement’ to attach the captions to the photos! [I just had a vivid memory of the smell.]
Jump forward decades to the creation of Adobe Acrobat PDF (1991). In this program you can merge multiple documents into one PDF – public document format. It enables you to ‘organize’ your information in one tidy package and attach it in an email.
Nicole’s Mistress of Tears PDF — aka EPK — contains:
- a banner image, title, contact info, premiere date, quotes, and a synopsis on page 1
- the Director’s Statement followed by Cast and Crew bios on pages 2-3
- a list of screenings, honorable mentions, awards, and credits on page 4
- photo collage with a hyperlink to the Google DRIVE for high resolution photos (300+ dpi – dots per inch) (editors like to pick their photos if they have a choice) and a hyperlink to the TRAILER (very short promotional video clip on YouTube) on page 5
- full-page poster on page 6 with film festival ‘laurels’ – a wreath symbol used by the film industry
You can download the Mistress of Tears EPK here.
STORAGE & ORGANIZATION
The DRIVE stores high resolution photos, testimonials, and all related documents, making it easy to share with others. Direct editors to a folder within the drive titled PHOTOS where they can see all the photos at a glance. Make sure the title of each photo contains the resolution (at least 300 dpi) and credits the photographer and person(s) in the photo. This simplifies the process of photo selection for the editor — no need to download, open, and verify size. Some people may opt to use DROPBOX (a storage service) instead of their DRIVE.
Here’s a great YouTube clip describing 10 THINGS YOU NEED IN YOUR EPK (for a band) by a young woman with a British accent (always more credible when they have a British accent!!). You’ll benefit from hearing everything she has to say. It’s short too.
If you have any questions about creating an EPK, don’t hesitate to contact me. If you are an ADC member, I’ll personally walk you through the process, edit your press release and related documents, and create the EPK.
Krystyna Parafinczuk, ADC Treasurer | February 3, 2021
gro.noitilaocecnadzanull@anytsyrk
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