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TPi Awards 2008 — A Huge Success!
Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of Total Production International magazine, the annual TPi Awards truly came of age on Sunday 17th February, when the 2008 event debuted at the prestigious Grosvenor House in Park Lane, London W1 after four consecutive years at Hammersmith’s Novotel London West.
Recognised as the live production industry’s leading annual social event, this year saw a massively upgraded and re-invented TPi Awards, attended by almost 1,000 guests, and sponsored by Midas, Barco, Christie Digital, MA Lighting, Yamaha Commercial Audio, Martin Professional and Robe Show Lighting, along with co-sponsors DiGiCo, Klark Teknik and Live Insurance. For the first time, the 26 categories were divided between the 11 company awards, presented at the PSA Conference Lunch, and the remaining 15 during the evening gala dinner in The Great Room.
“The afternoon awards with video highlights on the night was a great idea, showing a response to the ‘too long’ comments of the past,” commented Bob Doyle, chief executive of DiGiCo. “The production was very good, the sound system very intelligible, food up to par. All in all, an extremely professionally staged event.”
Hosted by comedian Simon Amstell (of BBC’s Never Mind The Buzzcocks fame), who had the audience in stitches with his unique brand of sardonic humour, the evening ceremony was opened by acclaimed London-based all-girl band Ipso Facto, and featured notable appearances by Mike Rutherford of Genesis, Harvey Goldsmith, Mark Fisher and Patrick Woodroffe.
The recent passing of two of the industry’s most respected figures was marked with posthumous awards. Monitor Engineer of the Year, John Roden, was acknowledged via a recorded message from his long-time boss, Sir Paul McCartney, while guitarist Steve Hillage and Stranglers bassist J.J. Burnel honoured the late Pete ‘Skan’ Howard with the John Peel Unsung Hero Award.
Commenting on the success of the 2008 TPi Awards, the editor of Total Production and creative director of the event, Mark Cunningham said: “Finally, with the move to Grosvenor House, this industry has been given the kind of awards event it really deserves. Making so many changes at once may have been risky, but the overwhelming, positive feedback we’ve received has been both encouraging and justifying.
“Having now staged seven annual awards events, we now believe we’ve hit upon a formula that has scope for future growth without taking up too much of the valuable networking time. We therefore feel more comfortable about introducing some new award categories next year for areas of the industry that have so far been neglected. Things can only get better!”
The lunchtime and evening ceremonies were production managed by James Cobb of CA Event Management, who assembled an ‘A-Team’ of suppliers including Local Crew Ltd., Orbital Sound & Event Communications, HSL, PSL Music, PSCo, PixelRange, Lighting Effects Distribution, Le Maitre, S+H Technical Support, Pufferfish Displays, Rockdrops, Perry Scenic Productions, Digital Insanity, Green Hippo, XL Video and SKC Health & Safety Consulting.
A full report on the event will appear in the March 2008 edition of Total Production International, and online at www.tpimagazine.com
Mondiale Events has announced that the date for the TPi Awards 2009 will be Monday 2nd February 2009, again at Grosvenor House. Further information will be available soon.
Meanwhile, the 2008 winners were:
Favourite Sound Rental Company – sponsored by Midas
ADLIB AUDIO
Favourite Lighting Rental Company – sponsored by MA Lighting
HSL
Favourite Set Construction Company
BRILLIANT STAGES
Favourite Staging Company – sponsored by Martin Professional
STAGECO
Favourite Video Services Company – sponsored by Robe Show Lighting
XL VIDEO
Favourite Transport Company
FLY BY NITE
Favourite Freight Company
ROCK-IT CARGO
Favourite Travel Agency
MUSIC BY APPOINTMENT
Favourite Security/Crowd Management Company
SHOWSEC INTERNATIONAL
Favourite Catering Company
EAT TO THE BEAT
Favourite International Production Company – sponsored by Christie Digital
GEARHOUSE SOUTH AFRICA
Production Manager Of The Year – sponsored by Christie Digital
CHRIS VAUGHAN
Tour Manager Of The Year
MIKE DARLING
Production Coordinator Of The Year
CARA GRECZYN
Stage Manager Of The Year – sponsored by Robe Show Lighting
GCB (Gary Cooper-Burrows)
Rigger Of The Year
JON BRAY
Front Of House Engineer Of The Year – sponsored by Midas
‘BIG’ MICK HUGHES
Monitor Engineer Of The Year
JOHN RODEN
Lighting Designer Of The Year – sponsored by Martin Professional
PATRICK WOODROFFE
Video Director Of The Year
RUARY MACPHIE
Set Designer Of The Year
BART CLEMENT
Favourite Venue – sponsored by MA Lighting
O2 ARENA
Live Production Of The Year – sponsored by Barco
GENESIS: TURN IT ON AGAIN TOUR
John Peel Unsung Hero Award
PETE ‘SKAN’ HOWARD
The Editor’s Award
THE AHMET ERTEGUN TRIBUTE
Lifetime Contribution Award – sponsored by Yamaha Commercial Audio
MARK FISHER
5th March 2008
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