PRODUCTION
NOVEMBER | SECTOR FOCUS
Access discovers the
contemporary challenges
in event production,
examining audio visual
specifications and
licensing in 2019
E
vents like LFX’s Slam
Dunk Festivals are event
mainstays that unite
experts in event production and
design. Their continued success
is down to strategic production
decisions.
Luke Fitzmaurice, managing
director, LFX oversees these
events, which take place in
Leeds and Hatfield, working to
strict deadlines and discerning
requirements.
“The clients and promoters
are well up on what is needed to
pull off events on this scale, so
it’s a real partnership,” he says.
“On Slam Dunk, the promoter
is a former venue manager, so
he makes sure it’s bang on. We
look for high quality equipment,
great crew and ability to deliver
under pressure. The festival
environment is only used for a
day, so the turnaround is tight.
This means the time spent on
site has to count, and our time
spent on site is tricky.”
The festival, which sees 90
bands play, is built on long-term
partnerships honed by Ben Ray,
Slam Dunk’s festival director.
“Most people involved have
been involved for a lot of years.
Some of the outdoor technical
challenges include noise
breakout, so we use Acoustec,
part of Symphotech, to handle
noise and monitor decibel levels.
They operate under city council
licences. Leeds has a more
densely populated area, with a
different demographic so the
requirements are different.”
Wes Pierce, managing
director of Number 8 Events,
empathises with these
challenges, and stresses that
organisers ignore local residents
at their peril.
“With the growth of
social media and group
communication over the last
decade, a group of residents is
no longer limited to those that
can attend a town hall meeting.
It is now empowered by people
that can comment and post
from anywhere they like. As
responsible event professionals
we should embrace this. It is a
way to demonstrate that you’re
serious about reducing the
impact on the local community
and you care about how that
may affect them,” he says.
Earlier this year, Number 8
engaged on a project where the
promoter had independently
submitted the premises licence
without discussing the project
with the council or the local
community and the reaction
was such that he was in very
deep water.
“We immediately suggested
that a meeting with the local
community was in order and a
date was set. 20 highly enthused
local residents attended, all
with visions of the event that
were poles apart from what
we had planned! Following a
lengthy two-hour discussion we
emerged with initial plans for
reducing the impact of the event,
a resident impact plan and
some good local knowledge that
proved invaluable for the event
planning.
“More importantly, we had
a group of people who now
understood what we were
planning, were supportive of the
event and were fully briefed on
how they could let us know if it
was not going to plan. As with
any issue, being able to talk it
through always proves effective.
Just the fact that the residents
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