Twisted trailers

Melbourne – The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) has added a shocking twist to the movie-trailer trope.

• MIFF invited fans to preview a selection of films, recording their emotional states using a custom-built smart phone app and Fitbit
• The data was then used to build the MIFF Emotion Simulator, enabling other moviegoers to physically experience the emotions of each film

The campaign, created by agency McCann Melbourne, together with production agency Airbag, enabled visitors to choose the films they wanted to see based on footage of participants physically experiencing the film’s emotions.

This was achieved by placing 12 electrodes onto a viewer’s face that stimulated the major muscle groups responsible for expressing happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, anger and surprise.

Using front-mounted cameras, Airbag captured footage of the faces contorted into pained expressions, grimaces and smiles in a one-minute teaser trailer of the film’s emotional journey.

The Big Picture: In an age of overwhelming visual stimuli, today’s consumers have seen it all. Brands need to tap into the extreme mindset of The Polarity Paradox to be surprising.