INSIGHTS
A Day in the Life of a Creative Event Producer
With FCM Meetings & Events (M&E) Senior Producer, Julie Pilcher
Let’s start at the beginning. What is the role of a creative event producer?
Put simply, I’ll see the event through from the creative pitch process to the execution on the day. It’s a hands-on role that pulls all of the stakeholders and components of an event together, including suppliers, creatives, the operational team, the entertainment and, of course, being the conduit to our customer.
I’ve been with FCM M&E for 15 years (but in the industry for longer) and I’ve produced large events for up to 6,000 people down to events for 60. I’m a people–person and the best part of my role is building relationships with everyone involved in an event while multitasking and managing competing priorities. While the most challenging part is constant deadline pressure, and sometimes I’m juggling a number of different events at once.
The Event: A Gala Dinner
As part of a major national client’s three day Expo and Conference held on the Gold Coast. The gala dinner for 360 guests was themed ‘Dinner en Blanc’ (French for ‘Dinner in White’) characterised by opulent and elegant styling, with lots of fringing and sparkle. It was held outdoors at the hotel venue, with a large white outdoor set to host the dinner, awards component and a range of quirky entertainment.
This is how my day unfolded...
05:00 - Up with the birds!
On a major event day I always wake with a bit of a lump in my throat. No matter how many times I’ve produced events, there’s always that level of nervousness at the start of the day. But first, tea!
06:00 - 10:30
Over a working brekkie, I review the day’s production schedule and check-in with the FCM M&E producers, who are also on site.
07:30am Pre-con (meeting) with the venue team, where time is spent covering the logistics around using large sparklers at the gala dinner! (Safety always comes first).
From 8:30am I do a site check with the build team to ensure everything is going where it should be. This includes trusses for the lighting, AV equipment, cabling, screens, building a ‘green room’ behind the scenes, constructing drink bars, and installing an all-white piano on the stage. Tables, chairs, and flowers arrive and draping for the ‘white theme’ is being installed too. All of this, outdoors on a sweltering 36 degree Queensland day! What were we thinking?
10:30 - Lunch
With the set underway, it’s time to review final scripts and send the latest version to the event MC. The final show call is updated to ensure all the show and cue times marry-up and that everyone is working from the same schedule. During this part of the day, I’m constantly liaising with the client. Unexpectedly I was advised of a presenter change, so the script and presentation slide needs revising straight away.
Just when all was travelling smoothly, a hiccup is discovered. The truss needed to support the white fringe and tassel media wall has been built to the wrong specs! Luckily there’s still time to change it. A rebuild is required and it comes down to the wire – finishing at 4.30pm. Yikes!
Lunch
What’s lunch? I grab a canteen sandwich on the go – and more water to stay hydrated!
Post Lunch - The final countdown!
From 12 noon, time speeds up tenfold! I start watching the clock as I oversee the build. At around 3pm there’s a short window for me to get changed into my show blacks, grab my lipstick and more water!
At 3.30pm I have a cue-to-cue meeting with the AV team and a step-by-step review of the run sheet with the tech team. This is the most important part of the day! Some people miss it, rush it or run out of time to do it properly. But it’s essential to ensure the AV and tech teams are across every element of the evening. I also like to take the time to get to know the team and build rapport, which really helps deliver a successful event.
The musicians, entertainers and presenters arrive for rehearsals, mic checks, lighting and, sound checks. This is a balancing act, making sure the entertainers and band all have time on stage to set up and prepare.
Next up is the rehearsal for the MC, followed by the client and the evening’s award presenters. This is an important stage orientation session to make sure everyone is familiar with the setup – so the evening runs smoothly.
At 6.15pm everyone is ready and on standby. It’s one of the best parts of the day, as all the hard work is done and it’s a short breather before the event starts.
It's show time!
Cue the arrival music. At 6.30pm it’s kick off time. Guests start arriving and they’re ready to party! I take up my position for the night at the ops desk. The roving entertainers begin moving through the crowd engaging with guests and setting the scene for a spectacular night ahead.
I’m in constant headset contact with tireless FCM M&E team members who are on duty behind the scenes to stage manage the on stage talent and make sure everyone hits their cues. The biggest risks at this stage is the MC getting muddled up, unforeseen content changes or video, and technical issues. We all hold our breath – but fortunately, tonight is seamless! Phew!
From 6.30 to 10.30pm, the show follows the schedule to a T. The talent cues, on screen content, camera mix, dinner, awards, and entertainment all flow without a hitch.
At 11:30pm, the finish is the big sparkler moment, which goes off with fire extinguishers at the ready, but they're not required, thankfully!
11:30 to bedtime
Guests depart – it’s time to congratulate, say thanks, farewell the band and tech team, and start footage transfer from video cameras.
At 11:45pm I can hang up my headset and turn off comms, but I’m still on call until the bump out is complete. Just in case.
00:00 I say goodbye to the venue team and the suppliers start the pack down process. I do a lap of the venue to make sure there are no urgent issues to deal with.
01:00 Back in my room, I decompress with lemon and ginger tea. But mentally I’m already thinking about tomorrow (actually, it’s already tomorrow), which is another day of events. When producing a multi-day event like this, I am always on high alert 24/7!
02:00 I realise my ears are still ringing so loudly they’re keeping me awake. I finally fall asleep at around 3am.
06:00 Wake up and start it all again. But first, tea!
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