The legend of John Air
One story universe, three entry points — feature film, documentary and transmedia. A co-production with Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and German broadcaster SWR.
One myth across three channels
The core idea of “John Air” grew from the shared desire of everyone involved to tell the legend of John Air through different entry points and along different paths — both media-based and real — while repeatedly and immersively breaking down the boundaries between the space of the narrative (film set, stage, public space, documentary) and the audience.
John Air is the personification of a generation’s attitude to life — a symbol: apolitical, angry. A self-promoter, an egocentric with a supposed vision. John is impulsive, creative, prone to exaggeration. He craves recognition but cannot return it. John is erratic, permanently on the run — not least from himself. John Air cannot be pinned down. Or, as he puts it himself: “John is in the Air!”
John Air is a transmedia narrative on three levels: a mockumentary about a fictional person, a symbol, a movement; the staging of that person and his movement in real and virtual space; and a documentary about the entire project.
John is followed documentary-style on his journey — from unknown newcomer seeking recognition in Stuttgart’s party scene. Here, John the private person takes centre stage.
A combination of social experiment, events and propaganda with echoes of alternate reality games — it anchors John Air and his iconography in Stuttgart’s nightlife and in virtual space, generating attention and an active community.
The mystery of John Air is finally revealed: the entire creation process, with all its strategies and outcomes, reflecting both the success and the pitfalls of the experiment.
Six months of Stuttgart nightlife
The idea for the scripted film was developed by Jan Galli and Dennis Scherr. Dennis Scherr also directed, while Chris McKissick handled cinematography. The scripted film was produced by Alexander Pietzsch and Charles Breitkreuz. Amon Barth accompanied the project as documentary filmmaker, produced by Phillip Töpfer. Sebastian Uhlig developed the interactive concept, produced with the support of Jonas Kirchner. Franziska Remmele coordinated all departments.
Our task in “John Air” was the transmedia execution — anchoring the myth of “John Air” in Stuttgart’s nightlife. Over a period of six months in 2012, we staged a series of dramaturgically interlinked events across the Stuttgart area that carried the character John Air, his movement and the iconography of the black and white sheep into the public sphere — happenings in pubs and bars, flash mobs in public spaces such as the Audio Assault with a mobile disco, the John Air Last Supper, and the transformation of Stuttgart’s town hall square into a green glow-stick meadow.
In parallel, the public Facebook group “White Sheep Stuttgart” and the secret Facebook group “Black Sheep Stuttgart” were launched as the movement’s communication and exchange platforms. All these events in public and virtual space culminated in the grand, one-of-a-kind final party “MÄHxplosion”, held in an old Stuttgart theatre with lots of small shows.
