Back in March when the pandemic was just starting, like many in the event and festival industries, I suddenly found virtually all of my projects ground to a halt. 

And while it was painful, confusing, and scary to deal with so much loss so quickly, after taking some time to process it all (mainly, staying in bed afraid to look at more cancellation emails & texts), I decided to finally use this newfound free time to focus on various goals I’ve only half-heartedly attempted before (and often used the “I’m too busy, gotta focus on the next gig” excuse to fully see them through).

I took this time to evaluate not only my professional and personal goals, but also my purpose, my values, and my boundaries. How would I want to emerge from this? How can I improve myself now in order to better serve others when we’re back – both my event teams as well as those in need? How can I best maintain an others-focused, grateful, compassionate mentality when everything around me seems to be falling apart? 

First, I implemented daily habits of meditating, journaling, exercising, and improving my Spanish (Siempre quise hablar con fluidez!).  Next, I picked up several different books (both new and ones that I admittedly started months ago) and I joined a book club with some colleagues (a good list of books to read can be found here).  And in April, I started to research where I might be able to give back & help others – safely, with COVID measures in place.

Examples of some recommended books

And as a result, I’ve discovered some excellent ways to volunteer and help others – and some even have festival and event elements to them. I imagine variations of these are available in most cities around the country as well:

• Your local food bank. Here in Austin, with the Central Texas Food Bank you can pick from sorting food inside their massive warehouse, or distributing food via a drive through setup at their mobile pantries. Both are wonderful experiences but I tend to prefer the mobile pantries, as they are closer to mini-events (complete with 2 way radios and high viz) plus you get to directly (but with social distancing) interact with people who need food. 
  Volunteering at a mobile pantry for the Central Texas Food Bank
• Habitat for Humanity. You can work either at a job site building a home or at their ReStore retail outlet stocking shelves.  The site leaders are very patient with those new to home construction and will guide you on how to use all power tools and other gear.  
  Hanging up siding at a HFH house in Austin

• Donate blood or plasma. The need for this, especially if you’re a universal donor, is more than ever. Here in Austin, We Are Blood ensures you are comfortable the entire time.
  Giving blood in Austin at We Are Blood

• Homeless organizations. In Austin, we have The Other Ones who help provide our homeless neighbors with paying jobs, showers, food, case workers, and much more. You can help at their front desk or outside checking people in who want a shower.
  Manning the front desk at The Other Ones’ headquarters at Camp Esperanza in Austin

• Voting / polling help. Most of these are actually paid roles, and the need for help at the polls this year is at a crucial level. Visit Power the Polls to sign up. I plan to work for a local polling station on Election Day. 
• Various Live Event organizations trying to secure funding. This includes national groups like NIVA / #SaveOurStages, #WeMakeEvents, and local groups in Austin like the Amplified Sound Coalition.  Being present at rallies, group discussions, and other safe gatherings will help our lawmakers see just how many people are affected and how passionate we are about ensuring our way of life is kept alive.  

  

  ILIOS Productions in Austin, one of the many vendors participating in #RedAlertRestart for #WeMakeEvents on September 1st, 2020

I can tell that participating in these important programs have helped me as much as I’ve helped others; it feels so good – and normal – to be useful, part of a team, and seeing the positive impact immediately. It’s done wonders to keep my mental health strong when it’s easy to get discouraged the longer this pandemic wears on. If you have the time and ability, I highly encourage you look into your local charities to see how you can help.

Working a Tito’s Hand Sanitizer giveaway in Texas

There may even be paid opportunities to help others impacted by the pandemic, such as the role I had helping distribute tens of thousands of hand sanitizer bottles through Tito’s throughout Texas this past summer or the polling work described above.   

And once our industry bounces back, my goal will be to continue helping with non-profit organizations such as these – by more fully integrating these acts of service with my event & festival teams or by dedicating more of my energy and presence to these causes through more efficient scheduling and time management. 

If you have any questions about volunteering for any of these organizations, or if you have other organizations you wish to highlight, please reach out to me at mike@festivalandeventproduction.com!  

Thank you for reading, and to close, here’s a quote that’s become my new mantra:

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” – Leo Rosten

While we all safely shelter-in-place during this pandemic, here is a list of ways you can enrich your understanding of various aspects of event and festival production, management, and safety.  

I have personally read all of the books listed below (with the exception of the Risk and Hazard Mgmt book and the Video Production book; I will do that soon) and while some are a bit old, they all have good lessons that can still be applied today.   Anyone that is a manager (or wishes to be one), I highly recommend you start with Dare to Lead, then look at setting up surveys for your team from the Appreciation and Tendencies books to help you better understand how to lead them (and for your team to interact with each other).  

Below the books are some other resources, including podcasts, webinars, and e-magazines that I’ve found to be helpful.    The Event Safety Alliance, in particular, is full of wonderful information – and now is the perfect time to catch up on the latest in safety procedures.   

And finally, there’s a small list of video tutorials / examples – I highly recommend you watch the crowd surge videos; it will help you see just how powerful and hazardous a surge can be in a large crowd.   Note how they curved the pit barricade to help diffuse any surges rather than have it be a straight line (good thinking on their part).   

I’ll keep updating the links below as I find new books / resources / videos.  And while most of the links below are to Amazon, remember that there are also websites like https://bookshop.org which pledge to give a percentage of their sales back to your local bookstores.  

•  Event and Festival Reading
  • General Festival / Event / Career Related
    
    • ESA’s Guide to Reopening – just released on May 11, 2020, “The Reopening Guide addresses health and sanitary issues that event and venue professionals need to consider in order to protect both patrons and workers.  Since there is still insufficient testing, no contact tracing, and no vaccine against COVID-19, this guidance is particularly detailed.  The first edition is tailored to be especially useful for event professionals reopening the smallest events with the fewest resources available to mitigate their risks, since in every municipal reopening plan these will be allowed to reopen first.”
       
    • Creating Enduring Festivals

    • Event Entertainment and Production
    • Festival and Events Management (International Focus) – 
      – this is a UK textbook that takes an international approach to explaining festival and event management, with several interesting case studies.
      
    • Backstage Handbook – an “illustrated almanac of technical information”, this book is essential for any theater stage manager, and is quite useful for concert stage managers as well.  Includes sections on knot tying, pictures of stage related tools, shop math, and much more.
      
    • This Business of Concert Promotion and Touring – this book is compact but full of pertinent information on how to best set up a concert and tour, both from the artist side and the promoter / venue side.
      
    • The Realist’s Guide to a Successful Music Career
      – co-written by Joel Cummins from the successful band Umphrey’s McGee, this is a fantastic resource that dives into all aspects of what life is like as an emerging, then touring, musician.  
  • Leadership Related
    • Dare to Lead
      – if you read one book from this list, make it this one.  A “greatest hits” of sorts from Brene’s previous works, this book is valuable for anyone who’s looking for courageous, empathetic, vulnerable, compassionate leadership goals.  

      The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace
      – one of two tests I give many of my staff; it helps understand what they best respond to so you can focus your energy in ways that work best for both of you. 

    • The Four Tendencies –  the second of two tests I give many of my staff; this helps understand how your staff will react to internal and external influences, and how to work best with each type of tendency. 
    • Talking to Strangers – What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know –  this is a compelling, important read (complete with fascinating case studies) that dives into “an exploration of what goes wrong when we talk to strangers…and how to make those conversations go right.” 
    • Creating and Motivating A Superior, Loyal Staff
    • Essentials of Negotiation
    • Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership
    • On Emotional Intelligence

• • Production Related
    • Audio
      • The Ultimate Live Sound Operator’s Handbook – very thorough yet easy to read; also features a DVD to help educate on various sound reinforcement examples, frequencies, and so on.

      • Sound Reinforcement Handbook
      • The SOS Guide to Live Sound

    • Lighting
      • Concert Lighting (3^rd Edition) – Moody
        – this book (now in its 4th edition), is a comprehensive look at not just lighting but also all aspects of tour life / production.   
      • The Automated Lighting Programmer’s Handbook
      • Automated Lighting – Cadena
      • A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting

    • Video
      • Video Production Handbook

    • Rigging
      • Entertainment Rigging for the 21^st Century
        – of all rigging books, this one does the best job explaining not just the usual rigging you see on arena gigs, but also aerialist rigging, counterweight rigging, and other niche forms of suspending people or equipment in the air.  It also has rigging math examples and problems to solve.  
      • The Arena Riggers Handbook

    • Electricity
      • Electricity for the Entertainment Electrician and Technician  – one of the best (and, truthfully, only) books that focus on power needs for events; this book helps demystify what electricity is, how it’s applied in the events world, and how to best utilize it. 
      • There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings – this quirky yet entertaining book helps shed light on the mysteries surrounding electricity.  You’ll learn to know and love the “Greenies” who want nothing more than to party.  

  • Safety Related
    • The Unthinkable – Who Survives When Disaster Strikes
      – the case studies in this book will change how you think about disaster planning / human nature forever.  Most compelling for me was the story about the security director for Morgan Stanley that, by nature of adjusting to normal human biases and behavior in disasters, was able to train his company’s 2,000+ staff to virtually all survive the 9/11 attacks at the WTC.   This book is invaluable for anyone in a leadership role at events and festivals. 
    • The Event Safety Guide– this fantastic compilation of event safety protocols and best practices is long overdue.  Rather than be a how-to book for beginners, this book is designed for on-site use at an event, where you can quickly find elements that pertain to your situation and utilize the information accordingly.
    • Risk and Hazard Management for Festival and Events
    • The Crowd Magazine – Crowd Safety Training
    • OSHA Training – 10 Hour Online Course
    • OSHA Training – 30 Hour Online Course
      Note – there are multiple providers of OSHA training; this is just one option.  The 10 Hour is more for entry-level folks while the 30 Hour is for anyone in a supervisor / managerial role.
    • WHO – Training – Public Health Preparedness for Mass Gatherings
      Developed for public sector entities, there is still a lot of useful information for anyone involved in planning mass gatherings in this free online training course.  
    • Mental Health First Aid – a skills-based training course that teaches participants about mental health and substance-use issues.
• Podcasts / Streams  / Channels
  • FestForums COVID-19 Coverage for Events and Festivals (Re-Occurring, Wednesdays at various times)
  • Backstage Productions Inc – Town Hall update on COVID-19 and our Industry- The Show Must Go On
  • Event Safety Alliance Podcast
    with over 15 episodes in, these podcasts run the range of rigging explanations, to safer environments for crowds, to how to manage during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • Intelligent Crowd Solutions Webinars
  • Show Makers Symposium – “I’m With the Crew” Weekly Webinar; includes many thoughtful episodes that focus on mental health.
  • How to Monetize Virtual Events Webinar
  • Tour Mgmt – a series of 101 / beginner videos about tour management, including travel, day of show, budgeting, and more.  
  • Concert Business Basics – hosted by Jen Kellogg, a series of virtual workshops.  Topics will include: Routing, Tour Budgets, Deal Structures, Settlement, Venues, People and Roles, Ancillary Revenue Streams and more.
  • Music Minds –  a music industry hub for educational content and resources.   They have done a great job organizing all of the webinars, virtual meetings, and such using a calendar layout. 
• Tutorial Videos
  • How to Coil a Cable
    
  • Crowd Surge Example – Oasis Concert
    
  • Crowd Surge Example 2 
    
  • Crowd Control Top 5 Videos
    
  • Radio Etiquette – Film Production Focused
    
  • Radio Etiquette – Funny Take On It
    

Photo from Unsplash

Corporate Events vs Public Events: 5 Major Differences

Written by: Cloe Matheson

Have you ever wondered what the key differences between corporate and private events are? The term ‘corporate event’ covers a wide range of events such as team-building events, networking events, incentive events, national meetings, and end-of-year parties that are generally within a company. Public events, as the name suggests, are open for members of the public to attend and generally require a fee or at least a registration of attendance. Popular types of public events include conventions, lectures, and trade shows (which may also be attended by employees of various corporations). But what are the 5 major differences between the two types of events, and how do these differences affect planning?

Marketing is more important for public events

Marketing will look very different for corporate and public events. If marketing for a corporate event is necessary, the advertising will usually only be displayed within the company. If an event is only for employees of a company or their clients, a simple card or email of invitation to the people on the guest list may be the only marketing required.

Marketing is often more extensive if the event is public.  Marketers will usually create more tailored advertising on multiple platforms to reach their target audience. Therefore, the marketing budget for a public event will often be much higher than for a corporate event.

Corporate events are limited to specific guests

Corporate event guests are usually the employees or clients of the company in question, while public events are usually open to anyone who buys a ticket or registers. Event planners must ensure they reach their target audience when advertising a public event – nobody wants to invest their time and money into planning an event that ends up being cancelled when not enough tickets are sold.

Funding comes from different sources

Companies usually fund corporate events out of their own budget, while public events are mainly funded by ticketing and sponsorship. Corporate events sometimes rely on sponsorship, too, depending on the type of event.

Venues are always important

Choosing the right venue is very important, whether you are managing a corporate event or a private event. People in charge of organising a place to hold an event must think carefully about factors such as how many guests will attend, how much light they will need, or whether the event will need to provide amenities such as WiFi.

A beautiful venue can do wonders for the enjoyment of the people attending an event. Organisers of corporate events may be less concerned with aesthetics and more with function, while organisers of public events – who must sell the importance of their event to outsiders – may be more interested in how sleek and attractive a venue looks. Regardless of the type of event, organisers must set aside enough time and resources to find the best venue to match the tone of the event.

Planning time may vary

Smaller corporate events may be more straightforward to plan than public events, since organisers usually already have a solid idea about who will be attending and because their budget probably won’t rely on sponsorship or ticket sales. There isn’t a hard-and-fast rule: sometimes corporate events involve even more planning than public events. However, when planning corporate events, planners will need to take into account the company culture as well as the age ranges of the employees and clients invited, to ensure the event is a success.

For anyone that has worked in the festival and event industry, it’s quickly apparent that one of the most important elements keeping festivals alive is the amount of sponsorship dollars they are able to pull in.   It’s not an easy job, and newer festivals have more of an uphill battle in convincing potential sponsors to invest money or in-kind trades into an unproven entity. Being successful at landing sponsorships requires a skilled balance of tenacity, delicacy, honesty, vision, and a bit of luck.  

To help those starting out in this world, The Sponsorship Collective, a Canadian company based in Ottawa, has generously created a free guide for those looking to source sponsorship revenue for their event or festival.   This guide includes the following:

• Sponsorship Proposal Template
• 34-Point Sponsorship Checklist
• Sponsorship Valuation Template
• Valuation Checklist 
• Fulfillment Report Template
• Discovery Questions
• Email Templates to Get the Meeting
• Valuation Infographic
• The Sponsorship Journey Infographic

The Sponsorship Collective also has free webinars that you can sign up for to gain even more insight and useful tips on all thing sponsorship.

In addition to the above, they wrote an excellent article about the “Seven Deadly Sins of Sponsorship“, which talks about the pratfalls of in-kind sponsorships vs cash deal, not understanding the sponsorship sales cycle, and the importance of a sponsorship activation budget.

Of course, don’t forget to also check out our own FEP Sponsorship Guide that includes downloads to sponsorship deck examples  from other festivals along with additional tips and strategies.

One final point that all festivals and events should abide by – NEVER rely on sponsorship sales (or, worse, the projection of future sponsorship sales that aren’t confirmed) to pay for your event.   Always have enough cash onhand to pay all of your expenses regardless of what sponsorship revenue you acquire.  Same goes for trying to pay for your expenses with ticket sales that may or may not be enough to cover all of your costs.  Producers who do not heed this advice often end up not able to pay their bills, all but ensuring the event or festival will be cancelled (and perhaps some legal action as well).

Armed with all of this new information, you should be in a fantastic position to properly acquire sponsorships; if any of you have success stories as a result of these guides, please post in the comments.

Sometimes, all it takes for a successful sponsorship activation is just giving your guests a place to lay around.

Plywood flanks a backstage access road after a rainstorm

At virtually every outdoor festival or special event, you will be able to spot some plywood.  And while it’s simple to use, there are ways to make sure you’re getting the most out of the easiest ways to have ground protection.

Below is a cross-section of plywood with a particleboard core (courtesy of Fine Lumber, click to view other examples) which gives you an idea of what on kind of plywood consists of – the face and back veneers are applied directly to either a core of particleboard or medium density fiberboard:

First, what situations would you need plywood on hand for?   Anytime your event is on a field or unpaved surface and may have:

• Heavy machinery – either to ensure they won’t get stuck in mud, destroy the existing lawn, or both
• Mobile stages – plywood helps ensure the truck dropping off the stage can get in and out properly, and placing plywood under the stage’s supports / outriggers can help distribute the load and not entirely kill the grass underneath.  
• Subwoofers – often it makes sense to place plywood under large subs that get spread across the front of the stage, so they don’t get stuck and are easy to remove during load out. 
  

  Plywood underneath subs and the SL 320 mobile stage

• Food preparation – check with your local health / fire department regulations, but most food vendors are required to have flooring for their cooking areas.   Sometimes plywood isn’t enough, but it can work in some cases. 
• Pedestrian footpaths – especially for unpaved areas that are used to load-in / out artist gear, vendor gear, and the like, it’s imperative there is a flat, sturdy surface for road cases to roll on and for people to traverse without getting stuck.

So, you’ve established that you need some plywood.  How much should you order and what size / type?

• Plywood is normally sold by the bunk (or bundle, or lift), which is 48 sheets. Dimensions are most often 4′ x 8′, and they are often delivered on flatbed tractor trailers.   Each bunk can weigh as much as 2000 lbs, which is why it’s essential to have a forklift capable of holding that much weight at once.
• To ensure that you get enough strength, you’ll want 3/4″ of thickness. If you know you aren’t going to be moving heavy machinery over it, 1/2″ may suffice.

  Places like Fine Lumber in Austin sell many different types of plywood in bulk quantities, nationwide, there are often several local suppliers in every major market – just do a google search for “bulk plywood [your city here]”;  for smaller orders, your local Home Depot or Lowe’s will have sheets available, sold individually from approximately $15 and up per sheet. 

Next, you’ll want to assemble a site crew dedicated to plywood distribution.   For smaller events, the crew could be part of your general site crew; for larger events, you’ll want a separate crew that does nothing but goes around site on demand and lays down (or picks up) plywood as needed. 

The plywood crew utilizing a fork to help place plywood and  bring a mobile stage onto the grass

Here’s a general set of instructions for the plywood team:

• Arrive and be ready to work at the designated meet up spot / production office a minimum of 15 minutes before your call time, so you can be ready at the start of your call time.   Make sure you’ve got a radio if one is allocated to you and that your battery is fresh. 
• Receive the initial punch list of places that need plywood from your supervisor.
• Check out or make sure you know where your designated flatbed golf cart is.   Make sure you have a cooler and waters/ice on hand for your team in the cart.   Make sure you know for sure where your golf cart is allowed to drive; sometimes all vehicles may be banned from grassy areas due to rainfall.   
• Get with your team and start working on loading up plywood on the flatbed.   Larger events may also have a fork operator on a forklift to handle larger amounts of plywood distribution. Note that the fork will not likely be able to use the grass unless it has turf tires (and in some cases, not even then).  You will have to build out plywood roads if you need the fork to reach somewhere in the field.  
• Your crew will need to break for lunch no earlier than 5 hours into a shift.   Meals are either a 30 min on-site break (with food being provided by the festival) or a 1 hour walk-away. Try to plan the breaks during anticipated downtime when possible. 
• After your call is over, make sure to drive back the golf cart and check it out (if necessary), return your radio, and get any updated call time / punch list for the next day’s work from your supervisor.

When handling plywood, here are some tips:

• Try to keep the various sources of it separate – sometimes there will be rented ply (usually painted green or another color on the side), regular ply, and ply designated to a specific department (like bar operations).  You do not want to use other departments’ ply unless given the green light by their team. During load out, you will be asked to provide separate bunks of plywood by type.
• Remember that if it rains heavily, the plywood will get heavier, muddier, and less stable. Be sure to allow for extra time and extra breaks for your crew as the workload / effort essentially doubles. 
• Make sure your crew knows how to lay down plywood in a way that works best for the task at hand; for example, if they are building a row that someone is using to roll road cases out, make sure the overlap on the plywood is such that it’s easiest for them to roll in that direction. 
  

  Notice how the plywood sheets overlap just a bit so it’s easier for road cases to move along the path

• Try to keep tabs of where you have plywood out – it will get used virtually across the entire site and you’ll need to know where/when you can pick it up and deploy it elsewhere or consolidate it. 

• Ideally it’s best to have all plywood off the ground before leaving for the day but some exceptions can be made; check in with your supervisor and let them know what’s going on.

And finally, when plywood isn’t good enough, there are now several more durable options offered by a few companies:  

• EPS has aluminum rolls that can handle very head loads (for cranes, 10K forks, and so on) which your plywood crew can also lay out using a 5k fork. These are mostly for larger festival needs (steel stages, larger mobile stages, large tent builds).  
  

  Aluminum “LD” rolls being laid out on festival grounds

• Terraplas features ground protection that come in small sections which can be built up to accommodate virtually any size need for ground protection.  These are great for having proper flooring in catering, bar, food vendors, and other high traffic areas that often get wet but don’t need the extra support and durability for heavy machinery.   
  

  Terraturf

• There is also a new type of ground protection offered by companies like Sunbelt that falls in between the aluminum rolls and plywood in regard to strength and durability.   It can be rented in 4′ x 8′ sections and offers a more rugged solution than standard plywood. 
  

  Reusable plastic 4 x 8 ground protection mats

When producing an event or festival somewhere that lacks enough office and/or storage space, it’s imperative to acquire the proper amount and type of mobile office trailers. While tents with walls can be adequate office space for some smaller events and festivals, most of the time the climate control, shelter from severe weather, and security features offered by mobile office trailers are worth the added expense.  

An example of a 12 x 56 class mobile office trailer with adjacent generator at a festival site

Below are some common mobile office trailer options, offered by ModSpace.   Other providers, including William Scotsman, MobileMini, Satellite Shelters, and Acton will also provide similar floor plans and sizes.   This isn’t a comprehensive list; there are other specialized trailers available that offer more security (for example, steel walls that work well for ticketing booths / accounting trailers), blast protection trailers, and other needs.   It’s highly encouraged to get at least three quotes so you can be sure you’re getting the best value. 

When you are getting quotes, remember that you will be charged a delivery / setup fee, a monthly rental fee, and a pickup / strike fee.   Due to the nature of most of these rentals, they normally will not rent weekly or daily.   Also be sure you can accept delivery during normal business hours (i.e., not Saturday at 6am) or you may be required to pay an extra fee, or in some cases, wait until the next business day for delivery. Finally, take a look at your options with insurance (and any waivers you may want to sign) – base that decision on your comfort level with any possible damage that may result while it’s in your possession. 

Another key to a successful on-site office is a happy office manager!

Office trailer availability is often dependent on how much construction is going on in your region; for example, there was a shortage of trailers in north Texas for a while due to the massive DFW Airport construction projects, which forced the rental companies to haul in trailers halfway across the country to meet demand.   Sometimes they can absorb those extra costs, but other times they have to pass them on to you.  Because of this, it’s recommended you lock in your office trailer needs no less than 1 month out (3 months is ideal to be safe) of your event or festival. 

And don’t forget to have electricity ready to go when the trailer arrives, be it with a generator or shore power.   You’ll need to enlist a certified electrician to tie into the trailer (this is something you want to leave to the professionals) and power it up.   Requirements will vary by trailer size but most often you’ll need at least 100 amps of power in order to use the HVAC.   They will tell you what your power requirements are when you place your order. 

The inside of a 13′ x 10′ private office from a 10′ x 44′ class trailer – one 8′ rectangular table with linen split across the middle for two people to share; a 8′ shallow table to store radios, office supplies, and other gear above the built-in desk which holds the printer, phone, and other supplies.  And yes, lunch is served.

An easy transition from bathroom to radio room

Note that bathrooms and closets can be optional on most models; if you do not plan on having your trailer plumbed (most festivals do not plumb their trailers as the cost to have it hooked up to water and sewage outweigh the benefits; having a comfort station or portalets nearby is usually sufficient), it usually makes more sense to have a floor plan without a bathroom.   This usually means either means a larger closet or a larger main office space.  

If you aren’t planning on using a bathroom but can’t find a trailer to rent without one, it’s easy to get a folding table to put over the sink and/or toilet and turn the bathroom into a storage closet, radio check out room, or other need you may have.   Just make sure you put enough caution tape or saran wrap around the toilet so no one ever thinks it’s ok to use!

Some trailers can come with or without the small closest in the main office, something to consider if you plan on having a large amount of people in the main office and need all the space you can get. You may also want to make sure there isn’t a drafting desk installed by default if you aren’t needing one; they will take up extra room even folded. 

Breakdown of Common Office Trailer Sizes and Types

• Standard Office Trailers (will need to be leveled and require stairs) – these will all have sliding windows, vinyl floor tile, lockable steel exterior doors, overhead lighting, heating and AC, and aluminum or wood siding. 
  • 8′ x 20′ – 160 square feet with room for a desk and a reviewing / drafting table.  Good for 1 or 2 people.

     
     

  • 8′ x 28′  – 224 square feet with an 8′ x 10′ private office and a 8′ x 18′ main office.   These are good for 3-4 people.

     
     

  • 10′ x 44′  – 440 square feet with two 10′ x 13′ private offices and one 10′ x 20′ central office.   These work best when you have 1-2 people that each need an office, plus 2-4 people that need office space in the middle.

       

  • 12′ x 56′ –  672 square feet with two 12′ x 12′ private offices and one 12′ x 32′ central office; 12′ x 60′ total width with tow hitch. These are ideal for festivals that need 1-4 people in each private office, with 4-8 people officing in the main office. 

      

• Designer Office Trailers (will need to be leveled and require stairs) – these will add on features like a coffee bar with sink and storage cabinet, plenum wall for reduced noise, designer-style siding with matching trim and roof, vinyl covered gypsum wallboard, commercial grade carpeting, higher end finishes, a recessed entry way, and an optional ramp.  For festivals that will require weeks onsite, sometimes it’s nicer to have the upgraded working area that these types of offices provide.
   
  • 12′ x 44′ – 528 square feet with one 12′ x 12′ private office and one 12′ x 32′ main office
     
  • 12′ x 56′ – 672 square feet with two 12′ x 12′ private offices and a 12′ x 32′ central office; 12′ x 60′ total width with tow hitch
     

• Ground-Level Office Trailer (are at ground level and do not require stairs or leveling)
  • 8′ x 20′  – these offices are great for 1-2 person setups, in facilities that require their extra mobility (they can be easily moved by a forklift)
     
    

Event and Festival Office Trailer Layout and Design

Now that you’ve found your ideal trailers, it’s time to talk about a good layout. A good rule of thumb is to keep everyone in the same general space – but split up the offices by departments – and create a courtyard for your staff to gather (perfect for security meetings, all hands meetings, and so on).  For example, a layout for a larger scale festival (this example was based off an older layout of the Austin City Limits Music Festival):

This example layout has a fenced-in compound of trailers for the production staff, the site operations staff, police / fire / medical command, artist / staff credentials, and radio check in / out. It also features two large tents with tables and chairs for staff to gather for meetings or work outside and a comfort station with air conditioned restrooms. Ideally, parking for any golf carts and staff vehicles would also be nearby.

For smaller scale events – where you may only need 1 or 2 trailers to get the job done – utilizing an “L” formation with two trailers bordering two adjacent sides of a staff gathering tent (with some buffer distance between the tent and trailers) often works well. You also need to take into consideration the available land you have to use, how close you need to be to the rest of the event, and the slope / grade of the grounds (trailers can only be leveled so much; if the slope is too steep they won’t be able to properly secure it to the ground).

 

A festival manager’s dream – being able to park both your car and your cart next to your 8 x 20 ground level office, with the indoor restrooms just a stone’s throw away.

An example of the two level table design in the main office of a 12 x 56 class office trailer, looking out from the office manager’s desk

So now that you have your offices rented, and you’ve got them placed, now you have to design the inside with maximum efficiency based on how many people are going to be utilizing it.   What many festivals will do is utilize the double decker narrow table method; this utilizes narrow tables (often 18″ deep by 6′ wide) on top of either regular width tables or narrow tables.  This allows people to store their gear on the top level while utilizing the bottom level for their primary workspace.

You’ll also want to design your trailers such that when people walk through the primary entrance in the main office, the office manager (or related role) is facing them.   This will help get questions answered and/or issues resolved more efficiently – the goal is to get people that aren’t supposed to be in the trailer out and on their way.   

It’s also a good idea to post up copies of site maps, production timelines, staffing contact lists, and anything else that people may need to see throughout the festival. Posting copies of the most important documents on the walls in each room ensures everyone can glance at what they may need quickly and easily.

One of the 12 x 12 offices in a 12 x 56 class trailer with timelines and other festival documents posted on the walls.

Make sure you always make copies of the door keys for the people utilizing the private offices as well as the office manager and any other department / festival managers or directors that would need access.   Test the locks as well as the indoor/outdoor lighting and the HVAC before the trailer technician leaves site (if you can get it powered up before they have to leave), in case something isn’t working properly.  

Trailers that won’t have as many people working out of them or are primarily used to store perishable / valuable items don’t necessarily need to double stack their tables.  See below for an example of a 10 x 44 class trailer’s middle room (with no bathroom) used for officing and storage: 

This office trailer was primarily used for festival volunteers and storage. There needed to be enough room to check everyone in and out (there were over 30 volunteers at any given time) and store extra waters, snacks, and gear.

Some events and festivals have unique needs – usually multiple night camping festivals where the staff stays overnight – that are better suited for RVs (with their beds, full bathrooms, and fridges / sinks).   Like office trailers, RVs have several types and sizes, but the common size for festivals tends to be in the 27′ to 32′ range, with sides that extend out for extra room. Often, artist trailers will be RVs so the artist has a private usable bathroom inside.

Two medium sized RVs for artist production office / band member usage backstage at a festival. In the background, a generator specifically placed to power these RVs.

But regardless of what sort of mobile office you end up using,  don’t forget:

 

The key to any successful event is a properly stocked office fridge. 

For those of you that are handling talent buying for your event or festival, it’s important to understand the various steps in the process.  This will help ensure you are both protecting yourself and creating a supportive environment for the artist to perform.

In this article, we will break it down into the following sections:

1. Researching artists that may fit your budget and your event or festival’s entertainment goals
   
2. Contacting the various booking agencies tied to your wish list of artists and finding out general price ranges and availability
   
3. Making a formal offer to the agency
   
4. Reviewing and marking up the agency / artist contract
   
5. Receiving a fully executed contract back from the agency

This is the goal – to have your top artist playing for plenty of happy fans

Artist Research

First, you’ll want to have a good understanding of what sort of talent to seek based on your event’s budget and target demographics. Due to the myriad of booking agencies, there isn’t a one-stop-shop that simply lists how much every popular performer will cost you.   And even if there was, the price can often be fluid based on their circumstance and desire to play.   

A good source to do some research on how much artists may cost is Pollstar Pro (Celebrity Access is another).   For an annual fee, you will have access to their vast databases which will provide the following information:

• Previous concerts / festivals played dating back years – see screen shot to the right as an example from Pollstar Pro
• Average ticket sales per performance
• Average gross revenue per performance
• Their booking agent’s contact information

You’ll want to utilize this to see when the last time they played your market was, what venue they played in, and how much they sold in tickets / made in revenue.   Note that the revenue is before any expenses; it isn’t going to be the net income the band took home, but it’ll be a good idea of what you may have to offer in order to catch their interest.   For example, if an arena level artist routinely makes over $1,000,000 at their shows, you won’t want to make an offer of $200,000; that would be way too low.  However, you likely won’t have to make an offer over $1,500,000 either – they are probably taking home between $500,000 and $750,000 so perhaps an offer in that range brings you good value and them a good payday.  A lot of variables will come into play during this process, and if they don’t feel like playing for, let’s say, less than $3,000,000 – and have no reason to play otherwise – you don’t really have much room to negotiate. 

Next, you’ll want to create your wish list with the understanding that even if a band is available, and they’re in your budget, it may still not end up happening due to other circumstances or a change in touring strategy for the band.  Have multiple options for your headliners, middle tier, and opening acts.  

In an ideal world, you’ll have at least nine to twelve months of lead time to properly lock in your artists – larger, nationally touring acts are especially booked up far in advance.   Regional and local acts can be booked with less lead time. 

Reaching Out To the Agencies

With your wishlist in hand, it’s time to start reaching out to the agencies (for smaller bands that represent themselves, you’ll be reaching out to their primary point of contact, which can often be found on their website).   One way is to email or call the agent directly and ask what the general price range and availability is for the artist(s) you’re looking at.   More often than not they will give you a range, so you at least know where the market is on that particular artist before you have to make an offer. If you feel like the range is too high based on your research, you’re always free to offer something lower and most of the time the agent will at least take the offer to the artist.   If it’s too low, the artist will either counter or simply pass altogether.   The agent will normally be upfront and honest with you on what’s not even worth taking to the artist, money-wise.  

Another good talent buying strategy is to see how many artists on one agency’s roster you would be happy with at your event or festival, and work together with the agent to stay within your talent budget but land the artists desired.   This sort of strategy works best with the larger agencies, like William Morris Endeavor, Creative Artists Agency, Windish Agency, APA, and Paradigm.  The agent will be compelled to work out deals that may not be done if you were just utilizing them for one of their artists, and it could grow into a mutually beneficial long term business partnership down the road.  

As you make your calls and build up your talent availability grid, you’ll be able to show who is available, for about what price, and any other key details that may or may not make the difference in making a formal offer. For example, one artist may be willing to play but would require you to not publicly announce their involvement in your event or festival until after they play a nearby city.   This could negatively impact your marketing campaigns, so it’s something to consider.  

Making a Formal Offer

You’ve whittled down the available artists within your event or festival’s budget to your dream lineup and you are ready to proceed. Now it’s time to make your offer.  But please note:

Any offer you make to an agency may be considered legally binding.

Be sure that you’re financially ready when you make the offer.

If the agency doesn’t have a required method (i.e., filling out their online offer forms), below is an example of one you can customize.  Here is where you’ll also want to state your terms for other elements that often become part of your talent expenses, so when the agency creates the master contract, these terms are already in there.  

You will want to base these terms on what the artist is asking for in their technical and hospitality riders; if you aren’t 100% sure on what to look out for in these documents, be sure to include other key stakeholders in these conversations, such as your Production Manager and/or Stage Managers along with your Hospitality Manager as they will be able to help you understand why the band is asking for what, and what’s feasible to provide.  

Download this as an Excel spreadsheet

In the offer form, you’ll want to make sure you cover these elements:

• Radius Clause – how far away are you willing to have the artist play other public performances, and how much time is acceptable before your event or festival as well as after it?

  For example, if you are booking a headlining act in Austin, a radius clause of 300 miles will ensure that the artist will not book any performances in Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, or Houston – all major markets that could significantly affect your attendance, especially for a festival.  

  Often you’ll want a minimum of 90 to 120 days before to ensure enough time has passed to build up demand again, but for larger acts this may need to be set as far back as one year.   For smaller acts, especially local ones that rely on steady income from local gigs, you’ll want to reduce this to 30 days or less depending on what sort of impact those gigs may have on your event.   

  As for after the event, you’ll also want some buffer time so people aren’t tempted to buy tickets to that event instead of yours, but often the time frame doesn’t need to be as long; 30 to 60 days is pretty standard.  

• Hospitality Cap –  this is a limit on the amount of money to be spent on artist hospitality, which could include backstage food / drinks, hot meals, towels, dressing rooms and furniture, and anything else that isn’t production related.   It’s recommended to go through the artist’s hospitality rider and see what they’re asking for, and then set your cap that results in a reasonable compromise. 
• Backline Cap – this is a limit on the amount of backline the band can request.   See what they’re asking for – if anything – in their technical rider.  You may want to get a few quotes and see what it may cost you, and set a cap at a number you’re comfortable with. This way they will need to pay for anything above and beyond what was originally agreed to.   On occasion, bands will try to negotiate a backline buyout and handle it themselves; this can also work well in some cases. 
• Ground Transportation Cap  – if the artist is flying in for the performance (also known as a “fly date”) then they will often need transportation to/from the airport, the hotel, and the venue.   Some bands will handle it on their own but many will ask for ground transportation. See what’s in their rider and if it’s feasible for you to handle; if not, state what you will and won’t provide and up to what cost.  
• Hotels Cap –  artists and their hotel accommodation requests can vary wildly, so you’ll want to be sure you have a good understanding of how many and what type of rooms they will need.   You’ll want to either have the artist handle this internally (you’ll “pay” for it as part of your guarantee) or if they need you to handle, you’ll want to set a cap – this is one item that can easily get out of hand, since hotel rates can vary and artists will sometimes want to add or change rooms. 
• Production List – you will want to show them what sort of stage / sound / lighting package will be provided, and have them agree to it at the contracting phase, rather than after contracts are signed, especially if their technical rider states a PA system, lighting rig, and/or stage size that doesn’t match with what you’re providing.   Most artists are able to play on almost any reasonable production setup, but they need to know ahead of time what you’re providing so there are no surprises.  They will work with you on any true red flags they discover here before contracts are signed.
• Merchandise Split –  a decent revenue stream – especially for merchandise heavy bands including Christian Rock bands – is income from merchandise sales.  The standard split is 80 Artist  / 20 Promoter if the artist sells, or 75 Artist / 25 Promoter if the venue sells, with media being 90 Artist / 10 Promoter. If you are selling, you’ll want to hire a reputable person or company – based on the amount of the merchandise being sold that understands how to count in inventory, take sales via cash, credit card, and/or other payment options, and count inventory back out with the artist(s) at the end of the night for an accurate settlement.   Sometimes it’s just easier to let the artist sell and you settle with them on merch when it’s time to give them their payment for their performance – the smaller the event, the better off you are having them sell.   But larger events, with multiple acts, it makes more sense to have someone selling on your behalf. 
• Payment terms –   something you’ll want to determine with your event and festival executive team beforehand is how you would like to structure payment.   Many larger special events and festival contracts offer a flat rate guarantee that doesn’t change regardless of how many tickets are sold, but often smaller events, club shows, and festivals may try and add in a backend deal, whereby the artist will receive a percentage of the profits after the break even point has been reached.   This can help reduce the guarantee price and compel the artist to heavily promote their performance, since their compensation is tied to attendance. Common break even percentages are 85% Artist / 15% Promoter.   
• Compensation terms – your standard artist contract will ask for 50% upon receipt of a fully executed contract or 30 days prior to the performance. Depending on the situation, the agency may ask for more than this, but it’s rare.  If you’re a first time talent buyer and it’s a high risk act (financially), they may want to see more money upfront. And other times, after a relationship has been established, you may see the deposit be down to as little as 10%. Often this will be in the form of a bank wire (but cashier’s checks are normally accepted as well).  

  Day of show, you’ll want to have cashier’s checks ready as well as any cash advances the artist may ask for (often they do this to pay their caterer, crew, or other petty cash day of show expenses). If they request a wire, make sure it’s in the contract that it will be sent the next business day following the performance; if they play on a Friday night, they won’t see that wire hit until next Monday at the earliest.   

Reviewing and Marking Up the Artist Contract

So you’ve made your first offer (which should almost always be to the headliner(s) as they’re the most important and often hardest to get) and they have accepted!   This is a great step forward, but now the details of the contract need to be hashed out.  You will want to receive their complete rider as well as all legal verbiage from the agency and review it thoroughly. At this point, you will want to “redline” the contract where specific elements either don’t apply or you think shouldn’t apply.  But what would those be?

Below is a screenshot of a typical boilerplate contract – note, however, that this is a very simple contract and ones from the major booking agencies will be much more detailed. Every contact will include information on the ARTIST, the BUYER (or PURCHASER), the AGENT, and sometimes the PRODUCER. Usually the Contract Face (or the first page) will show the most important details summarized, including payment terms and conditions, along with signatures for the BUYER and the AGENCY (or ARTIST).   

Download this as a Word Document

As you read through the contract, you’ll want to focus on these points – many the same from your offer form – and make sure they align with what you initially offered and/or are something you’re comfortable signing off on:

• Radius Clause

• Hospitality Cap

• Backline Cap

• Ground Cap

• Hotels Cap

• Production Gear List

• Force Majeure – a Latin term meaning “superior force”, this is often seen in contracts to cover “acts of God” or unforeseen / uncontrollable events that prevent the artist from playing.   Examples include acts of war, riots, strikes, earthquakes, or epidemics.   In these instances, neither party would be liable for performance (artist) or payment (buyer).  Often if this happens the two parties will come to an understanding about a future performance and/or compensation, depending on the situation.
• Weather Clause – if, for example, an artist is ready to play an outdoor festival set but severe weather causes the event to be evacuated, because the band was ready and willing to play, this clause would ensure they would receive full payment.  (The event is expected to recoup their costs with their rain insurance policy). Where possible, you want to have this be a MUTUAL agreement between the parties, not one that the artist decides.
• Cancellation Clause –  often bands will want to insert clauses that allow them to cancel for any reason, forfeiting any deposits and waiving any future payments due, up to 30 days prior to the event.   When possible, it’s best to get this struck or pushed at least 90 days out, especially for headliners. Having a headliner suddenly cancel a month out would put the festival organizers in a  precarious position to try and find a suitable replacement at the same compensation level. If the artist cannot move forward without a 30 day cancellation clause, you will want to try and negotiate to include payment of “out of pocket” expenses associated with their cancellation, including any marketing / advertising you have done up to that point.
• How they need to promote it – be it through social media channels (and using the proper hashtags), on their website, and/or participating in pre-show interviews.
• Meet & Greets – do you need to require one with them for contest winners, VIPs, sponsors, etc?   This is the place to lock in the details on how many people allowed to meet & greet the artist, where this will take place, and at what time (before the performance or after the performance).
• Any restrictions on having “total control” of production from load-in to load-out  – most festivals will redline this out as it’s meant more for concerts where the artist is the sole or headlining act. The Promoter needs to have final say on production elements, when to open doors, and so on.  Below is an example of a partially lined out clause about production control (click on image to view a larger version). 

  

• Any restrictions on sponsorship signage or engagement –  you will want to make sure you protect your ability to display any banners / signage that have your sponsors and/or the venue listed.   Some artists are very particular about how branded the stage area is.    

• Where arbitration / mediation would be held if there is a legal dispute –  if you ever had a legal dispute with the artist or agency, ideally you would like any mediation or arbitration hearings to be in your state to minimize your travel and related expenses.
• Insurance requests – if the artist is requiring to be listed as additional insurance on your company GLI policy, you will also need to require them to list your company as AI on their policy, which should be, at a minimum, $1 million per individual occurrence.
• Ability to record and/or broadcast the performance  – if you wish to stream and/or sell the performance you’ll want to work out the terms here; by default most artist contracts will include verbiage forbidding any audio or video reproduction of their work. 
• Any cash advances they need

• Payment terms

• Compensation terms

As you work your way through the contract and rider, sometimes the best way to mark up various points is to write “Per Advance” on them. This means that you are agreeing to honor some, but not necessarily all, of the points therein once it has been properly advanced with the artist representative (often the Tour Manager for hospitality / transpo / hotel needs and the Production Manager for production / backline needs). It’s even better to also include a cap, as listed above, so you aren’t running the risk of them demanding everything when you thought they wouldn’t, putting you over budget.  

One important point – you don’t want to just write or stamp “Per Advance” throughout the entire contract / rider as there are several key points, especially those listed above, that are in your best interest to clarify prior to contracting.   

Below is an example of a marked up hospitality rider with “per advance” and the hospitality cap listed: 

Below is an example of a marked up technical rider showing “per advance” with a cap for an artist’s backline needs:

Receiving a Fully Executed Contract

Before you send off the signed contract for the agency to review and countersign, you may want to have your legal counsel review it just to make sure you didn’t miss anything that could hurt you down the road.   If you don’t have / can’t afford legal counsel, make sure you clearly understand everything you are agreeing to and what the worse case scenario would be for you financially or otherwise.  

As a side note: never sign anything you may not be able to deliver on or live up to.  And never assume or rely on the hope that ticket sales will pay for all of your expenses – you will need to be able to cover all of your costs regardless of how well your event or festival does.   Otherwise, the financial and legal ramifications from a breach of contract could be significant and do irreparable harm to you and your business. 

Finally – you have made it through the research and development stage; you’ve created your dream lineup; you’ve made formal offers; and you’ve signed your properly marked up contracts.   You’re almost there – the next important milestone is when you receive a fully executed artist contract back from their agency.   Once that happens, you may – in theory, at least – sit back, relax, and let the accounting, production, marketing, and site operations teams take it from there.   Just make sure they have everything they need to properly handle the deposits, production needs, hospitality needs, and day of show compensation to ensure a smoothly run experience for all.

Whether you’re a production manager, hospitality coordinator, part of the site crew, or any other member of an event or festival team, there have been several outstanding phone apps developed recently that can help you pull off a successful experience. Below are the seven apps that I turn to the most when I’m on-site, along with some honorable mentions: 

1. Weather.com’s app (iOS / Android) – First and foremost, every event and festival professional should have a weather app of some kind on their mobile device.  The latest updates to Weather.com’s app now give you very important and accurate information that is crucial to know when deciding on evacuating or postponing an event. While no one weather app should be a substitute for a weather station onsite and dedicated meteorologist, Weather.com’s app now features lighting strike data with distance and direction from your GPS location as well as live radar, and hourly forecasts.
   You may also want to consider:  Weather Underground (iOS / Android) or AccuWeather (iOS / Android) 
2. SPL Meter (iOS / Android) – this app allows you to take precise sound level readings to help determine if your PA system is operating at acceptable decibel levels.  It lets you pick between A weighted and C weighted filters as well as slow and fast response time.   With a range of 40db to 120db and DSP algorithms that meet or exceed ANSI Type 1 standards, you can trust its accuracy and use it to report decibel levels at FOH, the event property line, or anywhere else that requires testing.  
3. Tiny Scanner (iOS / Android) – there are several good photo-to-PDF apps on the market, but my favorite is Tiny Scanner.  It lets you convert any photo you take of a document into a PDF, both as a color photo or as a lower file size black and white facsimile. These come in very handy for staff W9s, driver’s licenses, runner receipts, and other physical records that need to be digitized into a PDF for proper accounting. 

4. Evernote (iOS / Android) –  this robust set of notes, photos, reminders, chats, and lists goes well beyond your typical notepad app and allows you to collaborate with your co-workers, where everyone sees a hit list (for example, a set of load-out tasks for the site crew) and can update their progress in real time. It also offers syncing between your phone, tablet, and computer automatically.  

5. TogglTimer (iOS / Android) – for those of us who are independent contractors and work hourly, trying to keep track of your hours can be cumbersome when you have multiple projects going at once.   This app helps keep it simple by letting you simply hit a green and red button to start and stop your time on a project, and then it lets you easily export the summary data into an invoice or spreadsheet so your clients can see exactly what they’re paying for and how many hours you’ve logged. 

6. Waze (iOS / Android) –  when working an event or festival, especially one in a city or part of town you’re unfamiliar with, having an app that understands local traffic patterns and can actually reroute you to get the fastest route is essential.   Waze stands above your standard map apps thanks to all of the user feedback it can pull from, allowing it to recommend side streets during a sudden traffic jam when other apps may still recommend the now-clogged highway. 

7. Amazon Now (iOS / Android) – for when you absolutely need some gaff tape and your runners are all out picking up artists, Amazon Now lets anyone with a Prime membership place an order that promises to be there within 2 hours (1 hour for an extra fee).   Available in at least 24 markets nationwide, it may not be there for you at every event or festival you work, but it can come in very handy when it is.  

   You may also want to consider:  Favor (iOS / Android) or Instacart (iOS / Android)

In addition to these event and festival friendly apps, I also make sure I have a streaming audio app handy – Spotify (iOS / Android) or Rhapsody (iOS / Android) are my two favorites – especially if you need to play some house music or test the PA (just make sure you are properly licensed if you’re playing music to the public).   If you don’t have a paid subscription to one of these streaming audio services, seek out someone onsite that does and have them use their login; the last thing you want to hear is a bunch of awkward commercials being played over the PA. 

For those of us that rely on document sharing, the two of the most popular services today are Dropbox and Google Drive.   They each have apps that allow you to view your accounts on each while not having to be tied to your computer.  As much as I’ve tried to stick with one, I find that Dropbox (iOS / Android) is essential for keeping an easy to use repository of all important event and festival documents, while Google Drive (iOS / Android) is invaluable as a way to update and share collaborative documents such as production timelines / run of shows, budgets, and staffing lists.   

And of course, you will likely need a couple of ride sharing apps which the vast majority of us already have installed.   However, if you’re in Austin like me, you now can’t rely on Uber (iOS / Android) or Lyft (iOS / Android) to call rides for yourself, artists, or your team (but they’re still great to have on your phone for when you’re in other cities where they operate).  Thankfully, GetMe (iOS / Android), Wingz (iOS / Android – airport rides only), and Fasten (iOS / Android – may not be fully launched in Austin yet) are all quickly becoming viable alternatives.   

Have an app I missed that you rely on for your events?  Let us know if the comment box below.

For those of us in the event and festival industries, wrapping up a cable is an essential and never-ending part of life.  However, many people still do it the wrong way, that results in kinks and twists; there are two proper methods for coiling up a cable that, when stretched back out, results in a perfectly straight, tangle-free cable. 

Rather than the normal “around the elbow” method we may have learned as kids, the “over under” method is one most commonly used in the production world.   The London School of Sound was kind enough to provide the cable wrapping world with a video that demonstrates the art of cable wrapping with two options – a slower one for novices and a faster “bow and arrow” one for those able to master it.  

This article is by a guest author, Dax Cochran with WeatherOps. 

As festival season cranks up, so does severe weather season. Festival and event managers are busy finalizing details for the event, securing vendors, and wrapping up all loose ends. With safety a growing priority for all outdoor events, weather planning should be one of the top items on your checklist. Maybe not your next event, but eventually weather will put you in the hot seat. It is important to plan ahead so you don’t find yourself making reactionary decisions. So where do you start when it comes to installing a good plan and access to reliable weather information to ensure a high degree of safety for your crews, talent, vendors, and your audience?

As we all know, weather can impact an event in many ways so you must plan for every contingency. Many resources exist to provide historical weather data for your event site and for the time period you will be there. This can help you determine what conditions are possible at your event and and what preparation needs to be made. It is also good to engage professional resources or review industry-provided guidelines to adapt those to your needs. Remember, every event is different and will likely require a customized weather plan.

Examples of resources you should engage include Festival and Event Production as well as the Event Safety Alliance. In addition to required written plans, be sure to outline actions in a chart so that various departments can be easily educated on what is expected of them when weather occurs.

[Note: this next section in gray added by Mike Hanley with FEP]

To borrow a line from a previous article I wrote last year,

“Do all that we can within reason, not just what we might should.”

This statement is important to consider when weather planning for an event.

Installing a plan with the input of as many stakeholders as possible such as the venue, local emergency management, your staging provider, etc. is paramount. Next, you should install a private weather support service. This provider will supply you with the technology required to set up, organize, and disseminate weather products such as forecasts and alerts. It is vital to ensure that your provider backs the technology with 24/7 access to speak with a meteorologist.

Let’s discuss the importance of all of this and how it is required as part of your plan:

• Your weather vendor should be providing high precision lightning data. In addition, they should accommodate customized alerting range rings from your event site for this data. As a standard starting place, 20 miles is recommended as an outer cautionary radius with 8 miles as the inner warning radius. These can be adjusted for any plan if determined appropriate due to unique circumstances. What actions do your plans call for at 20 miles, or 8 miles? If you will be sending an audience to shelter, how long will it take to get them there? This is where your weather provider can help determine necessary adjustments on a particular day due to forecasted conditions.
• Forecasters can determine the direction and speed any storms would be moving, even before the storm forms. If storms would be moving in at 50 miles per hour vs. 25 miles per hour, this may require an adjustment on your range rings and alerts to ensure the time required to evacuate is accounted for. With customizable forecast thresholds and alert settings, we at WeatherOps are constantly pushing the envelope and raising the bar by recognizing these concerns and providing the industry with solutions.
• The above lightning example can also be used to consider other weather threats such as winds, precipitation, extreme temperatures, etc. A temporary stage will have wind ratings and specifications, but will this stage have a video wall and hanging audio? Are these installations likely to be more sensitive to wind than the stage itself? Working with the staging provider and your weather provider, you can customize wind thresholds and designate a clear action plan to be prepared.
• When your event commences, having plans and weather support should keep you fully aware of what to expect. The idea is not to alert you when something happens, but to inform you of forecasted conditions well before you receive an actual alert. A good service will provide you with daily forecasts each morning. You should be able to quickly determine if weather will be a threat and if so, I recommend that my customers immediately establish communication with our forecast desk.
• If you see high winds are forecasted for later in the afternoon or evening when your event is in full swing, its best to make a plan with your forecaster that morning. You can direct them on how you want updates communicated throughout the day. With this approach, you should never be surprised to get an alert as you were already aware of the potential and have been receiving updates well before anything happens. The goal here is to extend your lead time to make decisions and implement your plan.

Hopefully, you now see the importance of first having a plan, but then leveraging a weather vendor with live forecaster support and the technology required to back it up. Weather is predictable, but it takes a good plan and reliable partners to ensure a safe experience for anyone at your event.