LOCKHEED MARTIN

Advanced Programs.

Clear Communication.

Interactive Media • Executive Communications • Video • Training • Emerging Digital

CASE STUDY

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OVERVIEW

Communicating Complex Aerospace Programs.

From 1993–1996, I served as Multi-Media Manager within Lockheed Martin’s Aeronautical Division, developing multimedia communications and presentation materials supporting major aircraft programs, program management and senior leadership.

Working within a Top Secret-cleared environment, I collaborated with pilots, technical teams, program managers and executives supporting programs including the F-22, C-130, P-3 Orion and the introduction of the new C-130J.

The role sat at the intersection of aerospace technology, visual communication and the rapidly emerging world of digital multimedia.

The objective was straightforward:

TURN COMPLEX PROGRAM INFORMATION

INTO COMMUNICATION PEOPLE COULD UNDERSTAND.

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THE CHALLENGE

Complex Programs.

Critical Audiences.

Advanced aerospace programs generate enormous amounts of technical, operational and strategic information.

But the people who need to understand that information may approach it from very different perspectives.

Pilots understand the aircraft from the cockpit.

Engineers and program teams understand the systems, capabilities and requirements.

Senior leadership must understand how those details connect to the larger program mission.

And external decision-makers may need an entirely different level of communication.

The challenge was to preserve the credibility and precision of highly technical information while turning it into a clear, structured and compelling story.

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THE APPROACH

Technology in Service of the Story.

Multimedia was never treated simply as a new technology.

It was a communication tool.

Interactive navigation, graphics, video, audio, animation and emerging digital platforms provided new ways to organize complicated information and guide an audience through it logically.

The technology created possibilities.

The communication strategy determined how those possibilities were used.

THE GOAL WASN’T TO MAKE

TECHNOLOGY LOOK IMPRESSIVE.

THE GOAL WAS TO MAKE

COMPLEXITY UNDERSTANDABLE.

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FEATURED PROGRAM

F-22 Program Presentation

Executive Communications • Interactive Multimedia

One of the most significant assignments involved working closely with F-22 pilots, program management and senior leadership on an interactive multimedia presentation supporting the F-22 program.

The presentation was developed for use by the F-22 Program Vice President before the United States Congress in support of program funding.

The challenge extended far beyond presentation design.

Highly technical program information had to be organized into a communication experience capable of explaining the aircraft, its capabilities and the larger strategic program story to an audience far removed from the engineering environment.

Graphics, interactive navigation and multimedia content were brought together to create a presentation designed to support a critical leadership communication.

This was multimedia used not simply to present information —

BUT TO SUPPORT A DECISION.

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PROGRAM COMMUNICATIONS

One Role. Multiple Aircraft Programs.

The work within Lockheed Martin Aeronautics extended across several significant aircraft platforms.

F-22

Interactive multimedia and executive presentation support for an advanced tactical aircraft program, including communication developed in support of Congressional program funding.

C-130

Multimedia and presentation support involving one of aviation’s most established tactical airlift platforms.

C-130J

Presentation and communications work supporting the introduction of the new-generation C-130J, incorporating a new turboprop powerplant and significant advances to the Hercules platform.

P-3 Orion

Multimedia and presentation communications developed in collaboration with personnel associated with the P-3 program.

Different aircraft.

Different missions.

Different technical stories.

The communication principle remained the same:

UNDERSTAND THE PROGRAM.

UNDERSTAND THE AUDIENCE.

MAKE THE STORY CLEAR.

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INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Before Digital Became Expected.

Today, interactive presentations, streaming video and rich digital media are part of everyday business communication.

In the early 1990s, they were emerging technologies.

As Multi-Media Manager, the work included designing, authoring and producing interactive cross-platform corporate marketing and training presentations, along with video and audio editing, CD-ROM production and early web design and authoring.

Macintosh and PC systems were evolving quickly, multimedia hardware was changing constantly and the tools available for combining graphics, sound, video and interaction were still being defined.

That made experimentation part of the job.

Interactive Presentations

Structured multimedia experiences combining graphics, navigation, video, audio and information into a single communication platform.

Executive Communications

Presentation systems developed to help senior leadership communicate highly complex program information clearly and professionally.

Video & Audio

Editing and integration of video and audio content for corporate, training and CD-ROM-based communications.

Digital & Web

Early corporate web-page design and authoring during the formative years of commercial digital communication.

Training

Interactive communications designed to make technical and procedural information more accessible to internal audiences.

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WORKING ACROSS DISCIPLINES

Pilots. Program Teams. Leadership.

Some of the most important work happened before a screen was ever designed.

It required listening.

Pilots provided the operational perspective.

Program teams understood the engineering, performance and mission requirements.

Senior leadership understood what different audiences ultimately needed to know.

My role was to help connect those perspectives through communication.

That meant developing enough understanding of the subject to identify what mattered — and then finding the clearest visual and multimedia approach for communicating it.

TECHNICAL ENOUGH TO BE CREDIBLE.

CLEAR ENOUGH TO BE UNDERSTOOD.

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THE ROLE

Multi-Media Manager

Aeronautical Division | 1993–1996

Held Top Secret security clearance while supporting communications for advanced aerospace programs.

Responsibilities included:

Interactive Multimedia Development
Executive Communications
Program Presentations
Corporate Marketing Presentations
Training Communications
Video & Audio Production
CD-ROM Development
Early Web Design & Authoring
Graphic Design Direction
Cross-Platform Multimedia Development
Multimedia Hardware & Software Evaluation

The position also included coordinating and supervising graphic design resources as needed and supporting multimedia systems across both Macintosh and PC environments.

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TRUST & RESPONSIBILITY

Communication Inside a Secure Environment.

Working within advanced aerospace programs required more than creative and technical ability.

It required trust.

Holding a Top Secret security clearance meant working around sensitive program information while understanding the responsibility that came with how that information was accessed, developed and communicated.

That experience reinforced a principle that has remained constant throughout my career:

GOOD COMMUNICATION ISN’T ABOUT

SAYING EVERYTHING.

IT’S ABOUT KNOWING

WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID.

I really like this section for you. It makes the clearance relevant to your communications career rather than simply using it as a credential.

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THE RESULT

Communication Built for Complex Decisions.

The Lockheed Martin experience established an approach to technical communications that continues to influence my work.

Understand the technology.

Understand the business objective.

Understand the audience.

Then remove everything that gets in the way of the story.

Whether the assignment involved an advanced aircraft program, executive presentation, training initiative or interactive communications system, the purpose remained the same:

TURN COMPLEXITY INTO

COMMUNICATION PEOPLE CAN ACT ON.

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ABOUT THE WORK SHOWN

Because much of this work involved advanced aerospace programs and was created within a Top Secret-cleared and proprietary environment, many of the original program materials from this period are unavailable or inappropriate for public portfolio display.

Where original materials cannot be shown, selected portfolio visuals are representational recreations based on the type of multimedia, presentation technology and communication environments involved. They are intended to demonstrate the nature of the work rather than reproduce restricted program content.

Where surviving original materials are available and appropriate for public display, they are identified accordingly.

That last sentence is important now that you actually found the original F-22 opening screen. It lets us distinguish genuine archival work from the visual mockups we're creating around it.

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CAPABILITIES

Executive Communications
Interactive Multimedia
Program Communications
Presentation Strategy & Design
Video Production
Audio Production
Training Communications
CD-ROM Development
Digital Media
Web Design & Authoring
Creative Direction

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CLOSING

COMPLEX TECHNOLOGY.

CLEAR COMMUNICATION.

Aerospace • Multimedia • Executive Communications • Emerging Digital