Future Voice (Magazine) feature, in-depth biographical article on husband and wife visionary storytellers, Misty and James Buzzacco, owners of the Los Angeles based cinematic branding and production boutique, Creative Doorway
Fighting for the Future
The dark clouds hovering over the city make it impossible to discern day from night as unchecked pollution dances with a damaged climate to create an almost impenetrable shroud over the landscape. In the streets below, humanity struggles against the rising tide of illness, scarcity, and violence. No one is safe from weariness and unrest. A lucky few live out their days in luxury, safely tucked away in high rises and manufactured opulence. But the clock is ticking. Soon disease and despair will infect every soul, rampaging like the legendary horseman of the apocalypse and laying waste to everything in their path. And the most tragic part, is that the majority of us would agree that the context of this seemingly over exaggerated dystopian movie synopsis is either upon us already or soon to be realized.
From critically acclaimed science-fiction blockbuster movies like Blade Runner to Children of Men, the audiences’ perception of a less habitable future seems relevant and imminent. Ironically, mere human evolution has brought this hypothetically theatrical crisis to our very doorstep, and while same-day delivery and instant access to nearly everything enhance and empower many of us, a realization that we have yet to pay the true cost of our innovations is growing every day. Headlines from around the world paint a scary, baffling, and dispiriting visual of what our future will become, with climate change and disease leading the charge towards collapse, mass starvation, war, and unending tragedy. Meanwhile, news abounds with stories of our failing medicinal lifelines; from the epidemics surrounding prescription drugs to ineffective medical procedures administered on curable health conditions.
But to casually lift us back into the light of this article, let us all be reminded that the future is never set in the concrete foundation of today’s current problems. If we look within our deepest desires at the growing potential catalysts for change, it’s possible to speculate how our aforementioned ‘dystopian life’ could give way to something closer to a utopia. This is never more true than in the realm of healthcare. Though the dangers and abuses mentioned above are very real and have a strong impact on our daily lives, opportunity for transformation is afoot. So while access to effective care and many traditional medical practices are rightfully under attack, a brave cadre of scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals are forging a new path. And surprisingly, accompanying this courageous pursuit are the likes of husband and wife storytellers, Misty and James Buzzacco, owners of the Los Angeles based cinematic branding and production boutique, Creative Doorway – of whom both confidently proclaim, that a safe and successful passage into this new frontier starts at the nexus where “science fiction meets reality.”
“A safe and successful passage into this new frontier starts at the nexus where “science fiction meets reality.”
A Newfound Depth of Discovery
History can teach us over and over again that exposure to the right information is critical in times of uncertainty. Knowledge can help bridge the gap between a life-sustaining ‘fact’ and a fantasy ‘fiction’ premise. Access to information has allowed the population to question the norms of traditional treatment therapies, and the outcome is exciting and inspiring to say the least. A subtle shift to this new awakening is beginning to occur. As more and more doctors and patients become aware that pills and procedures are not viable long-term solutions to many of the ailments that plague today’s modern existence, new solutions are emerging. One in particular focuses on a more holistic and organic approach to an authentic cellular healing potential.
Unfortunately, the majority of the experimental treatments related to the miracles surrounding cellular science are still awaiting FDA approval. Consequently, the substantive information about these alternative medicine options is often lost in translation. Breakthroughs in scientific research and application are stuck in a void between viable medical offerings and controversial hoaxes. Extensive clinical trials, white papers and elaborate studies prove cellular advancements of this magnitude deserve to earn its legitimacy, yet a vehicle to effectively convey this subject matters’ importance to the general public has yet to be constructed.
“There is an overwhelming need for a translation mechanism”, says Director James Buzzacco–“one that can pierce the interdimensional scientific language barrier of analytical data and near-hieroglyphic research reports, to truly capture the hope and healing that these treatments could potentially provide.”
It’s a challenge the team at Creative Doorway has met head-on, time and again, with a sense of unwavering purpose. Working with several high-profile clients in this new future-forward genre of regenerative medicine, Creative Doorway has built a fresh blueprint for brand storytelling that transcends the traditional marketing playbook. Instead of callous and calculated promotions aimed at the lowest common denominator, Creative Doorway creates an immersive, cinematic experience that builds content appeal through escapism grounded in education and finds a way to speak to the collective human condition.
“If our target demographic just so happens to be the physician only, the likelihood of our cellular product campaigns becoming diluted and taking on a life of its own is a painstaking reality,” James clarifies.
“To preserve the integrity of not only the factual ingredients within a company’s brand story, but to also keep it from being spun into a narrative with ulterior motives that could potentially become less factual for patients and benefit less upright medical practices, is the very reason why we feel obligated to introduce the educational components of our production assets to a wider spectrum of viewers. And artistically choosing to do so In a format that has the potential to speak to this newly awakened generation.”
So how do creative professional storytellers traverse the analytical world of scientific research to fight the good fight in relation to cellular therapies?
Who’s Awake and Who’s Not?
“The first major conviction we had was to create a brand story entrance into a subject matter that could potentially expand on the traditional stereotypes of the medical genre entirely, explains James. “The almost sterile and sickly book cover exterior that currently exists around this particular industry makes it very difficult for many to penetrate through their own preconceived classifications of health and wellness.”
This strategy was no small task for the Creative Doorway team. Especially when standing in the massive shadows casted from the general consensus of programmed marketing ploys-turned-truth, still circulating from the past century.
“We had to make a decision, not as creatives but with a more journalistic responsibility, to join fellow advocates determined to help rewrite these fabricated health commandments. That still to this day, are etched in stone for many out of pure fear of change, says James. “It felt as if the undercurrent of our storytelling narrative had to somehow reveal that these inherited conceptions amounted to nothing more than outdated customs and propaganda; something we also had to learn with a saddened heart as we initially navigated naively in the first of our five years of research in this industry.”
As the creative duo studied diligently and worked alongside the industry’s most credible scientific professionals over the vast landscape of their career in medical science, it became abundantly clear that their brand-story campaigns needed to possess a certain vitality that could allow them to colorfully paint in between the lines of white paper research for a new age of interpretation, and to also potentially free their audience from this entangled preprogrammed consciousness, James refers to. With this plan set high on a pre-production priority, James and Misty set off to embark on a new filmmaking, marketing and journalistic cause, one that truly mined the potential of their cinematic storytelling and immersive production talents.
The Death of a Marketing Era
“What we know – what informs the core of our being and creates the fundamentals of what Creative Doorway is and hopes to achieve, is that we personally feel a shift in our own perspectives after entering a cinematic story environment, explains James. “It’s about becoming entranced with a story plot or brand so deeply that the message feels intuitive, as if it grew out of our own consciousness rather than being delivered by characters or messages created for us to relate to.”
“What this deep immersion achieves, allows the viewer to finally question what is possible in his or her own life story. With this shift in perception and through this form of escapism, we as people, become open to new information. This can ultimately be used as a kind of learning portal. Hence, why we named our company ‘Creative Doorway.’ Once that emotional connection is made as you walk through to the other side, an audience is finally cognitively capable of adopting a new point of view,” James passionately declares.
“This is where all marketing needs to be in this newly awakened world,” James continues.. “Keep it completely transparent. Transparency allows a potential customer, reader or viewer to make their own educated decision after giving them an expansive platform to think at a more coherently responsive level.”
James and Misty’s approach to enlightened marketing contrasts dramatically to the industry’s recent forays to a more “grassroots” approach. While these traditional methods may have been effective in the past, they are losing power and resonance as savvy consumers reject the inauthentic formulaic solicitation that happens with this form of advertising. Though it has transitioned into social media and viral content, the intended outcome is still the same: build a desire based on a deep-rooted insecurity or personal void and fulfill the need. Consumers are aware of how these linear formulas play out, and they can see the end-goal right from the start. Every day, we are awash in advertising messages, to the point where genuine conversations and real data are so obscured it’s hard to decipher anything beyond the “buy, buy, buy” messaging.
Decreasing attention-spans and growing hostility to the notion that “everybody is trying to sell something,” means companies trying to elevate their brand, need a game plan similar to that of Creative Doorway’s approach. Today’s consumer cares little for messages that do not resonate. It’s not so much about the much-lamented short attention spans as it is about telling the right kinds of stories. People still sit through full-length movies and they binge-watch entire seasons in one sitting. If the content is good, the consumer will make the time. In fact, they will seek out the content they want.
The attention span is readily available and can be tapped. The key? Transforming the tropes of escapism and entertainment into something new, something that can transcend the walls consumers have put up to protect themselves from the types of advertising that overwhelm and annoy, but rarely break through. James and Misty appear to have deciphered the code within the marketing matrix to not only implement this more functional and effective communication model to help advance the near science fiction reality of a new cellular healing innovation, but also by approaching with an unorthodox workflow that exemplifies a more ethical skeletal framework in the smoke and mirrors derived society we’ve accepted as “the norm.”
Where Science Fiction Meets Reality
When the universe opens up to emit its custom tailored calling upon us, the mere recognition of this unique paradox alone is the beginning of an experience that can be profound and transformative. There is an old saying, “when the student is ready, the teacher arrives,” and in the same vein there are moments in life when your skills and experience reach an apex and your true purpose emerges. Not all have the courage to meet this challenge, but when the consequences impact the whole of humanity, the call to action must be answered.
And answer it they did…James and Misty, two unlikely characters with a creative spirit and an artistic yet analytical mindset, have tapped into the magic of immersive visual stories that connect in very unorthodox way. By working with researchers and scientists on the cutting edge of today’s medical therapies and treatments, James and Misty began to see how they could leverage their expertise in a way that could benefit a more receptive audience . By marrying a science fiction themed cinematic brand storytelling with the science and medical technologies of today, they are able to create something exceptional: stories that shine a light on the healthcare utopia that awaits us in the very near future of tomorrow.
In many ways, Awakening, the duo’s latest creative short film branding project, is the epitome of what James and Misty aim to reveal surrounding the truths within the remarkable potential of cellular therapies. Using the theatrical silver screen to showcase the new exosome based cellular product, Exo® – one of many innovations created by the California based cellular manufacturing company, Elysian Biologics, the product resumes the role of the main character for the duration of a 10 minute short film commercial experience to prove its worth. Consequently, by harnessing the power of authentic, fact-based storytelling to traverse the analytic research behind this particular product, the creative and accomplished duo proved it was indeed very possible to showcase this with their latest campaign. To use their trademark form of escapism grounded in education to prove their intended plan of action, it allowed them to create the very ‘learning portal’, the component they derived from to form their production company’s name, to open up the audience to some pretty exciting new ideas.
“Once the mind is open,” James explains, “stepping through the ‘Creative Doorway’ to a new perspective is instinctual. The mind demands to expand, to imprint, and to reflect this newfound knowledge in the way we could potentially live.”
2 comments
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Very good article. I will be facing a few of these issues as well.. Erich Shariat