No one moves a crowd like Disneyland. It’s organized and efficient. Those who wave you to turn left or right are well-placed and often smiling as they voice their directions. It’s relatively painless.
It won’t be shocking to many that Disneyland was in my head as I approached the task of photographing more than 1,300 people in one group at a recent convention. In addition to the people waiting to have their collective photo taken and making sure I had the correct wide-angle lens, there were other logistics involved. It meant an all-hands-on-deck meeting in the space was necessary.
Our photography team, along with the production team at Xperiential360; our client, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) workers, and the staff at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas took the task one logistic at a time. It was obvious the photo would be taken in front of the stage, where most of the action at the general convention took place. It was also the location of the largest, brightest signage (aka branding!).
Working with the Caesars Forum staff, we determined chairs and tables in the center of the room could be moved in 10 to 15 minutes, giving delegates time to gather on the sides and back of the large ballroom. Attendees had come from all over the United States and Canada, so we collectively decided dividing them by location would likely work the best. SMART created a United States and Canada map with color-coordinated regions, marked by numbers denoting where people would gather in the room to wait for the photo to be taken. Rather than try to verbally communicate directions, the brightly colored maps were displayed on the large screens in the ballroom and SMART representatives held up signs denoting the numbered regions. Verbal cues made it easier for every delegate to understand where they were supposed to go.
Once the area in the center of the room was clear, each section was brought in and directed by our photography team and the SMART communications team. As each line filled, attendees were directed to the next line with clear instructions on where to walk and how to stand.
Are you seeing the Disneyland correlations?
As with any large project, one step at a time is often how to have to do it — but deciding what those steps are, in what order they should be completed and what the final outcome will be are separate tasks, thoughts and ideas all together. Friends and co-workers have often said, “How do you eat a whale? One bite at a time.” Although a troubling image, it’s a good starting point. If you were to work from that analogy, you would have had to also figure out how to get the whale out of the ocean, then how to cook and serve the whale. Again, not a great image, but it gets the point across.
When dealing with a large project, it’s not enough to break it down by main tasks. Deciding how those tasks will take place, who will complete them and what the final outcome will look are just as important.
After the photo was taken — from a very tall ladder — we all looked at each other, high-fived and relished how “easy” it was. Which, let me tell you, it was not. But the planning, meeting and color coding of it all had made it look easy, and that’s what was impressive.
Tiffannie Bond is the public relations director and company photographer at Imagine Communications.