During the research for the documentary film “Killing for Love” materials from more than 30 years has been collected. Already in the beginning of the production of the film, the idea for an additional, sustainable preparation of content on the Internet that could not be fully processed in the film was born.
The innumerable pieces of evidence, diaries, love letters, police files, crime scene photos, court documents, the video material from the court cases, the many interviews with contemporary witnesses, the newspaper articles and TV reports have been prepared in various forms, as photo collages or bonus videos and as an extensive news archive to give the user a deep insight into the case.
This extensive original material have been exclusively prepared for the film’s website to make them available to the viewer free of charge as an additional service to the film. It provides a deep insight into the case of Jens Soering. It is a reappraisal that far exceeds the possibilities of a documentary film. The aim of the second screen evaluation on the website is to make the very complex and complicated story accessible to the user in a simple, fast and clear way.
Production companies and distibutors unfortunately lack suitable funding models for such extensive additional second screen offerings in the Internet. This is because of the still experimental stage of such productions of Second Screen evaluations. We believe that in this project the medium documentary film is connected in so far unique kind with the new media.
The countless pieces of evidence, diaries, love letters, police files, original crime scene photos, court documents, photos and newspaper articles have been prepared as image collages and combined with journalistic texts.
The love letters of Jens Söring and Elizabeth Haysom, which they wrote to each other over the years, played a central role in the investigation. They are processed in extracts in the film and in three bonus videos and combined with quotations from the letters on the website. They are spoken by the actress Imogen Poots and the actor Daniel Brühl.
Three bonus videos have been produced to advertise the film through online advertising in selected channels and created and extra value for distributers, broadcasters and other patners and used as bonus material on DVD and VOD.
Extensively researched and collected press material is presented in chronological order in the layout of a daily newspaper. In the early years 1985 to 1990 mainly exclusive articles, pictures and videos that were previously not freely accessible on the Internet are used. After 1990, freely available articles from renowned newspapers and video contributions from public television stations have been be added to the exclusive material. In the German-language version of the news archive, more than 150 articles and more than 20 videos have been combined.
12 exclusive szenes have been produced to introduce the several protagonists in the film. This szenes have been release through online advertising in selected channels and created and extra value for distributers, broadcasters and other patners and used as bonus material on DVD and VOD.
12 exclusive szenes have been produced to introduce the several protagonists in the film. This szenes have been release through online advertising in selected channels and created and extra value for distributers, broadcasters and other patners and used as bonus material on DVD and VOD.
A limited edition DVD box was developed with the 160 minutes extended Directors Cut Version of the film, all bonus videos, exclusive Szenenand on 8 pages booklet. The design is based on the 80’s and shows the street in Washington, where Jens Söring claims to have gone to several cinemas on the night of the murder.
Different countries and markets can be tailored with different titles and different visuals to suit their specifics and needs. “Killing for Love” was released in Europe under the title “The Promise” (dt. “Das Versprechen”, spa. “La Promesa”), sometimes with completely different designs.
The detail of the content on the website offered a variety of opportunities for competitions. Answers to quizzes have be placed hidden within the content of the page, for example in the News Archive. To find the correct answer to the contest question the users have to engage with the content. These are, for example, newspaper advertisements within the news archive from 1985, which promote the film for which Jens Soering bought a ticket in the night of the murder to create an alibi.
