Exploring both the limits of the Instagram platform and the boundaries of the human experience in one series sounds like a daunting task—but that’s exactly what Altered.LA director Olo Celi tackled in his upcoming Instagram series, SELF. A “classic hero’s journey told through a man’s battle with…commonplace clichés,” in Celi’s words, SELF transcends the words of these clichés to see how they play out in real life–literally. The hero, a man going through the motions of life but longing for more, speaks of his day-to-day existence bound by daily routines, realizing he’s never pursued his passions, dreams and aspirations.
Like many, the hero in this universal tale of humankind’s quest for meaning has “refused the call to adventure,” says Celi, due to his inhibitions and fears. The visual representation of this man’s humdrum existence draws its audience in -for the reason a viewer never wants to admit— s/he, too, has unfulfilled dreams.
As Gabriel Torrelles, E.P at Altered.LA’s digital division DGT.LA, puts it, “to explore the limits of a platform that reinvents itself every day with each update” as the platform for this story was a bold move. Solving the challenge to “convey something universal” in seconds, rather than minutes, according to Celi, forces the content to connect with an audience quickly and in an impactful way.
Altered.LA founder and executive producer Marcos Cline sees this experimental series as a vehicle to get advertising firms excited to embrace branded short-form narrative stories – like SELF – “as an engaging way to promote their clients’ products.” As one who knows the power of story to drive behavior, Cline is “excited about the prospects” of social media platforms to redefine and expand the possibilities in brand advertising.
SELF is available as of November 27th, 2017 on Altered.LA’s Instagram feed: @AlteredLA
Altered.LA is a content and commercial production company where great ideas meet impeccable execution. Currently representing Carlos Cuarón (Rudo & Cursi), Hari Sama (El Sueño de Lu), Marcus Nispel (Friday the 13th), among others, the company provides a creative hub of passionate storytellers, directors, producers, and content developers for a global market.
