For the longest time, my good friend, Dina Zaitman, has been singing her heart out. Given the intensity and sincerity of her passion, it was really a fait accompli that one day she’d pull together a spectacular and sonorous singing festival. ‘The Big Sing’ wasn’t just a brilliant event that drew together a dazzling combination of professionals and punters; it was also a giant peacock feather in Dina’s cap as she manifested this multi-faceted miracle out of thin air. While there was an incredible team around her, Dina was the unambiguous captain of the good ship ‘HMS Sing’.
I was lucky enough to be involved in a number of ways across the course of the festival’s evolution. Most significantly, I developed the creative positioning for the event which really became a clarion call in more ways than one.
My original concept of singing with abandon into a shampoo bottle became the basis of the artwork that was ultimately brought to life, care of the prodigious talents of Daniel Cheong-See, who also moonlights as the Executive Creative Director for Deloitte Digital.
In addition to creating the brand direction, I also wrote and composed the festival anthem which was subsequently recorded with ten vocalists who were arranged to sound like a choir of sixty. I also shot behind-the-scenes event photography on the day.
These are the rough concept mock-ups which were produced to sell-in the key idea that underpinned the entire festival. While I typically generate a boatload of concepts for most projects, in this case, this was it. I felt I’d hit the nail on the head straight out of the blocks and most fortunately my client agreed.
This is the final poster that was designed by Daniel Cheong-See. Between the distinctive colour palette and the spirited choice of photography, it really streamlined the original concept to become the cornerstone of an iconic visual identity.
Daniel also rolled out the poster design to all of the satellite collateral including the website.
This is the behind the scenes video that was produced by Robbie Smith who expertly captured and documented the recording of the “Sing It” festival theme which was tracked and mixed at Upward Studios in South Melbourne by Robert Upward.
Swapping hats yet again, it was fantastic being able to also shoot behind-the-scenes stills of both the recording session as well as the festival itself.
