A Tale of Two Political Parties

Ask anyone that works in live events, and they’ll tell you – The event business is a hard way to make a living. However, even in this challenging industry, there are levels of difficulty. For example – providing a pool cover for a holiday event is relatively straightforward. You set a date, bring in the equipment, set it up, and take it back down again. Weather can always present a challenge, and yes, it’s hard work. But nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can prepare you for providing gear for political events.

Political events are the most challenging types of events in our industry. Most political events happen without warning – at most, you have 5 working days to prepare, and even that is a luxury. Political events are rarely held in a typical event space – they are in factories and manufacturing facilities, in outdoor environments, private homes, and children's centers. Security is tight. Timelines are tight, and they’re made worse by mandatory security sweeps. However, by far the most challenging thing about political events is that it has to be right, on time, every time, no excuses.

At In Depth Events, because of the unique experiences and characteristics that Matt and Robert possess, we are really good at political events. In fact, we are one of a small handful of companies that do them with the level of consistency that is demanded by our clients. To that end, he’s the Tale of Two Political Parties, and the four events we’ve done for them this past spring!

Trump at the International Union of Operating Engineers in Crosby, Texas

President Trump came to the Crosby, Texas IUOE training and education center specifically to sign two Executive Orders designed to boost the oil and gas industry. This historic visit was attended by several prominent Texas Republicans, as well as a host of working engineers from all corners of the United States. However, it started with a single phone call, three days before the event. When the call came in from Jarrad Scott, founder of PM1, (Production Management One is the most prominent political production company in the United States) Robert knew the clock was already ticking. In 72 hours, In Depth Events staff, with Robert on site, was able to provide audio, lighting, press feed, backstage monitors, and generator rentals for an event that took place inside a non-climate controlled welder’s training facility. Every single word of the President’s speech was heard, and the lighting served to make sure the press saw every interaction on the stage. We worked directly with White House staff to make sure this event went off without a single hitch.

Trump at Sempra Energy in Cameron Parish, Louisiana

Less than a month later, In Depth Events was on site in Louisiana at Cameron LNG getting ready for another Presidential appearance. This political event was spearheaded by Streamline Event Agency, with Justin Zebell at the helm. Cameron LNG is a brand new facility that provides LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) for export. Matt was the lead on this site, bringing four trucks of equipment to the outdoor event space. After three grueling days of setting up staging, press risers, seating risers, and photo risers in the Louisiana heat, the President arrived to discuss the number of jobs that the new facility would create in Louisiana. This event was exceptionally well-attended and covered by the press, with news reports and sounds bites of the President’s speech going all over the world.

Biden at a private residence in Highland Park, Texas

In June, we got a call from the other side of the aisle – Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden was coming to Dallas. His first stop was a campaign finance appearance at a private home in Highland Park, Texas. Private homes are always tricky because they simply aren’t set up for live events. For this private home, load in was through a rear alley and then hand carried through the back yard. Robert spearheaded this event and carried most of the gear himself! Luckily, production requirements we not difficult, with a small podium and stage, as well as an audio system with a wireless microphone. The event went exceptionally well, with everyone in attendance able to hear Mr. Biden’s message.

Biden at SPARK Children’s Center in Dallas, TX

From the private event that Robert was handling, Mr. Biden hopped in his SUV and drove over to his second stop in Dallas – a speaking engagement at the non-profit children's center called SPARK! At Southside on Lamar. This event required a lot more production gear and some special backdrop treatment! Matt brought In Depth Events skills in force with HMI lighting panels, a multizone audio system, and staging for the press. The event looked great, to the point that the CNN cameraman told Matt it was “the best lighting he’d ever had at a political event”. The venue was particularly happy with the way our crews respected their art and children's installations through the venue.

As I said before – political events are by far the most challenging events we handle as event professionals. From Presidents to Presidential contenders, National, State, and even non-profit rallies, our co-founders Matt and Robert have been there and we have you covered. Let us show you how our founders and crew work together with your planning staff to provide the best in event management and event technology. Contact us today for a quote!

Super Bowl LI 2017 A Production Company’s Retrospective

Super Bowl 2017, like any of the really large, international events, fills the host city with a dizzying array of private parties, AirBNB reservations and car rentals. For a week during February, 2017, all eyes were on Houston for the Patriots vs the Falcons national showdown (with Lady Gaga at halftime). Of course, lots of private events means an increased need for super bowl event production elements like staging, rooftops, lighting, and electrical rentals. As the marketing companies descended on Houston along with the attendees, the production crew got ready for a week’s worth of event services!

It turned out to be a pretty hectic week! Traffic in a grid-locked Houston affected event times. Security was tight, which affected truck delivery schedules with constant X-Ray scans at high security venues. However, our warehouse staff in Houston made switching trucks and gear seamless. Our expert techs worked together to handle over a dozen client events through the week. All of the staff had the opportunity to work with client names like Comedy Central, DirectTV, MKTG and Nike – all in one weekend!

We would like to thank our clients and vendors for making our portion of Super Bowl 2017 a huge success. We’ll have several other busy weekends in 2017 coming soon. After all, SXSW is fast approaching. And large holidays like Cinco de Mayo, Fourth of July and Fiestas Patrias will keep our staff hopping. We look forward to working with both new and existing clients this year. In the meantime, view the list below to see all the shows at Super Bowl 2017 that we helped make successful!

Comedy Central – ManHouse Productions:

The second show for our old friends at ManHouse consisted of taking over the outdoor space at Kirby Ice House for a week and doing live broadcasts of Comedy Central’s new show, “The Barstool Rundown”. In Depth Events staff built the stage as well as a rooftop for lighting and protection. Our work on this show earned us a 5-star rating from our client!

MKTG for DirecTV:

Our first crews in Houston began Super Bowl week with the staging and carpet bones for the DirecTV setup inside the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. A last-minute pickup of 3,000 square foot of silver carpet rounded out the two main 24 foot x 24 foot stages and ADA ramps for this booth.

NFL Network Stage:

There was nothing more exciting than a 24 foot X 24 foot stage in this booth. Other companies provided the lighting, audio and trussing for this booth. But the stage was there first!

Angel City Designs – Hilton Americas:

One of the many host hotels of the NFL needing lighting techs for setup, changeovers, and finally, strike.

Angel City Designs – Lot 97:

Our second show with this prestigious event company out of LA was called “Lot 97”. In initial conversations, Angel City couldn’t even disclose the end client for security concerns. As a result, the site of this location was the identifier for the show – even after we found out who the end client was. We provided a custom 24 foot half round stage as well as regular staging. We also provided a small army of lighting technicians for setup, changeovers and strike.

IMC Productions – Superbash:

This four day party ended with a bomb threat. But still, we provided the stage, rooftop, lighting and generators for this outdoor event. On Saturday night, someone called in a bomb threat to the police. When SWAT and police showed up, they evacuated the event space. Luckily, the threat was a fake, but it still had devastating effects on the party.

Nickelodeon:

Another broadcast event with trussing, staging, labor, and special effects for this wacky taping of a Nickelodeon game show inside the George R Brown Convention Center.

Pro One – Nike:

This outdoor event was held at a local event center. Nike came in to play with a revamp of the football field, portable bleachers, food vendors, and all the other aspects of a “Friday Night Lights” event. We provided generators and electrical distribution, making sure that all vendors had electrical power.

Metroplex Gymnastics:

Not all shows on Super Bowl weekend are Super Bowl shows! The Metroplex Challenge is an annual gymnastics event where we provide staging, audio and lighting. This 11 year repeat client began our week with a three day show at the Ft Worth Convention Center Arena. Check out a highlights video from the event here.

Barrellhouse Media:

Another event that just happened to fall on Super bowl weekend. This stage was for a corporate event.

Hopefully this blog has been informative for our event planner clients! For more information on In Depth Events and our event production capabilities, please Ask Us a Question today. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you on your event!

Extreme Weather Conditions at Live Events

Outdoor events and activations are in a class by themselves. In addition to the difficulties of production requirements, parking and crowd control, you also have to add fencing, porta-potties and the tempestuous moods of Mother Nature. In this post, we’ll discuss how to plan for bad weather conditions at live events and the specific conditions that our technicians are trained to look for when determining whether or not to continue an event in bad weather.

Unpredictable weather and live events

Image of Safety During Bad Weather Conditions

Safety During Bad Weather Conditions is the Number One Priority for In Depth Events

In our home State of Texas, weather can be… fickle. It’s an old joke here that “If you don’t like the weather in Texas, just wait a minute and it will change.” Of course, our touring and logistics groups handle activations and experiential events all over the nation. We’ve been drowned in Denver, deluged in Duluth and snowed on in St Paul. We’ve been hailed on in Helena, had sleet in San Antonio and tornadoes in… well, you get the idea. The point is we are very experienced with bad weather conditions at live events and how to make sure the equipment and your attendees are safe before, during and after bad weather strikes.

As a production company, we have to be ready for all types of weather at an outdoor event. Rain gear and pop-up tents are part of every single pack that goes on the truck. All of our electrical distribution systems are water resistant and rated for outdoor use. Our ballast plans for our rooftops are specifically designed with high wind conditions in mind.

Speaking of rooftops – whenever we do a stage and roof system, we will always have a roof tech on site to monitor the roof and the weather conditions at any time there is activity on the stage. On most of our outdoor rental stage and roof system builds, you’ll see a weather station including an anemometer and a rain gauge on the structure. Monitoring the weather at all times is a big part of our commitment to safety on the event site.

Make sure your event company has a bad weather plan

After the rain – back to the show!

Especially when using rooftops or mobile stages – it’s imperative that production company that you have contracted has a bad weather plan. With our company, it’s our Rooftop Emergency Procedures. This document has very specific tolerances for wind and rain and clearly explains our responsibility to our clients in case of bad weather.

In addition to this document, it’s also important for everyone to sit down long before the event and discuss the issues related to bad weather conditions at live events. The promoter, production company, venue owner and (if possible) the municipality should all be given well-defined roles and responsibilities for dealing with bad weather. Knowing these roles beforehand can save precious minutes and provide a well-organized response for attendees.

Do you have questions about weather and your outdoor activation, concert, or festival? Ask a Question of the bad weather safety experts at In Depth Events. We’re happy to take our knowledge and experience and apply it to your event. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you!

Confetti Blower at a Graduation Ceremony

Graduation Stage Rentals – An Event Planners Guide

Commencement and Graduation Stage Rentals – Identifying Specific Needs

Whether it’s for a community college, a high school, a four year university or even a vocational school, commencements are an important transition for students, instructors and attendees. Identifying specific needs for your graduation stage rentals is the first step in making sure the graduation ceremonies go smoothly for everyone.

There are several questions to ask that will determine stage size and height. How many people will be on stage? Is the event outdoors or indoors? Will you require seating risers on the rear of the stage for professors and administrators? How many graduates will you have? Additionally, you need to consider the venue. For example, many high schools will use the football stadium on campus for commencement. A stage that would look huge in a small room may look tiny in this environment. Is there a game the night before or the night of? Has anyone else reserved the stadium? How will vendors get staging and chairs onto the field?

Graduation stage rentals, the ADA and vendor selection

The ADA, or Americans with Disabilities Act, was signed into law in 1990. For staging vendors, it mandates on a federal level the use of handrails and ramps on temporary and permanent stages. In addition to compliance with the ADA, graduation stages must also comply with municipal building codes for staging and structure builds. Some municipalities will also require review by the county Fire Marshall for safety and accessibility.

It’s incredibly important that your stage meets or exceeds local building codes as well as ADA requirements. The most successful staging vendors will verify building codes, ADA requirements and fire code requirements long before they arrive to setup your stage. Look for staging vendors who are Certified Building Contractors within your local municipality, or the nearest large city if you are in a suburban or rural area.

The shameless sales pitch for graduation stage rentals

We have been providing graduation stage rentals for many years as well as other production and rental services. Chair rentals, sound system rentals, press risers and audience risers are all within our range of services to our clients.

Ask Us a Question today and find out why our clients return to In Depth Events event experts year after year. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you!

Category: Logistics