Scott Givens
Encyclopedia
Scott Givens is President of FiveCurrents, a creative and production firm that produces stadium spectacles, broadcasts and other live events. His goal is to capture the power of human emotion to create deep and lasting impressions on everyone experiencing his projects. At FiveCurrents, Scott aims to bring stories to life by harnessing the energy of five converging currents: Live, Broadcast, Digital, Print, and Environmental. Scott and his team build immersive environments that result in magical broadcast and live experiences.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission’s visit to Rio de Janeiro, one of the four finalist candidate cities vying to host the 2016 Olympic Games, was heralded as a tremendous success by local and international news organizations. FiveCurrents produced the four-day visit that included more than 20 presentations and a tour of the existing and proposed venue sites.
FiveCurrents also produced a dinner for the IOC members on Rio’s iconic Pão de Açúcar that included a fully costumed samba school, a chorinho band, bossa nova artist Paula Morelenbaum, thousands of candles on the beach spelling out “Rio 2016” and hundreds of performers dressed in white, holding candles singing the anthem of Rio de Janeiro: Cidade Maravilhosa.
In the spirit of the American West, street performers and cowgirls on horseback lined the route guests took to the historic Ellie Caulkins Opera House. The evening began with a performance by the Colorado Ballet accompanied by a video montage of great Westerns of American cinema filmed in the stunning landscapes of Colorado. Act two featured nearly 50 dancers from the Rocky Mountain School of Dance who used their bodies to recreate some of the iconic images of the Denver scene from behind an illuminated screen. The third and final act of the evening was the ultimate party band, Earth, Wind & Fire, who had delegates boogieing at their seats.
writes about Scott's creativity in his book Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership and the Olympic Games(ISBN 0895260840):
For their work on the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics
, both Mitt and Scott were awarded the Olympic Order
by President Jacques Rogge of the International Olympic Committee
.
. Scott dressed Disneyland for the occasion, threw special parades, produced nighttime fireworks shows, and a put on a block party got everyone dancing in the streets. Scott oversaw the conception and production of everything from the Block Party Bash at Disney's California Adventure to the daily Parade of Dreams along Disneyland's Main Street USA to the nightly "Remember . . . Dreams Come True" fireworks show, featuring a new flight by Tinker Bell. His team also crafted how the 50th Anniversary would be celebrated throughout the parks, including design of advertising, logos and graphics for every Disney theme park worldwide.
Envisioned by President Clinton as a conference about action, FiveCurrents sculpted an event where action is the core activity. FiveCurrents' work on this project involves everything from designing the staging to printing collaterals to webcasting the event.
In 2008, the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation held the inaugural CGI U conference at Tulane University in New Orleans. More than 700 students attended the first annual CGI U. In order to attend, student members were required to make a public service commitment, with the goal of bringing about positive social change. Students are expected to take tangible, concrete steps towards solving the world’s challenges. Attendees were addressed by President Clinton and were encouraged to recognize their responsibility to public service. Students participated in panel discussions on Energy & Climate Change, Global Health, Human Rights & Peace and Poverty Alleviation.
Students had the opportunity to meet Brad Pitt in the Lower 9th Ward and helped prepare land for his neighborhood-rebuilding project, “Make it Right.” Some of the distinguished CGI U guests included:
Lance Armstrong, Betty Bigombe, William McDonough, Ray Nagin, David Skorton, James Carville, Lauren Bush, Dave Eggers and Laurie David.
in Rio de Janeiro. The Opening Ceremonies won several awards including an ISEMS Award and six Telly Awards. The July 13, 2007 Opening Ceremony was praised by Brazilian and International media as "spectacular." :
, Tempe Town Lake filled with nearly 50,000 excited fans for the first annual Super Bowl Saturday Night. Scott was the Executive Producer of Super Bowl Saturday Night, which the NFL likened to a New Year’s Eve-style event. The NFL celebrated the count down to the Super Bowl in style with host Jerry O'Connell
, Boston pop punk sensation, Boys Like Girls, the Counting Crows and a fireworks spectacular that light up the night sky.
The free outdoor concert and fireworks spectacular featured an appearance by NFL star Derrick Brooks, Line Backer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
. According to [MSNBC] and other networks, the bid failed because "plans for a new bayfront stadium collapsed when the city’s NFL team said it intended to move to Silicon Valley."
, Super Bowl
, AFL Grand Final
and Opening Ceremony of the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics
.
Rio 2016 Olympic Bid
FiveCurrents was the Executive Producer for Rio 2016’s successful Olympic bid, responsible for producing the IOC Evaluation Commission’s visit to Rio, and all presentations, videos and creative support for the campaign. Chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics Dick Ebersol said of the final presentation in Copenhagen in October, “Rio's presentation was the best I have seen in 20 years.”The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission’s visit to Rio de Janeiro, one of the four finalist candidate cities vying to host the 2016 Olympic Games, was heralded as a tremendous success by local and international news organizations. FiveCurrents produced the four-day visit that included more than 20 presentations and a tour of the existing and proposed venue sites.
FiveCurrents also produced a dinner for the IOC members on Rio’s iconic Pão de Açúcar that included a fully costumed samba school, a chorinho band, bossa nova artist Paula Morelenbaum, thousands of candles on the beach spelling out “Rio 2016” and hundreds of performers dressed in white, holding candles singing the anthem of Rio de Janeiro: Cidade Maravilhosa.
SportAccord Opening Ceremony
During the opening ceremony of SportAccord, a 5-day gathering of 1,500 leading representatives from international sport, Scott served as the Executive Producer.In the spirit of the American West, street performers and cowgirls on horseback lined the route guests took to the historic Ellie Caulkins Opera House. The evening began with a performance by the Colorado Ballet accompanied by a video montage of great Westerns of American cinema filmed in the stunning landscapes of Colorado. Act two featured nearly 50 dancers from the Rocky Mountain School of Dance who used their bodies to recreate some of the iconic images of the Denver scene from behind an illuminated screen. The third and final act of the evening was the ultimate party band, Earth, Wind & Fire, who had delegates boogieing at their seats.
Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games
Scott served as managing director of the creative group for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. He was responsible for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Olympic Medals Plaza and everything from the color palette and branding to the production of the Olympic Torch Relay’s key moments and design of the Olympic Cauldron. Scott filled Salt Lake’s downtown skyline with towering building wraps; build Olympic Rings larger than ten football fields on a mountaintop, and built an Olympic torch and cauldron that were made of glass to share the Olympic's Theme, the “fire within”, with the world. Presidential Candidate Mitt RomneyMitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
writes about Scott's creativity in his book Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership and the Olympic Games(ISBN 0895260840):
For all things relating to the creative functions, I turned to Scott Givens. We needed him to bring heart and meaning to the Games, achieve the scope and sweep of Sydney, but with less than a tenth of the bankroll. We needed big ideas—big enough to fill the city with the magic of an Olympic celebration. We could not afford to fund a battery of infrastructure improvements, let alone a banner for every streetlamp, so the projects we chose to fund needed to be high impact. We needed more from less. We needed water from stones. Scott went to work thinking big, bold, audacious thoughts
For their work on the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
, both Mitt and Scott were awarded the Olympic Order
Olympic Order
The Olympic Order is the highest award of the Olympic Movement, created by the International Olympic Committee in May 1975 as a successor to the Olympic Certificate previously awarded. The Olympic Order originally had three grades , although the bronze grade was retired in 1984...
by President Jacques Rogge of the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
.
Disneyland 50th Anniversary
Following the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Scott worked as Vice President of Entertainment for Disneyland Resort, overseeing Disneyland's 50th Anniversary Celebration dubbed the Happiest Homecoming on EarthHappiest Homecoming on Earth
The Happiest Homecoming on Earth was the eighteen-month-long celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Disneyland theme park, which officially opened on July 17, 1955...
. Scott dressed Disneyland for the occasion, threw special parades, produced nighttime fireworks shows, and a put on a block party got everyone dancing in the streets. Scott oversaw the conception and production of everything from the Block Party Bash at Disney's California Adventure to the daily Parade of Dreams along Disneyland's Main Street USA to the nightly "Remember . . . Dreams Come True" fireworks show, featuring a new flight by Tinker Bell. His team also crafted how the 50th Anniversary would be celebrated throughout the parks, including design of advertising, logos and graphics for every Disney theme park worldwide.
Clinton Global Initiative
Scott and his team at FiveCurrents have worked with the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) since its inception in 2005. CGI is a non-partisan catalyst for action bringing together a community of global leaders including heads of state, non-profit organizations, charities, and business leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. The initiative culminates in an annual conference, at which each invited guest, as a condition of attendance, must make a specific commitment to address one of the focus areas discussed. CGI staff then monitors the progress and success of these commitments throughout the year. These CGI members have made nearly 1,700 commitments valued at $57 billion, which have already improved more than 200 million lives in 150 countries. Commitments made at the 2009 Annual Meeting are expected to impact almost 200 million people.Envisioned by President Clinton as a conference about action, FiveCurrents sculpted an event where action is the core activity. FiveCurrents' work on this project involves everything from designing the staging to printing collaterals to webcasting the event.
“It’s an effort to bring people together and then do something most of these conferences don’t do; to ask every participant here to make a personal commitment to do something. If we do it every
year for a decade, every single year, people know they have to commit to do something and do it.”
—William J. Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
In 2008, the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation held the inaugural CGI U conference at Tulane University in New Orleans. More than 700 students attended the first annual CGI U. In order to attend, student members were required to make a public service commitment, with the goal of bringing about positive social change. Students are expected to take tangible, concrete steps towards solving the world’s challenges. Attendees were addressed by President Clinton and were encouraged to recognize their responsibility to public service. Students participated in panel discussions on Energy & Climate Change, Global Health, Human Rights & Peace and Poverty Alleviation.
Students had the opportunity to meet Brad Pitt in the Lower 9th Ward and helped prepare land for his neighborhood-rebuilding project, “Make it Right.” Some of the distinguished CGI U guests included:
Lance Armstrong, Betty Bigombe, William McDonough, Ray Nagin, David Skorton, James Carville, Lauren Bush, Dave Eggers and Laurie David.
XV Pan American Games
As president of his own production company, FiveCurrents, Scott Givens was the Executive Producer of ceremonies for the 2007 Pan American Games2007 Pan American Games
The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to July 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Committees competed in 332 events in 34 sports and in...
in Rio de Janeiro. The Opening Ceremonies won several awards including an ISEMS Award and six Telly Awards. The July 13, 2007 Opening Ceremony was praised by Brazilian and International media as "spectacular." :
"Brazil's secound largest city still must overcome doubts about crime and traffic, among other things, if it hopes to make good on its Quixotic bid to play host to the 2016 Olympic Games. But Rio sure has the opening ceremony down pat... On Friday the city inaugurated the 15th Pan American Games with a lavish and creative 3 -hour show that featured a symphony orchestra, three 100-foot-long coral snakes, Miss Brazil, an alligator the size of a 747, fireworks, a 1,500-piece percussion band and thousands of dancers dressed as everything from ocean waves to water lilies. There's little doubt it was most spectacular."
-The Los Angeles Times
"Brazil welcomed the Americas to dance last night, a lush and lavish opening ceremony to kick off the 15th Pan American Games that outdid many an Olympic kickoff."
-Globe and Mail
"Fireworks exploded and the wave went around Rio's cherished Maracanã soccer stadium as Brazil launched its biggest show on Friday - and a test of its ability to become a major player on the global sports stage."
-International Herald Tribune
"A flamboyant closing ceremony capped two weeks of sport. The PanAmerican Games had excellent venues and glossy ceremonies."
-BBC News
Super Bowl Saturday Night
On the evening of February 2, 2008, less than 24 hours before the kickoff of Super Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
, Tempe Town Lake filled with nearly 50,000 excited fans for the first annual Super Bowl Saturday Night. Scott was the Executive Producer of Super Bowl Saturday Night, which the NFL likened to a New Year’s Eve-style event. The NFL celebrated the count down to the Super Bowl in style with host Jerry O'Connell
Jerry O'Connell
Jeremiah "Jerry" O'Connell is an American actor, best known for his roles in the TV series Sliders, Andrew Clements in My Secret Identity, Vern Tessio in the film Stand by Me, Charlie Carbone in Kangaroo Jack, and Detective Woody Hoyt on the drama Crossing Jordan...
, Boston pop punk sensation, Boys Like Girls, the Counting Crows and a fireworks spectacular that light up the night sky.
“As the Counting Crows faded away into the sunset, suddenly the sky seemed to explode with fireworks. It was like New Year’s, Fireworks Night and the Queen’s 50th Jubilee rolled into one monstrous multicoloured firework.”
- SportingLife.com
The free outdoor concert and fireworks spectacular featured an appearance by NFL star Derrick Brooks, Line Backer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
San Francisco 2016 Bid
Scott also served as managing director of the failed San Francisco 2016 Olympic BidSan Francisco 2016 Olympic bid
San Francisco was one of the cities vying to be the official United States bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Like the Chicago bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, San Francisco and the entire San Francisco Bay Area in California touted a compact but regional-participatory focus for its bid, expressing...
. According to [MSNBC] and other networks, the bid failed because "plans for a new bayfront stadium collapsed when the city’s NFL team said it intended to move to Silicon Valley."
Purdue
Scott began his career producing card stunts while a student at Purdue. His first stunt was a Block P in the football stands at Purdue. While still a student, he was hired by the NBA to create a card stunt at the All-Star Game. He worked on other card stunts at the 1987 Pan American Games1987 Pan American Games
The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event which was celebrated in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, from 7 August to 23 August 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas competed in 30 sports earning...
, Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, AFL Grand Final
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
and Opening Ceremony of the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
.
External links
- Scott Givens' Company's Official Web Site
- Deseret News Web Site on Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games
- San Francisco 2016 Official Web Site
- Rio 2007 Web Site
- MSNBC Story on San Francisco 2016 Withdrawing Bid
- Counting CrowsCounting CrowsCounting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
- Counting Crows Official Site
- Boys Like Girls Official Site
- Derrick Brooks