Adobe Makes a Movie Based on a Poster

There have been many inspirations for films. Life experiences, a book, a true story, vast and vivid human imagination. Usually, they start on the page and end up on the big screen. Somewhere in the middle is the poster. For In The Time It Takes To Get There, however, the poster inspired the movie.

Per the opening credits, in 2018, Adobe held a contest asking college students to design a movie poster. The winning poster would inspire the creation of a short film. They called it the #MoviePosterMovie Contest. Sam West, a senior at Boston University, was the winner. Actor Zach Braff was commissioned to make the film. It was referred to as “filmmaking in reverse” and normally doing things backwards is not good. However, in this case…

Some Good

Here’s where the film was as good as the poster…

1. The Poster – The winning design from Boston U. student Sam West was incredible. Adobe should hire him! His poster looked like a Criterion jacket for a Wes Anderson film!

2. Zach Braff – Known for Scrubs, Braff has displayed a competent hand at filmmaking, having found success with indies Garden State, Wish I Was Here and Going in Style. In The Time It Takes To Get There is his Magnum Opus. Teaming with Adobe and RSA Films, Braff delivered. The writing was hysterical with the dialogue equally acerbic and emotional, all delivered in a Sorkin-like pace (mirroring social media’s immediacy). The direction was skilled, never losing itself in the ever-changing (amazing) set pieces.

3. Florence Pugh (below)– Florence Pugh as Lucille stole the film. She delivered her lines, comedic and dramatic, with a biting, emotive delivery that trapped you. I remembered her from The Outlaw King and thought she should’ve been given more. Lucky for her, she found this and lucky for us, she nailed it.

4. Stanley from The Office – Yay!

5. Adobe’s Premise – What an idea! Crowdsourcing creativity is a trend brands (Mercedes Benz) are taking on. Braff crowdsourced Wish I Was Here (mixed results). Younger demographics enjoy it. Adobe is an interactive brand. It’s a product that is used to create. What better ways to advertise an interactive software than including consumers from the get go?

6. Branding – This was a masterwork. The film was about the power social media influencers have in consumerism. According to the Association of National Advertisers, marketers plan to increase influencer spending 43% this year. Influencers resonate with Millennials. Influencers use Adobe to make their media. Here, Adobe used Adobe to make Adobe! It highlighted Premiere, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and SpeedGrade. This is a broken record with me, but if you want to advertise your brand, use your brand!

7. Ridley Scott – He was a given a “special thanks”.

Some Bad

Here’s where the influencer irked you…

1. No annoying social media influencer here!

The Takeaway

Adobe’s “filmmaking in reverse” and crowd sourcing creativity was an ingenious idea for a campaign. As a result, they got an inventive branded film!