Video update experiment
A team update video brings laughs to quarterly meetings. When Dwayne Hurst, Manager Analytics, Insights and Reporting in Finance, Strategy and Business Intelligence, created a six-minute team update video in June, he had no idea it would prove a creative spark for departmental communications.
The video caught the attention of Mau Te'o, Head of Business Intelligence, who saw an opportunity to transform the traditionally dry quarterly FSBI meeting format. With the BI team hosting the next quarterly meeting, Te'o asked Hurst to scale up his approach for the Department Head Updates segment.
From experiment to showstopper
What started as a simple team update evolved into a 14-minute AI-generated presentation featuring Pixar-style avatars of department heads delivering their quarterly reports. The innovative format required heads to submit their updates via email, which Hurst then transformed into an animated presentation that kept the content confidential until the big reveal.
"It was very well received, lots of laughter and enjoyment," Hurst explains. "People commented it was the best team meeting they had ever attended."
The success stemmed from Hurst's decision to inject subtle humour into the delivery, though he later reflected this may have shifted focus away from the actual content updates.
The technical toolkit
The project showcased how multiple AI tools can work together to create engaging content. Hurst used Madgwick's Wizard Assistant to transform real photos of staff into Pixar-style characters, complete with office backgrounds and personalised settings like recliner chairs.
KlingAI handled the animation, bringing the static images to life with gestures like waving, drinking coffee, and eye-rolling. DubDub provided the text-to-speech conversion and mouth synchronisation, while Photoshop refined any imperfect AI generations and created additional graphics. Canva served as the final video assembly platform.
The experiment demonstrates how staff can combine readily available AI tools to transform routine communications into memorable experiences.