Production Futures 2019

Production Futures 2019

TPi welcomes over 900 young people to Fly By Nite Rehearsal Studios for the fourth annual Production Futures. With a record number of attendees and exhibitors, training sessions and onstage interviews with some of the biggest names in the live events industry, Production Futures is a truly unmissable date on the live touring calendar.

It’s such a thrill to see how far Production Futures has come in the past four years. Conceived to create a platform for the next generation of live events professionals, the annual event has grown year on year, with more rental houses, manufacturers, educational institutions and crewmembers from some of the world’s biggest tours all on site to impart their knowledge and give their unique perspectives to the eager youngsters turning out at Fly By Nite Studios on 13 November.

Loading in the day after the Liam Gallagher crew vacated the space, this year’s event presented a whole new look for Production Futures, with stands arranged around the central stage which, throughout the day, hosted a number of talks with famed touring personnel regaling the audience with tales from the road and dispensing much-cherished advice.

Also making a welcome return were a selection of hands-on demos and training sessions, as well as the fourth TPi Breakthrough Talent Awards presentations. Fl y By Nite Rehearsal Studios Manager and host for the day, Scottie Sanderson said it was a “pleasure” to host the “hugely successful” fourth annual Production Futures event. “There was an impressive turnout, and everyone who attended has been exceptionally positive on what was on offer, from the show floor and stage to the training sessions and facilities,” he commented. “The event went without a hitch and, given the planning and focus from the TPi team, this was no surprise. It was a great day and we were proud to be involved.”

To aid with all production needs, TPi joined forces with On Event Productions and Boxoso, which provided the infrastructure for over 900 attendees. “It was great to be a part of Production Futures again,” Boxoso’s Kris Dawber commented. “It’s a fantastic project, which inspires the next generation of live events.”

The packed line-up of supporters featured the likes of Neg Earth Lights, NEKO Trust, Pearce Hire, SES, 80six, d&b audiotechnik, ADJ, Christie Lites, TAIT, High End Systems and ETC, Sterling Event Group, Global Motion, Knight Rigging Services, Prolight Concepts Group, Shure, Production Park and Brilliant Stages, Avolites, ER Productions, Light Initiative, Hawthorn, Green Hippo, mondo*dr, MONDO l STADIA, TPMEA, IPS, WIcreations, CAST Software, BlackTrax and wysiwyg, disguise, CHAUVET Professional, DiGiCo and DBpixelhouse.

Sitting alongside those companies was a selection of the UK’s finest education establishments, including: Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, University of South Wales, BOA Academy, SAE Institute, LIPA, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Access to Music, Backstage Academy, Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, University of Derby, South and City College Birmingham, Cheshire College – South & West, Solent University, Spirit Studios, Buckinghamshire New University and Rose Bruford College.

A selection of associations who provide a variety of services for aspiring techs of the future were also on site, with the Production Services Association (PSA), Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT), Association of Lighting Designers (ALD), Society of Television Lighting and Design (STLD), The Institute of Sound & Communications Engineers (ISCE), UK National Arts Wellbeing Collective (UK NAWC) and Stage Management Association all in attendance. Also supporting this year’s event was The Prince’s Trust who took a stand as well as bringing a group of young individuals interested in the live events sector. A ke y part of Production Futures is the range of industry supporters willing to get involved. Load Cell Rental sponsored the bar, Interfacio provided afterparty drinks, Fly By Nite supplied free coffee, while Pixl evolution and TPi sponsored coaches. Meanwhile, Beat the Street and Phoenix Bussing kept everyone well fed, ensuring the free pizzas never ran out.

TPi Editor, Stew Hume and Metallica FOH Engineer, ‘Big Mick’ Hughes.

MAIN STAGE

Although Production Futures has always hosted an array of content, this year there was a real focus on covering all aspects of the live touring industry, with talks based around the themes of show design, lighting, video, audio, special effects and rigging. Hosted by TPi Editor, Stew Hume, the main stage boosted a selection of high-calibre crew personnel, all of whom gave their unique take on the industry. Th e programme kicked-off with a panel discussion dubbed The Art of the Graft, which featured Lighting Tech, David Howard, Audio Engineer and Tour Manager, Bryony October, and Muse’s former Tour Director, Glen Rowe.

The trio talked about the simple fact that, to get ahead in this industry, you have to get yourself out there – a message that many of the audience members seemed to take to heart as they went from stand to stand introducing themselves and learning what each company had to offer. Fo llowing the panel discussion, TPi Award-winning Lighting Designer, Tim Routledge took to the stage to talk through his creative process for designing Stormzy’s headline Glastonbury set and explained how he battled the constraints of the famed Pyramid Stage to create one of 2019s most culturally impactful moments. Following Routledge, TPi Talks welcomed the man behind Metallica’s mix to the stage – the one and only ‘Big Mick’ Hughes.

A story that began in Birmingham in the ’80s, Hughes has worked with the metal titans for the past 35 years. Along with sharing some stories from the road, Hughes gave some inspiring advice to the budding audio engineers in the room – the message: Don’t just look at your screens, make sure you listen to mix. Switching gears to the world of video, TPi Award-winning Director, Steve Price took to the stage. Having worked with the likes of Bastille, Queen + Adam Lambert and Mumford & Sons, Price has a vast knowledge of cutting live footage. He gave some well-received advice on how to start on the path towards live video. Next up on the schedule were rigging and special effects focusses. Overseeing the rigging conversations was Ricky Hopkins, who spoke about the various calculations that those who work at height should be investigating.

Meanwhile for the special effects focus, TPi Talks welcomed Encore SFX’s George Baker and ER Productions’ Marc Webber, who talked about the array of effects used on modern tours, from lasers and pyrotechnics to CO2 jets, and the safety implications that go along with them. Fi nally, rounding off the event was Stufish’s Ric Lipson. Having been involved in the set design for the likes for Beyoncé, Madonna and Elton John, he spoke to the enthralled audience about the behind-the-scenes process of creating the world’s most impressive stage shows. Sponsoring this year’s main stage were CHAUVET Professional and SSE Audio, who also supplied kit for the stage. The sound system comprised a d&b audiotechnik audio solution for the main stage and an L-Acoustics rig in the TPi Lounge – a space to meet some of the speakers featuring on the main stage. The TPi Lounge also played host to more intimate discussions with members of the industry – including Managing Director of SSE Audio Group, John Penn; TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley’s Sarah Hopper; and Little Mix’s Systems Engineer, Jon Brooks – and featured giveaways from the likes of Green Hippo, 4Wall, WIcreations and TRUCKINGBY Brian Yeardley.

CHAUVET Professional’s Sam Bowden commented: “Production Futures was incredibly well aimed at students this year and the turnout was great. The event industry as a whole is very wide and diverse, and it is useful for new students and industry professionals to know that careers don’t stop at being the LD for the Rolling Stones. There are also roles in the media, manufacturing, as well as venue-specific work – it’s a big old world for them to discover!” He f urthered: “This year was the best executed event so far. The floorplan was great, the stage worked incredibly well being part of the main show floor. It was clean, professional and well attended by the right people – the companies exhibiting seemed to be on message. It was exactly what it said on the tin.”

HANDS-ON TRAINING

This year, TPi was keen to have a more hands-on experience than 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. Five, one-hour sessions throughout the day gave attendees a hands-on introduction to the ChamSys MagicQ console range and software, learning how to use the console, patch a new show, create cues and FX. Attendees received a free MagicDMX Basic USB-DMX Interface to run the ChamSys software.

SES also held training sessions that covered all the basics of powering live events, including basic electrical theory, UK standard voltages, including single- and three-phase, as well as important practices. Interfacio presented a CV workshop, explaining the wide variety of career opportunities in the live events industry, while Vectorworks ran a variety of workshops encompassing its extensive suite of drawing, modelling, illustration and rendering tools, including Spotlight – a tool that allows the company to produce stunning 3D presentations.

CHAUVET Professional offered the chance to get up close and personal with its fixtures and learn some of the basics that go into building and maintaining lighting equipment. disguise ran demos each hour, presenting attendees with the workflow, software and hardware that goes into powering some of the world’s biggest live events such as global concert tours and events, as well as films and live TV broadcasts. Adlib and DiGiCo presented demonstrations of a range of digital mixing consoles – from the compact DiGiCo S21 all the way up to the pioneering power of the DiGiCo Quantum 7. Elsewhere, Sound Technology, JBL Professional and Martin by Harman presented a range of products, demoing JBL’s line array, Soundcraft consoles, all while giving attendees the opportunity to build their own visual using Martin by Harman VDO Sceptron, Fatron and Atomic Dots. The Sennheiser team also demoed the entire IE Pro range, offering one lucky attendee to win £500-worth of highresolution distortion-free sound. Th ose taking a break and venturing outside got to experience life on the road with one of TRUCKINBY Brian Yeardley’s fabled trucks. The company, in recent months, has been out on the road with the likes of Def Leppard, John Mayer and Stevie Wonder, to name but a few. Parked alongside was another staple of Production Futures, TPi Award-winning, Phoenix Bussing. Once again, the company opened its bus doors for the attendees to get an up-close look at a touring home. Wi th the day drawing to an end, and with attendees minds full to the brim with ideas what might be in store for their future, all attention was drawn to the stage for this year’s TPi Breakthrough Talent Awards. With positive feedback from both supporters and attendees, it’s clear that once again Production Futures has struck on a real need within this industry to offer a friendly, open and informative event, to give this industry’s next generation a much-needed foot in the door and start them on the right path. See you next year! TPi Photos: TPi www.productionfutures.co.uk

TPi Breakthrough Talent Awards 2019 Winners

Winner: Harry Boyde Presented by Kyoto Music’s Glen Rowe

Winner: Oli Crump Presented by Stufish’s Ric Lipson

Winner: Owen McIlreavy Presented by Christie Lites’ Jess Allan

Winner: Dylan Barber Presented by TPi Editor, Stew Hume.