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Case Study

Global Humanitarian: Julie Packard

Honoring a global leader in ocean conservation.

The Tech for Global Good is an annual event at The Tech Interactive that celebrates tech innovation used for social good. It is attended by 500 of Silicon Valley’s top tech innovators. Past speakers have included Bill Gates, Jeff Skoll, Queen Rania Al Abdullah, and President Gerald Ford. Each year, a Global Humanitarian is honored. This award is given to someone who has used their resources and influence to do remarkable good in our world. In 2019, Julie Packard, CEO of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, was named the Global Humanitarian and we were asked to create a film to honor the work she has done towards ocean conservation at one of the world’s most famous aquariums. 

Client
The Tech Interactive

Location
San Jose, CA

Category
Arts, Culture, Humanities

As is often the case when filming a high-profile subject, we knew we would have limited time to capture Julie’s story. In the end, we only had 1.5 hours of filming time with Julie. It was essential that we went into the interview knowing exactly what targets to hit. We knew that this film would ultimately be played at a live event, and that a speaker would be able to offer more detail into Julie’s accolades, so we focused instead on showcasing Julie’s passion for ocean conservation and capturing the beauty of what she has created at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

”What we hope is that people will just be awed by the beauty and diversity of the ocean and that they’ll decide to take action on its behalf.

Julie PackardCEO, Monterey Bay Aquarium

We had the incredible opportunity to experience the world-renowned aquarium after hours. We were able to amplify the majesty of the aquatic creatures by shooting a majority of the b-roll in slow motion. The aquarium also gave us deep sea footage from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), which helped us demonstrate the breadth of their work in a way we never could have captured ourselves! 

The Tech Interactive is passionate about raising the next generation of innovators and creative thinkers to solve the world’s biggest problems, so we wanted to weave that into the visuals for this piece. We filmed children exploring and playing on the beach with Julie. It ended up being a great bookend for the film and mirrored both The Tech’s focus, as well as Julie’s passion for inspiring future ocean conservationists. 

Global Humanitarian 2019: Julie Packard

Julie Packard on a beach, staring out into the waterPlay Video

This film premiered at The Tech for Global Good event in the fall of 2019 and has since found a home in the museum, where over 500,000 annual visitors will be able to view it. Julie Packard and the marketing staff at the Monterey Bay Aquarium loved the film and have begun using it in their promotional materials. As a team, we walked away with a renewed sense of awe at the creatures in our world and deep appreciation for people like Julie who have committed their lives to preserve our natural world. 

Johanna Beach

Johanna Beach

Johanna is a producer and editor at Tectonic Video. She loves helping nonprofits grow by telling their stories.