Imagine guiding 15 members of a senior leadership team, all first-time performers, through hair, makeup and costume on the tightest schedule of the year. The goal is a bold, tone-setting opener that introduces a five-year business plan in four minutes. Oh, and it's a Wizard of Oz parody.

That was the brief from Specsavers, a client we've worked with for well over a decade. This behind-the-scenes documentary follows the Specsavers of Oz from the first brainstorm to the premiere.

It started in the boardroom, where every idea got thrown at the wall until the one that ties it all together stuck: a pair of glasses that transports the wearer from a sepia office into Technicolor Oz. The brief said no full costumes. Production Manager Chase Bowman had other plans, and by shoot day there was a green brick road, rosy cheeks and a full cast in costume.

Shoot day meant one day, a ten-person crew and three setups running simultaneously. While Director Matt Smolen and Director of Photography Benjamin Sengsouvanh shot the main scene, the lighting team was pre-lighting the next one. A green screen unit ran all day, and hair and makeup kept the cast moving in and out of costume between their meetings. Thanks to heaps of planning (spreadsheets out the wazoo), the shoot even ran ahead of schedule at key points.

In post, Head of Post-Production Rob Baselier was on a long-planned hike in Tasmania during edit week. His templated project setup let Matt step straight in and hit the ground running. The grade split the film into nostalgic sepia and vivid Technicolor, with film grain on top. The iconic skipping scene was rebuilt from 15 individually shot performers on green screen and composited in After Effects.

The finished video opened the five-year plan roadshow across Australia and New Zealand. The room laughed and clapped, and in Adelaide a partner asked for it to be played a second time.

That's the real payoff of a parody conference opener: recall. Wrap a key message in something people enjoy, and they remember it long after the event. If you need to produce something memorable and aren't sure how to pull it off, grab a same-day quote and we'll show you what's possible.