Marketing Campaign: Otto’s Exhilarating Adventure
“You have the chance tonight to show how much that item truly means to you, or you will lose that item forever.”
Otto’s Exhilarating Adventure is a coming-of-age comedy film directed by Kev Dionysus and produced by Blue Hour Studios. The story follows best friends Otto, Janice, Mindy, and Landon as they embark on a quest to reunite with their most prized sentimental items. Tensions rise as the group’s lighthearted adventure turns into a twisted and mind-bending scavenger hunt. The film discusses self-doubt, grief, and finding purpose in life, all while maintaining its colorful, carefree tone.
I had the privilege of leading a comprehensive marketing campaign for this film in preparation for its premiere. Written, directed, and performed by Millikin University alumni, the film was slated to have its debut screening at the university’s iconic Kirkland Fine Arts Center, including a special Q&A with the production’s lead cinematographer. As a third-year undergraduate student at Millikin, I acted as the production company’s liaison to the campus community and its primary media producer during the film’s several-month promotional cycle. I worked closely with Kev Dionysus—my primary contact at Blue Hour Studios—helping in every way I could to bring their dream of a fantastic film premiere to life.
In my time marketing for Otto’s Exhilarating Adventure, I delivered four distinct media collections that would thoughtfully cover every aspect of the film and its production. I created stylish character posters for social media, designed and distributed flyers for the premiere event, edited exclusive cast interviews, and shot live footage on the day of the event. In a few short months, I made myself an invaluable asset to the team and connected with a client over their fascinating, heartfelt story.
Below, you can learn more about the unique content I produced, including links to individual articles with in-depth explanations.
Character Posters:
This series of seven award-winning character posters was my first contribution to the film’s media campaign. Each design is a symbolic depiction of a different character’s personality and motivations. I stylized these posters with a handcrafted scrapbook feel, matching the whimsical and bedazzled world of the film. These posters were uploaded sequentially onto various social media platforms by Blue Hour Studios, and they were a massive success with fans and critics alike.
Mindy’s character poster, graphic design.
Event Flyer:
The official flyer for the campus premiere of Otto’s Exhilarating Adventure was a culmination of the art style I developed with my character posters. The composition is designed to be eye-catching, chaotic, and bursting with color, just like the film’s world is. I had to make careful considerations when arranging this dense collage to ensure that key details had the proper visual weight and information was easily readable. After approval, I printed these flyers to post across campus and had them shared on social media and campus email chains.
Otto’s Exhilarating Adventure premiere poster, graphic design.
Cast & Crew Interviews:
As part of the post-premiere marketing cycle, I edited six interview videos featuring various core members of the cast and crew. These interviews were filmed after the final shoot of the production, long before my involvement in the project. I took the best moments from each recording and compiled them into energetic behind-the-scenes looks at the film, ranging from four to eight minutes in length. I selected several of the most engaging moments from each to turn into short-form videos for Instagram and TikTok.
Screenshot from a cast and crew interview, videography.
Event Coverage:
On the day of the premiere, it was my duty to capture high-quality footage of absolutely everything that happened from beginning to end. As a one-person crew, this was quite a high-stakes event. I captured b-roll of the event venue and its gathering crowd; I interviewed guests before and after watching the film; I gathered reaction shots and additional event cinematics during the screening; and I captured an uninterrupted feed of the post-screening Q&A. All footage needed to be optimized for social media, so I shot in a vertical 9×16 aspect ratio. In the end, I titled and categorized my raw footage and delivered it to the Blue Hour team for them to use as they wished.
To me, this was the least exciting part of my media campaign, since there was limited room for me to flex my creative muscles. The end goal was standard coverage that would look good on social media and clean interviews reading from a list of predetermined questions. Additionally, the miserable weather outside and the unfavorable lighting in the theater made finding visually striking shots a serious challenge. I’m proud of my work, as it was a necessary job that only I could do for this fantastic team, but the nature of this task didn’t leave me with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
Moviegoers watching the premiere of Otto’s Exhilarating Adventure, photography.
Conclusion:
My work as a leading marketing designer at Blue Hour Studios remains among my proudest accomplishments as a creative. I thrive in contributing to endeavors larger than myself, and there’s something indescribably special about watching someone’s artistic dream come to life. The deep personal connection and the shared love for a project that comes about from such collaboration is the high that makes me love being a professional artist more than anything. I’m incredibly grateful for this phenomenal opportunity so early in my career, and I have the utmost pride in the feats that I and my team accomplished.
Otto’s Exhilarating Adventure is available to watch for free on Blue Hour Studios’ YouTube channel through the following link.
