"We need a TED style webinar in 3 weeks."

It is really the kind of creative direction I love. In all seriousness, this kind of vagueness in an extremely tight deadline allows for true magic to surface within a team. If you have the right leader.

I knew from watching other TED talks that perhaps the most important icon of a talk like this is the illuminated sign TED sign (branding). However, procuring a custom 6' plexiglass sign over Christmas break was, well, impossible even if it were in our budget. Simple sketches and a few sheets of plexiglass from Home Depot later and we were off to the races. We had less than a week to finish and Christmas was in the way.

The finished product separated the webcast from just "a guy in a room" to a stunning piece of corporate brand that served to fill an enormous void. It complemented the balance of the shot with the massive television used for the slideshow. Best of all, I'd beaten the studio head in a bet, "you are welcome to build something, but 10 out of 10 times we see customers pull it after they see it on screen." We were the exception to disprove the rule.

These things don't happen by accident though, far from it, and it was not just "a couple of guys with some material and a saw," we had purpose and experience behind us. We knew exactly what we wanted, and how we were going to do it with modest tools and small budget. Process and discipline got this project done on time, and under budget with huge financial success for the business after the webcast aired.

Below are the photos and webinar. Please enjoy, and let's put my creative edge to work for your story.