SXSW Filmmakers Lounge
FILM.IO
Energy & Essentials
Bringing the next revolution in filmmaking to life, live and in person.
The Challenge:
Leading up to the cultural phenomenon that is SXSW, which brings festival goers to our home base of Austin, Texas, for two glorious weeks each spring, Hahn was tapped by Wildbytes, an international creative agency headquartered in Spain, to make magic happen. Literally, because we only had three weeks to help them pull off a five-day marquis sponsorship of the official Filmmaker’s Lounge experience for their up-and-comer client, Film.io, aiming to disrupt the movie industry and make a big splash during their SXSW debut.
Our Approach:
The event’s significance was twofold: not only did it demand meticulous planning to accommodate its scale in such a short time frame, as many similar events would be planned months, if not the whole year ahead, but it also required effective international communication to align with the client and partner agency’s visions across drastically different time zones and cultural contexts.
We started with creative conceptualization and subsequently, developed a budget with trusted local vendors to bring the event space to life. We transformed the Stephen F. Austin Hotel’s 3,500 sq. ft. Capital Ballroom into a relaxing hub where attendees could experience an interactive augmented reality filter, custom-made for the event and learn more about Film.io and their mission to put the power of film-making back into the hands of creators. And there was even a contest offering current and aspiring filmmakers a chance to win a $30K grant by sharing the story of their proposed project.
Throughout the project, Hahn remained on-call 24/7, attending site visits to make necessary adjustments and providing guidance and reassurance to all partners involved, including direct coordination with the SXSW team as the deadline loomed.
The Results:
On the opening day of the event, Hahn oversaw the final design execution on-site and watched as eager film badgeholders flooded through the doors. Over the course of the five days, several thousand people visited the staffed lounge and attended the nightly happy hour, resulting in a positive SXSW experience that left Film.io eager for their next festival sponsorship and Wildbytes confident in their partnership with Hahn to make it all happen.