01 —— Overview
Release Date
2024
Client
Prolific
Produced By
Distant Moon
Category
Films · Interactive
Director
Ian Anthony Reid
Key Partners
Prolific-JDA · Whiteboard.is
The Project
The Moment is a one-of-a-kind interactive film that lets audiences step into a main character’s shoes and make decisions in real time inside a cinematic, real-world environment. With multiple story branches and outcomes, the project overcame a technical merger of immersive filmmaking and backend coding magic that created such a seamless user experience that Netflix engineers reached out to find out how we accomplished what even their genre-creating Bandersnatch couldn’t.
Designed specifically for teen audiences, The Moment explores the critical decisions young people face in everyday life — from peer pressure and relationships to identity and consequences. The film gives agency to viewers and lets them experience different outcomes based on their choices, challenging them to wrestle with consequences tied to each unique ending.
20+
Story Branches
12
Unique Endings
45min
Average Experience
2M+
Impressions
02 —— Recognition
Awards &
Recognition
The Moment has been recognized by Webby Awards, The Clio Awards, and industry bodies across the country — picking up more than a dozen honors and earning national recognition for its groundbreaking interactive format and its emotional impact on teen audiences.
Webby Awards, 2025
Best Multimedia Storytelling — Advertising, Media & PR
The MarCom Awards, 2024
Platinum Winner
American Advertising Awards — AAF DC
Best of Film & Sound · Best of Cross Platform · Branded Content — Non Broadcast
Eastern United States ADDY
Gold — Branded Content & Entertainment, Non Broadcast
8+
Industry honors including Webby, MarCom,
AAF, and ADDY awards
03 —— Audience Response
Audience
Response
The Moment didn’t just perform — it connected. Within weeks of launch, the interactive film became a cultural touchpoint on TikTok, generating millions of views as audiences shared their unique story paths, debated endings, and replayed branches they’d missed. The comments tell the story better than any metric ever could.
04 —— Behind the Scenes
The Process
We approached The Moment as a film first, not a cringey PSA or tech demo. Every branch needed to feel like a complete, emotionally honest and compelling story, so we built the structure around real decisions teens face in everyday life.
Pre-Production
Mapping the Worlds
Before writing a single line of dialogue, we spent months mapping out the decision tree. We identified every possible path, ensuring that no branch led to a narrative dead end. This phase was crucial as it allowed us to identify potential continuity issues and ensure that every ending felt earned rather than arbitrary. Working with consultants and youth development experts, we crafted scenarios that balanced realism with dramatic potential.
Once the story was defined, our producers worked tirelessly, sourcing talent, wardrobe, locations, and props to bring the whole experience to life.
Decision Architecture
36 branches. 12 endpoints.
One seamless experience.
Production
Seamless Branching
In order to have seamless transitions between the various story branches, we planned out scenes with extensive blocking to ensure matching performances and camera positions. This required meticulous continuity work and innovative shooting techniques.
Pre-Production
8 Weeks
Script development, branching architecture, casting
Production
12 Days
Principal photography across 4 locations with 200+ crew
Post-Production
16 Weeks
Editorial, VFX, color, sound design, score composition
Engineering
10 Weeks
Custom video pipeline, decision engine, QA testing
05 —— In Their Words
“
I’ll remember this project for several reasons. And yeah, the awards it has won, and may still win, is definitely one. But more than that, this project became a launching pad.
Every so often, you get one that raises the bar. That takes you higher. That unlocks more potential, more determination, and more ambition. And for me, this is one of those projects. The type that remind me of what a privilege it is when people trust you with something this big.
Over 200 people touched this project. And every single one of them believed in it and the vision behind it. They gave it everything they had. Wickedly talented people, at the top of their game were all in, even when it got hard they never wavered. They stood with me the entire time. Which is why, I’ll never forget what it felt like to call them and simply say, ‘We won.’
BRENT HUFFMAN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
06 —— Innovation
Post-Production
Technical Innovation
Close collaboration with our development partners at Whiteboard.is ensured the footage dropped cleanly into a custom in-browser player, delivering a feature-quality experience that audiences could actually shape. We optimized video compression to maintain visual fidelity while ensuring smooth playback across devices and connection speeds.
The interactive interface was designed to be invisible — decision points appear as natural pauses in the action, with choices presented through character dialogue or environmental cues rather than obtrusive UI elements. This was a monumental win, considering previous projects with a choose-your-own-adventure film format could not deliver an uninterrupted visual experience after the user made their choice.
Zero-Latency Branching
Custom video pipeline delivers seamless transitions between story branches with zero loading screens or buffering — something even major streaming platforms hadn’t achieved.
Narrative Decision Engine
A proprietary backend tracks every viewer choice in real time, dynamically assembling a unique narrative path from over 200 individually filmed scenes.
Emotional Impact Mapping
Working with behavioral psychologists, we designed decision points that mirror real teen experiences — creating genuine emotional weight behind every choice.
07 —— Team
Credits
Over 200 talented individuals contributed to bringing The Moment to life. Here are the key creative leads who shaped the vision.
Directed by
Ian Reid
Written by
Ian Reid, Chase Kinney & Brent Huffman
Executive Producer
Brent Huffman
Produced by
Kacie Hall
Director of Photography
John Carrington III
Original Score
Nickolas Kirk
Edited by
Nathan Bittner & Ian Reid
Sound Design & Mix
Jesse Eastman & Ryan Moore
Colorist
John Carrington III
Featuring
Piper Lyric Verbrick · Lisa Meyerovich · Brent Bentley
Whiteboard.is
Walter Hameda
Prolific-JDA
David Cole · William Hay · Tyler Nelson · Matt Reeves
Story by
Brent Huffman & Ian Reid
Producer
Jenna Bergvall
Co-Producer
Chase Kinney
Costume Design
Kacie Hall & Tovala Harrison
Production Designer
Daniel Cooley
Unit Production Manager
Kacie Hall
First Assistant Director
Daniel Cooley
1st AC
Joshua Hall
2nd AC
Tovala Harrison
Gaffer
Stuart Haight
Key Grip
Doug Jones
Swing
Andrew Corbin
Sound Mixer
Mike Infante
Script Supervisor
Chase Kinney
HMU
Kim Reyes · Jamie Roche
Transportation / Locations
Micah Gaukler
Office Production Assistant
Daniel Morrison
Key Production Assistant
Maddy Wade
Production Assistants
Evelyn Frazier · Rhiannon Cormier · Tommy Guempel
Craft Services
Cynthia Blagmans
Caterer
Chef Kenneth Clay
Intimacy Coordinator
Allison Jones
Law Enforcement Advisor
Eddie O’Toole
Distant Moon Executive Producer
Ian Reid
Distant Moon Operations
Stephanie Johnson
Chief Creative Officer
Brent Huffman
Story & Script Support
Lauren Hawk, Jonathan Vessely, Jenna Bergvall & Hayden Choate
Research & Demographics
Tyler Kniess
High School Review Team
Riley Huffman, Storie McCormick & Asher Johnson
Language Team
Will Orr & the Culpeper County High School 9th Grade English Class
Agency BTS
Kristine Deininger & Jonathan Vessely
Special Thanks
Chance Benbow & Becky Delph
Emily Blythe
Piper Lyric Verbrick
Samantha Browning
Lisa Meyerovich
Grayson Tillman
Brent Bentley
Brittany Hutchins
Leigha Sinnott
Jackson Prichard
Matt Perl
Preston Kohler “Kush”
Brent Michal
Olivia Clark
Taylor Abigail Rice
Olivia Friend 1
Sydney Spencer
Olivia Friend 2
Aya Campbell
Jaden Allen
Julia Rose Majerscak
Kissing Boy
Adien Coffey
Chad Fenwick
Joshua Sousa
Omar Vasquez
Jaden Davis
Lukas Jacobs
Sheridan James
Fight Boy
Tristan Nokes
Nicolas Brady
Zach Burger
Cash Lamb
David Tomlinson
Clancy Jackson
Mark Jones II
Jayce Thornton
MonTrell Nelson Jr.
Emily’s Mom
Ellie Christiansen
Doctor
Chase Kinney
Nurse
Beth Cole
Hallway Girl
Nylah Lee
Police Officer 1
Raju Neupane
Police Officer 2
Mark Evans
High School Partier
Gabrielle Silva
High School Partier
Lwazi Xaba
High School Partier
Sydney Henry
High School Partier
Kiara Battle
High School Partier
Lillian B Cline
High School Partier
Hannah Smith
High School Partier
Hannah Watson
High School Partier
Luke Dodge
High School Partier
Hui Zhu
High School Partier
Sophia Joseph
High School Partier
Leanne Janowski
High School Partier
Megan Janowski
High School Partier
Ziaire Mann
High School Partier
Victoria Chege
High School Partier
Myriam Alazar
High School Partier
Carrie Choi
High School Partier
James Niblock
High School Partier
Kendra Brown
High School Partier
Amen Mekuria
High School Partier
Masoom Mohiuddin
High School Partier
Anita Vega
High School Partier
Kenny Lai
High School Partier
Yang (Johnny) Wen
High School Partier
Deema Turkomani
High School Partier
Nina Reinharz
High School Partier
Devin Sutphin
High School Partier
Grady Howard
High School Partier
Joshua Bryant Smith
High School Partier
Justin Meyer
High School Partier
Colin Martin
High School Partier
Jonas Pow
High School Partier
Lucas Green
High School Partier
Evita “Bunny” Rivers
High School Partier
Taylor A. Fowler
High School Partier
Alessandra Biagiotti
High School Partier
Johnna Leary
High School Partier
Cammiel Hussey
High School Partier
Kadarius Mcnair
High School Partier
Dijhovah Hawkins
High School Partier
Danay Hampton
High School Partier
“Zelïlah” Yadidyah Ogunfiditimi
High School Partier
Whitney Richardson
High School Partier
Isaac Diaz Cruz
High School Partier
Victoria Ruano
High School Partier
Aura Rodriguez Gomez
High School Partier
Alexandra Ayala
High School Partier
Citlali Yamada
High School Partier
Noah Andrews
High School Partier
Kaila Morales
High School Partier
Logan Sweeny
High School Partier
Rhiannon Cormier
High School Partier
Jayden Wingard
High School Partier
Gabriel Stone
High School Partier
Valeria Rodriguez
High School Partier
Hamza Elnaggar
High School Partier
Bella Cruz
High School Partier
Megan Elizabeth Keough
High School Partier
Saron Tewolde
High School Partier
Lucas Meneses
Diner Guest
Juan Ortega
Diner Guest
Matt Sweet
Diner Guest
Amy Kriner
Diner Guest
Dena Bleu
Diner Guest
Joseph Stewart
Post-Production Supervisor
Brandon DeTraglia
Post-Production Manager
Mariah Cormier
Editors
Nathan Bittner · Ian Reid
Visual Effects / Compositing
Tommy Guempel
Lead Sound Designer
Jesse Eastman
Additional Dialogue
Rhiannon Cormier · Stephanie Johnson · Julie Graham · Mariah Cormier
