BBH Singapore to host GIFs and the Art of Storytelling session at Noise x GIF Fest 2017

Noise x GIF Fest 2017 is billed as Singapore’s largest GIF event to-date. The free-entry festival promises to capture the richness of the GIF as an artistic medium and explore its role as a form of digital art, entertainment and creative communication.

As part of a six-day program of parties, inspiring talks and workshops, the festival organizers have invited creative agency BBH Singapore to host an evening session that explores ‘GIFs and the art of Storytelling’. In today’s attention economy, where audiences crave imagery and other snackable bites of information, GIFs, animated loops and memes are a popular form of communication online and through social media. But what possibilities and constraints do these forms of communication impose? The session will explore the linguistic secrets of GIFs, and how brands and individuals can harness the power of the GIF, with case studies from Red Bull, Netflix, H&M x Kenzo, and Facebook.

From technology to emotions, ‘Gifnosis’ to brand connection, BBH creative technologist Dillah Zakbah (pictured above right) and Content Strategist Heidi Lahtinen (above left) will demonstrate how GIF as a form of storytelling holds its own in today’s frantic media landscape.

Black Sheep Studios Head of Content Tim Lindley will explore what a moving image can say that a static image cannot, citing Red Bull as a case study. Esquire fashion editor Eugene Lim will share insights into how Esquire collaborated with photographer  Dju-Lian Chng to showcase his interpretation of the Kenzo x H&M collection. Rachael Wheeler will share how Netflix leverages short-form video content to build online communities. And least but not last, May Seow, Story Director, Facebook’s Creative Shop, will share her insights on visual storytelling.

This informative and inspiring discussion will be hosted in the mind-blowing GIF Fest venue, where 50 original GIFs created by Singapore’s hottest artists will be showcased on giant and small screens, with interactive installations and secret rooms. Guests will also be treated to ‘Singapore’s most Instagrammable desserts’ and a free GIF photobooth, with a full bar on site. Spaces are limited, so early sign-up is recommended.

Speaker Biographies

Eugene Lim, Associate Fashion Editor, Esquire Singapore

Lim has risen up the ranks with his evocative fashion stories, interpreted in both fashion shoots and articles. In his collaborative process with his photographer and the model, Lim paints concepts and worlds that are not commonly seen in fashion pages, elevating the common into the fantastical. Ever the raconteur, Lim’s stylings have spilled onto his Instagram page where he displays the rest of the world through his unique eye. His notable works include covers with Sunny Wang, Hiroshi Fujiwara and Christopher Lee, but his favourite subjects are the everyday people of Singapore.

Rachael Wheeler, Managing Director Pinwheel (Netflix social media agency)

Following a year with Google APAC’s social agency, Maker Lab, Wheeler was invited by Netflix Asia to create a dedicated social agency for its local markets in August 2016. Pinwheel is now responsible for Netflix’s social channels and campaigns in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, with a team of 15 writers, designers and producers. Alongside creating everyday social content to raise awareness of the brand and its titles, Pinwheel leads a large-scale social activation in each market every six weeks.

A digital journalist by trade (thanks to being “slung on the website” during an internship at the Daily Mirror in London), Rachael is now part MD, CCD, strategist, and copywriter. Mainly, she uses GIFs to ensure people open her emails.

Heidi Lahtinen, Content Strategist, BBH Singapore

Lahtinen creates, produces and curates content to ensure ‘always on’ social content across a host of global brands.

Dillah Zakbah, leads the Creative Technology team at BBH Singapore

As a Creative and Tech hybrid, Zakbah’s passion is in making things work creatively and purposefully. Zakbar is a popular culture enthusiast and a master in the different kinds of mediating technologies and social media platforms that can best be used to make engaging experiences and connection.

May Seow, Story Director, Global Lead, Facebook Creative shop

Seow is a visual storyteller experienced in systems and design thinking. After living and working in silicon valley for over 10 years, Seow brings equal parts courage and imagination to her current role. She identifies industry gaps and pilot initiatives that solve for them–from strategy to execution. A hands-on and always curious professional, she holds responsibility for scaling creative initiatives on Facebook and Instagram, delivering pragmatic and effective mobile-first solutions. Shift perspectives, bring new thinking and balance clarity with emotion is what she does best.

Tim Lindley, Black Sheep Studios Head of Content

Lindley was formerly Red Bull’s Head of Owned Media and Communications Asia, and head of the Digital, Communications and Red Bull Media House teams in the United Kingdom. Lindley believes the convergence of advertising and entertainment has created a huge opportunity for brands to create stronger and more valuable connections with their audiences