Designing Event Experiences - Report Example

Designing Event Experiences Table of Contents of the event 3 Analysis of the elements of interaction 4 Interacting people 4 Relationships4 Rules 5 Objects 5 Physical settings 5 Animation 6 Conclusion 6 Works cited 7 Name of the student: Name of the professor: Course number: Date of submission: Description of the event T in the Park is a famous Scottish music festival. The event is named after the renowned brewing company Tennents. Tennents is also one of the main sponsors of the event. The festival is held annually since the year 1994. It was founded as a joint venture between DF concerts and Tennents Lager. T in the Park was initially started as a two day event, which was converted into a three day event since 2007. The festival attracts around 85,000 people per day with approximately 70,000 campers (“T in the Park.”). T in the Park is one of the major festivals held in the U.K. It is also the fifth largest festival of the world in terms of attendance. It has been growing immensely since the time of its inception. Music lovers from across Europe and Britain come to attend the festival. The festival includes a line-up of performances of famous bands and different music acts. In the recent years the festival has begun sharing its line ups with the famous music festival Oxegen. Oxegen also takes place during the same time of the year. Bands and acts play in Oxegen on one day and in T in the Park the next. This is mainly done so as to boost the ticket sales. Since the year 2003 the festival has been taking place in Balado. From 2015 onwards the festival will be moved to Strathallan Castle Estate in the country of Perthshire. Almost 3 million pints of lager is especially brewed by Tennents for the event. The 2014 festival was held between 10th and the 13th of July (“T in the Park.”). This was the last time that the festival was held in Balado due to the issue of the gas pipelines which run underneath the field. The line up of acts for the 2014 event included performance by Arctic Monkeys, Calvin Harris, Ed Sheeran, Paul Weller and The Human League amongst many others. The festival was granted the late night music license which allowed the bands to play till 1am unlike previously where they played only till 12am (“T in the Park.”). Analysis of the elements of interaction The report analyzes environmental factors, the experiences and the interactions which occur during an event. Rossman’s symbolic interaction theory has been used to analyze T in the Park and the experiences the event was successful in providing. Interacting people Interaction between people becomes an essential aspect for all the associated people of an event. The interaction normally occurs so as to meet the needs of all the people who are associated with an event. The interaction between people may occur directly or indirectly at multiple levels such as cultural, social, business oriented and so on. For instance the marketing department for an event will primarily be interacting with the people so as to promote the event and convince people to attend the show. The interaction may occur directly where the public are informed about the event, the line up of acts and other features. The messages also get transmitted indirectly through show previews and telecasting back stage preparations. T in the Park includes interaction between the media, fans, guests, television audiences, costume and stage designers, sound and lighting engineers and the support staff. The interactions between these people were carefully designed with the collaboration of advanced technology. Different television shows and festival promotional programmes are directed and telecasted so as to inform people about the show and persuade them to attend the same. A huge importance is also given to the pre and post event parties which are held throughout the three days of the event. All these programmes are given extensive media coverage (Berridge 177). Relationships Events involve the development of complex relationships between people. Sometimes the interaction between people requires to be designed in a proper manner. This leads to the development of structured relationships. The development of certain types of relationships is crucial for the success of an event. In the case of T in the Park, crucial relationships include the ones shared between the sponsors and the show organizers, the event producers and directors; the team of lighting and sound technicians, the staff and the security personnel’s. The relationships and the level of interaction between these people play are important in creating a suitable experience. Rules Rules provide structure to the interactions between the people. There are basically two types of rules established in respect of an event. These are primarily formal and informal rules. In respect of T in the Park, the rules are primarily ceremonial. These incorporate the areas which are restricted as private entry, the ticket checking sytems and the rules regarding camping facilities. Such rules play an important role in monitoring the behaviour of individuals which impacts the experience provided. Rules however depend upon the level of interpretation and the affectivity in their communication. In case of big events such as the T in the Park, the security related rules requires to be strictly implemented. It is also essential that the crowd management rules be formulated in a manner such that the roads do not get blocked by traffic. Frequent changes in rules may cause confusions. The informal set of rules need not be communicated directly. They are interpreted by the audience through the manner in which the organizers behave, the settings of the event, the culture of the people and their expectations (Ochsner 242). Objects The objects of an event fall into three categories which are physical, social and symbolic. The success of an event largely depends upon the development of a number of key relevant objects. The physical objects are primarily related to the tangible and the intangible aspects of an event. The social objects include the individual groups who are involved in the event and interact with each other. The symbolic objects are related to the ideas and the philosophies that a particular event aims to provide to the audience. The physical and the social objects have been discussed in other sections of this report. The symbolic object of T in the Park is primarily to provide a good experience in terms of music to the audience. The objects of an event play an important role in deciding the type of experience the vent wishes to provide. Objects get converted into meaningful and memorable experiences. A host of objects such as guests, lighting, sound and food are used to stimulate the experiences (Getz 187). Physical settings The physical setting refers to the tangible environment in which an event is set up. T in the Park facilitates housing almost 85000 individuals on each day of the event. The event tickets are sold in two divisions namely the VIP section and the general area. The VIP section includes gourmet food section and relaxing outdoor and indoor seating facilities. The stage area is set very high so that it can be viewed from far as well. Careful attention is paid to the designing of the stage as it is area on which the media and the audience will be concentrating. Eminent and famous lighting and sound technicians were called in especially for the event. Since T in the Park is a music festival, it is essential that sound systems are well designed. The purpose of establishing a good physical setting is to impact the senses of the audience. The goal is to provide a memorable and an enjoyable experience. However it is not necessary that all senses are equally impacted during an event. In case of a musical festival like T in the Park, the primary senses which are impacted are sight and sound (Holloway, Brown and Shipway 74). Animation Animation is the action element of an event. The manner in which the actions are designed and structured affects the movement and the responses of the audience. In respect of T in the Park the timing for entry and exit of each act, time allocation for each event and the manner of delivering the performances have an impact upon the gathering of experiences by the audience. Such elements also impact the movement and the order maintained in the audience. Animation is largely concerned with the experience that individuals get through motion of different elements. Animation guides the manner in which individuals move around in a given space. The animation aspect of an event begins from the time the audience enters the venue and lasts till they move out. Visual impacts and sequence of acts are also important factors in trhis context (Holloway, Brown and Shipway 74). Conclusion Rossman’s theory related to symbolic interaction is frequently used by event managers to design and manage events in order to create positive experiences. The model helps in understanding the kind of experience audience gain from each element of interaction. Hence by altering or carefully planning each interaction, event managers can successfully control the type of experience they wish to provide the audience. Hence predicting the outcomes of different objects, interacting factors and the design of an event are important. Analyzing such aspects help in ensuring that the audience receive a memorable experience. A positive experience also acts as a stimulus for attracting audience repeatedly. The event managers and developers of T in the Park have been successful at providing a positive experience due to well co-ordinated event objects and interaction platforms. Works cited Berridge, Graham. “Events design and experience.” London: Routledge, 2007. Print. Getz, Donald. “Event studies: Theory, research and policy for planned events.” London: Routledge, 2012. Print. Holloway, Immy, Lorraine Brown and Richard Shipway. "Meaning not measurement: Using ethnography to bring a deeper understanding to the participant experience of festivals and events." International Journal of Event and Festival Management (2010): 74-85. Print. Ochsner, Kevin. “Are affective events richly recollected or simply familiar? The experience and process of recognizing feelings past.” Journal of Experimental Psychology (2000): 242. Print. “T in the Park.” T in the Park. DF concerts, 2013. Web. 28 July 2014. Read More