Into the Blocks: From Idea to Execution
Hey everyone 
Ivan from Distractive here.
I wanted to share a behind-the-scenes look at how our new video series, Into the Blocks, came to life. From ideation phase to execution, and where we’re headed next.
How it Started
This all began during our Distractive off-site earlier this year, where our team met in person to align on strategy and identify Polkadot’s most urgent needs. One clear theme stood out:
We needed a storytelling format focused on developers: Builders creating the next generation of applications on Polkadot.
We didn’t want to highlight only Polkadot’s strong tech (though that’s a big part of it). We wanted to answer deeper questions:
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Why build on blockchain at all?
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Why choose Polkadot specifically?
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And how is Polkadot supporting builders through grants, mentorship, and community?
Planning the Series
From there, we began shaping the strategy for a video series that would:
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Showcase real developers and their motivations
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Capture authentic stories from teams already building in the ecosystem
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Lower the perceived barriers for new builders considering Polkadot
It quickly became clear that the best way to do this was by filming at events, where builders naturally come together, especially hackathons.
From Ideation to Reality
With a strategy in place, we turned to the Marketing Bounty to request travel funding that would allow us to kick off the series. Thanks to that support, our lead video producer, Annika, headed to Berlin for Web3 Summit, where we recorded our very first set of interviews.
In just 2 days, we filmed 10+ developer profiles that will fuel Into the Blocks content for the months ahead. These stories highlight the motivations, challenges, and breakthroughs of builders already in the ecosystem: a mix of hackathon participants, project founders, and devs migrating from other chains.
What’s Next
The first batch of Into the Blocks episodes is beginning to roll out, with a new one going live each week 
. Each video will be paired with snippets for social media and – where relevant – secondary content such as livestream AMAs, guests’ blog posts for the Polkadot website, or dev live-coding sessions to go deeper into the “how.”
And it doesn’t end there. Our next round of interviews will be filmed at Polkadot’s flagship event, Sub0 Symbiosis, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, later this year, expanding the series with even more diverse builder voices.
Why This Matters
Into the Blocks is a great example of how a decentralized community like Polkadot can work:
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Ideation stage: Brainstormed at an off-site.
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Execution stage: Funded through the Marketing Bounty + Distractive.
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Impact stage: Already live, with more content in the pipeline.
In just a few weeks, we went from concept → approval → production, showing how Polkadot’s support structures can help turn ideas into reality.
Excited to hear your feedback — and if you know a builder whose story should be told in the next round of Into the Blocks, let us know 