This week I have once again discussed several times whether or not it is advisable to include festival laurels in the DCP copy and screening copies. It is usually a very recurring topic when you start circulating a film.
The laurels (and logos) are usually sent by festivals once the film has been selected or awarded. If you do not receive them, you can create your own laurels with this online creator: Laurel Leaves Awards Creator.
These laurels are normally used on posters and shared on social media, but… Should I include them in screening copies, in the DCP and in the digital files?
The most important festivals—premiere festivals with international prestige such as Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Venice, etc.—require it.
In these cases there is no doubt: you must include the logo or laurel before the film. The total running time will include the seconds with the laurel on screen; they add prestige and directly inform programmers and audiences about the quality of the film.
The question arises when we are dealing with laurels or logos from medium-sized or small festivals that, moreover, do not require it.
First of all, you have to take into account the technical difficulties involved in adding festival logos to the film itself:
- The copies will always be out of date. Every time you have new selections, you will have to incur an extra cost to create new copies.
- By adding logos to the DCP you will change the film’s running time, so you will have to re-sync the subtitles and create a new copy. To solve this problem, the logos can be added as a separate video. That way, it is only necessary to repackage the DCP to remove or add a new logo, without re-digitising the full video again. In any case, it is still an expense and a complication.
- With QuickTime digital files, you do have to digitise everything again. Therefore, you will have to upload them again to Vimeo and to the submission platforms.
Apart from these technical issues, is it worth it? Will programmers value the laurels in the film?
As I said before, in the film itself, laurels and logos from the most important festivals are valued, but not so much those from other festivals. I do not think it is worth the technical complications and loading the copies with logos. There are better options for these cases.
A default image on Vimeo is one of the best options.
The image on Vimeo allows you to change the logos quickly and easily, and they are seen before pressing play. This option is becoming increasingly important, especially now that most submission platforms accept Vimeo links.
In general terms, these would be the best places to use laurels:
- Poster.
- Default image on Vimeo.
- Website, both on the homepage and in the awards and festivals section.
- Social media.
- Film trailer.
In any case, you should be careful not to overload the Vimeo image or the poster with laurels; choose the most important and prominent ones. Not all have the same prestige, and you may cause the opposite effect: programmers may not take your film seriously. On the other hand, on the website and on social media you can share them without any problem.
Where do you usually use festival laurels? Which options do you prefer?