Filmin, the leading online independent film platform in Spain, commissioned us with the conceptualization of a new website designed to discover films through the history of Europe spanning the past 150 years.
Challenge
In the initial commission, browsing through a map was proposed, but during the first conceptualization workshops, we began considering the possibility of creating a new experience that allowed playing with other related concepts and categories. To also take into account the educational aspect, Filmin gave us the absolute freedom to propose a new experience based on a first selection of over 500 films from its catalogue.
Early wireframe prototypes (Desktop + Responsive)
Navigation
The strategy was to therefore offer the possibility of finding the contents in different ways, that was why navigation was proposed in 4 main blocks: events, characters, timeline, and map. Like this, the history could be discovered from different points of view that are, at the same time, linked one another. We sought to make browsing for a film fun and have each visit come with a surprise. We did not want browsing to be traditional, so we turned the experience into a game and a discovery, allowing the user to create a new account of historical events. We were given the opportunity to create a film “encyclopedia” of the history of Europe.
Concept
The global concept that shaped the website was: “The Filmin Times”, a diary of events that helps us explain the history of Europe through various films in a newspaper format. It would have a classic newspaper style headline and transform all the contents and files of the films into authentic news of the time. This creative concept forced us to create new fields in the management system of Filmin, and thanks to the collaboration of the internal editorial team, we were permitted to write journalistic content for each of the films, including a headline, a highlight and a synopsis.
The Filmin Times. The history of Europe told through the cinema.
It is a website in newspaper format that is simultaneously complemented with relevant information about events, putting them into context, the biographies of the main characters, and other searches that link real history told through cinema.
By using a journalistic code in terms of tone, look and feel, we were able to create a headline that resembled a prestigious newspaper as well as a whole series of graphic elements, headlines, illustrations and compositions that try to replicate the language of the media. In addition, a structured format would enable the user to quickly understand the different forms of vertical strip navigation, allowing each user to choose their experience and discover different perspectives of the history. It is a dynamic website that changes the front-page highlights continually adapting them to the most relevant news of the day.
Conclusion
This is a new way to browse a curated Filmin catalogue using an innovative experience that is focused on a current concept with a journalistic record to learn about the history of Europe through its films and series. A completely new and educational way of accessing audiovisual content that is very useful for all audiences. Be it students, teachers, or people interested in historical entertainment, making them feel as if they were living in that moment.
