Last Updated on May 9, 2023
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Behind the scenes: Toastmasters – Ovation 2016 video
“And now, I call upon ( fill in your name ) to deliver the address”
Has this line ever brought nightmares to you?
Public speaking. It can be terrifying.
But a bunch of people from an organization called ‘Toastmasters’ are arguing otherwise. Ask Sundaresan, and he’ll tell you how thrilling it is to stand in front of an audience and deliver a speech.
Well, Sundar, my answer to you is, OF COURSE, speaking comes naturally to you! You are equal parts Toastmasters and Sales Expert – you are hardwired to talk relentlessly!
Now Jayan, who was an experienced speaker, was no stranger to us. We’ve done projects for him in the past. So we already had this good bromance-type of relationship going on with him.
It so happened that Jayan was selected as the Conference Chair for Ovation 2016 – the biggest annual event of District 82 Toastmasters. He wanted to do something creative for the revealing the event. That’s when we came into the picture – as humble video makers.
You see, until then all Ovation conferences would have videos, no doubt. But they didn’t capture the essence of Toastmasters.
“We could double up as capturers of essences”, we offered.
And there we were, Creative Partners with Toastmasters of District 82 for their annual conference.
This was our chance to blow-the-brains-off of young and old minds alike. And the fact that these minds were some of the most talkative – I mean oratorical – I MEANT that these people are some of the best orators – made it more exciting for us 😉
Pretty soon, it was time for some serious brainstorming. It was general consensus that we had to push our limits,
give it our all,
go wild,
get down in the middle of brainstorming sessions and do 50 push-ups (mentally of course).
Yeah, creating inspiring videos does that to us.
Also read: Critical Mistakes To Avoid When Making Your First Explainer Video
The Mountains are Calling
We were really excited to reach out and inspire people across country borders – now would be the time I tell you that this video was launched in Sri Lanka, a land known for its scenic mountainscapes, lush greenery and tea gardens. The proud event that hosted and launched this video was Reverberations 2015, the semi-annual conference of District 82.
The mountains were calling ( what a fitting tagline that was! ) and we were responding.
Vimida wrote a script that resonated with aspiring Toastmasters and brought fond memories to veteran speakers. The script described the uphill journey of an individual, crossing deep valleys, gently grazing over the smaller peaks along the way, continually mounting until he reached the summit. Believe me, the end of the climb was a moment to behold!
‘The Mountains are Calling’ – Udhaya pondered over this tagline. And then it came to him, if the mountains are calling, then ours is the journey towards the mountain. And that’s what we had to pay attention to. He grabbed hold of this abstract thought and made it the core of this very touching video.
Abstractness took a shape; that little triangle represented many things – a Toastmaster, an individual, a thinker, a choice – depending on how you look at it, but one thing was for sure – it was captivating and very animatable.
Reaching Beyond Horizons
The last time we did a motivational video, we had the honour of Harsha Bhogle lending his voice to it and making it exceptional.
Right, now the benchmark was set. Who can stand up to that?
Take a guess…. Nayyy…we didn’t bring anybody from Bollywood this time.
Well, guess again.
He is pretty famous among our clients;
He’s got the unique baritone that makes heads turns when he goes “Okay, people…!”
Shareef stepped in and truly wow-ed us with his rendition.
How can I not speak of music, when I’m on the topic?
After a ridddddiculous number of hours spent on ‘music research’ Anil and Prasad were able to give the video what it deserved. The music practically took the feel of the video to the next level.
We moved to the next stage, animation. Sara had nothing more than merely visuals to work on. He was a man of his own assets – hey…relax – I meant that he created assets on his own, in addition to making them dance to his tune.
When the demo was screened, it was an experience that gave goosebumps!
The Voice over, the music, the animation, the thought-process behind the whole thing was extraordinary.
Funnily enough, our roles got all mixed up during production-
Shareef took up Voice over,
Anil got involved in music direction,
Nanda helped in visuals,
Sara turned into an illustrator,
and the entire team became critics.
Indeed, it was the time in our studio when we could see beyond the horizons, beyond our ‘assigned’ roles. We could catch a glimpse of what our future could be, with such treasured talents.
Do Good, Feel Good
As creators, watching your hard work pay off is the biggest gratification. When Sundar shared photos and feedback of the audience from Sri Lanka, it was the best feeling in the world!
We set out to inspire thousands, instead, they inspired us with their affection. The resounding applause was all it took to realize that we were entertainers and we were damn good ones at that!
P.S. The second best thing from Sri Lanka was the yummy Cranberry tea (slurp!) that Sundar brought back.
Do you want to take a closer look at the video?
Here you go…
Let us know if you need a video, we are here to help.
