 Thursday 5 th July
Today was a very long one, it started off with me up at 6.00 to answer the emails that had come in, write lists and just gather my thoughts so I could go onto site and have rough plan to how I wanted to manage things. Earlier on in the week I said that the week picks up speed as the festival day looms. The most obvious reason for this is that there is less and less time to do things and so naturally people have a greater sense of urgency. Today had that urgency, from about 8.45 when I finally left the house and delivered bags of clothes to my parents for my children who will be staying with them for the duration from tomorrow.
Site started at a pace I like, I managed to write lists of things I needed to achieve as well as work with Sean brainstorming any gaps we had missed. The volunteers arrived shortly afterwards, and jobs were assigned. Putting up the drapes in the main barn, as well as answering queries and laminating more signage, collating all the emails that had come in overnight and issuing passes.
Stage 2 went in today, thank goodness! a group of volunteers and myself put it together and the lighting rig which is donated by the stage sponsors Cue Music was set up and sited. I was worried that I would not be able to help out, my prediction was nearly true as I am carrying a back injury but while I was in the venue I hope I was a bit helpful even if I just made suggestions on how to cable stuff, it was quite reminiscing.
The rest of the afternoon was spent finalising those riders and towels and I was issued with the last bits of shopping requests from the stage manager. On this job, I have to say I have crossed over into the promoters role, this is a problem with events of this nature in that there are simply not enough people to each have individual roles and so things become blurred, across the festival the boundaries are crossed and sometimes I have found myself supporting other people to the slight detriment of my list of jobs.
As long as it all gets done by 12pm tomorrow I don't care though. The Volunteers were absolutely fab today, our growing Crew now includes the following - J ames Piper, Ian Manning, Ashley Arnold, Stacey Wallis, Marie Henderson Mike wells, Dan White, Carl and Neil's guys are putting up the herris fencing, I will, l when I check in for the blog on Sunday morning include a list of everyone's names - at the present time there are over 90 volunteers including the 8 committee onsite tomorrow.
Richard Prior from Rochford Council came down today to have a look at the event safety, this was the big meeting that we had been waiting for to ensure and clear the Health and Safety aspect of the structures. Richard has been very helpful throughout the process of writing the event safety policy advising on access, ingress, crowd management issues and it was good to go through areas that I was concerned about. All was good, it was a relief and we were glad to work with the council so closely to create a safe event.
This evening after everyone had had pizza and warmed up - the rain was squally and it reminded us of winter, and we hoped upon hope that the weather would be good. The volunteers finished off some tidying, and then went home to warm up. In those 3 hours after they had gone, Sean - the promoter and I worked solidly until about 10pm, there was both a sanctuary and a loneliness sitting in the cabin, sanctuary because for now, with no-one on site but Glyn - PA and Andy - Lights, it seemed that the festival was nearly there and although the pace of things had been crazy today it had all been worth it.
As we were locking up to go home, we went to see the boys in the main room, a Seal tune was system checking the PA to perfection, and Andy in the perfect pre-festival quiet was playing and programming. Sean and I stood in front of the stage and knew, it was going to be great. It sounded almost angelic, and looked great and for those few minutes that festival was ours, that room was ours, and our creation, and all the heartache and late nights, worrying about health and safety, fitting it all in with the children were asleep, and losing our life together didn't seem quite so bad. That feeling, that adrenalin, that's what keeps people touring and doing the long hours. And no doubt what I do, and however much I say I won't, I know next year I will be working on it and loving it - all over again!
 Wednesday 4th July
It started to sink in today just how close the festival is I am sure that tomorrow I will feel like I have hit over the head with a comedy hammer Which says hello its here, you have 24 hours to make it happen. Today, more volunteers were on site, Sean the promoter used their skills to herris the campsites while I finished off the event safety policy for our site visit from health and Safety which was planned for this after but changed to tomorrow afternoon.
James (a long standing volunteer and an absolute star) and I sat with Sean the promoter and started to create templates for 22 bands final guest list, riders and towels to ensure that we had enough passes and supplies ordered.
We have found that we have pretty much got the order numbers for the passes spot on but I still have a worry of having to jiggle production/ guest and artists, so tomorrow once all of the guest lists are in, I will allocate the guest passes and try to ensure that the best experience for all.
It was a relaxed day, photocopying signage, laminating, formulating more shopping lists giving out all of the band passes, well when I say all I mean a steady trickle of repeating myself, time and time again with information I have sent out to the bands twice already and still then being asked if we can get people extra passes or do we have an amp or my manager wants to come and they are working etc.
This evening, the weather held out - it is forecast for sun at the weekend at the moment, we put the tents up in the production area, as tomorrow is going to really hectic - all suppliers are onsite and the production gears up like a train speeding up mid journey. Tomorrow holds the Health and Safety meeting that should have taken place today, shopping for gazebos and bits to make the dressing room space more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Tomorrow also brings the rider completion etc, the final day for bands to collect their passes in advance and for me I have to re rota all the volunteers and go through in my head exactly what I want them to do so I can communicate this to them when they arrive on site for their production meeting at 6pm. What else? I also have to write/ design all the fire evacuation notices for all areas in production. Directions to stage, although if they miss it they are pretty daft. I will try and send photos as I have the camera onsite even if I can't send them as there is no internet.
So early to bed tonight - its must be 11.30pm so might manage to get 6 hours before my daughter wakes.
Tuesday 3rd July SWSF
Today was a good day, we finally got power to the production area around 2pm which meant that I finally had a base to work from that I didn't have to keep moving, it was good to be able to put up the 'to do' sheet and still be able to find it. We finally managed to confirm all of the signed acts and the production infrastructure went in as planned. On site today the herris fencing started to go up, the production area, now a compound is secure. The lighting company have started rigging the main room and every hour it becomes more real that the festival is only three days away or is it two?
Banners started arriving, radios and drapes arrived and then the bands started to collect their passes and the cycle continued. Today signage started to go up on the herris fencing, and I made a shopping list of things I need for the production team such as cable ties, gaffa tape etc. It's so glamorous this job. Tonight as I sit in my family room and write I do have a sense that all the planning is making it all a reality, and it is starting to pay off and I feel quietly confident that it is all good.
Tomorrow is a big day, I plan to spend the morning finishing off the festival Event Safety policy that incorporates all the risk assessments and procedural items that need to be documented in order for the festival to get the go ahead. I think I will get up at 5am and do it tomorrow with a fresh head, then I am back on site, the PA's and visuals are arriving tomorrow for the main room and the staging is going in for three stages. Followed closely by the lights on the second stage that I am assisting with.
The festival management team have a meeting with Health and Safety from the local council at 3pm, I hope that this will be good, I am expecting for them to pick up on some things that can be rectified, I think silently though I am confident that we have done everything to create a safe environment for all.
What else am I doing tomorrow? In the evening - after pass allocation for the bands we have the final committee meeting, although I am not sure what decisions can be made that will effect any major changes, still, hopefully they will be excited and positive about the festival and all the work that we are doing for them.
So onwards, the safety policy awaits, I hate to say it but secretly I quite enjoy writing them!
Monday 2nd July
The first day of a five day build of the site and production equipment, I arrived onsite at about 9.00 (a late start for those who are in the industry) having had to get the stationary for the production office and supplies for the day as there is no catering onsite until later in the week. The weekend has been spent working with the promoter to chase up artists technical specs and artistes names and then I spent Sunday evening allocating the wristband passes into a folder for collection on arrival at site. This added an extra job to my rosta as we have been unable to send out passes in advance, but at the same time will allow the check in of the artistes to be smoother.
To ensure the smoothness of an event like ours, we have to be quite specific and arrange access to stage times, access to dressing rooms, gather relevant information about there tech specs and dressing room rider, to enable all the staff team working on it to get the bands and artistes on and off the stages as quickly as possible. It's all about indirectly managing people and also their experience while they are here. This is the same for the festival goers, again because of the postal strike we have had to allocate their tickets for on the day collection as Royal Mail would not guarantee their delivery in time.
Yesterday was spent briefing volunteers onsite and starting the site set up. I spent an hour or two finalising the day sheets which in essence creates a tracking system for arrivals on site, entries on it range from Pas arriving onsite to creating templates on the PC'S for guest lists. It basically is the bible for the week and all the activities relating to the various departments, stages and site are logged onto it. It will when the power is sited for the production office take pride and place on the wall to be crossed out throughout the week and by the time we get to lunchtime Friday - in essence there will be nothing left to complete!!! Friday and Saturday have separate day sheets as they have additional jobs that need to be done - rotas for volunteers and staff to ensure people get breaks, expected time of arrivals of artistes, confirmation of check in on site, meal ticket allocation.
In all I am managing 60 staff and suppliers, a whole workforce in its own right, and whereas in the build to the pre-production phase that we are now in, the small team of committed volunteers crossed over into promotions, coordination design, production from Wednesday - the big day for suppliers coming onto site all the team revert back to their specific role until the festival is finished and the suppliers leave site on Sunday 8 th July. Coordination at this part of the week is important as the festival production gains momentum and time seems to slip away.
So tomorrow - I am onsite at 8.30 to meet the scaffing company who are putting in all of our front of House risers in all the stages, drapes and radios are arriving and low barriers are being collected. Then I anticipate that I will have enough time to finish and print off the event safety policy and risk assessments for all of the areas. As well as taking delivery of the equipment coming on site, and write the blog of course.
Today marks the 15 th day of not making it to bed before 2am so I will go now and hope that in the next few days it will be earlier although I have a feeling that is wishful thinking.
Joanna Hartle
has been a Production Manager and Production Designer for over 15 years, this year Joanna has become involved with the organisation and production of the Sutton With Shopland Festival. This particular festival has a huge commitment to safety and Joanna has agreed to write a blog about the work the team does in the run up to the festival for Safeconcerts. This means that we'll get a really good insight into the amount of work that goes into putting on an event of this nature and a look at just what organisers do to make sure their event meets the highest standards.
13th June 2007 - Four weeks and counting
Well it has been quite a journey to get to the final four weeks. The initial planning for the festival started in December, the Friends of Sutton committee met as they do yearly to start to think about it. This is my first year at the festival, although I am not a stranger to music having been a Production Manager and Production Designer for the last 15 years. I offered to help, all the personnel involved are not getting paid, so you have to love and have a passion for wanting to do this and more importantly wanting to make it work safely and efficiently.
So where did I start?
In the live events industry there are fundamental rules that have to be adhered to as laid out by the government agencies - HSE and good practice that is learnt through experience of the changing face of live events. First, I consulted the Purple Book - an event guide that has absolutely fantastic guidance and ideas to create a safety plan and policy. I found that we were already implementing most of their suggestions - risk assessments, insurance, permissions, coverage of crowd management issues, safe spaces.
The largest thing to take on board for such a small festival is ensuring that there is a paper trail, so while the larger events have volumes of folders and policy attachments, we have aimed for a sleeker format that covers all the points and is accessible if need be.
I contacted the local council and worked with their HS person and have used him as a valuable resource throughout the planning and now pre-production stages.
All the production staff who are involved in the festival have given their time for free, all are professionals in the field of live events and without them the event could simply not take place. Working together as a production team on the day creates a confidence for artistes and festival goers because it ensures not only a smooth artistic experience but from a production managers perspective a cohesive team who know what they are meant to do and how to respond in any unforeseen situations. The production team are used to working at high profile live events and used to the pressures that these situations can bring.
At present the festival promoter and myself are in the process of formalising the production details for the bands and artistes and sending them out, the letter contains info about the site and times required and in essence this document will form the basis of the delivery of production and the smooth running of the festival on the day. Information required includes personnel data, technical specs, channel listing, stage plan, whether a drummer is left handed etc. as well as our dressing room and paying guest list policy and rider details where applicable.
This year we have separated the areas so we can manage the crowds more easily. We have gone over to wrist bands only with various access points to control people in a production and stage areas. Festival goers will be able to follow clear signage pointing to the different performance spaces and production access has been limited contracted bands only to stop large amounts of people from hanging around a busy working environment.
Volunteers from local music technology courses have been recruited not only to help but to gain work experience with professionals that can only enhance their career prospects, and all personnel and festival goers will be asked to complete a form which corresponds to their wristband number in order to be able to have a tally of which wrist band belongs to whom in an emergency.
The site staff are being coordinated by the Event Manager, this allows the Production and the Site Management to be separated and stops one person wearing too many hats and missing issues that should have been looked at.
SWSF is overseen by a small committee of people who are passionate about music and the festival, this year most of the work has been left to the professionals to coordinate, in this sense it ensures that health and safety, and the enjoyment of the weekend is at a premium, but decisions ultimately are ok'd by the committee. The only downside to this is that sometimes decisions take longer to be ok'd but it is a learning curve and each year the committee give more autonomy to its volunteer professionals.
So 4 weeks until the event. 3 weeks until site set up officially begins. going to be a lot of long days but hopefully lots of laughter and not too many tears!!
Sutton With Shopland Festival - put the dates in you diary - 6th and 7th July 2007 - the line up so far includes:
A | The James Taylor Quartet | Iain Baker | Pauline Taylor | Viarosa | Connan & The mockasins | Lupen Crook & The Murderbirds | Koopa | The Social | The Thirst | The Band Of Holy Joy | Society Of Imaginary Friends | Sleeping Years | Peter Brame | Phillious Williams | Tracksuit Awareness Campaign (DJ Set ) | Dave iO (Insignificant Others) (DJ Set)
Plus: Over 100 other live acts....
Sutton With Shopland Website
Sutton With Shopland MySpace
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