Widescreen Weekend
Rediscovering the magic of cinema
Widescreen Weekend 2020
Campaign Design
Copywriting
Print Design
Moving Image
Client: Science Museum Group
Widescreen Weekend is the annual festival of big, bold cinema experiences presented by the National Science and Media Museum. The festival focuses on screening films in a range of formats including 35mm, 70mm and 3-strip Cinerama and is known for its commitment to photochemical film – always showing film on film where possible.
Widescreen Weekend is the longest running festival hosted by the museum but it needed to reposition itself navigating both the new Science Museum Group festivals brand and operating within ongoing social distancing measures. We worked closely with the festival team to develop a campaign that celebrates both the mechanics and experience of cinema, especially in this strange year.
We took the visual language of analogue film as our starting point, avoiding the overplayed film reel imagery and instead delving deep into the aesthetics of photochemical film throughout the ages: grain, scratches, lens flare, dust and cue marks for reel changes and film leaders – the hidden footage at the beginning and ends of reels.
We created bespoke textures based on our research and combined these with stills from the films being shown, showcasing the films themselves alongside the (often hidden) technical expertise that makes it all possible.
We developed a range of marketing lines celebrating the joy of the cinema experience, particularly considering a year in which most of us have been streaming our entertainment. The festival presented an opportunity to safely experience cinema as a group activity and rediscover the joy of sharing film after a long period of cinema closures.
We worked with the festival team to navigate changing situation around lockdown, moving away from traditional outdoor advertising and focusing on social media marketing and moving image outputs.
Building on the success of the festival, the Science and Media museum are continuing the series with Widescreen Weekend Rediscoveries; a new monthly series of screenings, showcasing a mix of heritage, classic and cut films projected in a range of formats.
