An 84-hour live stream festival creative directed and produced by IHEARTCOMIX, garnering 5 million+ viewers.
IHEARTCOMIX creative directed and produced Abracadabra, a four-day global live stream festival centered around music, magic, self-love and eco-activism. IHC created original content, custom animations and put together a team to live produce a nonstop 84-hour show.
Supported by Twitch with front page placement, over the course of the weekend the festival garnered over 5 million unique viewers.
The festival also served as a fundraiser for Bye Bye Plastic, Parley and Lonely Whale Foundation, all organizations focused on freeing the world from single-use plastics. Daily programming, contests and CTAs to support the cause were integrated throughout the event.
THE STORY:
Leaning into the unique platform afforded through streaming, IHC created a narrative that played out during the festival. A monolith has been found in the shape of a keyhole. It is a portal that opens up showcasing the beauty of what the world can be. Inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey, aliens have gifted humanity with a monolithic key that allows us to visit global landscapes. A woman, first seen in a desert, then in a lush forest, runs towards it. During the festival the monolith would become our transportation device taking the audience from segment to segment.
In the weeks leading up to the festival, IHC filmed original content across California to portray this narrative that was edited and interspersed throughout the festival.
PROGRAMMING:
MUSIC: Music made up the majority of content. From pre-recorded segments to live in-studio performances, Abracadabra featured a wide array of amazing and global talent including DJ Snoopadelic (Snoop Dogg), Paris Hilton, Diplo, Kool & The Gang, Blond:ish, Channel Tres, Tycho, Claude VonStroke, B.O.B., Beats Antique, Oliver Koletzki, Lauren Lane, Lee Reynolds, Nicole Moudaber and many more
MAGIC: Abracadabra Festival was hosted by Elizabeth Messick. Known as the ‘singing magician’ she performedmagic daily in addition to her hosting duties.
Her segments were half live in-studio and have pre-recorded at the Los Angeles Theatre, our primary backdrop for all magic.
SELF-LOVE: Each day of the festival featured four hours of self love segments focusing on a wide array of performances and techniques including yoga, sound baths, breathing exercises and more. Talent included: Elian Zach, Stu Massengill, Scarlett Delatorre, Miriam Adler, Mona Sharma, Jody Levy, Lisa Wimberger, Kate Shela, Rachel Novetsky, The Dojo Upstate and many more.
ECO-ACTIVISM: The final component centered around the charities and eco-activism. Two hours per day were dedicated to this content and featured panels, speakers, original videos from Nate & Hila, contests and much more.
FOLLOW THE SUN:
The final key creative aspect tied directly into the production of the festival. Due to the global nature of the stream, early on the decision was made to base all performances around a sunrise or sunset. To pull this off, the festival was timed in a way to always be at a specific location in the world to showcase these, literally following the sun around the world.
An 84-hour live stream festival creative directed and produced by IHEARTCOMIX, garnering 5 million+ viewers.
IHEARTCOMIX creative directed and produced Abracadabra, a four-day global live stream festival centered around music, magic, self-love and eco-activism. IHC created original content, custom animations and put together a team to live produce a nonstop 84-hour show.
Supported by Twitch with front page placement, over the course of the weekend the festival garnered over 5 million unique viewers.
The festival also served as a fundraiser for Bye Bye Plastic, Parley and Lonely Whale Foundation, all organizations focused on freeing the world from single-use plastics. Daily programming, contests and CTAs to support the cause were integrated throughout the event.
THE STORY:
Leaning into the unique platform afforded through streaming, IHC created a narrative that played out during the festival. A monolith has been found in the shape of a keyhole. It is a portal that opens up showcasing the beauty of what the world can be. Inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey, aliens have gifted humanity with a monolithic key that allows us to visit global landscapes. A woman, first seen in a desert, then in a lush forest, runs towards it. During the festival the monolith would become our transportation device taking the audience from segment to segment.
In the weeks leading up to the festival, IHC filmed original content across California to portray this narrative that was edited and interspersed throughout the festival.
PROGRAMMING:
MUSIC: Music made up the majority of content. From pre-recorded segments to live in-studio performances, Abracadabra featured a wide array of amazing and global talent including DJ Snoopadelic (Snoop Dogg), Paris Hilton, Diplo, Kool & The Gang, Blond:ish, Channel Tres, Tycho, Claude VonStroke, B.O.B., Beats Antique, Oliver Koletzki, Lauren Lane, Lee Reynolds, Nicole Moudaber and many more
MAGIC: Abracadabra Festival was hosted by Elizabeth Messick. Known as the ‘singing magician’ she performedmagic daily in addition to her hosting duties.
Her segments were half live in-studio and have pre-recorded at the Los Angeles Theatre, our primary backdrop for all magic.
SELF-LOVE: Each day of the festival featured four hours of self love segments focusing on a wide array of performances and techniques including yoga, sound baths, breathing exercises and more. Talent included: Elian Zach, Stu Massengill, Scarlett Delatorre, Miriam Adler, Mona Sharma, Jody Levy, Lisa Wimberger, Kate Shela, Rachel Novetsky, The Dojo Upstate and many more.
ECO-ACTIVISM: The final component centered around the charities and eco-activism. Two hours per day were dedicated to this content and featured panels, speakers, original videos from Nate & Hila, contests and much more.
FOLLOW THE SUN:
The final key creative aspect tied directly into the production of the festival. Due to the global nature of the stream, early on the decision was made to base all performances around a sunrise or sunset. To pull this off, the festival was timed in a way to always be at a specific location in the world to showcase these, literally following the sun around the world.
