Imaginative AI: Crafting Fantastical Scenic Décor for Events

How InVision paired imagination and AI for its annual employee engagement retreat.

When you’re in the business of creating spectacular experiences for your clients, it’s especially delightful to be able to design and utilize emerging tech for your internal audience – matching the high bar standards that InVision applies to our client work.

InVision Communications, known for its innovative approach to employee engagement, recently showcased its prowess in combining imagination and AI technology during its annual employee engagement retreat, Visions Live. The event, highlighted by the company's awards ceremony, The Swooshies, and a talent show themed Copacabana, demonstrated how InVision leverages cutting-edge technology to create immersive experiences.

The retreat's themes, Casablanca and Copacabana, were brought to life through digital scenic designs crafted by InVision's Creative and Digital Teams. These designs aimed to transport attendees into the vibrant worlds of each theme while seamlessly blending with the physical décor of the event spaces. This integration of digital and physical elements added a unique touch to the retreat, enhancing engagement and fostering a sense of connection among employees.

One of the key challenges faced by the teams was delivering high-quality digital scenic designs within a limited timeframe while managing costs effectively. This highlights InVision's commitment to innovation and excellence, not only in client-facing projects but also in internal initiatives aimed at enriching the employee experience.

Casablanca

For Casablanca, the team found source photography from the 1943 movie set. These images were obviously in black and white and needed to not only be colorized but adapted for the activates that would be taking place on the stage that the 36’X12’ LED screen sat behind, such as the band placement and the blocking of the awards presentation.

Copacabana

Copacabana did not present as literal as a challenge as replicating a well-known movie environment, but in both cases, AI was a tool that allowed imagination to quickly create scenic environments that told visual stories specific to a place and time. Traditional photo manipulation or CGI would have been much more time consuming and costly.

To create these ambient scenic backgrounds, InVision began by generating images using the Midjourney AI image generation platform. Within a very short space of time the team had explored and refined the perfect base images. Gigapixel AI was used to increase the resolution of the images to the desired screen size and to fill in and flesh out details again aided by AI.

The final steps were handled with more traditional digital tools. The digital artists used Photoshop and After Effects to add depth and motion. For Casablanca, a slowly turning ceiling fan, flickering neon and candles added the perfect film noir vibe. The Copacabana featured mirror balls made to spin and cast reflections on the curtains of the night club, as lights pulsed beneath the stage.

Exported as looping videos the backdrop went from static to live, drawing the viewer into its world and completing the escape to another time and place. The result were beautiful scenic backgrounds that immersed and enthralled attendees.

Visons Live created a unique opportunity for the Creative Team at InVision to engage with emerging technology driven by human imagination. Hopefully, these processes and proof of concept will inspire client engagements in the future when creating stunning AI generated scenic décor graphics.

Looking to uplevel your branded experience? Contact your InVision account director or reach out to us at info@iv.com to learn more.

Imaginative AI: Crafting Fantastical Scenic Décor for Events

04.03.24