Cinematic Template — Complete Guide

Cinematic is the second ultra-premium template in the Fotify library. Where Atelier draws on letterpress stationery, Cinematic borrows from movie posters, title cards, and editorial film magazines — full-bleed photography, kinetic display type, letterbox bars, frame counters, and ticket-stub buttons.

This guide covers how Cinematic looks, the customization knobs unique to it, how to unlock it on your event, and the bespoke treatment it gives each section of your invitation.

For an overview of the standard template library and the picker UI, see How to Customize Your RSVP Invitation.

What makes Cinematic different

Standard templates control colors, fonts, and effects through CSS variables — they all share the same underlying layout. Cinematic is different: it replaces entire section layouts with hand-crafted film-poster treatments, ships its own display typography (Bebas Neue + Inter), and exposes template-specific customization knobs beyond the standard color and font controls.

Signature design elements

Letterboxed cinematic cover — full-bleed hero photograph with a tinted spotlight color grade, top + bottom black bars carrying "FOTIFY PRESENTS" and the date / location metadata, and a Bebas Neue title scaled by your Title Weight setting
Kinetic display typography — Bebas Neue (the classic cinema poster face) for every title; Inter for body so the display moments carry the drama
Color-graded photography — every photo on the page picks up a subtle tint matching your Color Grade setting (Golden Hour / Cool Blue / Monochrome / Vivid)
Frame counters everywhere — Story chapters numbered as "FR. 01 / 12" or "ACT I / XII" depending on your Frame Numbers setting
Slate marker ornaments — a clapperboard SVG used as the divider between sections
35mm film-grain overlay — subtle animated grain texture over the whole page; can be toggled off
Ticket-stub calendar buttons — perforated film-cinema ticket shape with a serial number for each calendar provider
Filmstrip gallery — the Gallery section renders as letterboxed stills with sprocket rails top and bottom, each frame captioned "SC. 03 / 12"
Credits-roll itinerary — the Itinerary becomes a "Running Order" with day headers ("DAY 01 / FRIDAY"), frame-counter time stamps, and credits-style event titles
Production-credits gifts — the Registry section reads like a film's end-credits, with department labels ("PRODUCTION · REGISTRIES", "FINANCE · GIFTS OF FUNDS")
Establishing-shot location — the map renders inside a viewfinder frame with corner brackets; the venue address sits in a slate-card next to it

When to choose Cinematic

Cinematic is built for events where the invitation should feel like a feature — a moment of arrival, a poster on a wall:

Modern weddings — particularly destination weddings, mountain weddings, or anything where you want a "moodboard movie poster" rather than traditional stationery
Milestone birthdays (40th, 50th, 60th) — Cinematic's drama carries milestone celebrations better than ornate stationery does
Anniversary parties and vow renewals — the Story-as-Acts layout makes a multi-decade timeline read beautifully
Premieres, launches, and openings — gallery openings, film screenings, product launches, restaurant openings
Corporate galas and milestone company events — annual gala dinners, IPO parties, founders' anniversaries
Cocktail parties with a strong visual identity — Halloween dinners, New Year's Eve galas, themed costume nights

It's less appropriate for casual gatherings, kids' birthdays, garden showers, and anything where the visual language wants to feel intimate or hand-crafted rather than cinematic.

Applying Cinematic to your event

Open the Customize tab of your event dashboard
Scroll past the standard template gallery to the Premium section at the bottom
Click the Cinematic card
The picker reveals the customization panel — set the knobs (see below)
Save

Switching back to a standard template at any time is non-destructive; your event content stays exactly as you entered it. Premium-specific knobs are stored separately, so if you switch back later your Cinematic settings remain intact.

Note: Cinematic is in beta. We're shipping more premium templates in upcoming releases, and we may refine Cinematic's typography and details based on early feedback.

Premium entitlement (who can use Cinematic)

Cinematic is a premium-tier template and is only saveable on events with paid entitlement:

Paid (credit-cost) events — events using your event credits are entitled automatically
Subscription events with an active subscription — events on your active or grace-period subscription are entitled
Free events — the picker shows Cinematic locked with an upgrade hint; you can browse it but the server rejects the save with a 403

The picker is also disabled for events that don't have paid entitlement, with a tooltip pointing to the pricing page.

Customization knobs

Cinematic exposes seven template-specific knobs beyond Fotify's standard color + font controls.

1. Title card text

The headline shown on the cinematic cover. Leave blank to use your event name. Useful when you want a tighter or more dramatic title than the event name — e.g. event name "Anna & Frederick's wedding weekend" becomes title card "Anna & Frederick".

2. Tagline

A small-caps line above the title. Examples: "a celebration in two acts", "the love story, continued", "a feature presentation", "now playing for one night only". Leave blank to hide.

3. Color grade

The tinted spotlight cast over the cover and headlines. Four grades:

Golden Hour (default) — warm amber; cinematic golden-hour warmth
Cool Blue — cyan/navy; moody, Drive-coded
Monochrome — silver-screen black-and-white; pure contrast
Vivid — bold red poster accent; A24 / Wes Anderson vibe

4. Paper tone

The base of the page:

Obsidian (default) — deep black; classic theatre
Bone — ivory; printed cinema poster
Gravel — dark gray; understated weight

The color grade interacts with paper tone — Golden Hour on Obsidian is the default and most "cinema-feeling"; Vivid on Bone is a bold poster look.

5. Frame numbers

Numbering style for chapters and credits:

Decimal (#01) — modern frame-counter aesthetic
Roman (I, II) — act-structure formality
Hidden — clean cover with no chapter numbers

6. Title weight

How large the title card renders:

Display — moderate, still cinematic; good for long titles
Banner (default) — large, poster-scale
Epic — edge-to-edge, maximum impact; best for short titles

7. Film grain overlay

Toggle the subtle 35mm film-grain overlay. On by default. Switching off may help on lower-end devices where the animation feels heavy.

How each section is treated

Cover

The Cinematic cover replaces the standard header wholesale. It renders as a full-bleed photograph (your event invitation photo) with:

Top + bottom letterbox bars carrying "FOTIFY PRESENTS" / "A FEATURE CELEBRATION" / the date / the location
A color-graded spotlight tinted to your selected Color Grade
Your Tagline in small caps above the title
Your Title (Bebas Neue at your selected Title Weight)
A slate-marker ornament + date + venue beneath

If no event photo is set, the cover falls back to a paper-tone backdrop with the spotlight grade still applied.

Story

Each milestone becomes an Act — alternating left/right photo placement, a frame counter ("FR. 03 / 12" or "ACT III"), color-graded letterbox photo with a 21:9 aspect ratio, Bebas Neue act title, and a body description in Inter.

Countdown

Each unit (Days / Hours / Minutes / Seconds) renders as a frame tile with a top-left "FR. 01" tag, an oversized Bebas Neue number, and a small-caps label below. Hairline-bordered, with a subtle gradient that hints at film stock.

RSVP

Renders as a casting-call card with a slate-marker crown, "CASTING CALL" eyebrow, Bebas Neue "You're Cast" title, the deadline as small-caps italic, then the standard RSVP form re-skinned with hairline inputs and accent-bordered ticket-stub submit button.

Gallery (Carousel)

A filmstrip layout: sprocket rails top and bottom, a 21:9 hero still, then a 3-up grid of additional stills. Every still gets a "SC. 03 / 12" caption tag and a subtle contrast/saturate filter for film-print feel.

Location

An establishing shot: the map renders inside a viewfinder frame with corner brackets, beside a slate-card carrying "ON LOCATION" eyebrow, a Bebas Neue address, and the directions block with a hairline rule.

Save the Date (Calendar)

Three ticket-stub buttons (Google / Apple / Outlook), each with a "NO. 001" serial number, perforated edge dot, and accent-on-hover swap.

Itinerary

Renders as Running Order — each day gets a "DAY 01 / FRIDAY" header, then individual events list as credits-roll rows with hairline rules between, a small-caps frame counter, Bebas Neue time, and the event details on the right.

Gifts

Production Credits layout — three department blocks (Registries / Monetary / Charity), each with a "PRODUCTION · REGISTRIES"-style small-caps label, numbered items (decimal counters), Bebas Neue item titles, and accent-bordered icon buttons for external links and copy.

Event Details

Production Notes — dress code reads as a pull-quote between hairline rules in Bebas Neue caps. Accommodation renders as slate cards with corner tags ("HOTEL"). Transportation reads as call-sheet rows. FAQs as a script-style Q & A with "Q · " accent prefixes and hairline-left answers.

Message

The host's invitation copy renders with a small-caps "OPENING MONOLOGUE" eyebrow and a CSS ::first-letter drop-cap in Bebas Neue accent color. Body text in Inter at 1.08rem for cinema-program legibility.

Sections that inherit (don't get a bespoke layout)

Some sections still render through the default kit and inherit Cinematic's polish layer:

Photo Upload — accent-bordered ticket-stub buttons, hairline inputs
QR Code — accent-bordered plate around the QR
Table Assignment — ticket-stub treatment for the search/CTA button
Custom sections — Bebas Neue headings, Inter body, hairline rules

The polish layer makes them feel on-template without requiring a full layout rewrite. We'll add bespoke overrides for these in a future release if there's demand.

Beta status

Cinematic is shipping in beta alongside Atelier. What that means:

Stable for production use — we've tested it across all 10 bespoke sections and the inherited ones
Likely to evolve — we may refine typography (a heavier display weight), add more color grades, and tune the spotlight effect based on usage data
More premium templates are coming — Maison (hand-lettered), Riviera (coastal art deco), Onyx (speakeasy noir) are next

If you spot something that should be polished, send feedback through the dashboard's help widget.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I use Cinematic on a wedding that's not a destination event? A: Yes — Cinematic works for any modern wedding, particularly when you want a poster-grade feeling rather than traditional stationery.

Q: How does Cinematic look on mobile? A: It's designed mobile-first. The letterbox bars stay; the title shrinks to fit; the filmstrip collapses to a single column; the running-order itinerary becomes vertical. Every section is fully responsive.

Q: Will switching to Cinematic lose my data? A: No. All your event content (event name, photos, story, RSVP form, gifts, itinerary, etc.) is preserved when switching templates. Cinematic-specific customization (title card text, color grade, etc.) is also preserved if you switch away and back.

Q: Can I customize the color grade with my own hex codes? A: Not in beta. We've hand-tuned the four grades (Golden Hour / Cool Blue / Monochrome / Vivid) to feel authentically cinematic. If you need a specific palette, contact us about a custom premium template.

Q: Does Cinematic work for a non-wedding event (corporate gala, milestone birthday)? A: Yes. The Title Card Text, Tagline, and the act-structured Story all work for any event format. Set Tagline to something like "a milestone celebration" or "annual gala" instead of "a celebration in two acts".

Q: Does the film-grain overlay slow down older phones? A: It's GPU-accelerated and tested down to 2018 mid-range Android. If you're targeting an audience on very old devices, you can toggle Film Grain off in the customization panel.

Q: Can my guests still upload photos and use the QR code with Cinematic? A: Yes. All Fotify features (photo upload, QR code, RSVP, table assignment, custom sections) continue to work — they inherit Cinematic's typography and chrome through the polish layer.

Next steps

See How to Customize Your RSVP Invitation for the picker UI and how to enable premium templates on your event
See the Atelier guide if you want the editorial / letterpress feel instead
Compare premium template pricing on the pricing page
Read more about Fotify's wedding-photo-sharing app if you're planning a wedding

Need help? Get in touch through the in-dashboard help widget.