Production Futures 2018

PRODUCTION FUTURES 2018

For the third time, TPi Magazine welcomed students and young freelancers to Production Park for this year’s Production Futures. With record attendee numbers the TPi team invited even more exhibitors, training session and the inaugural TPi Talks; this was certainly an event not to be missed.

It’s truly humbling to see how far Production Futures has come from the initial conversations held at TPi HQ in 2016. What began as a mission to create an event that caters for the next generation of the live events industry, has led TPi to create an entirely new awards initiative, a monthly column in the magazine, and of course – three successful events. For three of those years, we have brought some of the most reputable manufactures, rentals houses and educational institutions under one (very large) roof to pass on their knowledge.

Taking place slightly later in the year then the two previous incarnations of Production Futures, TPi once again made a temporary home in Production Park’s LS-Live rehearsal studios. Moving in the day after the Mumford and Sons production vacated, TPi and the team from GoTo Live got to work to create a more ambitious production for the 850 preregistered attendees expected to roll up the following day.

Working with a similar shell scheme as previous years, support for Production Futures came in the shape of Creative Technology, Green Hippo, AED, Avolites, Adlib, TAIT, Eclipse, Brilliant Stages, DBpixelhouse, TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley, White Light, IPS, ADJ, ISCE, Sennheiser, Pearce Hire and Hawthorn.

Commenting on his involvement with Production Futures, DBpixelhouse’s Matt Rakowski said: “We were really excited to be involved with Production Futures for the first time this year - but the reality of being there exceeded our expectations. The event was really well-organised and the students who attended were well-suited to our business and very interested in what we do.”

Sitting along side those companies was a selection of the UK’s finest education establishments, including: The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Backstage Academy, University of South Wales, The BRIT School, LIPA, BIMM, Rose Bruford College, University of Derby and Confetti. A selection of associations who provide a variety of services for aspiring techs of the future with the PSA, Women in Live Music and the Society of Television Lighting and Design were also on site.

Pearce Hire’s Jim Brown commented: “Last year we met and employed a full-time member of staff and this year’s Production Futures was another day well spent out of the office. We met a good mix of young people from all over the country and we made a couple of excellent freelance connections - two of whom have already worked for us since we met them.”

This year, TPi was keen to have a more hands-on experience than the

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seen in previous years, offering a number of demo spaces and training sessions from all corners of the industry. The training sessions were held in a selection of rooms situated around the main events space.

2018 also welcomed DiGiCo, ChamSys, Sound Technology, Interfacio and Kinesys to the Production Futures fold. This quintet provided bespoke training sessions to showcase some of the latest technology being used in the industry today. Leading the charge, Kinesys set up a temporary model demonstrating the limits of automation technology. Meanwhile DiGiCo, in collaboration with Adlib, enjoyed busy sessions with students keen to get a handson experience with the S-Series of digital consoles. Hosted by UK Trainer, Tom Williams, those who attended were able to witness the speed at which the desks set up, and are easily navigated.

For those with an interest in lighting, ChamSys welcomed attendees to get get hands-on with its MagicQ console range and software. During the session, the ChamSys team walked through how to patch a show, create cues and produce a myriad of effects. Later in the day, the console manufacturer opened the doors for a Q&A session welcoming specific queries on taking their lighting career to the next level.

In another room, Sound Technology hosted a session to showcase a selection of products from the Harman family; which included JBL Professional’s flagship VTX A12 large format line array and complementary F-Series point source loudspeakers, all powered by Crown VRacks. Martin by Harman MAC Encore Performance and Wash fixtures, alongside the new JEM Glaciator Dynamic and RUSH range were also on display. Additionally, Interfacio was on-hand to ensure that the future generation put their best foot forward into the world of live events.

But the experience continued on the show floor, with several demo spaces. Making a welcome return to Production Futures was disguise and Chauvet Professional who both provided a selection of visual feasts. New to this year’s event, and also taking on a demo space, was Philips Vari-Lite and Lucid Productions in partnership with HSL. After a successful demo at HSL’s 30th anniversary open day, the team from Lucid showed off some of its latest offerings including its immersive and interactive demonstration of the latest video technology. During the demo, volunteers could affect the content on a screen via the clever application of BlackTrax software and 3D video scenes delivered from the Notch-hosting disguise GX2 media server.

For those taking a break and venturing outside – despite the very changeable November weather – got to experience life on the road with one of the TRUCKINBY Brian Yeardley’s fabled trucks. The company, in recent months, has been out on the road with the likes of Elvis Costello, Little Mix and Van Morrison. Parked along side was another staple of Production Futures, Beat the Street. Once again the company opened its doors for the attendees to get an up-close look at what a touring home looks like.

Back inside, opposite the main stage performance area was the ETC High End Systems stand, which brought the final of the UK Hog Factor to Production Futures. For the competition, two teams competed against one another in a lighting showdown using High End Systems’ Hog 4 console. This year, the winning team was Two CLC’s and a Norwegian Walk Into a Bar [great name, lads! - Stew]. Each team was tasked with programming to the Foo Fighters’ Pretender showing off their skills to the crowds.

Competition judges included renowned Lighting Designer Jonathan Armstrong (David Guetta, Mika and Basement Jaxx) and Senior Product Manager for Hog consoles, Sarah Clausen. Feedback for each team was positive, with Clausen commenting: “Both teams showed a real ability to break down the song and structure of a lighting show to fit the music. We were very impressed with both teams’ timing and execution.”

With the day drawing to a close, all exhibitors and attendees were welcomed to join caterers around the Load Cell Rental bar for a drink along with a complementary burrito from the day’s kitchen maestros, Rockpool Tour Catering. Charlotte Dillamore-Bailey commented: “We felt privileged to be a part of such a fantastic day. We had three teams working across the event, providing a hospitality bar, and food for all visitors and exhibitors. It felt great to be a part Production Futures because of how it is helping to build the future of our industry.” TPi

Over the past few years, Production Futures has hosted several panel talks, but for 2018, opted to launch the inaugural ‘TPi Talks’. With the over arching concept of giving students an insight into their future career, we saw some well known names within the world of live events to speak to the audiences about their experiences…

Starting the proceedings off was the Just Graduated? What Next? panel. Hosted by Adlib’s Al Mouat, veteran of the live events industry, he spoke to three recent graduates about the first few years in their individual fields. The graduates included Jordan Potts, previously of Backstage Academy, who is now Live Event Logistics Co-ordinator at TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley. Next up was David Howard, University of South Wales graduate, who spoke of his time as a freelance LD. Finally, disguise’s Ruben Garcia, who recently graduated from Rose Bruford College and now taking on the role of Quality Assurance Engineer. Through the conversation Mouat quizzed the three about how they had transitioned from students to members of the live events family as well as let the three give some advice for those about to leave full time education.

Following the graduate panel, TPi welcomed keynote speaker Mark Cunniffe, Show Designer of Ed Sheeran’s Latest ÷ tour. Winner of this year’s Mark Fisher Set Designer of the Year Award at the TPi Awards, Cunniffe walked the audience through his first experience with Sheeran, and how he played his part it converting this singer’s academy show, into the Stadium spectacular he is known for today. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time at

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Below: TPi’s Stew Hume with Mark Cunniffe, Show Designer of Ed Sheeran’s ÷ tour; The Just Graduated? What Next? panel with Adlib’s Al Mouat, David Howard, Ruben Garcia and Jordan Potts.

Production Futures this year and welcomed the opportunity to speak to the next generation of designers, programmers and audio engineers,” commented Cunniffe. “It’s a must see event for anybody thinking about a career in our industry.”

Next on the stage was Malle Kass and Hannah Brodrick from Women in Live Music. The organisation is a European platform and online community for women working in the industy. Both Kaas and Brodrick discussed various topics including tips on how to get along when you’re new to the industry, insecurity as a freelancer and how to ease out the gender imbalance and empower more women seeking careers in live music.

Following the Women in Live Music, the main stage schedule moved to a packed afternoon of focused case study talks from all corners of the industry. This included the likes of Royal Blood’s LD Sam O’Riordan, FOH Engineer Françoise Le Moignan from Haçienda Classical and Brilliant Stage’s Toby Van-Hay discussing his involvement with the Beyoncé and JAY-Z OTR II tour. Each of the individuals discussed in detail how they came into the various projects and the challenges they faced during each.

Finally, taking TPi Talks home was lighting legend Tupac Martir of Sator Studios who throughout his illustrious career has worked in various fields from rock ‘n’ roll to the catwalks of Milan’s high end fashion world. Breaking the fourth wall of traditional presentations, the LD decided to sit on the edge of the stage to give a more personal talk with the enraptured audience. The designer talked through selection of topics showing the outer limits of what can be achieved with lighting. TPi

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To round off the mains stage line up, Production Futures once again hosted the TPi Breakthrough Talent Awards. The younger sibling of the annual TPi Awards, Breakthrough Talent was developed to put the spotlight on some of those upcoming in the industry who have already shown great aptitude to their various crafts and archived a great deal in a short number of years. For 2018’s rendition, the awards were split into four categories. The first two were Undergraduate and the Young Freelancer of the Year.

Both awards required applicants to put themselves forward and to present a short case study on a recent event explaining that they had

learned from the experience. Also new to this year was the Production Rookie award. This Awards was set aside for businesses and organisations to put forward a new employee who had already shown themselves to be an invaluable member of their work force. Finally the TPi Standout Talent was set aside for the magazines editorial team to award to a young individual who had already made a significant impact in the industry and presented true endeavour in the field.

All four of the winners, as well as walking away with a sought-after trophy, were given an official invite to next year’s TPi Awards, taking place on the 25 February at London’s Battersea Evolution.

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

TPi STANDOUT TALENT 2018

ELLIOT BAINESPresented by Hannah Eakins

The winner of this year’s TPi Stand Out talent has been on TPi Magazine’s radar for some time. At only 15, this aspiring Lighting Designer had already turned industry heads, having worked on some the UK’s biggest festivals including Glastonbury, Shambala and Latitude. Currently, he is continuing to pick up as much experience as possible under the banner Spiralstagelighting. He truly encapsulates the spirit and entrepreneurship that the judges at the TPi Breakthrough Talent Awards were looking for.

“I was so happy,” commented Baines, following the announcement. “It was amazing and I was so honoured upon winning this award! Production Futures was extraordinary, and the event was fantastic for meeting new people and getting to socialise with major companies!” he exclaimed.

YOUNG FREELANCER OF THE YEAR 2018

TERRY KINGPresented by Sam O’Riordan

This year’s Freelancer of the Year was Terry King, a Production Manager who recently took up the mantle of handling R&B Artist IAMDDB. Leading the charge of bringing the artist’s creative vision to life and supervising the department involved in ensuring that each element of the show came together swiftly.

“Winning this year’s Young Freelancer award was such an incredible honour,” stated King. “I think it’s extremely important to have such a platform to recognise and highlight the efforts and talents of the younger generation. After all, they are the future of our industry! Another great feature I enjoyed was how our awards were presented to us by seasoned professionals who seemed to have a genuine interest in what we were involved in and our aspirations moving forward. The entire Production Futures event was a very enjoyable and productive experience for me. It was such a great networking opportunity and gave me a lot of insight into some of the leading company’s and vendors within the industry. I definitely encourage anyone who’s interested in live event production to make plans to attend next year!”

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PRODUCTION ROOKIE

JORDAN POTTS

Presented by Andy Lenthall

This year’s TPi Production Rookie was awarded to TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley’s Jordan Potts. In a very short time, Potts has become a key member of the touring division of the freighting company. In his application - Sarah Hopper, Truckingby’s Quality Director described Jordan as “invaluable to the team.” Liaising with production managers, artists and customers to provide them with quotes and information on their trucking requirements and keeping them informed during the events taking place.

“I was astounded to say the least,” commented Potts. “I didn’t once even consider that I could have been nominated for any of the awards. The whole team, including Sarah, Kevin and Glenn did a great job keeping it quiet. It hit home half way through the introduction to the award, when I realised the presenter, Andy Lethall of the PSA, was actually describing me! Production Futures is one of a kind - a great event to inspire young people and give them a taste of all aspects of the live events industry.”

UNDERGRADUATE OF THE YEAR

HARVEY FITZPATRICKPresented by Mark Cunniffe

This year’s Undergraduate of the Year was Harvey Fitzpatrick. For this category, the judges were looking for an individual that while being successful in their studies has also gone above and beyond to further their skills, experiences and knowledge of the industry. Fitzpatrick has shown this in spades. While working towards his Lighting Design Course at Rose Bruford College, this aspiring LD worked on one of the biggest shows on earth - the Super Bowl. By managing to get himself on the Lighting Team he worked with Lighting Director Dave Grill and executed various roles, including heading up a team of volunteers to wheel out the lighting show.

“It was great to receive the award, and to meet Mark Cunniffe who presented me the prize too,” commented Fitzpatrick. “Credit goes to my tutors for keeping me at university, when all I wanted to do was go out and work!” he joked.

HOG FACTOR WINNERS

CLC’S AND A NORWEGIAN WALK INTO A BARNick Steer, Jay Mayer and Espen Karlsen.

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