Project #1: Bloom

How do you make a 4-minute film last 4 weeks?

By giving each character a full and extended life online.

Bloom was a Kickstarter-funded short film revolving around two teenage girl’s graduation night quest to lose their virginity. And while their task didn’t take long to complete, the lead-up to the event online was weeks in the making.

8 different suitors, all representative of the typical high school stereotypes, lived on Facebook and other social media platforms, posting regularly, interacting with each other and with strangers who may have liked the various pages that fit their stereotype.

For example:

-The Jock had a Twitter feed (@ilovethetitties) where he documented everyday objects that reminded him of breasts.

-The Stoner had a SoundCloud page where he posted original songs by his band Auto Erotic Wedgie.

-The Goth read his sad haiku on his own YouTube page.

-The Born Again crafted crucifixes out of everyday objects and sold them on his Etsy page.

-The Prep wrote a book about what it takes to be a man in today’s society and sold it on Amazon.

-And one of the main girls professed her love for renowned astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson on her Tumblr page.

By being so authentic in their respective worlds, these fictional characters brought their different followers from these diverse platforms back into the central story with no idea that they were part of a bigger picture, which, was, in fact, a very short picture.

4 minutes to be exact.

A recap:

 

project #2: Boast

The night after Thanksgiving, a twenty-something year old young woman is dragged away from a night in with her book and ice cream to go out to a bar by her co-worker.

The same night, a Tinder-averse twenty-something year old young man heads out with his boss to a bar in search of someone he might possibly connect with.

Thus, begins Boast USA’s Winter Catalog.

In November, 2016, instead of its usual spread of photographed models on their site, Boast introduced its new Fall/Winter catalog with a “Social Media Love Story” unveiling the latest men’s and women’s fashions through the social media accounts of two fictional characters, who fall in and out of love over the course of a week, all while showcasing Boast clothing.

Eryn Sweeney (@hellomynameiseryn) and Sander Baldwin (@sanderbaldwin) documented their romance for 7 days over Instagram, gaining followers, getting fashion shout-outs from people who caught on to the gimmick, and romantic advice from some who didn’t.

The best part: all of it was shot in 1 day for $500. 

 

 

project #3: The breakfast Club ON Instagram

The Brain.

The Athlete.

The Basket Case

The Criminal.

The Princess.

Fortunately for them, and for us, they existed in a time before cell phones and social media. But what if they hadn’t?

For two months, the 7 different characters of The Breakfast Club (5 students, a vice principal, and a janitor) lived their lives on Instagram, posting about the things quintessentially them.

·      John Bender (@benderbeefinjection) has been giving the finger to all the things he loathes.

·      Brian (math_club_prez) has been recreating great moments in math and science history with his sister’s Legos.

·      Andrew (@sweepthelegac) has been posting inspirational wrestling videos.

·      Allison (@illinympho) has been posting her weird and depressing drawings.

·      Claire (@cutelikesushi) has been, at the behest of her history tutor, been posting her take on historical figures (i.e. if she’d lose her virginity to them.)

·      Carl the Janitor (@lockyourlockers) has been posting pictures of all the things he finds in kids’ lockers.

·      And Vice Principal Vernon (@babesoftoolland) has been posting pictures of some of his favorite tool company calendar girls.

Then one Saturday, all their lives came together in real time as they convened in the library of Shermer High School. 

With a simple click, IG users could follow each character (or simply a consolidated version at @thebreakfastclub_ig) to see how The Breakfast Club goes down from each character’s IG point of view.

 

project #4: PLANES trains and automobiles ON Instagram

5 modes of transportation.

4 states.

3 days.

2 Instagram accounts.

One classic movie told in a whole new way.

Using Instagram Stories, Neal Page (@nealpageadguy) and Del Griffith (@del.griffithalf) share their ups (and mostly downs) as they try to make their way from NYC to Wichita to St Louis to Chicago in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

Along the way you can also check out: