How to Open a Corporate General Session

Plan an opening that connects the conference theme to a live moment, fits the production schedule and hands the room to your first speaker.

Start with the message and the transition. Then choose the music, performers and technology. A custom general-session opener works best when the creative and production decisions are made together.

Choose the job of the opening

• Introduce the theme: give an innovation, transformation or brand message a clear performance idea.
• Bring the room together: move from arrivals and conversation into a shared focus.
• Set up the next moment: build the ending around the executive entrance, reveal or first line.

Choose a format that serves that job

Compare VRCG’s custom and high-tech general-session openers to see the two primary starting points.

LuminaDrums: an LED drum stage show

LuminaDrums combines choreographed performance with custom LED drums and a produced track. The standard show is five minutes with three performers and five drums. Music, lighting, wardrobe, cast and length can be shaped around your event. Watch the SCI performance on the show page.

AI Amplification Experience: an innovation-themed opener

AIAE combines three live drummers, music created with AI before the event and visuals that react to the audio feed in real time. It opened ADP Meeting of the Minds at Resorts World Las Vegas for 4,800 attendees and LexisNexis Road to Growth for 2,500. The ADP performance ran 4 minutes 28 seconds.

A custom commission

When the opening must tell a specific company story, develop the music, visual narrative and performance around the brief. Cracker Barrel’s custom opening for 4,500 attendees is an example of brand identity shaping the show.

Give your production team a clear plan

Performance design and general-session production need to meet in one run of show. Your producer or AV team and VRCG should agree on these details:

1. Timing: the exact performance window and the cue that starts it.
2. Stage: usable dimensions, access, instrument positions and the speaker’s entrance.
3. Sound and screens: connections, content format, playback ownership and what each team supplies.
4. Rehearsal: setup access and a cue-to-cue with the people calling the show.
5. Handoff: the final musical cue, screen state, microphone and first spoken line.

LuminaDrums is a wired stage show with a minimum 12-by-6-foot performance area; confirm the layout for the selected production. AIAE’s full three-performer rig calls for at least 20 by 12 feet and a 90-minute setup and technical-rehearsal window.

What to put in your creative brief

Send your date, city, venue, audience, theme, brand references, available time and production contact. Describe what should happen immediately after the performance. We’ll discuss an existing show, an adaptation or a custom collaboration and confirm the scope before booking.

For hosting, introductions and awards cues elsewhere in the program, Vince the DJ offers corporate DJ and emcee services. For DJ mixing with live instruments, explore DJ Drums.