BUZZ NEWS

Disney Leverages Tilt-Shift For Viral Campaign

Posted on December 11, 2009
Thierry Daher

1. Please briefly introduce yourself / your role at Disney.

My name is Todd Heiden and I am currently the International PR Director for Disney Parks based at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. I’ve been with Disney for almost 19 years now, having joined the company straight out of college. I’ve been a part of the marketing division for 15 years.

2. Can you describe the Tilt-Shift videos you produced/directed in a few words? How did the idea come to you?

My sister-in-law is a photographer and shared a video with me that was shot in Australia, done in the tilt-shift style. I was both mesmerized and energized by what I saw because I immediately understood how we as a company could leverage this technology/style for the parks. There are many ways to show off what exists inside the parks in terms of entertainment and attractions, and I thought what better way to show the breadth and scope of what we have than to present it in “miniature.” If we could create a short video of what happens at the Magic Kingdom from sunrise to sunset, coming in or around at 3-minutes total running time and have it become viral, how cool would that be? And better yet, why not create one for each individual theme park (Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure), and then eventually tie it all together in an original edit for a comprehensive overview of our entire resort properties. Thankfully David Roark, Manager of Creative Photography at Disney Parks, had the knowledge of how to shoot tilt-shift photography and jumped in with both feet to make these videos happen. Without his tireless dedication to finding the right locations and getting the right shots, this would have remained nothing more than just an idea.

3. What was necessary for the production? The overall budget?

In terms of production, upfront we had to go out and secure the three lenses that Nikon produces for tilt-shift, with focal ranges of 24mm, 45mm and 85mm. After that, it was all about finding the shooting locations in the parks that not only offered exclusive views of the park but also offered an advantageous view for taking advantage of the tilt-shift effect. At the end of the day, a few shots are probably too close to really show the effect but in terms of the narrative they were important to keep the story moving along in a compelling way.

The next big challenge was choosing the music to accompany the image. Sure, Disney music would seem the natural choice but the problem that I saw was that, because it is so well known, people automatically have an expectation of what they’re going to see with the music. If I were to use “it’s a small world”, people might expect small Animatronic figures or images from within Fantasyland. If I were to use some of the more ethereal background music from Epcot, it may not have the energy to keep the piece moving for 3 minutes. Also, we don’t necessarily own the music outright so I needed to take into consideration licensing fees. So, I chose some selects from an online music library service, did an informal poll internally and selected the pieces I felt offered the most energy. In my mind at least, it’s successful because it doesn’t follow the norm and is therefore that much more arresting when you view the videos.

The final piece was the editing, where image and sound are married and there’s nothing like editing images to a good beat… and having an editor that can bring your vision to life.

In the end (and excluding the upfront cost of the lenses), we’re spending much less than you would think per video.

4. Which kind of reach have you achieved so far?

The results for the Magic Kingdom video to date have been excellent, with over 500,000 combined views on the Disney Parks Blog video player (disneyparks.com/blog) and the Disney Parks YouTube channel (youtube.com/disneyparks). While 500,000 views may not seem like a lot for a viral video, the real surprise has been the amount of time that the total views have added up to: more than 500 days! This obviously shows that the video has a high repeatability factor and that people are showing it to their family, friends and/or colleagues.

5. How does such an initiative fit within Disney social media / online PR strategy?

The video was created with the Disney Parks Blog in mind. We were getting ready to launch the Blog to the public in late September and, as a team, we were challenged to help develop creatively compelling content for the site that would draw eyeballs to it and help build its fan base. Thankfully the tilt-shift technique is hot and by making the video embeddable, fan and photo and tech sites alike were all able to share the video with their own fan bases/followers and create a storm of buzz and, ultimately, build awareness around our Blog. Meanwhile, people are looking at the park in a whole new way and getting a really good idea of what happens within the gates during the day. So, it’s buzz-worthy, viral and educational.

6. Why do you think viewers have such an interest in this type of video? How much does the Disney brand play in this equation in your opinion?

Tilt-Shift is fairly new to the masses, especially when compiled into a video format. It challenges our perceptions of the world around us and helps us see things in a different light. As children, we grow up interacting with toys, building (and destroying) make-believe cities and playing with model train sets. To then grow up and see our real life cities and creations put into the same miniature perspective really makes us stop and pay attention, if only for a moment. I’ve enjoyed reading the comments on the Disney Parks Blog and on our YouTube channel. The “WOW” that people convey in their comments is very satisfying, knowing that people are looking at it the same way I did when I first saw a tilt-shift video. Taking a WOW and marrying it with the Disney Parks brand helps put it over the top, and given the huge affinity that a large portion of the population has for the Disney brand, I can only hope that we have managed to successfully push that envelope and provide them with a happy moment during their day.

Vanksen thanks Mr Heiden for this interview.