Think You Can Act? The Tribeca Film Festival's ReActor Puts You to the Test

The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) has become a staple of culture in New York City. To celebrate its 15th year, TFF is partnering with J. Walter Thompson New York to launch a campaign that celebrates the film festival and the many different parts of New York City.

The campaign includes video, experiential, out of home, print and digital components. It is the first work for TFF by J. Walter Thompson.

New York is the mecca of all movie sets, and its people are among the most theatrical and expressive in the world. To launch the campaign, J. Walter Thompson and TFF decided to put New Yorkers in the movies with the Tribeca Film Festival ReActor. The ReActor is a first of its kind machine that combines voice and facial recognition with motion technology to record people re-enacting notable scenes from beloved films. The ReActor then drops participants’ best performances into the real movie scenes to create videos that can be shared online via social channels. Placed throughout major New York City attractions as well as the Tribeca Festival Hub, the ReActor will judge participants’ performances and reward high scorers with free tickets to the Festival. Track the Reactor’s whereabouts @Tribeca.

A 90 second short film shows how the ReActor works with a crowd of New Yorkers and tourists acting out movie scenes on a quintessential cobblestone Tribeca street. The film debuted on March 25, 2016. A shorter 30 second cut of the film will air in theaters beginning today as well. 

For the visual system guiding the print and out-of-home ads, J. Walter Thompson integrated the festival’s iconic logo into well-known locations throughout the city. These notable buildings, structures and scenes were used to complete the Tribeca Film Festival logo, illustrating the relationship between the Festival and New York City. In honor of the festival’s 15th year, the print campaign includes 15 ads, mostly of notable sites spanning the boroughs of New York, demonstrating how the city is truly at the heart of the Tribeca Film Festival.  The ads are running online and in publications including Time Out New York, New York Magazine, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, People, Entertainment Weekly, and more. OOH includes subways, NYC area airports, Taxi TV, Times Square, Path Train and wild postings and on LinkNYC’s free public Wi-Fi kiosks.

“To celebrate this milestone year we wanted to create a campaign that is reflective of the Festival’s roots in New York City, infused with an energy and openness that represents our mission,” said Bari Komitee, VP Marketing, Tribeca Enterprises. “The New York City images in the print campaign together with the classic films, technology, and just plain fun that the ReActor delivers is a great combination of cinematic storytelling and innovative technology, much like the experiences we bring to audiences.”

“The Tribeca Film Festival has become a New York institution of creativity, innovation and storytelling,” said Brent Choi, Chief Creative Officer, J. Walter Thompson New York.  “We’re excited to bring the magic of the movies to the biggest audiences ever as we celebrate the festival’s 15th year.”

The Madison Square Garden Company, National CineMedia, Noble People, and Intersection, are among the partners supporting the campaign.