Wherein TCM Writer/Producer Andrew Alonso discusses creating this year’s Summer Under The Stars promo
This campaign became a deep and personal undertaking early on for me. This was my first year helming the Summer Under The Stars campaign for TCM. As I meditated on how to approach it, I was routinely derailed by a need for respite. I’ve been going full steam since January and, by mid-year, I was longing for a break. The more I processed that need, the more I realized it being was shared all around me. I kept encountering elements and having experiences that reinforced this idea that we’re all desperate for a moment away from the chaos, confusion, and vitriol; The “Noise."
Fans at TCMFF more frequently than usual described TCM as an escape in our interviews with them. Recent research is showing people are looking for that. I see it everywhere online in the pointless, fever-pitched debates. Between the angry lines of text, all I see are people who desperately want everything to just stop for a minute so they can take a breath and get some relief. At times it feels so intense, that’s it like a thirst.
So "RESPITE” became the mantra behind the Summer Under The Stars campaign. My aim was to bring the energy level down while pushing UP feelings of positivity, hope, and calm. When I saw our graphic design team’s initial concept boards for this, I knew they’d been feeling it, too. The design is GORGEOUS, by the way, and perfectly encapsulates the simplicity and weightlessness this campaign needed. After that, everything continued falling into place. The track we’re using literally begins in the same terrestrial space as the graphic design. It lifts up to the heavens, and then ebbs and flows across movements that feel strong but gentle.
I couldn’t be happier with the way this came together.