The 12th annual Newport Beach Film Festival began April 28, and is receiving plenty of attention thanks to a comprehensive promotional campaign from RPA. The multimedia effort, spearheaded by creatives Scott McDonald, Laura Hauseman and Tom Hamling, includes a trailer by Biscuit’s Aaron Stoller and festival posters and program art by world-renowned artists such as Linda Zacks, 3-D artists Ars Thanea, SHOTOPOP, illustrator Henry Obasi, fashion illustrator Stina Persson, Los Angeles street artist Septerhed, and fine arts sculptor Jon Seaton.
“The Newport Beach Film Festival is continuing its tradition of doing breakout work and further growing its audience. They’re already a top American festival, but their image is now growing internationally,” said McDonald. “So we decided to create a campaign that was as artful and interesting as the films that come from so many different corners of the world. This year really focused on honoring an artist’s interpretation, whether it be ‘boy-meets-girl’ or the 24 letters of our name.”
A perfect bit of comedy, the trailer reveals the miracle behind filmmaking through the voice of a director/narrator who takes us through every misstep in his quest to produce the perfect boy-meets-girl film. First, the lead actor forgets his line. Then the studio big-brothers his lingerie-clad heroine and dresses her in a towel. A fight scene just won’t turn out right. And the guy who steals the girl looks far too similar to the one who had her to begin with. In the end, the director is satisfied that he at least got the font right for the final credits—until he changes his mind on that as well. In its camera angles, lighting, movement, and every other detail, the trailer looks as good as the films it is promoting. The trailer is being shown before every film, as with RPA work for past festivals.
“We think the audience will relate to the ups and downs of making a film,” noted Hauseman. “Most of them have been there at some point, and will relate to these universal truths.”
The print art—covering every aspect of the festival, from the opening screen shots of all 350 films and an onsite gallery to the event programs (with four different covers) and prominent places around Orange County—offers a variety of interpretations of the festival’s meaning and significance.
Notable print pieces include the storyboard-like cover art by Henry Obasi and a SHOTOPOP cover design that features a crystalline hat or mask (it is open to interpretation) with film festival art on top of it. Jon Seaton created a special font for the festival: starting with a stencil of the text, he deposited soot onto a piece of paper, essentially burning it into a backdrop.
One of the headliner pieces, by New York’s Linda Zacks, is a unique creation that has the look of something that has been painted with light. “Linda’s interpretation was that filmmaking is really nothing more than the manipulation of light particles,” stated McDonald. “This piece of key art will anchor the outside of the festival on ads, digital billboards, bus shelters and other high-traffic areas around Los Angeles and Orange County.”
To design the print art, RPA took the 24 letters of the festival’s name, set it in simple type, then launched an international search to find accomplished artists in a variety of genres. The result was 14 varied talents from all over the world, each of whom RPA granted free reign to do as they wished to create their own unique interpretation of the Newport Beach Film Festival.
“We had everything from these folks working in a shipping container off the Thames River in London and a guy in Iceland to a fashion illustrator in Stockholm. We had some folks working out of San Francisco and New York and some 3-D designers in Warsaw,” continued McDonald. “And so we had a really interesting, eclectic group of people trying to bring their interpretation to these letters. There was incredible appeal for these artists behind this project given the acclaim the Newport Beach Film Festival has received.”
The 350 films from 45 countries screening at this year’s festival, which will run until May 5, include several screened at Sundance (Bobby Fischer Against the World, Project Nim, Prairie Love, These Amazing Shadows, Trollhunter and We Were Here), and A Beginner’s Guide to Endings (Closing Night) and The Whistleblower, which screened in Toronto. Fifteen films will make their world premieres, each hoping to follow the template laid down by Crash, which debuted at Newport Beach in 2005 and went on to win three Oscars. East Fifth Bliss (Michael C. Hall, Peter Fonda, Lucy Liu), A Beginner’s Guide to Endings (Harvey Keitel, Scott Caan, J.K. Simmons), and Balls to the Wall (Jenna Dewan, Christopher McDonald) are already receiving critical attention.
“This may be our best film lineup yet,” stated Newport Beach Film Festival Cofounder and Director of Marketing, Todd Quartararo. “With so much talent turning out so many incredible films, anticipation is running very, very high. We wanted an agency that could really capture this excitement, and, after working for so many years with RPA, we knew they wouldn’t disappoint.”
“For all of us at RPA, the opportunity to work with Newport Beach Film Festival is a great celebration of art and creativity and our continued partnership with the Festival allows us to give back to the Southern California arts and entertainment community that we are proud to be a part of,” said McDonald. This is just the latest in a long line of RPA contributions to the Newport Beach Film Festival. Last year, the agency released two unique spots with Tool of North America. In 2009, each movie opened with a humorous tongue-in-cheek montage of classic studio movie openers.
Credits
Client: Newport Beach Film Festival
Launch Date: April 2011
Agency: RPA
ECD: David Smith
CD(s): Scott McDonald, Laura Hauseman, Tom Hamling
Sr. VP/EP: Gary Paticoff
Sr. Producer: Selena Pizarro
Sr. Art Buyer: Deb Grisham
Prod. Co.: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Aaron Stoller
DP: Simon Duggan
EP(s): Shawn Lacy, Holly Vega
Line Producer: Rick Jarjoura
Production Designer: Dan Butts
Editorial: Spot Welders
Editorial: Lucas Spaulding
Assistant Editor: Sophie Kornberg
Post Producer: Patrick McElroy
EP: David Glean
Telecine: Company 3
Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld
EP: Rhubie Jovanov
VFX: Public VFX
Lead Flame Artist(s): Brad Scott, James Allen
Matte Painter: Tim Matney
Producer: Marlo Kinsey
Titles: LOGAN
EP: Matthew Marquis
Audio Post: Eleven
Mixer: Jeff Payne
Music: Sutja Gutiérrez, Original Soundtrack “Lucy”
Composer: Sutja Gutiérrez
Music (Music Insert Only): Beacon Street Studios, Clip “Lovers Lane”
Composer(s): John Nau, Andrew Feltenstein
Musician(s): John Nau, Andrew Feltenstein, Derek Breakfield
Shoot Location: Downtown L.A.
About the Newport Beach Film Festival
Celebrated as one of the leading film festivals in the United States, the Newport Beach Film Festival has evolved into a prestigious multicultural event, attracting over 51,000 attendees to Southern California. Committed to enlightening the public with a first-class international film program, a forum for cultural understanding and enriching educational opportunities, the Festival focuses on showcasing a fresh and diverse collection of studio and independent films from around the globe. Located along the pristine Orange County coastline, the Newport Beach Film Festival offers attendees an optimal setting to experience filmmaking at its best. With its action-packed slate of film screenings, red-carpet galas, international spotlights, nightly receptions, compelling conversations with filmmakers, fashion shows, music performances and industry seminars, the Newport Beach Film Festival has quickly gained recognition among filmmakers and audiences worldwide. The 12th annual Newport Beach Film Festival runs April 28th-May 5th, 2011, and will spotlight over 350 films from around the world.
About RPA
RPA, headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., is a leading independent advertising agency. RPA builds momentum for brands by offering its clients truly integrated campaigns that resonate throughout its disciplines, which include traditional advertising, interactive, and direct and event marketing. RPA‘s client list includes American Honda, both the Honda and Acura brands, California Department of Public Health, La-Z-Boy, Farmers Insurance Group and Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. www.rpa.com
