Event Atmosphere

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The atmosphere we achieved matched up to expectations. To set an, ambience I provided multiple different size lamps and fake candles that I placed equally as possible around the room- (shown in EAp1). Placing large pillows to sit on- (Shown in EAp2), on the stage, as well as sofas, signalled to the audience that this was a laid-back space where they could unwind. Personally, I enjoyed one of the sets for myself, feeling very at peace sat on one of the sofas laying my head back and experiencing the music (EAp4). the room was packed out before the first set started and the audience were visibly enjoying the performances throughout the night in comfort, as well as frequently using the bar where the venue benefitted greatly on the night. We had many of the audience members post videos of the event soon after leaving and multiple members came to us to ask us when our next event was. For future events I would keep the same decorations to create a recognition, but also create obvious themes for each show, perhaps even encouraging the audience to show up in a dress code for the set theme, to create a stronger atmosphere of connection and entertainment. . 

Box Office

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Our box office on the night consisted of a table next to the door, so that we could greet guests and account them as they arrived (BOp1). Grace hung up one of our posters with the ticket price behind us to make it obvious for our guests and display professionalism. We checked their tickets as codes on their phones, bought from ‘Fatsoma’ (BOp3), and once verified we drew a cross on their hands to keep track of who has come in already, as there was a smoking area the out front. We manned the desk throughout the night as more guests showed up until the final act and the room was full. We made note in a book how many people had bought tickets on the door, for which we used an app called square-point (BOp2), which allowed us to take card payments on the door with a very small percentage fee taken from each transaction. I logged into my account on Hollie’s phone, so the payments arrived in my bank account once released from the app and I sent them over to Dane who was organising finances. Guests either paid online or by card on the door, however for future gigs I would prepare a float in case some audience members may still wish to pay in cash, as we would like to be accessible for all. We provided a 50% off cheap list for the artist to use for friends and family, 3 for each artist. This link was used online, and we charged £4 on door for those on the cheap list we had written down.  

Security

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For security on the night we kept a watchful eye as a group, covering more areas of the space as we weren’t provided with security, which is something we would arrange for future events. All equipment cases and spare equipment was stored away in the green room (Sp4). The ticket office being next to the door (Sp3) allowed us to keep an eye of who was coming in and out, marking crosses on hands. When unloading the van, I told Dane and the driver, Leo, to make sure that at least one of us was with the van to make sure it was never unattended leaving the equipment vulnerable to theft or damage (Sp1). This allowed for a secure load in from a road outside. After the show all equipment was accounted for and returned safely to the conservatoire after checking a list I had made, as well as pictures of the equipment I had taken when we picked it up from the conservatoire (Sp2). 

Health and Safety

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We addressed our risk assessment during set up. I bought fake candles as we could not use real ones on the premises for fire safety. We made sure to leave enough spaces between seats so that they would not become a trip hazard and the audience had paths to get around the room safely and smoothly (HSp3). We also created a wide pathway for the disabled toilets, enough for a wheelchair to fit through if needed. All spare equipment and cases were stored in the green room to reduce the chances of trip hazards. We placed the seating away from the drum kits to prevent hearing damage. Fire doors were clearly presented to the guests and artists. The wires from the sound desk to the equipment were covered with tape to prevent trip hazards (HSp1- 0:02), as well as protection from wires in use. The sofas on stage were placed far back to make sure no one could fall off the stage while getting up and moving around (HSp2), we didn’t use the foldable chairs on stage as we felt they were too unstable and too easy to move around, possibly becoming too close to the edge of the stage. The rugs were all tucked in, however in future events I would have taped them down at the edges to prevent a trip hazard. We had a guest cap to make sure the room didn’t become too overcrowded and dangerous for the public, and a curfew at 11pm.

Production

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Our sound engineer, Shane, met us at load in and we began setting up our equipment once I had laid down the rugs in the stage space. This was a speedy and successful set up, orchestrated by me, Will, and Dane. We found the sound and PA system to be suitable and had brought the correct equipment. The sound filled the space very well and was very atmospheric. I dressed the room in the style of a comforting living room, involving large and small lamps from my own living room. These created a circle of light around the musicians, complimenting the scarfs, plants and tables with fake candles on them I had placed around the stage to produce an aesthetic, nature themed look (Pp1 ). I asked the lights technician, who was also the sound technician, to put on the centre lights with a warm orange tint, with all other light in the room turned off seen here in- (Pp2- 0:05) where we are testing out the overhead light options. This orange tone accentuated the colours of the decorations, giving the impression that the audience were sat in the comfort of a folky, 70s aesthetic living room (Pp3).  

Artist Liaison

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We communicated often with our artists through a group chat I made on Instagram (ALp2). I did this to make sure we had all the information in the same place, making everything clear and easy to find for both our team and the artists. The artists were greeted at the door on the night, we all introduced ourselves and offered to help unload their equipment. The artists were all offered water and given a run down for the night, along with direction to the green room. We made sure all the artists felt comfortable and answered any questions they had. Each sound check went relatively smoothly (ALp1), with a good amount of time for each band. The only issue that we had was with Zoe’s Band, the drummer couldn’t make sound check, and the cello player asked to do a check on his own, an hour before his time slot as he was busy during the slot. This was a lack of communication on their part, however when doing this again we would confirm with artist that they can all make the slots given. Communication and negotiation on this from Hollie with Zoe and her band members over the phone sorted the issue and we moved Zoe’s check slightly forward, however the drummer could still not make check and so we remedied this by a quick line check just before their set.

Stage Management

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We arranged the stage in such a way that there was no need for changeovers between sets, which is the benefit of the round, as the artists can place themselves where their instruments are and still look presentably placed around in a circle and interact with each other (SMp1). We also made sure to have the artists confirm an agreement to backline sharing beforehand which allowed smoother running. We made sure to have a clear communication with the sound technician and other production elements to ensure a smooth running, however in future I would like to have the sound technicians’ email to communicate prior to the event which would create a stronger sense of confidence on the night. The Schedule was hung up in the green room for the artists to address when needed, as well as being drawn up on a white board in the event space (SMp3).

Online Marketing

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We made posts on Instagram twice a week between us, spreading them out so they don’t come out in an overwhelming chunk. I would often upload the posts to my stories a reminder, tagging the artists and my team members Instagram accounts so that they could just press “add to my story” for easy promotion as a group. Each post was a collaboration, so that we could each have the same posts on our grid (OMp3), but reach more people through each other’s accounts. This also meant that we could share the responsibilities of posting in an easier way (OMp2). Each post would get far more views this way. We used the repost feature on our own posts a week after posting them so they would continue to circulate. On the night we posted videos of our team setting up and teasers of the artists soundchecks to encourage more bodies in for our event (OMp4). we found this successful as we got a lot of traction and sold a lot more tickets online just before Doors. showing the set up of the event made people more curious and more likely to come along. We also encouraged our artists to do the same as a final push for their followers (OMp1). For future events we would encourage more promotion ideas from the artists to target their own specific audiences in more unique ways, such as meet the artist videos, and Q+A’s. We had sent the artists a list of questions we wanted them to answer in a video that we could use for promo, however they found they didn’t have time for this and next time we will arrange a to make content with them all ourselves.  After the event we posted videos of the event on our own stories, and reposted the audiences’ videos of the night to keep our promotion going even after the event, as this will show the viewers why they should attend our next event (OMp5).

Promotional Materials

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We used the conservatoire library printers to save money, and I spent a day putting up our posters in town, ending up at the conservatoire where I put them up with Grace on every floor so that as many people as possible would see them (PMp6+7). Dane took 10 posters and put them up at the University of Leeds so that we were circulating around non-conservatoire students. I also sent the poster to the student union and asked them to put it up on the TVs in the cafeteria (PMp1). They appeared on the boards two days later and the colours we chose were very eye-catching on the digital screens. Word of mouth also created the laid back and friendly atmosphere we were trying to achieve. For future events I would involve more in person promo, such as the idea to promote at a table in the café bar, which we had not achieved due to an organisational failure where we had miscalculated when enrichment week was. We realised there were no students in the conservatoire to promote to in person. We created a version of the poster with QR codes (PMp3), and a separate Printable QR code (PMp2) that we hung up to give people easier access to our ticket link.

Financial Outcomes

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We had 72 people through the door and made a total revenue of £575 from our event from which we were able to make profit and pay our artists more than we had expected to (settlement attic 1- A3). online sales made up £45, after ‘Fatsoma’ took a small percentage for using their service (FOp1). We sold more tickets online than on the door which was not what we had expected as we have typically seen more people buying on the door at other events in Leeds. We took it as a sign that our promotions had been successful. Our total costs were £189.63, Leaving us with £388.37 to pay our artists (settlement attic 1- A3). As we are a non-profit organisation, we paid all our revenue to our artists. The headliner got the most as we have all seen this be done when there is a headliner, and Zoe and her band had spent the most on travel costs. We received invoices from our artists and Dane made payment to their accounts (FOp1-2-3).