#bucks live

[sophieamhenry-blog]

Bucks Live Presents: Neverland! Coming April 29th 2017

[onthebackline]

SubWoofers 2.0?

This is a quick follow up to the blog just submitted, where I’ll run you through some of the issues that I was more aware of at subwoofers and what should change next year and go into a bit more detail on some stuff I missed. After a de-brief of the Subwoofers, it became apparent that there were many areas that could’ve been worked on, small things that might have improved the day immensely:

Reputable Companies.

One of the most annoying things leading up to the event was trying to assure that we would get enough fencing, as the fencing company required us to have a telehandler onsite to unload it, but we couldn’t confirm when the telehandler should arrive, as the fencing company couldn’t confirm to us when they themselves would arrive. On the delivery day, the poor telehandler operator ended up waiting from around 11 am till 6pm while myself and other team members shouted down the phone at the fencing company to find out where the fencing was. This was one incident that I had to deal with firsthand, but during the debrief we were told how several companies or parties that had been suggested to us, hadn’t really been up to standard.

Most of the suggestions came from the charity, who had previous event experience, but not on this scale, and effectively working for them we couldn’t really reject their orders. Thankfully the small annoyances that came from this didn’t pile together and the event was still a success, but it becomes easy to see the value of reputation after this experience. One amazing example was Entertec, the company who provided both stages, the PA system, Lighting and the main generators for themselves and some of the traders. Coming up to the event they kept good communication with our main stage manager and kept pestering us for the information they needed. When it came to the day of the event they were fully prepared with no issues, and again made my job, as second stage manager, the easiest task that it could be. It's important that if The Hearing Dogs for Deaf People charity want to continue Subwoofers and make it even better next year, then they will need to establish contacts with a good reputation and to invest in networking within the event industry.

(Mainstage provided by Entertec)

Surprise Deck Chairs

So about 2 days before the event, we were told the hearing dogs had just spent a grand on 300 deck chairs for the event. In retrospect, yes the deckchairs were a good idea, even though everyone complained they took too long to clean up. The problem came from the fact that there was a massive lack of management when it came to how and where they would be distributed. The original idea was to have a steward take donations to loan out chairs to attendees, a donate what you like scheme. the chairs got delivered first thing in the morning and I went with a small team of people to help unload them, however, we didn’t know where they should've gone within the site and the delivery driver has just parked in the middle of the field anyway. Since there were 300 of these heavy wooden chairs, we simply made a few piles of them as they were folded and left them in the middle of the field. the story goes that since they looked ugly, stewards were told to arrange some of them in front of the stage before the site opened. This seemed to work out but the fact was there never was a steward collecting donations as no one had any free bodies who could work the entire open time and an easy few hundred pounds in donations were never collected.

Because this was such a last minute addition it was hard to incorporate it into the event anyway, but then there was little help from hearing dogs as they were the ones who suggested having a steward or volunteer, but then didn’t provide one when our team was just about fully staffed itself. this shows that we definitely needed to communicate to the Hearing Dogs better and make sure we had any ideas from them well in advance, but also let them know that we can’t just accept their ideas with such little time and expect it all to go right.

Team Specific lead up

So one thing that really annoyed the production and logistics team was being on site for 3 days around the event and arriving on Sunday at 7 am when the other teams only had to be in from 10 (I think). This could’ve been the grounds for an argument or two but no one really cared enough after a while for anything to happen. Logistics and production did understand the site better than the talent and marketing teams but that didn’t mean the manpower wouldn’t have been helpful to us, especially on the Saturday after the fencing had been late the day before.

The pack-down of the site had happened so quickly as there were around 40-50 people helping rather than just 15, and this would help everyone get an idea of the site if the helped build it rather then just turn up. And it would help reinforce this next point.

Pre-Event Briefing

One of the interesting things about the event is that all our team members had wristbands that allowed us backstage access, access on and off site and made us identifiable to security and other parties without having to be stewards.

I never got one of these wristbands, I never knew who was giving them out or where I got them from. As well as having everyone arrive at the same time to help build the site, it would’ve been beneficial to have even a short brief at the beginning of the day. so everyone can see the map and know the finalized locations of everything, so people without radios would know where the nearest person with a radio would be and simple stuff like that.

Thankfully, There were no serious incidents due to this, but it should definitely happen at a follow-up event, for organizers, stewards and external volunteers. I also missed a proper radio briefly, but apparently, no one had time for these (either to brief someone or to be briefed) and we were given helpful scenario codes.

Late Artists

I said in the earlier blog that around 80% percent of my artists started and/or finished late when performing on the main stage because we had the flexibility for them to overrun, however, we had no control of whether the artist due to be onstage was actually going to arrive on time. I wasn’t too panicked myself, there was enough free time for the artists to be late. but next year, that space could be used much more efficiently, meaning that set changeover times would be much shorter, and meaning having late artists wouldn’t cut it.

Artist variety

Ok, I'm just being picky here but I heard the same Robbie Williams songs on my stage twice and I realised I had way too many solo artists who could fall into the same genre. there was definitely variety near the beginning of the event planning process but it changed so many times and the majority of the artists on my stage ended up being audibly similar.

I feel like the talent team went out to find artists to fill spots on the stage, but I feel next year there should be an idea of what artists are wanted to fill the headline spot, what vibes they want for the crowd, and then have the talent team invest in the local music scene to find artists that match what they’re looking for. They should spend a long time building a lineup than just filling it as quickly as possible.

Conclusion

I think I'm done complaining for another 3 months at least, but before we go, it's easy to see some patterns within these problems and their solutions. The main one being communication. I think this has to be most importantly enforced between Hearing Dogs and Bucks Live. there were loads of little and annoying changes that got thrown on us, made as an executive decision by HD that we weren't always able to dispute. each of the teams should have a leader but i feel maybe a member from each team (maybe the leader, maybe not) could represent the team to HD, and whoever they should consult for info at Hearing dogs. Although, that's assuming that Hearing Dogs will work with the students next year. (I have no idea what their plan is...)

just a reminder, these weren’t the only problems we faced with the event, and some aren’t even important, but these are the ones I feel most comfortable talking about as these were the ones that directly affected my work towards the event. Either way that's all from me for a bit...

Adios amigos. Ill blog again in year 3 probably...

Hendrickx out

[onthebackline]

Music for Deaf People

Wowee, the second year of my university life has definitely been eventful. Pretty much every assignment this year has been horrendous and honestly quite draining, but of course, there is one obvious exception which has completely saved my motivation and willpower to complete this degree.

Subwoofers seemed like an attainable but daunting goal when we first heard about it; since Winterland 2016 (remember that fun-filled experience?), in the first year, we were prepared to fill the concourse at the uni again with fun and interesting rides and attractions to bring in people from all around Wycombe. So when our lectures told us the success of Winterland had prompted a local charity, with a 23 Acre grass field, to try putting on their own music festival, and that they wanted us to work with them to make this the biggest event they’ve done yet. 

What? 

Winterland wasn’t the stressful failure I thought it was? External parties wanted to use our event management skills with their resources to put on another event? woo-wee. 

So I've spoken on this all before but we were put into the four main management teams: Logistics, production, Talent and marketing. I started in logistics but was moved to help liaise with the Talent team and the stage manager and was eventually fully inducted into the production team and for the last few weeks leading up to the event I had become the second stage manager and had to make sure that everything was going to run smoothly within that department. really a lot of the work for the second stage had already been done and I was simply making sure that people still had the right information, such as the most updated versions of the stage times and besides that, I was helping other productions members, in whatever way I could.

(Subwoofers flyer)

SUBWOOFERS 2018 was amazing, it was easily my favourite assignment of the year; there were so few problems on the day and the sun was absolutely beaming. The expected stress was about in the morning, as still, some jobs had to be done from the day before, signs were to go up, traders and a few rides were still to arrive. And a most recent addition, 300 deck chairs had to be unloaded in front of the stage. I managed to arrive 15 minutes late as I woke up at 6:59AM and missed the coach at 7 and had to leap into a taxi. 

So upon arriving we were quickly given jobs based on what still needed most urgently doing, regardless of their roles in the teams, (i’ll get back to this later buts it’s important) and the rest of the set up was fairly quickly done, which was good as the attendees were starting to arrive and the site was soon to open. deck chairs got unloaded, Herace fencing went up, queue systems were built, and then re-built as sections of ped barrier were stolen to quarantine the main stage and front-of-house booth. The only photo I have of myself on site is me helping the logistics team leader trying to put those really dodgy signs together, you know, those ones that have been around since bucks live was conceived? Those things are in dire condition...

(Oh look, it's me wow)

Being the second stage manager was probably the easiest thing I've done in my academic life. A quick comparison to Winterland here; when I was managing the second stage 1.5  years ago I overestimated my own knowledge and realised that I had severely over advertised myself, there were loads of things I hadn’t considered and had to make quick solutions. It was all very messy.

This time around though, I had at first decided to avoid production on this event, and see what I could do for the logistics team. However, things went as they did and I got pulled in by the “Production Gals” to sort out backline stuff and see that the second stage was up and running on time. Since Winterland, it was obvious that I had somewhat of a better idea of what would need to happen to make sure my stage would be a success. 

There was one problem with this. The production team were too good. Every time I had an idea, a suggestion or a question that I thought hadn’t had much thought to it, I’d have about 4 people reassure me in harmony, about what has been done and how I shouldn’t have to worry about that specific aspect. Every time I was worried about something I’d simply mention it and my fears would be washed away by this angelic production choir. (Adrienne, the main stage manager, said “Don’t worry, we got this Michael” literally 3 times every meeting) My stage had a tent, power, all necessary backline, PA equipment and a flipping engineer before I even knew I was running it. 

The day went so quickly I barely noticed, I had to make sure that my stage was on time with all its acts and there were no major disturbances to the lineup. In reality, about 80% of my stages’ artists either started or finished late, but due to the wonderful inexperience of the talent and production teams (in relation to solo artists), myself and the delegated engineer decided that the 20 minute changeover times were ludicrously overestimated and that we could be “flexible as fuck” with this lineup. this worked out nicely, and my stage stopped playing music before curfew, just for the record.

(Jack Little performing on the second stage at Subwoofers)

The biggest problem I faced all day was making sure artists got to the stage on time, I was constantly using the radio to contact the production office and see if the artists had arrived on site and that they were ready to be at my stage when needed. some artists made their own way and others couldn’t be found in time, but because the lineup was as flexible it was almost not an issue.

Dan was late, by the way. 

The only artist who was also in our class turned up 10 minutes late for the only set he had been booked into; although it didn’t really matter because he could have almost doubled his set time without infringing on the artist following him. No one seems to know what he was doing when he was asked after, but he seemed to enjoy his stroll for about 100 yards across the main field before he arrived at my tent. He put on a good show though when he did go on. Everyone enjoyed Dan the Guitar.

The day rounded up quietly, my stage stopped playing music at exactly 5:40pm and we had a soft close up till 6pm, as I asked a nearby steward to close up the side of the tent one by one, encouraging people to leave. After a quick sweep of the tent for litter, I set the engineer free from my control and allowed him to de-construct all his equipment and pack it all down. I went back to the life of odd jobs, trading 21mm spanners with people and chatting back and forth on the radio helping find lost event staff and going on suntan lotion runs.

(Bucks Live Lettering)

Overall the day was pretty breezy, it went a LOT better than I ever expected it to, this being because there were many small and recurring problems leading up to the day as well as assumed bad reception by the public. Now the marketing team inevitably did a good job, and it can’t be denied that the sunny weather had a part to play in our turn out, but I was still sure that there were going to be quarrels and arguments between everyone, but it just didn’t happen. It was kushty, to say the least. 

https://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/picture-gallery-thousands-enjoy-fun-in-the-sun-at-saunderton-music-festival-which-has-a-woof-in-its-step-1-8494970

http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/16211630.Thousands_flock_to_first_ever_family__deaf_and_dog_friendly_music_festival/

[neosoultonollywood]

I made another video! (Getting the hang of this now!)

As I am nearing the end of my role as social media team leader, I have been collating all the photos and videos from the process - and realising that I am in barely any of them since I am always the one behind the camera!

Nevertheless, it has been so much fun, and working in a much larger group than usual has been an interesting experience.

More to come..

[mycurrentcompass]

Bucks live: update!!

With only 5 days left leading up to the event, everything is hectic. Recently I’ve been liaising with a company called Entertec in regards to generators and helping with the event management plan by writing about fire safety, the fire truck we have on site and the production office.

As mentioned in a previous blog, generators were a challenge because of communication. On top of this, I didn’t have a clue about power or the types of currency they used so it was a big learning curve for me. At first a really struggled with this, but after having a chat with someone I knew, who explained things to me it became a little easier for me to understand what I needed to do. Last week I went over to The Grange (which is where our festival is taking place), to speak with a guy from Entertec who then went over all the information I had on power with me. After him explaining what could be done, I felt like an entire weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I really enjoyed this experience and learning about something new which I wouldn’t have thought about otherwise.

Writing about fire safety and the fire truck was also something I really enjoyed. Turns out that Health and Safety is something that I‘m really interested in, which makes me look forward to my internship doing health and safety at Steel Yard even more. This was also a learning curve for me, because apart from what I learnt in school, I didn’t know much about fire safety provisions. After doing some research, I managed to figure out which kind of things needed to be in the plan, relating them to the situation of the event. To write about the fire truck, I went to visit the fire station to ask them about the kind of things they would want to do at the event. I was really nervous about this because my anxiety is strong in these types of situations but I’m so glad I did it because I came out the other end feeling proud of myself for doing something which was out of my comfort zone.

The event is close now and everything is coming together really nicely, the signs are almost painted and looking good, everything’s mostly been ordered in and I’m starting to see a clear picture in my head on what the events going to be like. I’m excited.

[dana-uche]

9 Days (216 Hours)

Much time has passed since the last entry. Frankly with the whirlwind of general life, entries have been back-burnered. Nonetheless, I am back. Yay!

Maintaining social media has been a challenge but has never stopped being interesting. Frantically trying to get videos and pictures of people, thinking of witty captions and posts and simply trying to not let the constant notifications get on my nerves has been wild and wonderful and dare I say…fun?

Often heard is the phrase, ‘communication is key’. This had never resonated with me so deeply until planning this event. One pivotal moment was when we had a meeting with the client’s marketing team and it was made clear that each party had their own, albeit inaccurate, understanding of what the other knew and understood. In this instance, I learnt that the client did have certain expectations of us that were not made apparent and were higher than our abilities. I also learnt that I can get intimidated by people who seem to be authority figures. Still, it was very helpful to learn what their expectations were, what their capabilities and expertise were and how we could utilise them and straighten out any issues early on. Allowing time for preparation could have improved the situation along with more open communication in both answers and questions. Nevertheless, I personally could have improved by being prepared with queries and information myself, whether or not I expected a meeting. Next time, I plan to be more prepared but also to value my contribution, even as a student. Although there are notions of being unqualified and inexperienced, there is still much value to being in my position and that should be more celebrated when working in the near future.

I also have been more aware about the value of communication in a recent lesson that I had to learn. In a different way to that described above, I had asked a colleague to carry out a task and it did not get done. Although it was not entirely my fault, I have learnt that people are likely to not do something if you do not chase them about it. I have also learnt that delegation is important and even though one person may fail, that does not mean that I should take up every task in fear that it will not get done. If a similar situation arises again in the future, I plan to share tasks among at least two people, so that they are accountable but also so that not all the pressure is laid onto one person.

I still need to work on effectively and consistently communicating, but I do believe that the more challenges that arise, the more opportunities to learn develop with them.

Oh and it is nine days until the main event. Yaaay.

[alittlebitpop-blog]

SubWoofers - the final countdown!

It is crazy to be sat writing this post with 11 days to go until SubWoofers! The time has seemed to fly since the Christmas break and week by week more has been fitting into place. As team leader for marketing the range of jobs that I have had to delegate and complete have ranged from print work to social media to PR. I’ve enjoyed leading my team into the roles and have tried to appoint people to where I think they are best suited. Week by week these roles would switch as different people would take on different jobs as the work load increased.

As well as being team leader – I took on the role of PR as my main focus. Since the beginning of the year this has allowed me to write a number of press releases about the event which was a new area for me. This allowed me to practice how to write a piece of text that would spark interest from the media and would hopefully then go into their newspaper/online.

I have also had to arrange a number of interviews for radio – including BBC 3 Counties and Wycombe Sound. The interview with BBC 3 Counties took place on Monday 23rd April on Nick Coofer’s show just before 2pm. Myself and David from the Hearing Dogs travelled up to Dunstable and went live on air. This was my first time doing a radio interview and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have enjoyed being able to see the print come together and arrange for the different print. The print has included: fliers, posters, banners and putting together the programme. Being able to give the event its identity by using our event mascot Hudson to feature on all print material made the event seem more family friendly. Choosing to use the Hearing Dogs colours allowed us to keep the event linked to them too whilst fitting the design work together.

In the final build up to the event there is a lot that we still have left to do.  The print is still being distributed and we are arranging fliering for every day in the build up to the event in town centres and train stations. Peak times at the shopping centre are on weekends so this is ideal to speak to families about the event with it being a week away. We did this at the Great British Dog Walk at Culden Faw Estate last month. This allowed us to speak to supporters of the charity directly about the event and see if they were interested in coming along.

Over the course of the next 11 days we will be getting everything else together to ensure the event runs smoothly. We will be starting to get things delivered to site from mid week. In the last build up we will be getting the word out continuously using our social media, print material and press presence!  

[trxmusic]

A Gig Every Month - December 2016 (Month 4)

So far every month since September 2016, I have seen at least 1 gig every month.

December ‘16 was a very quiet month as I missed out on my first Crash night due to being tired from Winterland that day, as well as a few music acts for probably very legitimate reasons.

3rd December 2016 - Bucks Live Presents: Winterland - Jack Little // Gwen & The Good Thing // Abode // Liberty Bay // Paper Oceans - Bucks New Uni