Trailer Made

We're all aware of the hard work, long hours and dedicated crews behind the year’s best film productions, but what you may not know is that the Academy has also been hard at work shooting a new trailer to promote the Awards.

Over a crisp autumn weekend, several locations across the capital, including the East End’s Columbia Road, played host to cast, crew and mask for the trailer's production. Its concept, Bring the Glamour Home, sees a young couple in London going about their daily routine. Whether in the street or at work, each of their ordinary experiences are transformed to reflect a glamorous aspect of the Awards, culminating in the couple settling down at home at the end of the day to watch the ceremony.

The production company Framestore CFC , who had previously worked on the memorable Film Awards ‘Treasure Hunt’ trailer, were keen to increase their involvement this year. Framestore VFX Supervisor, Craig Lyn, came up with the concept and their team, working with the Academy, oversaw the shoot. “It's a day in the life of the everyman,” says Lyn. “This concept brings that glamour and the beauty of the BAFTAs into everyone's lives.” One such example sees an office post cart being wheeled past suited workers busily typing away—by the time it reaches our leading man, the post-girl is in glamorous evening wear and handing him a gold envelope.

The script also allows plenty of scope for Framestore to utilise their postproduction magic, including the casually dressed leading man stopping to look in a shop window, only to see his reflection in full black tie get-up. Later on, our leading lady leaves her house in the evening and finds herself greeted by the pop of flash bulbs in the street as she finds herself on a red carpet in a show-stopping dress.“It strikes a nice little visceral chord,” says Lyn. “By watching it, your average woman or man will hopefully say: 'Wouldn't it be great if I was at the Awards?'”

The trailer was produced on a minimal budget, so getting the project to look slick within those constraints is always a huge challenge, overseen by the Academy's determined Head of Production, Clare Brown. “We could not have achieved so much in such a short space of time without the help of Film London who assisted us with