so we've all seen events before on TV the internet or in real life whether it's bespoke sporting events live music and festivals theater exhibitions and Congress business and brand experiences or weddings and parties but it's not surprising that very few people know how an event is actually put together not to mention all of the people behind the scenes who make it happen I mean it's just an artist a sound person and a liting person right well not quite it may shock you to find out that there are hundreds of thousands of people that make up
the events industry equipped with a huge array of skills disciplines and specialisms that make them valuable Assets in putting together these amazing feats every type of event has its own unique production process so it's not a one siiz fits all kind of thing but for this video we're going to explore the process and the people that put together a major national touring production for a popular music artist counting all the jobs roles and tasks that go into taking this incredible spectacle from paper to reality [Music] ready so let's start with a major artist and the
manager they've recorded an album and now they want to promote it with a major national tour so they team up with a promoter who has a team of Bookers Administration staff designers and marketing experts that book The venues arrange the fees package the tour Lea with a ticketing partner and make the tour a reality once that's done we now have a poster created ticket links generated and the artist can announce the tour so now the venues dates and locations are in the bag we need a show to take on the road and for this the
management team needs three things a Creative showd Design Team a production manager and a technical production company the creative show design team has a creative lead who talks to the artist and gets all of their inspiration and ideas for the show this creative lead then takes those initial ideas and utilizes their team of 3D modelers visual artists lighting design designers and concept designers to come up with the stage lighting and content designs for the show including any variations that occur for songs in the artist set list all of this is then compiled into creative treatment
which is then sent to the artist for approval and as long as the artist is happy it's signed off and handed over to our production manager who takes this creative treatment and Lees with the technical production companies to figure out what's required to make it a reality and this all starts with the account manager and the account manager first job is to get all of the Vital Information about the gig I'm looking for dates a location what screens they want what lightting fixtures they want what consoles they want and the account manager needs to use
this information to create two things one an idea of what the gig will look like and number two a quote or a price which is what the client will end up paying in order to make the gig happen but in order to get that quote we need to hand this through a few more people the account manager gets all of the basic information such as dates locations show designs and requirements and hands it over to the project managers one lighting I'll look at what the artist needs all the way from the rigging that's required trust
lights to make the show happen one for video so we do a lot of the planning working out how we're going to connect the screens and the cameras together and working alongside the camera team the content team to make sure that everything gets delivered and one for audio we'll build 3D models for each venue to create an audio system design and at this stage we can be chatting about sight lines and reducing the visual impact of the speaker system Channel lists microphone choices consoles any specific requirements they may have and once each project manager has
figured out exactly how they can make the gig happen we compile all of this into a big technical plan or CAD a prev visualization designer then takes this Cad and converts it into a 3D model of the gig of which reference images and videos are made so that the client can see what the gig will look like before they press go all of this then goes back to the account manager I'll quote everything up to include crew equipment transport as well as attaching any health and safety documentation and then I'll get that sent off to
the client and once the client approves it's finally time to make the gig happen after receiving the green light the account manager hands this all back to a lead project manager who then hands the signed off designs to two teams firstly the technical team who do quite a lot of things we cover all disciplines specify equipment and make sure everything works from a technical perspective but a lot of this equipment isn't just going to sit on the ground things like speakers lights and LED wall well they're going to be hung from the ceiling or flown
and if this is a tour we're not just doing this in one building but many many many buildings of very different sizes and the person who figures out exactly how we can make this work has quite a nce job uh I'm a ring technical designer I'm looking at how heavy the rig is where things need to be positioned how we're going to get cable to the various positions and translating it into a set of plan so that the next person can see what it is they need to achieve so now we know what we need
when we need it and how it goes together it's time to move on to the many other jobs roles and tasks and to kick us off I'm a compliance in health and safety manager n but in all seriousness this is actually very important it's my responsibility to ensure that everyone is safe on site there are many risks and it's important for me to enforce the health and safety plan as specify within the Rams thanks Gareth you're very welcome so speaking of people well we need to find some camera operators audio Engineers lighting designers technicians riggers
and they're all found and managed by head of logistics we look after scheduling for our staff and freelance technicians we also make sure everything's arranged for their travel to and from site and where they we staying throughout an event when they get there which is all good but who actually books these people well for that we need a crew coordinator my role is to match crew and people to gigs based on their skill level and the equipment that's being news and that takes care of Freelancers but what about all the full-time staff that we have
I am an HR Manager I help the company Recruit new staff I help with all the contracts and that sort of thing and answer any HR queries that they may have along the way and let's not forget all of these people need to be paid I am a payroll manager I pay people each month and answer any payroll queries that anyone might have and speaking about being paid what happens when we have to pay I an assistant management accountant mostly I look after purchasing so I ensure that all the suppliers are paid on time I
make sure Prof forers are paid and I also deal with Freelancers and making sure they're paid but with all this money coming in and going out we also need to make sure we have someone who's on top of all that I'm head of Finance I manage day-to-day finances make sure you got enough cash to pay suppliers and staff and obviously report on the financial performance to the board okay so we know how people are kept safe we also know how they're paid and how we find them but let's not forget it's not just the people
we need to get on the road it's also the equipment which is handled by an assets team we make sure that everything that is put on the event is ready to go out but sometimes when equipment is out on the road things can go wrong sometimes if things Break um it gets F reported and that asset whether it be a console a light a speaker or a camera gets handed over to the service team who have a team of Engineers who can hopefully repair it and get it back out on the road and speaking of
the road we also need someone who can get all of the people and the equipment to all of the different locations that they need to be otherwise known as a logistics coordinator my role is largely organizing how the equipment gets from the warehouse to the gig whether that's through our internal Fleet or through external Trucking and when it comes to that equipment some of it can be quite expensive so we want to make sure it's properly packaged and this is where having a team of Carpenters and joiners comes in handy after all these decisions have
been made equipment booked people hired and locations and dates confirmed it's finally time to put it all into action so a few days before the gig heads out we hand all of this over to the warehouse enter our warehouse manager I take all the information and I make sure the right people within the right departments know what's happening what space it's going to be in how much space it's going to take how much time it's going to take what vehicles it's going to go on to and who's going to come in to look after that
particular show so once the warehouse manager receives the job it's then handed over to the individual prep technicians who collect test and prepare the equipment to head out onto the road whether that be for audio video rigging lighting cables or power once the equipment has been collected it's then moved to the designated preparation area or prep Bay it's there that show Engineers can finalize any adjustments to the equipment and make any customizations relevant to to the gig for example video Engineers may want to change a camera's resolution or frame rate lighting Engineers may want to
program a desk and fine-tune any fixture settings and audio Engineers may want to test speakers microphones and customize any console settings they need for the event once they're all happy the equipment is packed down and handed over to a warehouse operative who are crucial when it comes to getting a gig out the door the warehouse operatives make sure the correct case is wheeled to the correct loading Bay and then it's over to our dispatch manager the dispatch manager is in charge of making sure that the correct equipment not only makes it out of the building
but also onto the right vehicle as Each truck will be carrying equipment for a specific Department once the truck arrives and banksman guided into the loading Bay the warehouse operatives then set up any ramps or lifting equipment needed the trucks are labeled with their department and our dispatch manager Begins the loading process the dispatch manager directs the truck pack with the help of the warehouse operatives scanning barcodes on each piece of equipment as it leaves a load Bay those barcodes correspond with items on the equipment list meaning that once the load is finished the list
is complete and everything is accounted for then the truck driver shuts the doors locks the trailer hops in the driver's seat and starts the journey towards the first venue of the tour and now with all of our trucks on the road the technicians and crew arrive at the warehouse and board the tour bus where a specialist driver safely takes them to the venue making sure to keep on schedule whilst not waking up any of the sleeping crew members on board and to be fair there are plenty of places they could could be heading to in
the UK alone there are around 7,000 live music vus 17 of them are arenas more than 200 are stadiums we have up to 1,000 festivals a year as well as 4,000 theaters hundreds of live venues clubs barsy halls and auditoriums and once the crew and Equipment have arrived at the venue chosen for this show it's finally time to build a gig now gig Dar are a really well organized operation and there's a lot to get through so this is going to be a big one first things first an our venue manager opens up the doors
and prepares the arena for the arrival of our first crew members who are briefed by our health and safety representative who conducts the health and safety briefing before any work takes place and once that's complete up first is the catering team who bring in and set up all of their touring catering equipment in the venue kitchen as well as stations for snacks treats refreshments and of course the most important of all the coffee station it's this team of chefs and Catering staff that will prepare multiple food options for breakfast lunch and dinner ensuring there's something
tasty for every dietory requirement meanwhile back in the venue it's over to our production rigger who takes our rigging plot which was put together earlier by our rigging technical designer and draws marks on the Arena floor to indicate the location of each predetermined rigging point then our first truck arrives delivering all of the motors that we need our rig and crew then take these motors and will each one to its designated Mark opening their cases and dropping their rigging hooks on the floor making sure to pull out some slack on the chains some more riggers
then lift these hooks up to the rigging grid via a rope and attach them to their predetermined rigging points and now we've got rigging underway we begin the process of tipping the rest of the trucks in a specific order as determined by our production manager and this is where we need the help of our crew chief who leaz us with our stage manager to direct the unloading of the trucks using local crew to move the correct equipment to the correct location and this will allow our technicians to build their respective Department's equipment up first is
our dimmer technician who uses the local crew and any forklift operators required to unload and move the dimmer units to the right location then the rest of the lighting fixtures and lighting trusses are unloaded and wheel to the correct place where our lighting technicians will join them together and connect any cables before attaching them to the relevant motor and sending them up into the sky while this is happening the rest of the trucks are unloaded and their contents wheeled to the location and for those who aren't busy breakfast is served which now means that our
other departments can begin their builds for audio our system technicians begin building any speaker arrays that are being flown checking the angle of each box and sending them up into the air meanwhile video technicians begin building LED walls and any projection screens needed for the event production Carpenters finish any staging elements and pop them into place and at this point point we visit front of house where all of the operation equipment for lighting and audio is built such as the audio mixing console and the lighting operator console backstage our wardrobe designer begins populating dressing rooms
with the correct outfits and wardrobe elements for the Performing artists and it's now time for the crew to head back to catering and help themselves to lunch back to it and because this specific show has a rolling stage the head carer gathers all available crew and rolls the stage into place once the stage is in position audio technicians begin positioning any ground stacked loudspeakers with the help of local crew special effects technicians will start building air cannons pyot Technics as well as any other special effects required for the show and while they do that our
lighting technicians place any onstage fixtures or lighting equipment while the projectionist builds and positions projectors and aligns them to their screens camera operators build their respective positions following the director's camera plot and PTZ operators will also position and cable up their robotic camera as well as setting up their control rig backstage then the Rex engineer checks signal and pictures from all the cameras and ensures all the camera settings resolutions and color profiles are matched the director then checks these pictures and angles to make sure that all the required shots can be achieved and our media
server operator checks playback on any content for the screens our lighting designer then heads to front of house and begins programming checking the alignment of all the lighting fixtures and preparing the rig for the show over in monitor World our RF technician builds any necessary antenna and sets up the wireless audio systems whilst our monitor technician sets up their mixing console and loads up their show file out front the system technician now Tunes the PA ensuring all the boxes and speakers are working together and providing the required coverage across the venue remember the project manager's
3D model from before well this is where we make it a reality on stage our backline technicians arrive who are responsible for all of the equipment that the performers use so the guitar tech sets up amplifiers and tunes the guitars the drum Tech sets up and tunes the drum kit and the keyboard Tech Powers up and prepares the keyboards and synthesizes the artist's playback engineer then sets up their audio playback rig and checks that the monitor desk and front of house desk are receiving the right signals once the onstage equipment is set up our patch
technician will then mic up all the instruments amplifiers and vocalists assigning the correct input to each channel for the mix and monitor Engineers back out front the system technician has finished tuning the PA and hands it over to the front of house mix engineer who then performs a line check to make sure every microphone and channel signal is being received the frontal house engineer then uses this time to tweak the sound of the PA in preparation for soundcheck meanwhile backstage our to manager arrives and catches up with the promoter rep who checks sight lines manages
seating arrangements guest lists and the artist settlement and as we approach 3:00 p.m. the artist party starts to arrive the artist's manager and management team anr reps from the artist record label the artist's personal security team and the merchandise manager who starts Distributing merchandise to the designated kiosks in the venue and now it's time for soundcheck the artist takes to the stage which could consist of a single vocalist or an entire band with a drummer guitarists Keys players percussionists backing vocalists musical directors brass players string sections or even an entire Orchestra and they all use
soundcheck to run through a handful of songs of varying energy levels allowing the mix engineer to tweak the sound of the mix as each song in every venue can sound completely different it also allows all of the performers on stage time to check their monitor mix which is the only way they can hear what they're playing and what the people around them are playing once soundcheck is complete and everyone is happy the main artist and band Clear the Stage and make way for the supporting artist who also need to soundcheck the stage is handed over
to the support artists team who also have their own mix engineer monitor engineer lighting designer and Playback engineer once they've had their sound check and everyone's happy it's now time for everyone to head back to catering for a well earned break and dinner which allows all of the crew time to eat chat rest and have some all important downtime before the Big Show but for the rest of the venue it's finally time for doors so at this point you may be thinking that the hard work is all over over well no not only are we
bringing back our technicians and Engineers to operate the show but we also now have a whole host of other staff involved box office staff to handle ticket collection and sales bar staff and bar managers to provide Refreshments for the crowds venue Reps for VIPs and special guests merch vendors to sell the artist's merchandise security Personnel to manage entrances exits and any situations that might occur as well as paramedics who were on hand to Aid any medical emergencies then of course we've got photographers videographers journalists and music bloggers and if this gig is being recorded or
broadcast we then need staff who can manage that such as a broadcast mix engineer who mixes audio specifically for TV a broadcast producer who leazes with the live team to make sure everything runs smoothly and a record engineer who manages the recording of the video and audio captured at the gig not to mention they may also bring even more camera operators PTZ operators sound recordists Runners directors and post production managers and after we've gone through all of this we welcome in [Music] you the audience who make all of this possible enjoying every hit song and
big moment and once the show is over we pack it all in a truck and do it all over again and again and again bringing you on average a gig every 4 minutes generating 5.2 billion a year in live music events alone and sustaining more than 200,000 jobs so which one's for you well to find out more visit this link for more information on how you can begin your journey into the Live Events industry his [Music] [Music] [Music] on [Music] [Music] [Music] well if you made it this far you're either really into credit sequences or
you didn't realize it finished either way we'd like to share a little bit of an Insight with you as to how we made this video so strap in because it's quite a journey this video was produced by this guy that's Andy doy and it was filmed and edited by these two Brad and Amy not to mention we had a little bit of help on the camera from Tom and Steve Round of Applause there everyone that's better and to put this together we sifted through 162 terabytes of video footage and of this video data we used
3,42 video clips as well as 230 of our very own bespok recorded sound effects we covered 180 jobs across 289 different visitation points and visited more than 50 events across the entire of the United Kingdom but also let's not forget animations like this we made over 139 of them totaling 42,700 animated frames and we custom made 192 different icons glyphs and symbols and all of this was done across a 15-month production period totaling 420 hours of mixing sound design sound recording grading VFX Motion Graphics and voiceover recording of which we covered more than 260 different
lines but who actually said them well we can keep that between us right it really was a labor of love and we hope you enjoyed it and in order to help us spread even more awareness of this incredible industry please do share the video and send it to anyone you think would benefit from watching it thanks for watching and we'll see you out on the road
