Ovation Film Fest
January - April 2024
Role Advised by Team
Producer Dr. Carl Marcum Eliot Herron, Emma Martin
Applauding the next generation of filmmakers
Carnegie Mellon University didn’t have a film festival celebrating exclusively student-created cinema. I produced Ovation Film Fest, an applause-filled debut of 12 short films, creating the branding, marketing materials, and event production.
“When there’s a big screen and audience.”
One night, on my couch, I asked my roommate (a film student) when her short film’s debut would be. “When there’s a big screen and audience,” she answered. Ovation Film Fest answered this gap—at Carnegie Mellon, there was no accessible avenue for students to debut short films, which belong on big screens, not laptop monitors.
Ovation Film Fest was a one-night only event that celebrated student filmmakers as they were, connecting them with an audience that was eager to see their work. On April 24, 2024, Carnegie Mellon University hosted the first annual Ovation Film Fest to an audience of over 50 people, including Pittsburgh film professionals who connected with student filmmakers after the event.
Naming + Planning
I anticipated the still nameless film festival to skew formal and presentational, but in casual interviews with student filmmakers (target audience) I discovered pushback.
“I want somewhere to show my work, but I don’t want to wear a suit and tie.” One filmmaker said. “What would you want to wear to this event?” I asked. “My hoodie. Or like… Sweatpants?”
What was at first professional and polished shifted to ‘come-as-you-are, informing the brand.
“Ovation Film Fest” was the final name: “Ovation” conjured up an end result (much deserved applause), without much friction for filmmakers. While talking to student filmmakers, I realized they didn’t say “festival,” and decided to keep the name of the event in their voice.
Visual Branding
The visual design was informed by the naming and event production research. Keywords were: “cheeky, cinematic, eclectic.”
Event Marketing
While marketing the event, I wanted to make sure that it didn’t feel like a student event, even though it highlighted student filmmakers. To target a larger audience, I created some more traditional marketing deliverables (website, posters, press release) as well as some non-traditional (see zine tickets!).
Social Media content
Zine Ticket (Distributed at CMU)
Poster
Website
(Click to visit!)
Final Product
Ovation Film Fest was on April 24 and drew in an audience of 50 people including student filmmakers, film-enthusiasts, and local film professionals.
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