480. The Power of Crazy Solutions and Human Imagination, with John Franklin Rinehart

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with John Franklin Rinehart, founder of Austin Film Crew. We talk in depth about his latest project in Gonzalez, Texas, and the Texas Legacy in Lights project, a full-scale live-action film projected onto the Gonzalez Memorial Museum. With the film, John is helping the community prepare for future visitors by developing new branding and digital assets that reflect the community.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• How John moved from a career in music to becoming a leader in experiential storytelling
• How thinking differently can create breakthroughs for small destinations
• What inspired the Texas Legacy and Lights project in Gonzalez, Texas, and how live-action projection mapping was used to tell a unique local story
• How John and his team rebuilt Gonzalez’s tourism platform after the city lost its website, and what went into creating digital assets for community branding
• Why translating tourism websites into dozens of languages creates new opportunities to attract international visitors, even for small towns
• How leadership, vision, and empowering local talent can transform ordinary community assets into extraordinary tourism attractions
• Lessons John has learned about overcoming skepticism and inspiring communities to believe in bold, world-class projects

Challenging the Status Quo in Tourism Marketing

Tourism marketing often feels like a tightly-packed field, but John believes the space is less competitive than it is stale. Many marketers follow in others’ footsteps, replicating strategies instead of innovating.

Real breakthrough requires a willingness to “break your brain a little bit”—to stop asking what everyone else is doing and start challenging your own assumptions. The key is to create something so unique that people and the media cannot help but take notice. If no one is willing to write about your idea or pay attention to it, then it’s not bold enough to rise above the noise.

The Texas Legacy in Lights Project

Gonzalez, Texas, is steeped in history, forever linked to the “Come and Take It” flag and the beginning of the Texas Revolution. But its story has long been overshadowed by the likes of the Alamo. The city’s challenge is to tell its tale in a way that stands out not just locally, but on the global stage.

Enter Texas Legacy in Lights: a full-scale, live-action film projected using cutting-edge 3D mapping technology onto the city’s Memorial Museum. John and his team tackled the much harder task of using live-action film to bring history to life right on the building’s facade. The project required extensive technical, creative, and engineering skill, from building accurate period costumes and sets to installing a sound system that’s immersive within the venue but virtually silent outside, because of the residential community nearby.

Rethinking the Ordinary Tourism Website

Tourism starts online, but most tourism websites are mere directories meant for visitors who have already chosen their destination. John’s challenge is to ignite aspiration and connection long before travelers decide to visit.

Gonzalez’s new digital hub goes well beyond the norm: it features content in 50 languages, each tailored and not just run through Google Translate. The site provides unique guides for different cultures, practical tips for international visitors (like where to buy good bread or how to navigate transportation-less Texas), and locally-flavored stories that spark emotion and imagination. This strategic move recognizes overlooked audience segments searching the web, making Gonzalez visible to the world and accessible in unprecedented ways.

Resources:

• Website: https://www.austinfilmcrew.com/