In the Spring of 2023, LEO Events once again collaborated with XiteLabs/Inter-tain Productions to create an immersive and dynamic visual experience for Walmart’s Annual Shareholders Conference and Associate Celebration Show. This year’s event was a testament to transforming the impossible into the possible, featuring photorealistic worlds, a Command Center hub, and a living, breathing Walmart store environment, all designed to accompany Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon’s keystone presentation.

Shareholders Conference Incorporates Hollywood Style

The presentation commenced with a phone call from Tom Cruise to Doug McMillon, segueing into a sequence featuring a photorealistic digital double of Fayetteville, Arkansas, meticulously crafted using Unreal Engine 5. Xite’s teams of  CG artists and creatives built this digital world using GPS satellite data from Bing Maps, Open Street Maps, Cesium, and Google Maps as references, and was enhanced with handmade 3D architecture and models in Cinema 4D and Blender. The highlight of this sequence was an Unreal Engine 5 scene of a helicopter transporting a package from Tom Cruise to Doug McMillon, followed by a real stuntman rappelling onto the stage to physically deliver the package.

Following this, an action-packed movie trailer for Walmart’s ‘Mission Possible’ was showcased, styled after Mission Impossible: Fallout and featuring live pyrotechnics, adding a touch of Hollywood glamour to the event. The presentation then transitioned into the command center look, designed using Adobe After Effects. This part of the presentation featured sci-fi widgets and HUD graphics, creating a dynamic and engaging visual experience that perfectly complemented the ‘Mission Possible’ theme of the presentation.

Next, the audience was transported into a living, breathing Walmart store environment drawn on from Laser Grid overlay, built using Unreal Engine, Metahuman Creator, and Reallusion’s iClone and Character Creator for animation. This sequence also featured a drone delivery to a photoreal residential street, illustrating Walmart’s innovative approach to delivery services.

Celebrity features included Kevin Hart, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Tom Cruise with concert performances by Shania Twain, John Legend, Snoop Dogg, Billy Idol, Rachel Pitbull and others.

The Business-ey Parts

In addition to all of the flashy entertainment pieces, the Xite/Inter-tain team produced all of the branded show graphics, animations to accompany the multitude of corporate presenters. Primary show looks, transitions, lower-thirds, product announcement visuals, and all the rest. It was a unique pleasure to be able to make captivating presentation segments that pair with entertainment moments as the whole show became cohesive and enjoyable for the huge audience.

Technologies Employed

• Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, Maxon’s Cinema 4D, and Blender were used to create and render photorealistic worlds
• Satellite reference data from Bing Maps, Open Street Maps, Cesium, and Google Maps were used in Sync with Google Maps to create a virtual Fayetteville Arkansas and Bud Walton Arena.
• Metahuman Creator, in tandem with Reallusion’s iClone and Character Creator 4, was used to animate shoppers in a digital double of a Walmart store.
• Adobe After Effects was used to create a Command Center hub.