'Cold Brewed' was that 'just for fun' project...

The kind that gets out of hand, In the happiest of ways. With over 700 + final images and a screenplay-length-story, the project took 6 months and a whole lot of trench-coats to make. Cold Brewed was originally released as an online serial, and then as an i-book. Images from the series won an award at the national Photospiva competition, and then the story received further consideration from a committee at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, who called it a strong project.

Everyone who’s looked through it has agreed- they’ve never seen anything quite like it.

It is currently being developed as a physical book with a 2022 release.

THE STORY

What if alcohol wasn’t the only thing that underwent a prohibition? What if coffee was against the law? Jett Cropper is a 1940s detective caught in a world in which coffee is illegal and a growing body count in his city is leading him on a trail towards a mysterious villain, a slew of eccentric characters, and a whole lot of coffee puns. Ultimately Jett just wants to know: who’s the new roaster in town, shaking things up and tamping his friends left and right?

MAKING OF
My co-creator Lance Schaubert and I began the project out of a love for collaboration, great story, and the look and feel of film noir. Most of our work sessions were across the table at the local coffeeshop, so the theme also made a lot of sense. We shot the entire series locally (in the midwest town of Joplin, Missouri) and used a cast comprised entirely of true-life-baristas. All slang from the period was swapped for coffee terminology, which makes for a tongue-in-cheek tale that sways from serious action to genre-honoring campiness. Just picture Bogart with a mug instead of a whiskey glass and that gets you pretty close to the tone.

The final product was an i-book told in a format that we partially made up, and partially revived… the photonovel. That's what innovation is all about, right? It goes back and forth between words (Lance's) and pictures (mine), each doing their equal part to tell the story. Sort of like a graphic novel, but with actual photographs.

You can find the whole thing here. 

"Cold Brewed" is a featured case study because it exemplifies the level of innovation & storytelling I'm always working toward. Unique transmedia projects are on the rise right now... and something for any company to consider adapting into their marketing strategy. 

To see excerpts from Mark & Lance's 2nd photonovel, which was a specially commissioned marketing and tourism piece that won national attention for its’ innovative approach to tourism marketing, click HERE.