Actor, Producer, & Writer: Creating Websites for this Triple-Threat
Creating websites that stand out in the highly competitive Entertainment industry and speak to the client’s brands.
The Client
Michael John Fuller is an actor, writer, and producer. When Michael came to Shiloh’s Web Design, he already had a website for his acting career, but it needed serious updating to accurately depict him as the successful actor he is, and to reflect his personal brand.
In addition, Michael had recently founded a production company, EnterEvolve, which had just wrapped production on its first film, a WW2 epic. Michael needed a sleek website for EnterEvolve that he could share with other professionals in the entertainment industry. He also wanted to build up excitement for his upcoming film, without too much away.
The Problem
Michael had two main goals in mind: 1) Refresh his actor site and 2) create an online home for his production company. Initially, the client was considering adding the production company to his current acting website. However, after an initial consultation with Shiloh’s Web Design, decided it would be best to keep the sites separate so that the production company’s online presence could stand on its own.
Refreshing the Actor Site
One of the hardest things for actors to do is to present their professional brand in a way that does not limit or typecast them, but still gives casting directors, producers, directors, and other decision makers a clear idea of who the actor is and what it would be like to have them in a film. On top of that, acting websites also need to organize a lot of information—resumes, reels, clips, and representation—into one easy-to-navigate, cohesive website.
Creating the Production Company Site
The major challenge with the production company website was that, at the time of creation, there was not much that could be said about the company’s first film, since so much of it was still under wraps. However, the site still needed to be engaging, and, most importantly, present EnterEvolve as a legitimate, professional production company making serious films.
The Solution
The Actor Site
The client wanted the site to represent his brand as an actor and presented his work in an easy-to-digest way for any industry professionals that visited the website.
After a consultation, we decided on bold use of colors—reds, blacks, and golds—as well as dramatic imagery that created depth and showcased his range. We also worked on consolidating the pages to streamline the menu and make the site easier to navigate, as well as cleaning up the presentation of the other pages.
We went through several design iterations for the home page (left), and reduced the menu from eight items to six (below). The last step was simply to clean up and organize the content on the remaining pages.
The Production Company Site
Since we were limited in what we could publish regarding EnterEvolve’s first film, our first step was to gather what information we could communicate, including information about the company, news articles, and a gallery of production images. However, the major request from the client to make the website and company stand out, was to incorporate an eye-catching video logo that would greet visitors as soon as they came to the website.
The Results
Actor Website
The redesign of Michael’s actor website made use of modern design techniques to present his brand and his work in a bold and easy-to-digest way.
Use the sliders below to view the before and after of several key pages.
Home Page
Before | After
Contact
Before | After
Reels
Just After
EnterEvolve Website
The website for Michael’s Production Company, EnterEvolve, needed to communicate that it is a legitimate business which creates high-quality films, even though the company’s young age meant that their first film was still in post-production, and as such, under wraps.
We created a simple, single page website that can be expanded on as the company grows. For now, we included:
- A stunning video logo
- An about section to introduce EnterEvolve
- News articles discussing EnterEvolve and the film
- A gallery of images taken on set that had been approved for release
The website also needed to tie into Michael’s personal brand, while still standing alone. The black and gold theme and bold use of text do this.
