Productions Learn From Mistakes

[siore]

First of all, I'm glad there are more prods out there that are more creative in terms of raising revenue for their event.  The general consensus is, although ticket-selling is a valid business model, it is counter-productive for the scene and not too mention...  lazy.  So more guys are tapping into their creative entrepreneurial skills to have better gigs, where everyone benefits, and generally having fun.

Planning, and setting up a good gig is a business.  It takes commitment, innovation, team management, sound bookkeeping, good communication and marketing skills.

Ever made a mistake along the way with your production?  Relied on only one major sponsor, who failed to deliver?  Under-estimated advertising costs?

Post them here.  Let us learn from each other's mistakes.   

[digitalcyco]

back in 2004 i organized one of the largest local gigs here... the Summer Fest. it had a skate and bmx competition, and a full 30 bands to play. my concept was ala VANS warped tour meets our local summ slam.

well everything went well except on the early morning of the event. the guy i assigned to secure Tarps and enclosures and stage from SMB told me that everything was ready and would be delivered and setup that early morning before 6am.

would you imagine the horror I got when that morning, they delivered boxes and boxes of ADVERTISING tarps in different sizes.

yun pala [grape] yung inassign ko, even after explaining to him what we needed he did not get what i meant na enclosure.... because i meant tarps then anything to cover the entire venue.

it was a nightmare. i had to do a last minute change and assign 50 people to maintain a boundary that didnt last long.

soon i was forced to open gate and turn it into a free concert.

i lost a lot lot lot lot lot lot of money because of that minor blunder from him.

lesson: choose your production mates wisely.

[marzi]

lesson: choose your production mates wisely.

or better yet: choose a wise production mate 

[badongrodrigs]

back in 2004 i organized one of the largest local gigs here... the Summer Fest. it had a skate and bmx competition, and a full 30 bands to play. my concept was ala VANS warped tour meets our local summ slam.

well everything went well except on the early morning of the event. the guy i assigned to secure Tarps and enclosures and stage from SMB told me that everything was ready and would be delivered and setup that early morning before 6am.

would you imagine the horror I got when that morning, they delivered boxes and boxes of ADVERTISING tarps in different sizes.

yun pala [grape] yung inassign ko, even after explaining to him what we needed he did not get what i meant na enclosure.... because i meant tarps then anything to cover the entire venue.

it was a nightmare. i had to do a last minute change and assign 50 people to maintain a boundary that didnt last long.

soon i was forced to open gate and turn it into a free concert.

i lost a lot lot lot lot lot lot of money because of that minor blunder from him.

lesson: choose your production mates wisely.

you shouldn't ever be content with verbal explanations. if possible, a drawing would've served you better.

remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.

[digitalcyco]

you shouldn't ever be content with verbal explanations. if possible, a drawing would've served you better.

remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.

i gave him the event layout, and a sketch of what I wanted.

kasi medyo irresponsible yun na klase na tao. he was into it for being "part of the prod" thing. he kept saying and telling me "yes it has been taken cared of" and i realized too late he really didnt actually do anything and made appointments with sponsors, but instead just made phonecalls lang pala and nothing concrete to being with.

to my horror after the gig, most of the sponsorships pala were'nt even receivables in the first place.... most of the sponsors i put on the poster that he assured me were receivables did not even sign the contracts and MOA's in the first place! you could imagine the explaining i had to do, plus the amount of money i had to cover up because i was "assured" that X amount of money was arriving soon from sponsors, according to him.

i think it was because i was too busy handling too many things, i took his assuring words hook line and sinker.

it got me into a lot of trouble, but i managed to pull through and save my butt.

ive been putting up productions once in a while since 1997 but it was the only time disaster hit.

anyway tama, we should choose wise production mates.

 

[BassCog]

+1000 on wise production mates. to add to that, in my experience naman, it is also important to have people who really write down everything, and are OC about details.

[bakit?]

or better yet: choose a wise production mate 

that i agree with,minsan kasi gusto ng mga kasama mo self promotion lang sa prod,sila lang tugtog without thinking all the details preproduction.dyahe.

[Gep]

I fully agree.

Hetong mga kasama ko gusto lang nila masama ang mga banda nila, pero kahit yung pagbabantay ng venue hindi nila magawa.