Meet Byron, who manages outdoor art installations for Walk the Plank arts company.
I'm just basically looking after the people and the equipment, making sure it gets there on time. If it breaks that it gets fixed. All the communications, holding the budget and then just make sure it all goes off safe. With something like this, we'll site visit two or three months in advance, work out all the details there. From that information, we can work out how many staff we need, start booking people, vehicles, testing kit, everything like that.
Behind the scenes can be quite involved and what Walk the Plank do is just crazy. It could be some outdoor theatre show collaboration with a 25-foot mechanical baby or, you know, things involving explosions and that so it's a strange sort of path really, a lot of happy accidents along the way.
Dealing with things like gas systems and fire gardens and pyrotechnics isn't that obvious a profession so I think, you know, curiosity and passion and things like that or accident lead people to this kind of thing. The more you're involved in events, especially things like festivals, and you start to realise the different elements that go into the presentation then maybe things do become a little bit more visible, but it's certainly not something that's put in your lap at school or college.
I think the only downside sometimes is financial hardship because there's no guarantee, you know, I mean obviously some people get to a point where it's commercially viable as well but you've got to constantly manage your own expectations. If you've got the confidence to deal with reality and make sure that you've got enough passion in what you're chasing but you can also pay the rent then you can't really go wrong.
I'm certainly glad I did what I did, because it's experiment time. You can do anything you want when you're 18 to 25 or whatever andit's like everyone's fearless and then you sort of see where the chips fall after really and I think I was quite lucky in some respects. I certainly didn't plan it.
What I realised in the time out when I wasn’t doing this stuff is how much I missed all the amazing genius you come across.
Byron manages installations for an outdoor arts company. He is responsible for looking after the people and equipment involved in putting together large-scale outdoor arts installations and productions
His role involves working with gas systems, fire gardens and pyrotechnics
Having tried to avoid studying at school, Byron managed to pass in his exams and went on to study Drama at university. It was through drama that he learnt about all the elements that go into creating productions
He spent some time in the music industry DJing, promoting music, running a record shop and working with artists. This laid the foundation for the type of tasks he does now
After taking a break from the field when his daughter was young, Byron rejoined the industry when he started working for Walk the Plank, the outdoor arts company he currently works for
Byron says you never stop learning. At 47, he is still learning lots every day, which he loves – it motivates him to get out of bed in the morning!
What to expect if you want to be a production manager
- Production manager average salary: Variable. You could be self-employed/freelance.
- Production manager typical working hours: 38 to 40 hours per week, including evenings and weekends.
What qualifications do you need to be a production manager?
You could get into this role via a university course, a college course (such as a Level 3 Diploma or a T-level in Media, Broadcast and Production - England-only, from Sept 2023), an apprenticeship, volunteering, working towards the role by starting as a runner or an assistant in the production office, or through one of the new entrant training schemes that broadcasters and film bodies offer, such as BBC trainee schemes.
You can find out more about working in live music production through Creative Choices
Sources: National Careers Service, GOV.UK
This information is a guide and is constantly changing. Please check the National Careers Service website for the latest information and all the qualifications needed and the GOV.UK website for more on T-levels.
For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: National Careers Service (England), nidirect (Northern Ireland), My World of Work (Scotland) and Careers Wales (Wales).
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