TPi Awards 2011

Around 1,100 people from all disciplines of the international live event production industry attended what has been described by many as “the best ever” TPi Awards on Monday 7 February at the Novotel London West in Hammersmith, London W6.

Hosted by Fun Lovin’ Criminals frontman and TV/radio personality Huey Morgan, the TPi Awards 2011 was the 10th annual event to be staged by leading industry publication, Total Production International, and featured its slickest production design to date.

Coinciding with its current UK rebranding, Production Resource Group provided all of the technical services for the event, covering sound, lighting, video and rigging/automation, as well as programming and pre-production at its East Molesey, Surrey base, while Blackout enhanced the Champagne Suite with tasteful draping.

James Cobb once again filled the role of production manager, hiring the services of regular video content design company Digital Insanity, transport provider EST and local crew/security supplier Showforce.

Prior to the Awards, the 2011 PSA (Production Services Association) Annual General Meeting and Conference saw a number of hot industry topics raised and debated, including the changes in health & safety enforcement, the HSE report on temporary structures, and education and training.

Organised by PSA general manager Andy Lenthall, the Conference also featured an encouraging keynote speech by a representative of VisitBritain, on the importance of the UK event industry.

The Conference was held in the Novotel London West’s Chablis Suite, the venue for the post-Awards party which went well into the early hours. Notably, PRG’s Luke Jackson, the 2010 winner of TPi’s My Generation award, was the lighting designer for this ‘zone’.

Highlights of the TPi Awards ceremony included the presentation of the Live Production of the Year accolade to the team behind Gorillaz’ Escape To Plastic Beach world tour, while Bob Doyle, the audio maverick behind the success of leading manufacturing brands DiGiCo and Midas, scooped the newly-retitled ‘Chronicle’ Lifetime Contribution Award.

Mark Cunningham, editor-in-chief of TPi magazine and creative director of the TPi Awards, commented: “Since the evening of February 7, we’ve been swamped by e-mails and goodwill messages from people who thought it was by far the best TPi Awards to date. I think that has a lot to do with the skill and imagination that PRG brought to the mix, and also the way that Huey Morgan handled what is famously a very demanding audience. He absolutely got it right.”

AND THE WINNERS WERE:

LIVE PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR
— sponsored by PRG
Winner: GORILLAZ / ESCAPE TO PLASTIC BEACH TOUR

TOUR MANAGER OF THE YEAR
— sponsored by AIR CHARTER SERVICE
Winner: CRAIG DUFFY

STAGE MANAGER OF THE YEAR
— sponsored by PIXELRANGE
Winner: DAVID ‘CHALKII’ WHITE

PRODUCTION MANAGER OF THE YEAR
— sponsored by CHRISTIE DIGITAL
Winner: NEIL McDONALD

FAVOURITE INTERNATIONAL
PRODUCTION COMPANY
— sponsored by CHRISTIE DIGITAL
Winner: DELICATE PRODUCTIONS (USA)

BACKLINE TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR
Winner: ‘DEPTFORD’ JOHN ARMITAGE

PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR OF THE YEAR
— sponsored by EFM
Winner: DEBBIE BRAY

FAVOURITE REHEARSAL FACILITY
Winner: LH2 STUDIOS

FAVOURITE VENUE
— sponsored by SHOWFORCE
Winner: O2 ARENA, LONDON

FAVOURITE CATERING COMPANY
Winner: EAT TO THE BEAT

FAVOURITE SOUND RENTAL COMPANY
— sponsored by YAMAHA COMMERCIAL AUDIO
Winner: SSE AUDIO GROUP

FAVOURITE RIGGING COMPANY
Winner: SUMMIT STEEL

FAVOURITE VIDEO SERVICES COMPANY
Winner: XL VIDEO

FAVOURITE LIGHTING RENTAL COMPANY
— sponsored by MA LIGHTING
Winner: NEG EARTH LIGHTS

THE EDITOR’S AWARD
Winner: FAIRPORT’S CROPREDY CONVENTION

THE MY GENERATION AWARD
— sponsored by UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON
Winner: JAMIE TRANT

FAVOURITE TRANSPORT COMPANY
Winner: EST

FAVOURITE FREIGHT COMPANY
Winner: SOUND MOVES

FRONT-OF-HOUSE ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
— sponsored by DiGiCo
Winner: MARC CAROLAN

MONITOR ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
— sponsored by DiGiCo
Winner: JON LEWIS

FAVOURITE SECURITY / CROWD MANAGEMENT COMPANY
Winner: SHOWSEC

LIGHTING DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
— sponsored by MARTIN PROFESSIONAL
Winner: IAN TOMLINSON

RIGGER OF THE YEAR
Winner: SVEN KNIGHT

THE VIDEO VISIONARY AWARD
— sponsored by ROLAND SYSTEMS GROUP
Winner: JON SHRIMPTON

FAVOURITE STAGING COMPANY
Winner: STAGECO

SET DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
— sponsored by ALL ACCESS STAGING & PRODUCTIONS
Winner: ES DEVLIN

FAVOURITE SET CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
Winner: BRILLIANT STAGES

FAVOURITE CREW COMPANY
— sponsored by SHOWSEC
Winner: SHOWFORCE

FAVOURITE TRAVEL COMPANY
Winner: THE TOUR COMPANY

JOHN PEEL UNSUNG HERO AWARD
— in association with the PSA
Winner: JOHN JONES

THE ‘CHRONICLE’ LIFETIME CONTRIBUTION AWARD
Winner: BOB DOYLE

TPi Awards 2011 Credits:
Production Manager • James Cobb
Creative Director • Mark Cunningham
Event Manager • Ben Chadwick
Production Assistant • Lisa Telfer
Stage Hostess • Laura McLaughlin
Sound, Lighting, Video & Rigging • Production Resource Group
Video Graphics • Digital Insanity
Video Director • Matt Askem
Video Consultant • Richard Shipman
Staging • Firecracker Works
Draping • Blackout
Transport • EST
Autocue • James Hamling (operator: Ashly Lewis)
LED Uplighters • Shok
Additional Lighting • PixelRange
Audio Console • DiGiCo
Health & Safety • Steve Kearney
Local Crew & Security • Showforce

Chablis Suite:
Sound, Lighting & Rigging • Production Resource Group
Starcloth • S+H Technical Support
Furniture • Inner Sanctum
Music • I.Pod

Event Supporters • Robe lighting, Midas, SSE Audio Group, Select Security & Stewarding, LS-Live, Showcase, Showtex, Millennium Studios, Elstree Light & Power

A full production report will appear in the March 2011 issue of TPi Magazine.

For further info, please contact:
Mark Cunningham m.cunningham@mondiale.co.uk 07713 099088
Rachel Esson r.esson@mondiale.co.uk  07968 340940


Photography by Louise Stickland & Richard Skins
www.tpimagazine.com • www.tpiawards.com