The trailers that I produced for the Cardiff Players last year (four for The Thrill of Love, one for A Christmas Carol) seem to have sparked something, as I was recently contacted by the Glamorgan Drama League to produce an eye-catching video ad for the upcoming One-Act festival in April. This being the annual event that is one of the regional rounds for the National Festival of Community Theatre in Wales, culminating in the Wales One Act Final, and from there to the British Festival of One-Act plays. Last year the Players got through to the Wales One Act final in Newtown with their adaptation of Richard Harris's 'Albert', garnering joint performance awards for Peter Stickler and Chris Johnson, and a well-deserved nod to the startling 70s inspired set that would put Abigail's Party to shame. I may be biased, but it was my favourite out of all of the one act plays last year.
But back to the trailer. I didn't have the luxury of time to dedicate to making this as complex as the The Thrill or Christmas Carol ads, so had to rely on the still rather impressive range of built-in effects that Final Cut Pro has to offer. The choice of accompanying music was suggested by Players chair Amie - the theme music to 'Albert', being Boney M's 70s cheesy disco classic 'Daddy Cool', which I thought was a nice little nod to last year's Glamorgan winners. This suggestion also helped me decide on the typeface and general approach to the trailer, utilising an animated text called 'Boogie' - all thick letters and sparkly effects - for the general info. Six groups are participating this year, and I used a different effect and font for each group and their plays - signifying the variety of productions - incorporating any existing artwork and promotional material from the groups into the video.
I am rather pleased with the result, given that it was made in such a short space of time. And it has proved a hit with the GDL, which is good given that it is for them after all.
Here it be.
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