infinity festival hollywood | 2022
The world we built
When the folks at Infinity Festival first approached me about producing “Year 5” of their summit, I sold them on the idea of creating something refreshing, original, and bold.
In the past, Infinity Festival was known for it’s fantastic programming and panels, but from an event standpoint, there was very little to draw the large audience they had been seeking.
I was told that this would be their “make-or-break” year, and if they couldn’t make a big impact with their sponsors, then this would most likely be the last Infinity Festival.
We made it our mission to give Infinity a true “live event personality”, and in so doing, add to the legacy of this awesome event.
The Creative Director at IF, Adam Newman, made it abundantly clear to us in preliminary talks that he wanted to focus heavily on the black/pink aesthetic of their brand for this event. It was a fantastic jumping off point.
Concept and ideation
Mark and Adam wanted a complete overhaul of what the previous events looked like. Gone would be the days of the industrial minimalism, and to replace it would be the look of theater stage.
Our biggest initial hurdle was how to maximize the significant space at Goya Studios, and deliver high-impact moments in the exterior.
My first inclination was to carpet the entire 15,000 sq.ft. of parking lot space in order to keep guests consistently engaged in the event space.
We ended up sewing in pink striped pathways as a way to really have the floor “pop”!
In order to give Infinity a sense of immersion, we concepted layering the pre-existing walls with 100 linear feet of flat wall, branded with a black/white/pink finish.
How magic is made
With 3 days of programming, 2 stages, and 1 expo hall, you could say we had our hands full crafting the Infinity Festival’s 2022 narrative. Check out this 5-day timelapse for an inside look at how we made the magic happen!
Fabrication and scenic
As you can imagine, fabrication played a heavy role in this event once the overall concept of carpet and flat wall was solidified.
I wanted to immerse people immediately upon entering the festival, and there is no better way to do that than a powerful entry tunnel moment. We used a hexagonal frame, with a mirrored interior finish as a nod to the word “infinity”.
The stage design was also heavily influenced by playing with reflective surfaces and geometric shapes representing infinity. We used reflective marlite, LED triangular ‘fins’, and a white scrim backdrop.
And, for the hero moment, the “Squircle Sculpture” sat proud in the center of the event. I promised Infinity Festival a high-impact photo-op at the heart of their event.
We took their “squircle” logo, and used frosted acrylic, and a steel frame for the skeleton, and just for fun, we put it on a rotating platform for guests to interact with.
end result
Infinity Festival Hollywood 2022 was a massive success! Over the course of the 3-day festival, we saw over 2,500 guests in attendance, more than triple the amount from the 2021 festival. Our 2 stages were always packed, and the expo hall encouraged constant foot traffic.
During the 6 month long marketing and production phase, we generated a massive amount of buzz, with over 4 billion impressions worldwide for a total advertising value of $44M.
Infinity Festival was featured across traditional media and new media in the form of billboards, journalistic articles, banner ads, and pre-roll ads.
With the success of Year 5, Infinity Festival has already announced a huge expansion in their programming. First the first time ever, there will be more than 1 annual festival.
2023 will see not just “Infinity Festival Hollywood” in the fall, but “Infinity Festival Silicon Beach” and the “Monolith Awards” in the spring, plus monthly events hosted at recently-launched “The Aster” social club.
In a make-or-break year, it truly was a Hollywood ending for us all. We did what we set out to do in the end; give Infinity Festival a “live event personality”. The brand now has a visual story, and guests will always feel like part of the narrative.
We will return to create and produce all of Infinity’s events for 2023.
Creative Design: Paladin Creative | Event Logistics: Known Events Group | Event Tech: Piddle Pops | Venue: Goya Studios