Here at Sparksight, we shoot a variety of videos for events. From conference openers and highlight reels, to product launch videos, sponsor loop videos, and much more. Recently, we had the opportunity to create a very unique conference opener for a company that specializes in software for the manufacturing sector. Our client came to us with the conference theme “Dare To Do” and wanted to create a video that would clearly show their commitment to that theme.
After a couple brainstorming sessions, it was decided that the company’s managing director of North America would step out of her comfort zone and go for a no-holds-barred ride in a stunt plane! A script was written with the message: “In order to achieve great things in business, you sometimes have to take risks.
We first shot an opening sequence in a local hangar with a voice over to set up the premise of the video. The video reached its peak when the stunt plane flipped and twirled in the sky with the company’s executive mastering her apprehension and actually have a great time with the experience! The result was an exciting video that really drove the theme of the conference home, and was an entertaining visual to open for the event attendees. This video was designed to set the tone for the conference and was well received by the conference planning committee.
But where this story gets more interesting, is when we were asked by the client a few weeks before the conference if we could come on site and shoot a conference highlight reel that would be used to close out the event. Typically, a highlight reel consists of shots from the event…registration, general session, breakouts, networking functions, and more. Our collective team (Sparksight and the client) agreed that the typical highlight formula might fall flat after such a unique and energetic opening video.
It was decided that the highlight reel should “book end” the opening video by reiterating the key messages and challenge the audience to leave with their own plan of “Dare To Do”. A complimentary script was written, voice-over was recorded, and some establishing shots were selected. Once the Sparksight video crew arrived on site for the conference, they already had a template created for the highlight reel. The opening sequence with voice over was in place and shots from the stunt plane were synchronized to the music. From there, the crew took the usual video footage at the conference to show people learning, networking, and enjoying the event experience. This footage meshed nicely with the hangar and flying scenes. The result was a video that complimented and continued the story of the opening video.
The point of this article is not to show off how clever our team can be. My takeaway is, any story can be made stronger when it is told throughout multiple days in different ways, especially at an event. In this case, when we referred back to the opening video in the closing video, we were able to create the sense of a complete story. Incorporating footage of the attendees at the conference also made them feel included in the experience. The connection between the videos not only made the highlight reel more relevant, but also made the events message stick with the guests. The key takeaway is this: think about the visuals, design, and messaging elements of your event as a whole, rather than a series of different elements. This can help you pack more punch into your event, and attendees will notice. At the end of the day, that’s why you make the investment to produce an event in the first place.
