Magical
for National Student Leadership Conference
James Kicklighter conceptualized and launched the digital campaign for the National Student Leadership Conference over 10 years, producing marketing content, while supervising a team of nearly 20 videographers across the country.
- Invitation
NSLC needed to refresh their main promotional video for the 2022 season — a recruitment-grade piece that could capture what made the program feel magical to a high-school student weighing how to spend a summer.
- Brief
A primary promotional video plus a separate cut tailored to NSLC's international audience, with full integration into the program's existing visual identity and website.
- Approach
I worked through the cut with Executive Director Kristina Duffy, Trent Ellsworth, David Lowitz, and Joel Guy across two months — iterating on titling, drone B-roll of NSLC campuses, typography (we landed on Raleway across the video and the website for continuity), and pacing. I produced the parallel International cut in 2022 to address the distinct ways international students see the program. The work built on visual grammar set during a previous sample-video pass.