Rice Business Plan Competition
We recently completed a production for Rice Alliance, the Rice Business Plan Competition, where the madpot creative team provided filmmaking and event design for the occasion. This annual project is a prime example of how our team is adept at detailed, long-haul multi-day events.
The Rice Business Plan Competition is a graduate-level startup competition where 42 teams from around the world gather at Rice University for a 3- day competition for over $1M in funding to propel their businesses forward. This is the 24th year of the competition, and our second year working on the project. Initially, the Rice Alliance team enlisted us for the 2023 Competition, asking us to bring a fresh perspective on the event design as well as media production at the competition itself.
On the event design side, we provided a redesign of the Awards banquet program, focusing on areas with the most impact - Audio Visual Production, Scripting, and Tablescapes. On the production side, where the team had previously used the in-house provider, renting a standard stage set with side screens as the mainstage, we partnered with Next AV and were able to take the same budget used for in-house provided standard production and deliver a dynamic stage set that wowed audiences.
In year 1, our set design featured vertical screens across the backstage that evolved dynamically with the program.
In year 2, NextAV sponsored the use of a 30’W LED curve wall.
The madpot team enlivened both the stage set and the script with Bianca in the role of creative director taking the incredible art and theme the Rice Alliance team creates with artist Jo Skillman. The two areas of focus we deployed to wow our audiences were simple.
First, we added to the program, a stadium DJ to serve as our house emcee for the night. Our DefJam-style house DJ provided all of our music for the evening and alleviated some of the stage remarks by providing awards announcements and keeping the vibe and pace going (shout out to DJ Supastar in 2024 and DJ Palmo in 2023). Second, we brought in Luke and our film team to tailor media to highlight the people of the competition and to spruce up the awards program presentation. Previously the show consisted of one video and a 90-slide deck that ran the program into awards with two speakers remaining on stage to run the 2.5-hour awards program.
Media enhancements were grounded in simplicity - take media captured from competition day 1, perform a 1-day edit, and deliver curated B-roll footage across screens during the Rice Alliance program featuring all of the competition participants. This personalization device worked in that we heard cheers from all over the audience as folks recognized themselves in not only the spoken word but also the visuals.
To round it all out- we created segment-based thematic media to roll across our main stage four-screen array and cyc in year 1 and this year, across the LED walls. All of this was a result of the madpot immersion in the program script, timing it by the second, and applying design cues for high points in the pre-awards and awards program for building tension, and delivering satisfaction through recognition. Taking the competition theme of "Powering Founders. Shaping the future", the mad pot team utilized an AI video platform for thematic bumper elements and main stage videos featuring slow moving, slowly evolving, futuristic shape animations.
The banquet is the culmination of a week of competition by the startups, a complex and quick event hosted and facilitated by the Rice Alliance team supported by madpot creative. One of our favorite elements of the project is we get to film the competition and provide a 1 day edit of all media to showcase at the banquet, including a wow 2- minute event opener and also the awards presentation.
The awards presentation is the heart of the entire Awards Celebration and it’s another quick turn asset. The same day that judging takes place, the Rice team provides us with winners as they are determined, the day of the Awards Banquet. The madpot team deploys winners into the show deck, we sign the large award checks and we update the script - simultaneously and without error. Our tech team is on standby all day, testing with a dummy presentation, and rehearsing the prize announcements and media so the main stage program is announced with precision and timed so there are no accidental winner announcements or early reveals during the live event.
This frenetic, creative yet precise process of production for this awards ceremony provides everyone involved with an adventure of a show that shines through year after year. The resulting event is a polished, well-run experience that really highlights what Rice Alliance offers with it’s Rice Business Plan Competition and the tangible impact it has.
We love the life of entrepreneurship and innovation and the Rice Business Plan competition is one of the most fun expressions we have each year to honor the spirit of innovation and to power founders who are shaping the future.
