OMSK Production (by Dan Powell)

1. Pre Event Collective meeting

It should be decided what the event will constitute in loose terms at the collective meeting. i.e. Where and When it is and any theme it will engage with; who will take on the specific roles outlined below; collective members should bring ideas about the event and raise any prospective acts and discuss them with the co-ordinator.

Define roles

The collective should decide who takes on the following:

Co-ordinator takes responsibility for the event and is the main point of contact and ultimate decision maker. They should work closely with The Administrator on the management of the event.

The 3 curatorial roles can be taken by individuals or groups, they are: Film Curator, Music Curator & Performance Curator.

The Production Manager is responsible for the production and technical side of the event , The Music Co-ordinator will generally be combined with the Music Curator's role (above) but will also work with the Production Manager on the musicians technical requirements. The Floor Managers take responsibility for a space at the venue during the event. The Volunteer Coordinator contacts and assigns tasks to volunteers before the event and as required on the day of the event. The Artist Co-ordinator contacts all of the performers before the event to introduce themselves and discuss any requirements. The Sound Engineer liases with all performers requiring sound and is responsible for sound production on the night. Video Technician liases with all performers requiring video and is responsible for video on the night.

Selection Process

Work can be selected from 3 groups: (i) Collective members (ii) People or groups put forward by members of the collective (iii) Submissions from outside of the collective. Invitation for submissions can be placed in magazines & on websites, come from the audience at previous events or from articles and publicity about OMSK. Written submissions on paper or via email are needed from bands and performers, and are optional (though desirable) from other performers. Apart from selection, they are useful for press releases and publicity. When selecting work from the collective members their production responsibilities should be taken into consideration and the collective should discuss how their duties can be looked after by others. The collective should discuss all work openly. The curators will have the ultimate say over content.

Curators Meeting

The 3 curators and the Event Co-ordinator should meet to discuss any theme that the event will engage with. They should look at all of the performers/films put forward by the collective and submitted through the selection process outlined above and make their selection. They should then inform the selected artists and the collective as soon as possible.

Communication

It is important that all information on content and technical needs should be disseminated as quickly as possible. This should take into account access to equipment (email/phones etc). All performers should contact the Sound engineer and video technician with any needs. The Sound engineer and Music Co-ordinator will decide when performers are needed for a soundcheck. The Production manager should contact all other performers to establish when they will be coming to the get in.

Budget

A comprehensive budget should be prepared by the event co-ordinator [Insert sample budgets]

Equipment hire.

Once all of the technical information has been collected and the budget agreed the Event Co-ordinator and Production staff decide what needs to be hired and what can be borrowed.

Transport

The Event Co-ordinator and production team should decide whether a van is needed and it should be booked and a driver arranged. A list needs to be drawn up of all pickups and it should be decided what will be picked up when and what will be taken back the next day.

Press

The Co-ordinator writes the press release in consultation with the curators and it is sent to the press contacts listed at the office. Press contacts should be chased up as soon as possible.

Flyering and postering

The flyer and poster should be designed and ready for print and emailed to the printer with all artwork attachments 1 month (?) before the event to allow time for printing and distribution. [see list of sites we flyer] Postering should be done the weekend before the event.

Volunteers - take a look at the list of tasks and the event timetable for an idea of who is required, and when.

Pre-Production

All information on each act should be summarised on one sheet which can be copied and distributed to the collective. It should contain as much detail as possible on the following: Name, Contact details, Description of performance, Location in venue, Time programmed, Sound requirements, Video requirements, Lighting. The Production Manager, Volunteer Co-ordinator, Floor Managers, Artist Co-ordinator, Sound Engineer, and Video Technician should have a separate production meeting at the venue (if possible) to discuss and evaluate how to manage and run the event. Floor plans should be drawn up to show where all acts are performing and the locations of sound equipment, video projectors etc.

Bar

A collective member should take responsibility for the bar if one is being run by OMSK. They will be responsible for ordering the drinks and glasses, buckets and ice and should liase with the Volunteer Co-ordinator. They are responsible for returning anything that has been hired and any drink left over.

Checklist

The relevant collective member should deal with the following items: [see Omsk:Who]

2. Get In

Equipment

Equipment should be set up by volunteers under the supervision of the relevant collective members. The Sound Engineer and Music Co-ordinator deal with setting up bands and soundchecking performers and film sound. The Video Technician deals with setting up video projectors and screens. The Production Manager has overall responsibility for ensuring that all performers are soundchecked and know when they are performing and that all their needs have been met.

Technical needs - policy.

It should be understood by all performers that if they have any technical needs they should get in touch with either the Sound Engineer, Video technician, Production manger or Music Co-ordinator as soon as they have been selected to perform at the event to discuss their requirements. They will be asked to come to the get in to soundcheck and sort out any other needs . If they do not come to the get in then we have the right to ask them not to perform.

Volunteers

Volunteers should be kept to a minimum at the get in as should excessive people turning up with performers. Anyone who arrives with a performer who is not a collective member, volunteer or giving technical support to a performer should be placed on the guest list.

Looking after performers

The Artist Co-ordinator is the first point of contact for all performers on arrival at the get in. They should have an overview of all of the duties of the various collective members and who the performers need to speak to when they arrive. The Production Manager should provide this information before the event to the Artist Co-ordinator. The Artist Co-ordinator should not be the only point of contact for performers or they will feel isolated from the rest of the group. All collective members/production staff should do their best to look after performers.

BELOW ARE OTHER AREAS THAT NEED LOOKING AT:

Guest list

Bar

3. During the Event

Floor Managers

Latecomers (performers)

Door policy

Clearing Tills

Monitoring Payment