Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500716
76 S U M M E R 2 0 2 3 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y So, you began product development. What did you determine? DB: At first, everything was wired… It looked like an electric chair. "But what I started to realize soon enough was the experience was also interesting for people who could hear, which was, like, "Wow." I didn't expect that. As the wireless "vest" system manifested, you recognized the wider service this could offer to the deaf and hearing community. This is fascinating to me. Filmmakers want to have their stories impact the public and create a cultural lexicon. I often say we work in the business of "empathy," allowing viewers to experience the narrative of others. The idea that this could help create a connection between different populations of audience members is tremendous. DB: Yes. After a while, we got invited to go to South by Southwest, sponsored by Anheuser-Busch at the time [2016]. We had 20 members of the deaf community, and it worked well. People got really excited. Then in 2018, the biggest milestone was getting sponsorship from both Zappos and Avnet—the world's second-largest electronic parts distributor. They distribute 100 billion parts per month. They have 18,000 engineers on staff. So, they said, "Daniel, whatever you want." It was in a portable prosthetic limb lab they created in Africa, in South Sudan. I gave them a demo. They were like, "Oh. This is amazing. Let's put an event [together]." So, they launched [with] Greta Van Fleet's first album, which won a Grammy for Best Rock Album. We had 200 people in the audience. One hundred people were deaf, 100 people were hearing, and you couldn't tell. Magic! DB: They were dancing and participating, yeah. PH: It gets very emotional when you Photos courtesy of M:NI