Here's a few videos to expand your wUrld view (See what we did there?).
We started by looking at the entire entertainment ecosystem as a whole, then focused more on the untapped power of the audience. We spent YEARS figuring out exactly how to make it easy for an audience member to get into a movie or show. We did so by creating screen tests, experimenting with everything from inserting people into scenes like the one below, starring Jan's son in place of Michael Jackson...
...tobuilding story structures that allow for anyone to create their own scenes, like this one made by brilliant 9-year-old Taj Sood (shoutout to his video game pioneer dad, Ravi) and Darby Walker of The Voice.
Of course, without having film studios and TV networks onboard to produce blockbusters that include content from and appearances by creative fans (because Hollywood can be very slow to change with the times), half of the equation was incomplete. Since we figured out how to help anyone with a phone tell their story and insert them into a larger story, we decided to build a shared story world - a cinematic universe - where stories can interconnect and characters can interact. Enter our first wUrld, Justice For Hire, which doubles as our first show, since we gather content from the audience which we then edit into a series.
We released this trailer for Justice For Hire after we won the award for Best Web Series at WarnerMedia's 2020 Urban Action Showcase...
...Then we went viral on TikTok. Here's our THANK YOU video to our new fans around the world for over 7.5 Million views and thousands of inspiring comments on our first episode of JFH.
Our entire approach to content and technology is the result of years of dedication and focus, and we've been fortunate to have great support along way. ReelwUrld™ was incubated at NYU, UCLA Andersen, and other wonderful institutions. We also spent time at one of the most active startup accelerators in the world, VentureOut, where this documentary miniseries on ReelwUrld™ was made.
We also had our own panel at New York Comic Con's Metaverse main stage with our fancy thought leader friends and advisors Ahmed Best (Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge & Episodes 1-3), Jeff Gomez (world’s leading Transmedia producer, consultant to Disney on Star Wars & Marvel), Danny Fingeroth (author of Stan Lee’s biography, former editor of Spider-Man comics), Aaron Vanek (founder of LARP Census). The panel is co-hosted by ReelwUrld™ founder Jan Lucanus, DJ’d by global cyberpunk phenomenon Angelspit (yeah, we got a DJ for a panel), and moderated by co-founder Autumn Noel Kelly (former Newsweek journalist, Audience Development Editor for iO9 & Gizmodo).
We're all about transparency. ReelwUrld™ regularly shares company thinking and meetings on channels open to the public. This spans from our JFH Community App Tests to our Advisory Board meetings.
This is still just the beginning of our story, and it continues with you and people around the world. ReelwUrld™ is pioneering a new industry of social-filmmaking, where anyone with a phone is empowered to share their story cinematically.