Film – Distant Moon https://distantmoon.com Human Flourishing through Film Thu, 18 Jun 2026 19:09:37 +0000 en hourly 60 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://distantmoon.com/app/uploads/2025/05/Web-Logo-Main-96x96.avif Film – Distant Moon https://distantmoon.com 32 32 The Moment https://distantmoon.com/portfolio/the-moment/ Tue, 22 Jul 2025 23:33:09 +0000 https://distantmoon.com/?post_type=portfolio-item&p=9623

01 —— Overview

Release Date

2024

Client

Prolific

Produced By

Distant Moon

Category

Films · Interactive

Director

Ian Anthony Reid

Key Partners

Prolific-JDA · Whiteboard.is

Share

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.

Video Production Company webby awards 1

Webby Awards, 2025

Best Multimedia Storytelling — Advertising, Media & PR

Video Production Company marcom awards

The MarCom Awards, 2024

Platinum Winner

Video Production Company american advertising awards

American Advertising Awards — AAF DC

Best of Film & Sound · Best of Cross Platform · Branded Content — Non Broadcast

Video Production Company eastern united states addy

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.

TikTok screenshot
TikTok screenshot
TikTok screenshot
TikTok screenshot
TikTok screenshot

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.

Video Production Company pre production planning
Video Production Company story branching whiteboard
Video Production Company decision architecture diagram
START36 BRANCHES

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.

Camera crew filming under stylized practical lighting
Camera crew filming under stylized practical lighting
Monitoring a take on the wireless director’s feed
Monitoring a take on the wireless director’s feed
Reviewing the decision tree board between takes
Reviewing the decision tree board between takes
Full crew on set between scenes
Full crew on set between scenes

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.

01

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.

02

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.

03

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

]]>
Purpose-Driven Film Production

01 —— Overview

Release Date

2024

Client

Prolific

Produced By

Distant Moon

Category

Films · Interactive

Director

Ian Anthony Reid

Key Partners

Prolific-JDA · Whiteboard.is

Share

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.

Video Production Company webby awards 1

Webby Awards, 2025

Best Multimedia Storytelling — Advertising, Media & PR

Video Production Company marcom awards

The MarCom Awards, 2024

Platinum Winner

Video Production Company american advertising awards

American Advertising Awards — AAF DC

Best of Film & Sound · Best of Cross Platform · Branded Content — Non Broadcast

Video Production Company eastern united states addy

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.

TikTok screenshot
TikTok screenshot
TikTok screenshot
TikTok screenshot
TikTok screenshot

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.

Video Production Company pre production planning
Video Production Company story branching whiteboard
Video Production Company decision architecture diagram
START36 BRANCHES

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.

Camera crew filming under stylized practical lighting
Camera crew filming under stylized practical lighting
Monitoring a take on the wireless director’s feed
Monitoring a take on the wireless director’s feed
Reviewing the decision tree board between takes
Reviewing the decision tree board between takes
Full crew on set between scenes
Full crew on set between scenes

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.

01

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.

02

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.

03

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

<p>The post The Moment first appeared on Distant Moon.</p>

]]>
Invisible Children https://distantmoon.com/portfolio/invisible-children/ Tue, 22 Jul 2025 20:38:22 +0000 https://distantmoon.com/?post_type=portfolio-item&p=9648

Release

2025

Client

Bipartisan Policy Center

Director

Ian Anthony Reid

The Project

Invisible Children is a powerful branded documentary produced for the Bipartisan Policy Center, shedding light on the often-overlooked impact of government systems and policies on vulnerable populations. Through intimate personal stories and compelling cinematography, the film calls attention to those who are unseen by the system, advocating for thoughtful reforms that prioritize dignity, humanity, and justice.

]]>

Release

2025

Client

Bipartisan Policy Center

Director

Ian Anthony Reid

The Project

Invisible Children is a powerful branded documentary produced for the Bipartisan Policy Center, shedding light on the often-overlooked impact of government systems and policies on vulnerable populations. Through intimate personal stories and compelling cinematography, the film calls attention to those who are unseen by the system, advocating for thoughtful reforms that prioritize dignity, humanity, and justice.

<p>The post Invisible Children first appeared on Distant Moon.</p>

]]>