Sofar Sounds

How a secretgig learnedto travel.

Role
Video Director
Year
2023

01The Concept

Found, notsponsored.

Sofar Sounds hosts secret gigs in intimate rooms, and brands partner with it to bring those nights to more people. As Video Director for Sofar’s brand partnerships, I led the video and visuals for its largest owned-media productions, managed the video budget, and made sure each partner’s presence felt native to the night.

Vodka was hereVodka was hereSofar Sounds · Video Director
Cups and coasters, styledCups and coasters, styledSofar Sounds · Video Director
In hand, during the interviewIn hand, during the interviewSofar Sounds · Video Director
Sofar, in neonSofar, in neonSofar Sounds · Video Director

3.35M

Views across 18 videos

161×

The channel’s median, for the average video

Top 1%

Of the channel’s content that period, every video

8%

Under budget

02The Problem

Sofar’s baselinecontent wasn’tperforming.

Sofar published steadily on its own channel, but most of it wasn’t finding an audience beyond the room. Partner campaigns needed content that could carry a Sofar night to people who weren’t there.

1,159

Median views per video

  • 173 of 228 stayed under 2,000 views
  • The rest

The room · Dawes, Nashville

03The Solution

I built a liveconcert system,not a shoot.

One system that gives the audience an intimate night and the partner an activation that feels bespoke, without rebuilding production from zero every time.

A packed warehouse crowd cheering and raising their cupsThe full band playing inside the café, the room's warm lights around themA full crowd around the pool, seen from the stage

Boston.

An empty warehouse, turned into a listening room

The system · the same in every room

  • Coverage
  • Lighting
  • Stage & scenic
  • Audio
  • Integration
  • Interviews
  • Social-first
  • Post
  • Distribution

04The Process

Built aroundthe experience.

01/05 · The Creative

The space is part of the story.

Every venue is treated as a creative asset. I shape staging, lighting, brand integration and capture around what makes the space unique.

The poolside changing room dressed with a neon sign and a vending machineGuests by the pool as the evening startsA vintage pickup fitted out as a bar at the end of the poolThe band on the stage at the far end, under the light rig

1 · Changing room, dressed

02/05 · The Framework

Designed to feel custom at scale.

A flexible production framework creates consistency where it matters, while leaving room for every artist, venue and partner to feel distinct.

A band on stage in Miami, guitarist at the frontMiami
The singer at the keys in the Boston warehouseBoston
A guitarist singing under blue light in NashvilleNashville

03/05 · Designing Integration

From sponsorship to participation.

Participation is designed into the experience from the beginning, creating moments where the partnership feels intentional, natural and native to the story.

A guest at the vending machine activation on arrivalArrival
The truck bar beside the poolOn site
A bartender pouring at the bar in MiamiAt the bar
A cup in hand during the artist interviewInterview

04/05 · Engineering the Capture

One night becomes an ecosystem of content.

Every event is designed to capture the live experience from multiple perspectives, turning a single moment into a library of stories, formats and opportunities to extend the campaign.

The crowd around the pool, shot from the stageHero
A guest singing alongSocial
Two guests smiling with their drinksEditorial
Guests laughing in the crowdEditorial

05/05 · Protecting Intimacy

The best production is often the one you don’t notice.

Every technical decision, from camera placement to lighting and crew movement, is designed to preserve the intimacy that defines a Sofar concert.

Shot from inside the crowd, not in front of it.

05The Outcome

Measured againstthe channel.

Partner content was held to the same standard as the channel’s own, then measured against it. The lowest of the eighteen videos drew 76,485 views; the highest of the other 228 drew 125,283.

15 of 18

Above the best of the other 228

1.9×

Spread across the nine performance videos, against 8.6× across the channel

Sofar came back to the same system for each new partner campaign.

Next case

Shotwright.