One film,
every printed piece.
Harrigan is a crime drama set in the North East in 1974, starring Stephen Tompkinson and written by former detective Arthur McKenzie. Newcastle producers Tall Tree Pictures needed the film to look the part to buyers, press and cinema audiences. We designed the poster, the press pack, postcards, the premiere ticket and the brochure behind its North East release.
- WHO — Tall Tree Pictures and Tall Tree Distribution, for the feature film Harrigan
- WHAT — Film Poster, Alternate Posters, Press Pack, Promotional Postcards, Premiere Ticket, Release Brochure
- WHEN — 2012–2013
- WHERE — Newcastle, Durham & the North East
- HOW — One look, built from the film’s own stills, carried from the poster to every printed piece
An Independent Film,
Ready to Sell.
Harrigan follows Detective Sergeant Barry Harrigan, back from Hong Kong to a crime-ridden estate in northern England during the power cuts and three-day week of 1974. Tall Tree Pictures, directed by Vince Woods, made it in the North East with a cast that included Stephen Tompkinson, Gillian Kearney, Ronnie Fox, Craig Conway and Darren Morfitt. An independent film has to sell itself to sales agents, cinemas, press and investors. Every printed piece had to look like a proper release.
- Period crime drama set in 1974 North East England
- Starring Stephen Tompkinson, written by Arthur McKenzie
- Materials for buyers, press, investors and audiences
Black, Orange
and a Riot.
The main poster puts Tompkinson at the front of a masked, angry crowd on a dark street, shot in grainy black and white. Below him, HARRIGAN runs in huge spaced capitals across a hard orange band, with the line “written by multi-decorated cop Arthur McKenzie” to tell you it is based on real policing. The back carries the cast, crew, synopsis and sales details for buyers. It went through several rounds before the final version.
- Landscape quad poster, front and back
- Black-and-white still with a single orange band
- Credit block, synopsis and sales agent details on the reverse
Six More
Poster Routes.
Alongside the main poster we designed a set of portrait alternatives: silhouettes of Harrigan and the crowd cut into blocks of red, orange, grey and brown, each with the title set in a heavy condensed face. They gave Tall Tree options for different markets and formats, and they appear in the press pack as alternate poster artwork.
- Six portrait poster alternatives
- Bold two-colour silhouette treatment
- Shown to buyers in the press pack
Twenty-Four Pages
for Buyers.
The press pack gives a sales agent or journalist everything in one place. It runs to 24 landscape pages: programming details, synopsis, director and writer biographies, the director’s statement, production notes, key cast with their credits, screenshots and press coverage. Big stills from the film sit between the text pages, on black, with orange headings that match the poster.
- 24-page landscape press pack
- Synopsis, biographies, production notes and key cast
- Full-bleed stills between the text pages
The Original Riot,
Policing His Way.
For events and mailings we designed a set of promotional postcards. Each front uses a single dramatic still with a short line: “The Original Riot”, “Policing His Way”. The backs repeat the synopsis, cast list, running time and UK premiere year, with the Tall Tree logo and sales contact.
- Postcard series built on film stills
- Short taglines on each front
- Synopsis, cast and sales details on the back
A Ticket
for the Night.
Harrigan’s premiere was planned for the Gala Theatre in Durham. We designed the premiere ticket in a vintage cinema-ticket style, with the date, Monday 16 September 2013, set like a stub, and a schedule for the evening on the reverse with a map and timings for the screening and reception.
- Vintage-style premiere ticket
- Evening schedule and map on the reverse
- Gala Theatre, Durham, September 2013
A Brochure
for the Release.
Tall Tree set up Tall Tree Distribution to release Harrigan themselves in North East cinemas. We designed the brochure they used to bring partners on board: the poster up front, the plan for the Gala Theatre premiere and a run in local cinemas, the people behind the release, and a page of the press the film had already earned, from The Journal and the Hartlepool Mail to Screen Daily and The Hollywood Reporter.
- Landscape release brochure for Tall Tree Distribution
- Premiere and cinema release plan
- Press coverage page pulling the story together
One Palette,
Every Piece.
The whole campaign uses the same small set of parts: near-black, a hard Harrigan orange, a warm paper tone and smoky grey, with the film’s own stills doing the heavy lifting. The Tall Tree logo signs off every piece. Whether you picked up a postcard, opened the press pack or saw the poster, it was clearly the same film.
- Near-black, Harrigan orange, paper and smoke
- Film stills used large, never cropped small
- Tall Tree logo on every piece
Harrigan
A poster, press pack and print campaign for a North East feature film.
Launching a film, an event or a production?
Screenshots
& Photography
Poster, press pack, postcards, premiere ticket and brochure designs shown were produced by Northern Digital for Tall Tree Pictures and Tall Tree Distribution. Film stills and press coverage belong to their owners. Presented to demonstrate capability.
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