SXSW Sydney 2023

The iconic South by Southwest festival is headed overseas for the first time ever, with the Sydney being chosen as the inaugural city to host the event outside of North America. To announce this landmark event, we produced an animated film, revealing Sydney as the location.

What was initially briefed as a ‘hype reel’ became an energetic motion piece, combining visuals that represent the key pillars of the festival - music, screen, tech, gaming and conferences. We had an entirely open brief, and without a festival theme or lineup yet, we chose a mixed media approach, aiming to build hype and excitement for the event through a range of visual styles, all tied together by a uniform colour palette.

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Creative Development

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Final storyboard

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Credits:

Directed by: Danny Stern, Jonathan Pui
Design: Jonathan Pui, Danny Stern, Ben Toupein
Animation: Danny Stern, Jonathan Pui
Additional Design: Razif Djamaludin, Hayley McCormack, Monica Lasuardi, Anthony Christie
Editing and Sound Design: Danny Stern
Account Director + Producer: Fiona Hetherington

Original Music: Cheekbone

Produced at Present Company in collaboration with TEG, SXSW and DNSW