Friday 21st April 2023: A new documentary from global creative agency Amplify, featuring Australian creators, investigates the creative practice of worldbuilding, exploring how the people behind the world’s biggest brands, including Lego and Dune producer Legendary Entertainment, tug at the fabric of reality to immerse audiences into radically different worlds.
The film, called ‘escape into: the evolution of worldbuilding’, is directed byfilmmaker, author and activist Bexy Cameron. It premiered in London at the Curzon Bloomsbury and via a global online premiere that took place on April 19th.
The film, which features insights from 24 creators, brand leaders and cultural influencers from Melbourne, New York, London, Los Angeles and Paris, explores the key attributes of renowned artists, creators and entertainment giants that impact modern culture, from Margaret Atwood predicting America’s future in The Handmaid’s Tale to the impact of Disney’s soon-to-be released remake of The Little Mermaid on the next generation.
The Australian creators and brands featured in the worldbuilding film are Audrey Bugeja from Sneaker Freaker and Dorothy Di Stefano of Moulton Immersive Art. Audrey Bugeja has over 15 years of international experience, and is a multifaceted creative who represents Sneaker Freaker as Managing Editor and Head of Global Communications and Partnerships. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Sneaker Freaker was founded by Simon Wood, aka Woody, in a bid to fuel passion around sneakers and collecting. Dorothy Di Stefano was named one of the “5 Most Influential Women to Watch in 2022” and “10 Most Influential Women Leaders of 2021”, and is one of the world’s foremost voices in the global phenomenon of immersive and interactive art curation.
The film, which will also be aired on Amplify’s dedicated digital worldbuilding hub, will be followed by an eight-part series of short films deep diving into how worldbuilding operates in different spaces including film, music and fashion. For the series, over 70 pioneering worldbuilders and cultural visionaries have been interviewed and profiled to explore how they place audiences at the centre of their worlds. The series, which will run on the worldbuilding hub, will be released periodically over the next few months.
Amplify is also launching a new book which gets to the root of the core principles of worldbuilding. The book, titled ‘worldbuilding, the evolution of brand building’, explores the creation of narratives to help brands, from Monocle to McDonald’s, connect with audiences in culture, and includes interviews with pioneering worldbuilders on the storytelling tools they use that put the audience at the heart of the action. The book is available digitally and upon request.
Gareth Davies, Amplify Australia Managing Partner, said: “Worldbuilding is about taking a brand, product, or IP and putting your audience at the heart of it, and building a world around them. It’s about creating memories and immersive stories that create deep connections with collective communities and we’re excited by the prospect of working with our local client partners to help them discover the numerous benefits worldbuilding has to offer.”
Jonathan Emmins, Founder and Global CEO at Amplify, said: “From Marvel to Disney World and from Netflix to Fortnite, worldbuilding is a tool that writers, filmmakers, and entertainers have long used to create compelling and engaging narratives and environments for ideas, characters and stories to live in – and an approach that has never been more relevant for brand building now and in future. As with much of Amplify’s work, with worldbuilding we draw as much inspiration from the culture and creative communities as we do from pioneering brands. Whether they are local or global, to be discovered or already iconic, we believe these pioneers lead the charge and provide valuable lessons for brands embarking on their own worldbuilding journeys.”
Bexy Cameron, Director said: “What started out as an exploration into creativity became so much more than that, we started to see the links between creative worldbuilding and themes with real world value and meaning, between writers and political movements, between fashion and shifts in culture, between filmmakers and family values. It’s when creativity meets purpose and emotional resonance that worldbuilding becomes alive.”
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