Overloaded Mind

The audience watches in awe at the magic on stage, but behind the scenes there is a group of people trying to bring magic to the appreciative audience. But behind the magic making there is a dark secret. One that is now coming out into the open. This is thanks to a recent study. It all started with a survey. I took part in this survey. It was conducted by Victoria University and Entertainment Assist and called “Working in the Australian Entertainment Industry:Final Report”.  This survey is interesting as well as frightening. It highlights a lot of problems in the industry and a very high suicide rate. This study is incredibly intensive, and I recommend that anyone working in the industry sit down and read it. I am sure that we recognize someone with problems or we have the problems ourselves. To quote from the report “This report has uncovered serious health and well being concerns for those who work in the Australian entertainment and creative industries. Mental health problems, drug and alcohol use, and suicidality are prominent. Indicators of anxiety and depression symptomology are well over the general population norms; suicide ideation is 6 times greater, suicide planning is more than 4 times greater, and suicide attempts are more than double the general population.”

We all need to be aware of this, we need to ask ourselves and other how we are. I know for a fact that anxiety is a major problem. I suffer from this myself. The uncertainty of employment can give you many sleepless nights. Many waking hours are given over to thoughts of how to pay for bills, what will the future bring, will I be able to work until retirement age. The amount of mental health issues is higher than the general population. The most common diagnoses were depression followed by anxiety. 44% of workers in the entertainment industry have moderate to severe anxiety. This is ten times higher than the general populous. So I am not alone. Symptoms of depression are also five times higher than the general population.

Now we need to get the word out. The CX Network has recently thrown its support behind The Australian Road Crew Association (ARCA). These guys have added Julius Grafton to the board   “and resolved to fight harder to help current and former crew facing difficulties. ARCA has called on promoters and industry to donate 5c a ticket sold directly into the Roadie Fund administered by Support Act, matching donations by Michael Chugg, Air Supply, Crowded House and Paul Kelly.” (PROTech News, 2016)

ARCA had already been on the ball in regards to the toll the industry has on road crews. This recent report has just more impetus to do more for road crew around Australia. In 2012 they collated a departed list, this identified suicide as a major risk facing road crew.

ARCA urges promoters, industry and concerned individuals to donate directly and tax free into the Roadie Account. This is at http://supportact.org.au/donate/ and make sure the Roadies box is ticked. Under a year-old agreement with Support Act, every dollar in the roadie fund will go to those in need.

Need help? Call Piggy on 0415 667 221 or Julius on 0408 498 180 for a referral to Support Act.

So what should we do?

We need to be aware of our own mental health and also the health of our fellow co-workers. It is job not the concert industry where these problems exist. It is all areas of the industry. Do not be afraid to ask for help. One of the issues we need to deal with is unemployment. We may have short contracts, the tour comes to an end, or we are just laid off. A lot of folk in the industry are not employed full time, with the benefits that it entails. You could be a freelancer going from gig to gig. There are so many variables of employment that it is no wonder income is an issue, or the lack of.  If you look at the report in regards to income.

35% of all Australian entertainment industry workers earn an annual industry income below $20,000 
63% of Performers, 28% of Support Workers and 20% of Technicians/Crew earn less than the Australian National Minimum Wage of $34,112 
72.5% of entertainment industry workers earn less than $60K annually from the entertainment industry 
65% have a combined income below $60K from earning within and outside the entertainment industry 
54.6% have been generating their primary income from the Entertainment Industry for 2-15 years.

So as you can see income is also a major worry along with uncertainty of employment.  It is yet another worry for all members of the entertainment industry.
Unemployment is destabilising for anyone. The uncertainty and lack of control tend to lead to feelings of helplessness. Humans have a need to feel useful, to contribute, to connect and to grow. We function best if we work and rest in good measure. If we work too much or not enough, we start to spiral. (aussietheatre.com.au/blogs/stage-door-shrink/amanda-harrison-rachel-cole, May 2016)

We need to make sure that we have a decent life/work balance. Too many technicians seems to work excessive hours, working under the mindset that they need to make hay while the sun shines. That sounds like forward thinking but it is not. Your health, relationships etc will suffer under this sort of lifestyle. You need to have a well balanced life/work ratio. You need to work to live, not live to work. Yes we all love our jobs but we need to be able to step back and smell the roses. We need to, as one good colleague of mine said, take a mental health day. Turn off the phone and chill out.

Most entertainment industry workers do not know where to get support from in the entertainment industry and identify critical barriers to seeking support including:
1. lack of resources such as time, money and lack of good support resources;
2. problems inherent in the industry such as lack of trust, unsupportive environment, disjointed lifestyle, lack of respect for industry from outside;
3. a perception that seeking support may compromise future employment opportunities.(Working in the Australian Entertainment Industry_Summary of Key Findings,Oct 2016)

So we need to spread the word to our collegues, places that we work, organisations that we work for. Some workplaces at the moment don’t recognize mental health issues. So we need to make sure that the message gets out there. We need to help educate the workforce that it is okay to ask for help, that you are not alone.

Places for help and information

LifeLine 13 11 14.

Suicide Call Back Service  Ph: 1300 659 467

www.australianroadcrew.com.au

http://supportact.org.au/

http://entertainmentassist.org.au/

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

For information about mental health crisis services specific to your region in Australia, see table below.

Victoria
Mental Health Advice Line Ph: 1300 60 60 24	For immediate, expert health advice from a nurse
New South Wales
Mental Health Line Ph: 1800 011 511	24-hour telephone service, operating 7 days a week
Australian Capital Territory
Mental Health Crisis Team Ph: 1800 629 354 or (02) 6205 1065	24-hour/7-days a week service, for assessment and treatment of mentally ill people in crisis situations
Queensland
Queensland Government Ph: 13 HEALTH	24-hour/7-days a week service for health information, advice or referral
Northern Territory
Mental Health Support Ph: 1800 NT CATT	Free and confidential 24-hour hotline for mental health inquiries
Western Australia
Mental Health Emergency Response Line Ph: (08) 9224 888 1300 555 788 (Metro) 1800 676 822 (Peel)	Psychiatric emergency assessment and advice for mental health clients and their carers
Rural Link Ph: 1800 552 022	Specialist after-hours mental health telephone service for rural communities Mon-Fri: 4.30pm-8.30am Saturday, Sunday, Public holidays: 24-hours
South Australia
Mental Health Services Ph: 13 14 65	24-hours/7-days a week advice and information in a mental health emergency
Tasmania
Mental Health Helpline Ph: 1800 332 388	Free statewide 24-hour/7-days a week service for mental health crisis reaching all regions

Support: Australian Entertainment Safety Resource Guide

This is a very important project that we all need to get behind. Roderick van Gelder is very passionate about safety in our industry and has decided to start this fund raising process to develop this Safety Resource Guide. We all remember the Live Performance effort from a few years ago. This is where they tried to come up with a series of documents that would act as guides for the industry and were based on the new harmonised WHS act and regulations and the Australian Standards. These seemed to have disappeared into thin air. They were released at an industry trade and then no more was heard. To quote:

Other than the now 15 years old Live Performance Australia “Safety Guidelines for Entertainment Industry” there are no safety guidelines for the entertainment industry. In 2012 the Event Safety Alliance Australia tried to bring people together to collectively write the Event Safety Guide for the entertainment industry by the entertainment industry but sadly failed to raise enough awareness, money and participation. (2016, https://startsomegood.com/AESRG)

Well Roderick who has been in the industry for many years and is a firm believer in safe work practises (as is this author) within our industry, well he has decided to follow the British model and research and put to together a guide. This will marry all of the relevant regulations, standards, guidelines etc. into one easy readable booklet that will be a boon to all that work in this industry, from technician to venue manager. This undertaking is incredible large and therefore this fundraising effort should be supported to make it happen.

Lack of Insulation

Again to quote Roderick:

What is it?
The Australian Entertainment Safety Resource Guide will be based on the UK ‘Purple Guide’ format. The Purple Guide, which was written by experts within the event industry, with Government guidance, was originally a 21
chapter document, first published in 1992, aiming to help companies, organisations and individuals who organise live events, such as the Glastonbury and V Festival, to ensure that the event runs safely. The document itself has now been revamped and includes 23 chapters.

The strength of the Australian Entertainment Safety Resource Guide is that it will go beyond the standard Work Health and Safety Act, covering not only health and safety legislation, but industry specific good practice and legislation such as Fire Safety, crowd management and alcohol licensing.
And it will not just be valuable for large festivals or concerts. Community theatres have the same obligations as Performing Arts Centres but not the same resources. A street festival has the same obligations as Vivid Sydney. A theatre company production has the same obligations as a large Arts Festival. And all will benefit from the Safety Resource Guide.
It is essential to keep in mind that it will be precisely that, a safety resource guide, a starting point providing advice on organising a safe event. The aim is to help you interpret the current Act and Regulation and implement the advice in the resource guide to meet your obligations.

So I commend Roderick for undertaking this mammoth task and I suggest we all get behind him. It is time we had a starting point from which to start. If we all have the same information from which to plan the safe implementation of our shows, events, concerts etc we then can see what we need to do to be safe. We then have the resources to research further when planning our events to make sure we have done everything possible to make them safe.

So if you want to support this please go to:

Australian Entertainment Safety Resource Guide

R U Ok? – should be everyday

My eyes snapped open, checked my phone. 2 hours till I need to get up. My mind is racing. What is this is wrong, will that work. Will the client be happy? Is everything as the client requested? My paranoia steps up to the plate. These thoughts circle through my mind continuously. Just as I think I have gone through permutations, they start again. We try and relax our mind, count sheep but my mind keeps on with circling dark thoughts. Will it pan out. I feel like I am in over my depth, yet I have the skills and have done it all before. Is my mind crashing? I lay there feigning sleep until the alarm sounds. How many of us go through this in our life.

The R U Ok day has rolled around again, and it should be making all think. There are numerous posts on Facebook etc. I think in our industry we are often faced with issues that affect our health, mental and otherwise. We often shrug off the problems and get on with the show. Should we dismiss these feelings? Never.

In the entertainment industry we are faced with a variety of issues that can play with our minds. A large percentage of us are employed casually or freelance and therefore the prospect of no income often preys on our minds. I know first hand how that feels, will I be able to pay that bill or get groceries to feed myself and my family. We get ill and therefore cannot take on work, or we suffer an injury and cannot work for a few weeks. These all can stress us out. From personal experience if I get ill or have a slight injury I will continue to work, to the detriment of my health. The main concern is the show must go on and I need to eat. Should we have stresses like this in our life, should we just be working to survive? Do we need to have a good quality of life? We struggle with the mental angst everyday. We started out young and full of promise to work in the field that we loved. We want to make magic happen for the audience, no matter what field we were in. We loved the challenges and the chances to be creative. We soared with the success productions we worked on and ignored the slim wallet and empty bank accounts. The aches and pains we ignored or used buckets of over the counter pain killers. If we found we could not cope we turned to alcohol or drugs for some. We soldiered on from venue to venue.
We aged and then suddenly one morning we awoke and realised that we were no longer young and our bodies refused to move they way it use to. Some of use could not cope with the shock that we were getting on and the mental strain was too much. We lost several to their own hands, people that had given so much and had more to give. Others have given up the industry and some of us have now realised that we have to think about our future. We have to look after ourselves, we need to be open and ask for help. We need to look after each other and help them cope with the changing landscape of this industry. We need not live to work but work to live. We need to enjoy the work but not to the detriment of our health.
More and more employers are beginning to recognise that their employees need to be looked after and not treated as a commodity. We need to be valued and our thoughts and opinions at least listened to. We seem to have more access to services in regards to our mental health, but do we recognise that we have a problem ourselves. How can we tell if we have a problem? This is why this R U Ok day is important, but remember to ask someone if they are okay at any time. It may make a difference, I don’t know as I have never been asked by others in the industry yet, but I have asked myself. So don’t be afraid to ask yourself if you are okay. If you do have any doubts about your ability to handle these sorts of problems, talk to someone, seek help.
I know I am starting to suffer anxiety attacks at least once a week, now this could be work related or caused by the medications I take. Only recently have I decided that maybe I should ask my GP about it and maybe get to the root cause of this problem.
We need to speak and ask for help, there are many around us that will support and look after our needs.

We give others enjoyment let’s make sure we get some back.

So are you okay?

Where to go for help?

Your local GP

Entertainment Assist

Beyond Blue

Is The Venue Ready?

At this time in Adelaide, venues around town are getting themselves ready for the Fringe or Festival invasion. Performers are consulted, equipments cleaned and some lucky soul has to put it all together. The end result has to be able to work for a number of people. Some venues will have many acts on the same night and there is limited time to change over. So everyone needs to compromise. So what can we do to make things easier? Or do we lets the various companies come and do what they like without much venue intervention. Well I doubt the last idea would work, a venue needs to apply some control over what happens in their venue, especially at festival times. Chaos can rule supreme at these busy times and we need to make sure that it all runs nice and smoothly. Making sure that the clients and the audience have a great time.

Lighting plan

The venue needs to have ample equipment and expertise on hand to make sure that the shows look good and are technically great. The best idea is to as early as possible to talk and consult with all of the stakeholders and see what they want to happen in regards to the lighting rig, is there any special equipment they require? Then the technical manager get to work with some CAD software like Vectorworks and draws up a standard lighting plan. Once the tech is designed it is time to communicate with the various clients and see if any thing has changed, share a PDF copy for them all to look at. Make sure you have simple diagrams of where the specials etc are focused within the space. A key eelement to reme3mber with fringe style shows is that you are often dealing with people who have limited theatre experience, so you may have to explain a lot of what we take for granted. The real benefit of explaining the simple things is that later on down the track, if these people have continued in the industry, they will have a better understanding of the technical elements that go into a show.

So once the final design has been decided upon, it is time to get it in the air, focused and working. There is were all of your hard work planning pays off. If you do have the time once you have the rig in the air, coloured and focus; take pictures from a central position in the audience of the specials focus. Then forward these to the clients so they have a better understanding of what they are likely to encounter, this can be useful for overseas clients.

Now all you need to do is when try arrive make life easy for them by second guessing their needs. If not possible listen and help them achieve thier goals. You maybe their operator or they may bring one with them. Now these guys may work in a different way to what you are use to. So try and accept this without compromising your intergrity and safety. Sometimes overseas groups will have a taken idea on work safety. You will need to make sure that they do comply to Australian regulations, but in the nicest possible way. Don’t jump down thier throats as soon as they do something wrong. Explain calmly that here we have to do it in a certain way. I have seen technicians berate other technicians from interstate or overseas because they did something wrong, they did not take the time to explain why it could not be done thier way. What we need to do is  show the Australian and best way to do it.

Thinking ahead with these types of events and making contingency plans will make the whole process a lot smoother and you will enjoy the process and want to do it again. And best of all the client may want to come back and work in your venue again – thus creating more employment for you.

Hottest Event this Summer – CX Roadshow

Again CX has packed the truck with lots of tech goodies and sending it out to ram the Australian countryside. Bringing the show to you. This is a very much hands on tradeshow that comes to you. Saving you megabucks in travelling to another capital city. This in one of the more innovative tradeshows and networking opurtunities available. I have been to everyone and it is great to catch up with the suppliers and others within our industry. They become no longer and faceless name in an email.

So I am will be there so look for my report and photos, and I look forward to seeing all you guys as well. Dates and times as below.

There is a great range of companies exhibiting and some great free seminars.  The exhibitors are as follows:

 

ALL CITIES: PROGRAM

CX Roadshow introduces FREE EVERYTHING!
FREE Seminars and FREE PARKING at all venues!* You must REGISTER *

11am:	Free tradeshow with hundreds of new devices from over 20 firms on tour!
11am:	Free Seminar: What is in the Spec? Consultants, designers and integrators from YOUR city talk about what new AV products and technologies that they’re specifying for projects and including in their installations. Get the inside word
12.00pm:	Free Demo: PA systems for 500 people. Demo room.
12.30pm:	Free Seminar: Any Given Sunday – How We Worship Now Technology and production managers from YOUR city’s busiest churches discuss how they keep things running smoothly, week in, week out. Covering everything from gear choices to training and managing volunteers, our panel will go in-depth
1.00pm:	Lighting Showcase: Newest LED wash, spot and floor fixtures.
2.00pm	Free Seminar: Our Venues – Our Call 2pm Prominent venue managers, tech staff and production personnel from YOUR city discuss YOUR venues; how they’re run, how they’re fitted out, how they can be improved and what they need to stay working and relevant in the future.
2.00pm:	Free Demo: PA systems for 500 people. Demo room.
3.00pm:	Lighting Showcase: Newest LED wash, spot and floor fixtures.
3.30pm:	Free Roundtable: Industry Accreditation Scheme: ‘Let’s squeeze out the Cowboys!’ A round-table discussion with people from YOUR CITY about the problems with production suppliers who don’t insure properly, don’t pay properly, don’t have workers compensation insurance and don’t follow workplace health and safety guidelines properly.
4.30pm:	HAPPY HOUR and yes, this is FREE too! With give-aways and more.
6.00pm:	Show closes REGISTER to secure your FREE PLACE: Registered participants seated first in all sessions. Register for FREE PARKING, only available if we know you are coming in advance. www.cxevents.com.au

Safety Guidelines for Live Entertainment and Events Update

This is one of the seminars that I attended at the recent Entech Connect held in Melbourne in July 2014. It is great to see that the industry is working hard on getting a set of guideline together for our industry. They have achieved a hell of a lot in the last couple of years and soon we will see fruition of some of their work at the end of August if the pieces all fall into place. The lead organisation is  Live Performance Australia, and they are working with a variety of people across our industry putting together in what is a complex task a series of hazard guides. These hazards include: rigging, electricity, chemicals, heights etc to name a few.

Now the purpose of this update was to let folks know that they have completed five guides so far. These being Rigging, Chemicals, Electricity, General operational and height. They are currently have another seven in development.

These guides place a stronger emphasis on hazard identification and risk management, in line with the new legislation. Connections are made with legislation, the codes of practice, Current Australian and NZ standards and also with consultation with related industries. They is a strong emphasis placed on consulting the folks doing the work and strengthening the skills of workers, accredited training and licensing.

Each guide will have 3 sections, the first part outlining the regulatory framework, duty holders and responsibilities, enforcement, how to manage compliance, communication, consulting, competency and training. Part two covers, hazard identification and risk management, principles of risk management, risk assessments inc. template, understanding hazards, event hazard checklist, safe work method statements including a template.  Part three will be the hazard guide for the area that the hazard may occur, such as rigging or lighting.

The purpose of the guides is to assist the venue technician,event organisers to assess the a situation. These guides build on to the legislation and current codes of practice. In fact it could be  best practice, they are based on what is already there but are written in a way an event practitioner can understand and therefore assess their show or event and do it in the safest possible way.

It is great to see the industry take the bull by the horns and come up with guidelines with consultation of the industry So much better than the government stepping in heavy-hand and stomping over our industry because we were slack.  The government does not understand our industry and the first time we have a major incident they would clamp down on us. This way we are having a set of “best practice” type documents outlined that will give us guidance and make us think twice before doing something dangerous. Being proactive is going to save lives. It will get us to examine how we go about tasks and if we don’t know how it will hopefully encourage us to ask an industry professional how to.

I am, and I am sure plenty of others, are looking forward to the next step in this process. I like to go home to my loved ones at the end of a shift.

Knockoff & Unsafe Equipment

ENTECH CONNECT is proud to announce that it will be hosting a discussion and presentation on Knockoff & Unsafe Equipment its impact across the Australian industry. A panel of key industry experts from manufactures to end users, will come together to discuss this growing problem and its effects on the industry.”

Facilitated by Julius Graton (CX Media), the esteemed panel includes:
• Steve Devine, Meyer Sound / ACETA
• Frank Andrewartha, Quest Engineering / ACETA
• Peter McKenzie, Philips Selecon / ACETA
• Andrew MacColl, Staging Connections

This free to attend session, will provide an exclusive insight for everyone in the industry on this growing problem, whilst covering the following topics;

• What is a knockoff and what isn’t?
• Not everything from China is a knockoff
• Involvement from organised crime in the counterfeit industry
• Economics & Insurance issues
• Safety compliance issues and Exposure to legal action?

The session will be held at ENTECH CONNECT from 2pm – 3:00pm on Thursday 24th July 2014 at the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Melbourne. Information on the panellists can be found at www.entechshow.com.au

Safety – some don’t get it

At times it seems that the safety message is getting through, that is until you come across some rather disturbing images on the Dodgy Technicians Facebook page. Over the last day of so a couple of pictures from River Sessions (held in Mackay, Queensland) have emerged which show what looks like a rather badly built stage 3. It appears from the images that the roofing and truss are held up by simple winch ups. These types of winch ups are not fit for the purpose to support a roofing structure outdoors. There appears to be know guy cables to hold it down to the ground if the wind gets up. If things went wrong and this structure came down on people there would be hell to pay. Everyone from techs working on the show to the promoter are all likely to be looked at by the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. If you look at the photographs in question you can see what is potentially wrong.

Now I am basing my assumptions on some photos and what other are saying online. The photos seem genuine as they had been taken by punters at the event. I am also only talking about one stage that was at the event I have not seen any other pictures of the other stages so I will not be commenting about them.

Surely these days event organisers are aware of their responsibility’s to everybody on site. There must have been a site risk management plan and surely a safety officer on site that knew what to look for, and the techs working on this event must have questioned the safety of this particular structure. To quote from Workplace Health and Safety Queensland website:

“Public events

Safety at public events is the responsibility of the individual or group conducting the event.

Many public events are commercial enterprises, such as speedway racing, professionally run sporting events and music festivals. However, there are also other public events that are held as fund raising activities for charities or not-for-profit organisations, such as fun runs.

Duties under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for people conducting public events

When a public event is conducted by a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (PDF, 1.42 MB) (the Act) applies and the PCBU must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable:

• the health and safety of workers in the workplace
• that work carried out as part of the event does not put the health and safety of participants or spectators at risk
• the work environment is without potential risks to health and safety
• plant and structures are safe
• systems of work are safe.

In doing what is reasonably practicable, the PCBU must meet the standard of behaviour expected of a reasonable person in their position who is required to comply with the same duty and is:

• committed to providing the highest level of protection for people against risks to their health and safety
• proactive in taking measures to protect the health and safety of people.

Patrons attending an event may encounter health and safety risks when attending an event. For example, when visiting the saddling up yard at a horse racing event, or by participating in a fun run.

An event organiser needs to anticipate the likelihood that patrons will be exposed to risks to health and safety and provide reasonably practicable control measures in response. These can include:

• increasing supervision
• providing information and signage
• providing barriers and/or restricting entry to certain areas or activities.

Workers and other persons such as patrons at public events conducted by PCBUs also have a duty of care under the Act to:

• take reasonable care for their own health and safety
• take reasonable care that they do not adversely affect the health and safety of others
• comply with reasonable instructions given by the PCBU.”

So anyone that is organising and running an event can actually find out what their requirements are under the law from this particular website. There are also people out there that can give advise in regards to safety. So why is this sort of thing still happening? did they go for the cheapest option? Is the profit more important than safety?

If you are an Event Manager/ Promoter etc please actually consider WHS. If you think it is too hard, well give up and get another job. We don’t want you in this industry jeopardising our lifes. Work, Health and Safety are a fact of life and has been for many years. You need to look after the folk working your event and the punters, because if they get injured or killed because you had been slack with you risk assessments and plans you are going to feel the full weight of the law. If you have not made sure that the event is as safe as possible and you have planned for any contingency you will injure or kill someone.  Going for the cheapest option could end up costing everybody more. As an industry this would mean so much red tape and regulation that it would kill off a lot of shows. We as an industry do want to do it safely, but it seems there are cowboys out there. These cowboys could destroy what the industry is working towards, a safe place to work and the chance to go home at the end of the day.

For further information I would also keep an eye on the good publication CX, either in print or online as I imagine Julius and the team are right on top of this as well, and likely to get even more information than I can.

News – Revised Industry Safety Guidelines to be announced at ENTECH CONNECT 2014.

As I had previously mentioned, LPA have been working on Industry Safety Guidelines. Well I have just received the following media release and the news is good. At the ENTECH CONNECT 2014 in Melbourne the revised version will be released. Please read below:

ENTECH CONNECT are pleased to announce the revised LPA Industry Safety Guidelines will be delivered at the forthcoming ENTECH CONNECT conference to be held in Melbourne on July 2014.

An initial OH&S Summit was held at the first ENTECH CONNECT event in 2012, attracting over 150 industry members from across Australia, where it became evident relevant and up-to-date Guidelines on Work Health and Safety were needed.

Live Performance Australia (LPA) subsequently convened the Work Health and Safety Working Party to review the 2001 Safety Guidelines for the Entertainment Industry.   LPA then invited industry Work Health and Safety experts to revise and develop new Guidelines for the Live Performance Industry.

“The new Guidelines will develop principles of risk management and provide the foundations of workplace safety in the live performance and events industry.  These Guidelines have been developed in conjunction with LPA members, and will be delivered at next year’s ENTECH CONNECT event” stated David Hamilton, Director, Workplace Relations, LPA.

Julius Grafton, CX Media, will facilitate the free-to-attend discussion on the first afternoon of the show’s Education Program.  The session will be held from 3:30pm – 5:00pm on Wednesday 23 July 2014 followed by networking drinks on the show floor.  Registration to the show is free and will be open in February 2014. Bookings are recommended to secure seats at the session.

About ENTECH CONNECT

ENTECH CONNECT will be held 23 – 24 July 2014 at the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Melbourne. A specialised industry event, ENTECH CONNECT focuses on providing exceptional and intimate education and training sessions targeting Pro Audio, Audio Visual, Integration, Broadcast, Lighting & Staging professionals.

ENTECH CONNECT is held over two days in Melbourne providing an informal, inexpensive and social environment for visitors to network as well as get their hands on the latest industry technology.  ENTECH CONNECT introduces new and fresh exhibitors, and provides industry members in Melbourne a technology showcase.

ENTECH CONNECT is a bi-annual event that runs sequential to its sister bi-annual event – ENTECH. Visit: www.entechshow.com.au

For more information about ENTECH CONNECT contact Event Manager Stephen Dallimore on 02 9556 7988 or sdallimore@etf.com.au

About Live Performance Australia (LPA)

Live Performance Australia (LPA) is the peak body for the Live Performance industry in Australia.  Founded in 1917, the organisation has been servicing the needs of the industry for almost 100 years and is today registered as an Employers’ Organisation under the Fair Work (Registered Organisation) Act 2009

Visit: http://www.liveperformance.com.au 

For more information about LPA please contact susan@dmgpr.com 
 Digital Mantra Group (DMG) on 02 8006 0424

Headsets revisited

It is that time of the year again. End of year concerts and presentations. So maybe time to re-visit headset etiquette as my ears recover. So what some of the “rules”?

1. Keep your mic off unless speaking.
2. Do not cough, sneeze, yawn, eat, etc  with the mic open.
3. Never discuss anything on headset you wouldn’t discuss in person center stage in front of the audience.
4. ONE person, usually the SM for a play, RULES the headset. Follow his/her lead. Once a “standby” for a cue is given, ALL conversation stops, unless persons or equipment is in eminent bodily harm.
5. Do not move or take off your headset with the mic on.
6. Warn everyone on the channel before plugging or unplugging the headset or beltpack.
7. The volume knob on your beltpack only affects the level you hear. If someone is too loud or too soft, ask them nicely to re-orient their microphone to match everyone else.
8. If using a multi-channel system, be certain you know how to use it properly, so as not to call spot cues to the fly-men, for example.
9. Keep the chatter to an absolute minimum.
10. Don’t shout with microphone on.
11. Make the testing of your station a part of your pre-show check-list.

Seems pretty simple but unfortunately not. We all have horror stories. The worst offenders are the folks that Stage Manage only one or two shows a year or the Mum or Dad roped in at the last minute to communicate with the technician, as they have suddenly discovered that techs cannot read minds. These sort of shows it is a good idea either to use a bullet proof set with a very solid beltpack or the oldest set that is still working. So the best idea is to try and explain to the SM the rules and have a copy of them laminated to the SM desk.

So hopefully you ears will survive another mad end of year season.