Unit Publicist

Unit Publicists (UPs) provide a vital conduit between producers, cast, crew and the media during film shoots. By generating publicity, they help sales agents to sell films and to create public interest. UPs work closely with producers, distributors and sales agents to plan all press strategy for film shoots, making sure that only the right amount of information is released at specific times, so that the press coverage is not jeopardized when the film is released.

UPs are responsible for unit press and publicity budgets which are set by producers. UPs work on a freelance basis, and are hired only for the duration of each shoot, although they may also be employed to handle distribution publicity in the run up to the film's release date.

What is the job?
Unit Publicists (UPs) start work on films between 4 to 6 weeks before the first day of principal photography. Their first responsibility is to issue a press release providing information about the film to selected press, and to ensure that details about the film shoot, cast and crew are printed in the trade press. Once the shooting schedule has been agreed, UPs work with the producer, and often with the actors' agents (or managers) to schedule visits to the set, on specific shooting days, by a number of selected journalists, who may represent a mixture of magazines, and regional, national and international newspapers and broadcasters.

UPs ensure that the actors and director are available to the journalists on these days, and that there is plenty happening to provide a good color piece (an article that sets the scene and is full of lively descriptions of the set, etc.) The UP and the journalists, or sometimes the newspaper/magazine editors, discuss when each article will be published in order to maximize the film's publicity. During a set visit, UPs liaise with the 2nd assistant director to check actors' schedules and to deal with any last minute changes, which often occur on film sets, and help to facilitate the journalists' work. UPs may also work closely with the EPK (electronic publishing kit) crew.

UPs are also responsible for: the production of films' press packs, which involves interviewing cast and crew members (UPs may undertake these interviews themselves or hire a journalist to do so); preparing a comprehensive list of cast and crew; writing a long and a short synopsis of the film; writing production notes (containing information about the work histories of the writer, director, production designer, costume designer, script writer and key cast members).

UPs usually oversee the work of the unit stills photographer with whom they work closely, selecting the best days for the photographer to be on set. After the film has wrapped (been completed), UPs must provide captions for all the photographs, and ensure that the agreed number of color and black and white prints/negatives are delivered to the production or distributor.