Case study created by Siobhan O'Flynn

1. Theghostsinourmachine
Case Study of a Live & Unfolding Cross-Media
Documentary Project
GO

2. Why?
An Exceptionally Smart Use of Social Media
The Team behind The Ghosts in Our Machine have led an exemplary
social media campaign, with extensive community reach-out,
network building, merchandizing & excellent cross-platform
integration. Called a ‘live & unfolding cross-media documentary
project,’ their passionate commitment & engagement across
platforms makes theirs a project to watch.

3. Director’s Statement
THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE is a journey of discovery into
what is a complex social dilemma, one that needs to be
considered morally significant. In essence, humans have
cleverly categorized non-human animals into three parts:
domesticated pets, wildlife, and the ones we don’t like to think
about: the ghosts in our machine. What is revealed is a
collective cognitive dissonance: Why do we value wildlife and
our companion animals but not the billions of animals bred and
used by global industries?
Liz Marshall, Director

4. genesisofghosts
Toronto-based documentary maker, Liz Marshall’s “The expectations that I put on myself are high,
multi-media documentary features the lives of yes, because with every new project you want it to
animals through the lens of animal photographer be as effective, or more effective than the last. The
Jo-Anne McArthur. issue of animal rights has a social stigma attached
to it, and so part of what Ghosts is attempting to
Fellow producers Nina Beveridge & Liz Marshall do is shatter the image that animal rights activists
were offered a development deal by Documentary are a bunch of terrorists who care more about the
Channel in the spring of 2011. rights of chickens than they do about the rights of
children (that's an extreme and ridiculous sounding
example, but I have heard it more than once!). The
Ghosts in Our Machine is part of a new wave of
media helping to usher a new understanding of
what "animal rights" is.” Liz Marshall, Director
Fall 2010, The Ghosts in Our Machine takes shape
through conversations with animal rights
photographer Jo-Anne McArthur

5. productiontimeline
idea begins research, branding & development post production
website prototype phase 2
project idea explored social media launched film production immersive
with Jo-anne mcarthur story
early development demo website launched magazine themed completed
phase 1 website launched
pitch, hotdocs april 2011
2004 Winter-Spring 2011 June-Sept 2011 June 2012- Jan 2013
2009 Spring 2011 Jan-Sept 2012 2013
Oct 2010-June 2011 Spring 2011 June 2012
April 2011
http://www.tmcresourcekit.com/

6. socialmediatimeline
Facebook Group hoodies t-shirt design nikki’s ghost
started voting story = viral
1st Trailer vimeo ghost free
Ghost free
trailers journey vimeo demo journey
twitter launched featured ghost Indiegogo
story campaign dev.
funded
March 27, 2011 March 2011 April-May 2012 Jan-Feb 2012
March 30, 2011 May 23, 2011 July 2011 July 2012
Apr 13, 2011 June 2011 August 2011
http://www.tmcresourcekit.com/

7. thePlatforms
facebook twitter vimeo feedburner
youtube indiegogo magazine themed website documentary film

8. Early
developmentphase
Project idea dates back to 2004
The development phase runs from October 2010 –
December 2011
•Winter/Spring 2011 - branding, research, &
prototype website underway
•Spring 2011 - Social Media sites established &
community reach out begins
•April- May 2011 - pitch materials launched in
time for the 2011 Hot Docs Documentary Festival
in Toronto
•January 2012 - production begins on live &
unfolding cross-media documentary project

9. HotDocs Pitch Material
earlyteasermedia
Teaser trailer on Facebook, Vimeo & Youtube.
Viewing numbers tracked & shared.

10. HotDocs Pitch Material
Strongendorsements
‘Liz and Nina worked with a small team to build a flash website, it served as
an ambient cinematic sales pitch to express the film’s overall tone and vision.
It featured 16 strong endorsements by some prominent Animal Ambassadors:
activists, artists, doctors, scientists and others.’

11. HotDocs Pitch Material
videoteasers
Maggie’s Story A Featured Ghost Story
social media updates on Maggie’s progress...

12. Teasers
vimeoTrailers
Demo-Trailer commissioned by
Trailers 1 & 2 launched on
Documentary Channel in
May 23, 2011 on YouTube
Development Phase 2

13. Multi-Platform
merchandisingearly
philosophy of project: “Property or Sentient Being?”
Marketing exclusive for team
soon to be available as a ‘vintage item’

14. Updates
crossposting
Human subject,
Jo-Anne McArthur
in featured updates
across platforms

15. Early Reach Out
buildnetwork
connections with other
like-minded
organizations
builds community &
extends reach via
networks

16. Ongoing Connecting
sharingevolution
key moments & successes shared with community

17. Call To Action
reachingout
fans are invited to become advocates
& promoters of the project creating
greater networked impact

18. Indiegogo
crowdfunding
• campaign ran May-July 2011
• video trailers cross-posted to
Vimeo, Facebook, YouTube
• Approached by CowJones
Industrials Vegan Boutique NY &
Roots of Compassion, Hamburg
who are inspired to get involved
• ran contests to win promoted
goods & gift baskets with Ghost
Free items
• $13,600 Raised!
$12,000 Goal!

19. Indiegogo
crowdfunding
creating value
levels with
meaningful
returns

20. Going Viral
nikki’sstory
•Featured Ghost Story, Nikki, is launched
the week of Jan 23, 2012
•Fans love this video & the sharing begins
•By the week of Feb. 27 2012 the video has
had 5841 total loads & 3526 total play
•To date - Oct. 2012 - Nikki’s Story has had a
total of 16600 loads.

21. Call To Action
ghost-freejourneydevelopment
•The Ghosts Consumer Challenge began on
Facebook.
•Initially the GCC was a very conversational 10 day
long journey, engaging the community in sharing
experiences, running every month on Facebook
•In July 2011, the GCC evolved & became the official Ghost Free Journey, launching with
the magazine style website.
•Participants are supported by coaches in 5 day journeys, which run every other month. It
now runs with participants chosen by lottery.
•Donna Oakes, fan & supporter, of CowJones Industrials Vegan Boutique NY, becomes a
coach.

22. Call To Action
ghost-freejourney
“The 5-DAY GHOST-FREE JOURNEY (GFJ) is
an educational, fun, supportive and
community building initiative featured
bimonthly here on our GFJ Blog.The GFJ
is facilitated by Donna Oakes & Rosemary
Tarentino Foos, together they gently coach a
chosen participant on a memorable and
customized 5-day vegan challenge. Designed
to inspire a broad audience about the value of
Donna Oakes &
becoming a Ghost-Free consumer, for the
Rosemary Tarentino Foos become animals, each participant is chosen through
Ghost Free Journey coaches an automated lottery system.”

23. Merchandising
designcompetition
Designer Michele Gorman donates
her time in creating designs for the
T-Shirt logo contest boosting fan
engagement
April-May 2012

24. Fan Engagement
twitter

25. Ongoing
animalambassadors
SETH TIBBOTT -
FEATURED ANIMAL AMBASSADOR.
President and Founder
Turtle Island Foods and Tofurky.
Photo credit: courtesy Leilani Münter.
• The Ghosts in Our Machine continues to expand the project’s animal ambassadors. Most recently,
Seth Tibbott, President and Founder, Turtle Island Foods and Tofurky, was welcomed as an Animal
Ambassador
• "We celebrate THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE cross-platform documentary, and are excited to
support its Animal Ambassador program. The Ghosts documentary highlights the brilliant work of
Jo-Anne McArthur, one of the great heroines of our time, whose photography helps us all to see farm
animals as fellow travellers on our journey, worthy of our love, care and respect." - Seth Tibbott.

26. Ongoing
animalambassadors
• With over 25 Animal Ambassadors, Canadian & international, TGIOM is able to spread its message to
expanding communities
• Animal Ambassadors include: Maude Barlow, Barbara Gowdy, Emm Gryner, Jason Priestly, Camilla Scott &
many others.

27. Supporters
ghostfreejourney
Supported by

28. Feature Documentary
Theghostsinourmachine
•THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE – • Through the heart and photographic
DOCUMENTARY is a cinematic feature lens of protagonist Jo-Anne McArthur
length film that illuminates the lives of we become intimately familiar with a
individual animals living within or cast of non-human animal characters.
rescued from the machine of our modern •Release date: 2013
world.

29. October 13, 2012
facebookmilestone

30. immersivestory
“...an upcoming Immersive Story, created by
Webby award winning Interactive Art
Director’s The Goggles (Adbusters, This is Pine
Point), will be prominently featured on the
secret..... website: www.theghostsinourmachine.com.
The Immersive Story will be released along with
the film in 2013 ....[as] a companion to the feature
documentary, it will inspire people to go further
with the subject matter.”
The Immersive Story will exist online
as an interactive experience...

31. keyinsights
It is community: audience, fans, followers, supporters, that makes a social issue cross-media project
like ours successful and dynamic. Since the inception of The Ghosts In Our Machine our community
has cheered us on and has symbiotically helped to shape our understanding of the issues, and the
tone of the project.
By revealing our process to the world; 'unfolding' layer by layer, we are fostering an interactive long-
term relationship with the public about an issue that we all (ourselves included) need to address. The
journey is what is most compelling to us. The Ghosts community inspires us to forge ahead, we are
beholden.
For the Ghosts.
Liz Marshall & Nina Beveridge
Ghosts Media Inc.
Toronto

32. partnersfunderssponsors

33. Get in Touch
contactus
TMC Resource Kit
info@tmcresourcekit.com
tmcresourcekit.com
The Ghosts in Our Machine Case Study was
prepared by:
Dr. Siobhan O’Flynn
siobhanoflynn.com @Sioflynn

34. tmcrkpartners
THANKS to...

35. The Ghosts in Our Machine Case Study is released under a
NonCommercial ShareAlike Creative Commons license and
original content can be shared, remixed and expanded non-­‐
commercially, as long as you credit the TMC Resource Kit, the
creator of the Case Study, Dr. Siobhan O’Flynn, and license your
new creations under the identical terms.
Images from third parties (Jo-Anne McArthur, Liz Marshall, Nina
Beveridge, Ghosts Media Inc., & Leilani Münter, Tofurky, The
Goggles) retain original copyright.
THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE and THE GHOST-FREE
JOURNEY © 2012 GHOSTS MEDIA INC.