THE ASK
When Holland America Line brings a new ship into service, it holds a dedication. The CEOs of Holland America Line, Holland America Group, and Carnival Corporation give speeches, stockholders attend, and the night ends with the christening of the ship by its godmother. Holland America Line asked Faculty to produce the dedication show for two ships, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam. The godmother of Nieuw Statendam was Oprah Winfrey.
Each dedication took place on its own ship, in the World Stage theater, whose curved LED screens run more than 200 feet and wrap roughly 240 degrees around the room. Executives usually talk about the company and what it has accomplished. Faculty wanted to put people on that stage as well, because a ship is the people who sail on her.
THE APPROACH
Faculty designed the flow of the show and its emotional beats, and created the cast: speakers from the corporate side, the guest side, and the crew. The ship’s inaugural captain, who watched the ship being built in the harbor, got a script about the ship’s journey and his own. Officers and crew members told how working for Holland America Line had changed their lives, including mariners who had sailed with the company for decades.
Faculty’s creative director led the creative direction, designed and built the show, and served as lead animator with a small graphics team. Faculty designed and animated all of the graphics, and installed the show on each ship.
THE RESULT
The Nieuw Statendam dedication set the standard for how Holland America Line produces its ship dedications. Faculty then brought the same approach to Rotterdam, with its own crew stories at the center.