Creative Services video showcases how Labs evolves to meet global challenges

Mirroring the trailblazing spirit of so many Sandia scientists before them, one Creative Services team approached the challenge of telling the story of Sandia’s 75-year history as an opportunity to innovate.

“How do we creatively explain all that Sandia is? We have someone walk through it,” said Bryn Whisenand, a video producer and director in Creative Services.

The video, titled “A Brighter Future,” follows a young woman overwhelmed by world events, transitioning from scenes of stark reality to scenes of hope.

“She starts seeing a spark, a sparking of change and hope. She starts seeing Sandians who are the change, who are working to create a better future,” Bryn said.

Bryn and his colleague Mike Cleary coproduced the new corporate video, which has already won a national creative video award. It will be shown at conferences and seminars, and prominently displayed on Sandia’s YouTube channel.

Both Bryn and Mike are relatively new to the Labs. “Being new, we had a nice excuse to say, ‘we’re going to do something grandiose, big, different and inspiring,” Mike said.

Besides the lead actress, everyone else in the video is a Sandian. Fifteen scientists are depicted performing their regular work in front of 20-foot-tall, 360-degree screens at Electric Playhouse in Albuquerque, surrounded by props from around Sandia.

“Getting props from places around Sandia was no easy task,” Mike said.

The video showcases a drill bit, revolutionized by Sandia for General Electric, an Airborne Radiological Collection Pod and a B61 mock unit used for training, among others.

“We had to secure documentation explaining why we were moving something resembling a missile, just in case we were pulled over by the police or if someone saw us unloading one of the huge props in the Electric Playhouse parking lot,” Bryn said.

While the interactive props add depth to the video, Bryn and Mike emphasize that the people who bring it to life.

“I have a young daughter who is the joy of my life,” Mike said. “Getting to look at things through the eyes of a child is so important; one thing that all of us have been is children. Having the lead actress be a young person who someone can identify with — whether it’s a current student aspiring to make a change or enter this field — it can be the spark that creates change.”

“This video represents a new way of entering a medium that laboratories have not really explored, and that’s important. We now have a younger audience we want to engage,” Bryn said.

Despite Sandia’s proud legacy spanning 75 years, billions of dollars in economic impact and nearly 2,000 active patents, Bryn and Mike want to make sure that people not only know about these accomplishments but do not forget about them.

“We want to remind people that we’re here doing great things for the country and the world,” Mike said. “And if you didn’t know, now you do.”