My theory is that, when presented with such a regular and familiar (though beautiful) litany of imagery, the minds and imaginations of the audience are immediately stimulated to call up the easiest memories; games of frisbee on the oval lawn, who they played with, what a great time were the University Years…within seconds, they\u2019ve left the experience, the narrative that may be unfolding before them and are off on their own, familiar path of reverie. Again, Nice; though perhaps not as deeply moving and compelling as it might be.<\/p>\n
So, what we designed was a short, wordless film with a lush, evocative score that began with a solo cyclist in the foothills behind campus. These foothills are protected land, and any experience an alum would have of these would be an intimate one; a lone, exploratory walk, a small, practical seminar, time with a loved one, even a proposal of marriage…no large groups or big experiences. This set the stage, from the outset, for circumventing, for liberating, preconception.<\/p>\n
The journey of three minutes took our cyclist out of the foothills and onto campus from behind, taking a bit of a circuitous route past some familiar architecture and landmarks, along the lake, past the stables, down fraternity row, through this plaza and that archway with familiar campus activities taking place as he passed by\u2026 The net effect was a tour of campus with quick glimpses of the new, adjacent to the familiar.<\/p>\n
Suddenly the clock began to strike and the cyclist realized he was going to be late for class; speeding up as he flew past students and classrooms, arriving at his destination at the final second, just as his (familiar to generations of alumni) professor entered and the seminar began.<\/p>\n
As he breathed a sigh of relief, the camera left him and, as the music built, a rapid montage of photos from eleven decades of university history flew past to reveal a panoramic flyover shot of what the audience had expected to see at the beginning of the film; the oval, the church, the quad, the arches\u2026 No one was disappointed; and most all were able to see these icons in a different light than had they been presented as matter-of-fact at the beginning.<\/p>\n
In the first 30 seconds of the film, the audience went completely quiet, save the occasional gasp of recognition of a building or pathway. At the end of the three minutes, however, the audience erupted into spontaneous applause and cheering to match that of the film\u2019s soundtrack. Their heads and hearts were indisputably back \u201con campus,\u201d and they were freshly aware of an excitement rarely felt since adolescence. They also knew that they didn\u2019t know what was coming next, and anticipation was heightened in the room.<\/p>\n
It worked. (…this film can be viewed, here: Stanford “Think Again” films #1: Back to the Farm – YouTube<\/a> )<\/p>\n The same theory worked in a far different way when launching a campaign at Harvard Law. Rather than bringing the audience into the Law Library for the Main Event the way they\u2019d always entered this space…this space they had come to Harvard and discovered in awe, then learned to hate by the time of departure…we brought them up the emergency stairs and into darkened, architecturally-lit stacks from a position seldom experienced. One in which they entered and saw the beauty of the unobstructed rows of columns bisecting the room and the stacks from end-to-end, the long way.<\/p>\n Suddenly, these jaded lawyers were immersed in the beauty of the space and reminded of the reverence with which they had once held these thousands of tomes.<\/p>\n So, after and along with \u201cwhat are they assuming,\u201d comes \u201cwhat are they expecting?\u201d And, how might we work with that and Liberate said Preconception\u2026?<\/p>\n Ain\u2019t nothing wrong with a little slyness in the name of Compelling Experience\u2026<\/p>\n Again, thanks for reading.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, but a man\u2019s reach should exceed his grasp, or what\u2019s a heaven for?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n -Robert Browning<\/strong><\/p>\n Next week: Comfortable Disorientation<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Crossing the very fine – though deeply nuanced – line that lies between the Minefield of Unexplored Assumption and the Poppyfield of Preconception (that\u2019s an oblique, metaphorical \u201cWizard of Oz\u201d reference that I just made up\u2026) is where one often … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/imho.kileozier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/DSC01113-1024x768.jpg\" "\\"HLS")
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