Festival of Disruption

One of the most challenging tasks in the age of social media and live events is getting high profile guests to share on social media. The David Lynch Foundation asked for help in creating unique and intimate photo moments that would make their high profile guests feel special and enticed to share.

In addition to this, we provided festival consultation services, production services, directed the social media accounts, provided multimedia documentation, and created visual installations to serve as photo moments for guests.

Situation

The David Lynch Festival of Disruption was created by the David Lynch Foundation. It focuses on promoting the ideals of Transcendental Meditation and how it connects with the arts (specifically visual arts). On top of being a widely anticipated event within the realms of holistic wellness, spirituality, film and visual arts, the festival attracts a number of high profile guests. These guests are individuals who are used to being in the spotlight and aren’t very entertained by the idea of having their picture taken. Historically speaking, getting interesting, shareable imagery is always a challenge.

Solution

Our goal was to create an experience that was fundamentally different than the average approach (e.g. red carpet and/or event photos). Instead, we created unique treatments for everyone on our list and produced mini shoots via a mobile studio.

Location/Setting
Each session was taken in a unique setting that fit the individual’s personality.Some were shot within our ‘mini studio’, others were shot on location (within the bounds of the venue space).

Art Direction
An art director was present for each session to oversee that lighting, aesthetic, and body language was keyed in perfectly.

Connection
Each session was a minimum of 3 minutes long, which allowed us with enough time to connect with the subject enough to get a true, beautiful portrait.

Privacy
Each session was privately conducted to ensure the subject felt at ease and valued throughout the process.

Instant Sharing
We prioritized ASAP edits to ensure that each guest had access to their photos within 24 hours of their session.

Result

Our efforts translated into a high success rate! Most of the high profile guests (such as Russell Brand, David Lynch, RZA, Michael Horse, Dr. Carlson Albion, LCD Soundsystem, Naomi Watts) shared their portraits--and were excited about them! Their shares not only provided amazing content for the festival’s own use but also helped widen the reach of the festival through opening up the audiences of the sharing participants.

Our success in this project resulted in a contract renewal that covered nearly 3 years of service.