Entertainment
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Interrelationship with other industries
The entertainment industry is interrelated with other industries. These include:
Film, TV and radio
Outside broadcasts (OBs) occur regularly for both television and radio. Television and radio use outside broadcasts to promote their programs and, in the case of commercial television and radio, they are used to promote products. These events require entertainment industry support beyond their normal studio support. An ‘OB’ Van is a van permanently set up with audio and vision equipment, specifically designed for producing television, film or radio on location. One of the most common areas of work for the OB van is news and current affairs reporting.
Entertainment technicians can cross over very easily into the film, radio and television industry, as lighting, audio, stage and vision skills are an essential part of any production. The ‘Australian Idol’ series is an excellent example of this, where concerts are performed live and require live production technicians but they are also recorded for the television audience.
Music
The music industry couldn’t function without support form the entertainment industry. From small pub gigs to full scale concerts, entertainment industry support is essential. Large clubs have permanent technical staff to manage audio, lighting, staging and vision at their venues and there will usually be a number of people to fulfil these roles. In a small club there may only be one person operating everything. When a band is contracted to play at a club their manager will have to liaise with the club with regard to their technical requirements. An ‘outside’ entertainment technician would not be allowed to come into the club and operate its equipment, or even bring in their own equipment. The club’s own ‘in-house’ technician will either operate the equipment for the band, or be there to supervise the band’s own technicians.
The music industry also has a number of lavish, large scale award ceremonies such as the Aria awards and the Helpmann awards. The Helpmann awards were established in 2001 by Live Performance Australia (LPA) to promote live performance in Australia. In 2007 they were held at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. This event employed a large number of entertainment industry technicians for the bump in, event operation and the bump out. Set, lighting, audio and vision designers were employed to collaborate with the event’s director.
Live Performance Australia (LPA) is the peak body for Australia’s live entertainment and performing arts industry. For more information visit its website:
http://liveperformance.com.au/ 
Fashion
One area of the fashion industry that is quite dependent on input from entertainment industry professionals is fashion shows and fashion parades. These are used to promote a new line of clothing or present new season ranges. They may be fairly small scale affairs in the local shopping centre, showing the shopping public the latest range of affordable but fashionable clothes from Target or K Mart, or they could be lavish invitation-only events for buyers from major stores or boutiques. The main aim of these events is to show the buyers how good the clothes look when they are actually worn. The clothes need to be shown ‘in the best light’. This expression refers to the fact that clothing shown under standard fluorescent lighting will not be shown to its best advantage. Fluorescent lighting has a green cast to it which makes colours look dull and lifeless. Therefore, to show the clothes at their best, incandescent lighting is used. The runway, or catwalk as it is also called, should be lit with theatrical lighting which will enhance the natural colours and textures of the fabrics, requiring the expertise of lighting technicians.
Each year Australian Fashion Week involves about 80 designers and 50 shows over the course of five days. Each of these shows needs lighting, audio, vision, staging and front of house (FOH) support.
Sport
Any live sporting event which has music or announcements will have an entertainment industry technician working at the venue. Important sporting events often use a distributed sound system around the outside the arena. One of the brands for this type of event is called a Turbo Sound system. Bigger venues such as the Telstra Stadium use clusters of speakers suspended from trussing around the roof of the stadium. Companies such as The PA People and Lots Of Watts regularly install these types of systems into sporting arenas.
Technical support at a sporting event may be as simple as a single microphone for announcements to an audio system with 100 inputs, screens for vision systems and theatrical lighting (if an evening event) for half time entertainment. For examples of the type of equipment used in large scale events go to The Pa People’s website:
http://www.papeople.com.au/ >>what we’ve done >>sporting venues >>Stadium Australia
One of the world’s largest sporting events is also one of the world’s largest entertainment events – the Olympics. The opening and closing ceremonies for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games were spectacular lighting, sound and vision events, all of which had to be bumped in and out very quickly to enable the actual sports events to commence.
Tourism
Large tourist attractions such as Movie World employ a large number of entertainment industry workers, from generally maintaining the sound and lighting systems used throughout the theme park to putting on live shows several times each day. At Movie World, the “Police Academy” show makes use of pyrotechnicians, audio operators, stage crew and lighting operators. Other tourist attractions like Old Mogo Town, a historical gold rush village, employ actors and technicians.
Harbour cruises, river boat cruises and ocean going cruise ships employ entertainment technicians to ensure the smooth running of their live entertainment.
Festivals such as the Sydney Jazz Festival and the Melbourne Comedy Festival are part of the tourism industry. People attend the festivals from other states and cities, therefore generating tourism revenue for the host city. Other event organisers often take advantage of the increased numbers of tourists in town and stage their own events. Any type of festival will need at least some entertainment industry support, with public address (PA) systems for communicating with the crowds being the most basic need for any event.
Retail
A large percentage of the entertainment industry in Australia consists of corporate work. Live production companies are employed by retail businesses for product promotion, that is introducing new products to the public. These are usually very bright, ‘glitzy’ and glamorous affairs, aimed at getting people talking about the new product. Another example is product launches, for examples for a new model car that has just been released. These may be aimed at company representatives whose job it is to sell these new models.
Large shopping centres employ permanent technical staff to operate and maintain their in-house PA and lighting systems. If you have the opportunity to visit one of the large Westfield shopping centres, have a look around (and up). You will find permanently rigged speakers and theatrical spots such as profiles and parcans. These are in place for displays and school holiday performances, talent shows and pantomimes.
Visual arts, craft and design
Many entertainment industry technicians are also employed in the visual arts industry, for example lighting technicians. Lighting plays a significant part in the presentation of visual arts and crafts. To bring out the colours and textures of artworks, good quality lighting is needed. If a painting is just hung on a wall, its colours will appear dull and lifeless; however, by directly focussing incandescent light on the painting, the colours become warm and luminescent. Paintings with cool colours, on the other hand, are better displayed with halogen lights. Care needs to be taken when lighting fine art work as heat from lights and UV can damage watercolours and oil paints.
Events such as the ‘Craft and Quilt Fair’ held at the Sydney Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour require technical support such as lighting for displays and a PA system for announcements.
Religion
Entertainment technology plays a big part in religious services in many of the large churches. One example is Hillsong, a multi million dollar Christian venue designed specifically for large performances and live television broadcasts. Even small churches commonly use data projectors, radio microphones, PA systems and theatrical lighting as part of their religious services.
Trades
A number of trades support the entertainment industry. Carpenters are employed to build sets, temporary stages and props. Riggers are required when flying speakers and suspended lighting bars. Electricians are often required for running power to temporary stages, particularly in outdoor events. Skilled tailors are needed to sew costumes. Artists paint backdrops and sets, and the show wouldn’t even get started if it wasn’t for clerical support personnel.
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