Film Moon

#Design #film #UI #ux/ui graphic design Webdesign

Film Moon - Matchmaking for Films & Festivals

Film Moon is a platform created for film people by film people. Their team contains film festival organisers, film makers, film journalists and film lovers. We collaborated with them from day one, they provided the disciplinary knowledge, and we helped with our digital expertise of product strategy and design.

The Challenge

Time is very precious for filmmakers, and finding the most relevant festivals to submit their films to can be very time-consuming and exhausting. This process has to be as efficient as possible, so filmmakers can devote more time and energy to their creative work. Organizing a festival is complex and often managed by one person, but currently there’s not a single versatile platform that can be used to successfully manage this task.

Our solution

We developed a platform that connects filmmakers and film festivals. It allows filmmakers to create a profile for their film, gain exposure, browse a huge database of films & festivals, with a filter that helps them find the most suitable festivals. Festivals can use the platform to manage and organize their event as well as browse the database. Film Moon is for all film professionals – producers, directors, programmers, for anyone who might take part in managing a film or festival.

Creating the brand

Parallel to UX, we started working on the Film Moon brand which eventually became the basis for the look of the UI. We were inspired by the Moon itself, and early silent films. We engaged with a dominantly black-and-white color palette to let all the different artworks of films and festivals prevail on the platform. We found common ground on a concept evoking 'Le Voyage dans la lune and the iconic moon face of Miéles.

The logo is an award

If an award (eg. „Editor’s Pick“, „Staff Pick“) is granted for a movie, this is how it can be shown.

Research

Filmmoon were a well prepared team when they decided to reach us. By then they had already tried to get the evidences to validate their core assumptions. They had demographic research and preparatory user interviews in the bag. We organized several workshops where we collaborated with our client to put all the pieces together.

Usabilty tests & fast iteration

We recorded interviews and usability test with film-makers and festival organisers when our first prototypes were ready. We iterated quickly on grouping informations and functions for the best use.

Grid System

For this project was made a responsive 1440px width content included grid system with 12 basic media points and 4 column responsive layout that makes a friendly background for the mobile versions.

UI fundamentals

We created the interfaces on an atomic design approach from the ground up. Creating a film database requires hundreds of variations of specific interface elements such as input fields and collection lists. We quickly realised that, this platform will be packed with lots of artworks and pictures that are all in different styles and ratios, so we decided on keeping the interface as neutral as possible.

In front of the user

The most spectacular parts of the platforms are the end pages of films and film festivals. We organised all the data tightly, and easy to adapt. We defined custom artwork areas so creators can customise their profile. The more informations they provide, the more interesting their profile could get.

Tons of forms

New come users have to fill a haul of informations on their profile for the first time use. We focused on minimalizing the efforts these users have to provide to get them started quickly. We hid irrelevant fields and grouped data elements to make upload faster. We used progress indicators to drive uploads. All the form pages have white backgrounds, so it's obvious if the user currently is in editor mode.

We love UX, we love UI, but what we really love is art

Developing a custom illustration system for Film Moon was a great way to add something unique to the brand. We recreated iconic scenes of famous movies in a storyboard alike style reflecting the nature of a film project.

Kudos from Film Moon

Melkweg provided crucially important advices and consulting regarding the project, and they currently are the digital backbone of this platform. They not only helped us with wonderful designs and bright ideas, but they helped us understand how a digital product is developed and layed-out. We currently are and will partner with Melkweg to ensure the successful future of Film Moon.

Dániel Deák, CEO @Film Moon