Using Parody to spice up Corporate Comms
When most people think of parody they think of slapstick comedy - but we know it’s so much more. Parody is the art of marrying assumed knowledge and pop culture references. When you make a strong connection between the two it can drive a really compelling message home to your internal team, clients and customers.
We had the pleasure of exercising this practice for Specsavers who wanted an opening video for their conference. We found some powerful connections between the goals and achievements Specsavers have and the themes of Barbie striving to have a perfect world. Once we had the premise settled we took the idea and began pre-production!
We started with a script that Matt worked on to hit the main points of the conference, set the tone, and incorporate dialogue inspired by the Barbie movie, optimistic and excited!
Once we had the script we then had to record our own song! (Would it really be a parody without a musical number?)
Next was production design, costuming and makeup/hair briefs. This was a great opportunity for me to flex my investigative skills to find real Barbies to model our looks from.
Putting in the extra effort to find these details and cultural reference points is an important part of making sure your project has enough texture - that the world you’re creating is believable and immersive.
Once our schedule was finalised and script was locked in with plenty of Specsavers lingo to ensure the internal team giggles, we got our DOP Ben to craft some pre-vis animatics and lighting plans to make sure we could have a smooth shoot day.
After briefing in our entire crew with all our supporting documentation we couldn’t wait to get started, and I’ve got to say - it did not disappoint. The crew and internal talent had so much fun and got all the footage we needed, which meant that Rob, our editor, was able to craft one of our favourite projects to date.
This shoot was also the first time that Matt and I were able to co-direct. On set we were able to be dynamic and delegate to ensure that our large crew and multiple talent all felt taken care of.
We even have some behind the scenes footage capturing the essence of exactly what we aim to be - the highlight of our clients day.
Parody projects are more than slapstick, they’re the marriage of important reference points in pop culture and your workplace culture. They give your team something to look forward to and bond over. They can and should be the highlight of your event.
Did reading through this get you a little bit inspired? Contact us today for a Same Day Quote. We’ll make sure your next event springs to life!