Production Futures: Harry Boyde

Harry Boyde

Winner of TPi Breakthrough Talent Awards Production Rookie accolade, Harry Boyde recounts his journey earning his stripes as stagehand with Stage Miracles to an accomplished touring technician for ER Productions.

From a young age, Harry Boyde was fascinated with music and live events. As soon as he turned 18, he moved from Northampton to London, to pursue a career in the touring industry. Shortly after the move, he began working as a Stagehand for Stage Miracles before landing a coveted role of Laser Technician at ER Productions – where he is now responsible for the set-up, maintenance, programming, and operation of laser shows, as well as special effects for some of music’s biggest names.

“Working as a stagehand taught me so much about working in live events and gave me the experience to understand what I really wanted to do in my career,” began Boyde. From pushing boxes to operating a laser show in front of 80,000 people, everything he has learned was a direct result of hands-on experience and the knowledge passed down from industry peers. “I believe education is important whichever way you decide to learn, be that in a classroom environment or on-site. I guess you could say that my time as a stagehand was my ‘university’.”

Boyde pinpointed a range of experiences that he has learned on the job. “From the simple things like how to go down a truck ramp properly and mastering the Tetris-style truck pack; to the more complicated like networking a laser show with over 100 lasers; making the lasers safe, zoning and masking; and tight festival schedules meaning zoning lasers in sunlight, there are a lot of essential skills involved in the industry that are best learned by practice.”

As a second-generation roadie, both of his parents worked in the music industry in the ’80s and ’90s – his father was a rigger and his mother, a caterer. “Of course, it’s a lot different nowadays; seeing photos of my dad 50ft in the air with no harness dangling from scaffolding makes my stomach turn, and, although they probably haven’t told me all of their stories from that era, hearing the ones they did tell me and seeing how much they enjoyed that part of their lives made me want to do the same,” he said. “My parents stopped the touring life to raise me and my brother, who also works in the music industry, so I hope they feel like that part of their lives is living on through us.”

Re calling a fascination with laser shows from an early age, Boyde said: “The first time I can remember being completely blown away by a laser show was a few years back when Kasabian did a five-night residency at Brixton Academy. I was there as a stagehand but made it out front for one of the shows. From that point I knew I had to somehow get into lasers. ER Productions were the ones who did that gig, so to be working with them now putting on laser shows myself is brilliant.”

He w ent on to share the most valuable lesson he has learned so far: “Always be at least 15 minutes early! That goes for pretty much everything, especially bus and lobby calls. If you don’t know something never be afraid to ask. It’s always going to be better than guessing and getting it wrong. I find people respect you more if you are honest and don’t pretend you know things that you don’t.”

Du ring his first year with ER Productions, Boyde was sent to Ibiza for the whole season. He recalled: “I was programming and operating huge club nights in Ibiza within six months, gaining valuable experience. Other technicians who have done the ER Ibiza season have gone on to do great things, so I was adamant on finishing the season and joining the club of Ibiza seasoned technicians.”

Since starting with ER Productions, Boyde has also worked on several Fatboy Slim shows, including tours of Australia and New Zealand, as well as the DJ’s in-the-round UK tour last year. “The Fatboy camp are a great bunch who have some brilliantly creative ideas that they deserve credit for. I have also been working with Groove Armada since they came back with their full band and was reprogramming their show for the Royal Albert Hall for Teenage Cancer Trust before lockdown.”

Charli XCX was another artist Boyde worked with last year, programming shows in New York, LA and London. “I also managed to squeeze in a tour of America with K-pop sensation Blackpink and a tour of Italy with one of their biggest artists, Vasco Rossi – which included six sold-out nights at San Siro in front of 80,000 people. I have also had the opportunity to step up to cover other technicians on The Chemical Brothers and Tame Impala, both of which were incredible to be part of.”

Boyde believed a lot of people have their jobs in the music industry because they have proved to others that they are hard-working and committed. Not only that, but he was full of praise of the people that had

helped him along the way. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without all of the crew bosses and stage managers at Stage Miracles, especially Mike Grove and Rafa Rodriguez.” He also thanked the entire team at ER Productions, including founders, Marc Webber and Ryan Hagan as well as Operations Manager Gary Cornman. “All of the senior technicians at ER have taught me so much, not just about lasers, and are always there to help,” he stated. “They are all amazing at what they do, and it has inspired me to learn as much as I can to become as good as a technician as them.”

Earlier this year, Boyde scooped the Production Rookie Award at Production Futures. “It was a real honour to get the Production Rookie Award at Productions Futures 2019, and it feels great to be recognised for the work that I have done,” he added. “My future at ER Productions is looking exciting and I aim to build my career with them as the company expands and grows. The award has only furthered my ambition to achieve in this industry I enjoy working in so much.”

A week before the official lockdown of live events in the UK, Boyde was in Melbourne, Australia for a Robbie Williams show at the Australian Grand Prix. “We were on-site getting ready to load in when the show along with the F1 was cancelled. It was a very long way to go for a show that didn’t happen,” he recalled. “I had a feeling that this was the start of things to come so I got on the next available flight home.”

During his downtime, Boyde been lucky enough to be able to take home an MA Lighting grandMA3, thanks to a recent investment by ER Productions

to go alongside the range of High End Systems HOG4 consoles available. “These consoles alongside Pangolin Beyond is a deadly combination in which I am practicing my programming skills. For visualisation, ER Productions has started to use Depence2, which is an incredible tool for pre-programming as the lasers look so realistic. I have been using the time to also reprogram some of the tours I have previously been on including Fatboy Slim and Groove Armada so that when these gigs finally happen, they’ll be better than ever.”

Fi ve years from now, Boyde hopes to be designing and operating some of the world’s largest laser shows. “It’s becoming increasingly popular to have more lasers at our shows. We are working on some exciting new lasers and our designs are getting more and more interesting and complex,” he explained. “Lasers are becoming more diverse and can be incorporated into any kind of music or show. I believe that more LDs and show designers will choose to have lasers in their shows in the future.” He signalled ER Productions’ recent expansion of its special effects and pyro department. “This means we can give clients a full special effects package, from an incredible laser show to covering the crowd in confetti or smoke-filled bubbles.” TPi Photos: Production Futures & ER Productions www.productionfutures.co.uk www.er-productions.com