TRUE PARTICIPATION STUDIO

Find what matters. Make people feel it.

You've built something valuable. But the reason people should care can get buried beneath features, explanations and expertise.

We uncover the human value at the heart of your offering and bring it to life through original cinematic storytelling.

Founded by filmmaker Joshua Edjida.

The communication gap

You know how your product works. Do people understand why it matters?

Your team has spent years developing something remarkable.

You understand the technology, the features and every decision behind it.

But when someone encounters your offering for the first time, they're looking for something different.

  • What will this make possible for me?
  • Why should I care?
  • Why is this worth sharing with someone else?

Sometimes the most valuable story about your business is the one you're too close to see.

A different view of value

What you've built

Features, technology, expertise, processes and capabilities.

What customers experience

Relief, possibility, progress, connection, confidence and meaningful change.

These are examples of experiences customers may value. Each offering has its own story.

Our creative and strategic approach

The story underneath the story.

Every offering has an explanation. But the most compelling part may be the human experience underneath it.

Joshua investigates what your customers are trying to accomplish, what they actually value, and where the usual explanation loses its meaning.

Drawing on filmmaking, character development, buyer psychology and years of live experiential work, we discover a story that makes the essential value recognizable.

Then we bring it to life.

First, see your own work differently. Then help others see it.

FEATURED OFFER

The First Look

Discover the story worth telling. Leave with a film that tells it.

A focused strategic storytelling engagement for one offering and one primary audience. Together, we uncover the essential human value of what you've built, develop an original cinematic story, and produce a short film that helps others recognize why it matters.

Core Value Map A concise strategic narrative of your audience, the meaningful customer value, the communication gap and the central story.
Original Short Film A cinematic expression of that story, ready to introduce people to your offering.

A studio example

How much machinery does it take to light a campfire?

Two scientists attempt to reinvent one of humanity's oldest technologies.

They have the equipment, the procedures and an extraordinary ability to make something simple remarkably complicated.

Watch what happens.

What the story reveals

They built an extraordinary matchstick.

The machine could produce fire.

But the human value of a campfire is much simpler: warmth, comfort and people gathering together.

Something similar can happen in business. We become so absorbed in what our products do and how they work that we lose sight of the experience people actually value.

That's what The First Look helps uncover.

The wider studio

More ways to bring meaningful work to life.

The First Look

Strategic discovery and an original short film for an offering that's difficult to explain.

Explore The First Look

The Campfire

An eight-week private creative intensive for leaders navigating a stalled project or important creative threshold.

Explore The Campfire

About Joshua

A filmmaker who starts with the human story.

Joshua Edjida brings 25 years of filmmaking and 13 years of live character-based experiential work to True Participation Studio.

His work explores how people recognize meaning, what makes stories memorable, and how a well-chosen experience can communicate something that explanations alone struggle to convey.

Through True Participation, he combines strategic discovery with original filmmaking to help companies and creators reveal what makes their work worth caring about.

About Joshua

A place to begin

Not ready to talk? Start free.

Explore the work at your own pace with our free five-part series.

Five Depths of participation: Enactment (Strike), Recognition (Light), Encounter (Heat), Release (Ash), Integration (Ember)

A conversation can be the beginning

Tell us what you're building.

Tell us what you've built and why it matters. We'll explore whether an original cinematic story could help people experience its value.

More from the studio

We’d love to email you a quick link to the Hollywood Eight Podcast so you can learn more about what we do and how you can be a part of it. 

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The Portal of Creation

1. Wake Up
Discover your true self and step out of your comfort zone.

2. Ignition
Spark your inner fire and set the stage for profound change.

3. Start Weaving
Begin crafting your new story and strengthening key relationships.

4. First Revelation
Experience a paradigm shift that challenges your old beliefs.

5. Individuate
Explore your unique gifts and express your authentic self.

6. Observation
Gain clarity through mindful detachment and self-reflection.

7. Second Revelation
Face your fears and embrace a new level of commitment.

8. Step into Joy
Cultivate happiness and share your life with others.

9. The Challenge
Step into your power and confront your limitations.

10. Third Revelation
Integrate all aspects of yourself and expand your consciousness.

11. True Intimacy
Deepen your relationships and align your career with your purpose.

12. Be of Service
Share your transformation and create a lasting positive impact.

Our Approach

Education and Transparency:
We offer clear explanations and resources to help people understand how AI works and how it affects their daily lives.

Ethical AI Development:
By prioritizing fairness, security, and inclusivity, we aim to shape AI technologies that respect and benefit everyone.

Human-AI Collaboration:
Rather than replacing humans, we see AI as a partner—augmenting human capabilities and sparking innovation across industries.

Consciousness-Based Training:
We integrate mindfulness and deeper awareness into AI development, fostering systems that align with human values and well-being.

Common Fears

Loss of Control to Machines:
There’s a worry that humans might hand over too much decision-making power to algorithms.

Job Displacement:
Automated systems can take over certain roles, fueling concerns about widespread unemployment.

Privacy Concerns:
AI systems often need large quantities of personal data, raising fears about how securely that information is stored, shared, and used.

Ethical Dilemmas:
AI presents tough questions about right and wrong—especially when the outcomes affect people’s lives and freedoms.

Bias and Discrimination:
AI can unintentionally perpetuate or amplify existing social biases, especially if it’s trained on skewed data.