b'leadtimesforproductioncanbeverytightinthissome key elements to a good eventtop venue design,This page (from left): industry, says Stu. Even so, we often work 1618goodfoodandentertainment,effectivelightingandProps in the factory, life-size toy soldier at hours a day to prepare for an event that has a tightproceedings that owStu says theres no set processOrange ofces and the production deadline. you can follow.set for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.Fortunately for the Orange team, works not a bad placeIf you had a process that you always stuck to, then you to hang out. Aside from the visual appeal of all the propscouldnt come up with the results that amaze people. and backdrops, their ofces are kitted out with loungingAnd thats what were aiming to do every time, regardless spaces, a jukebox, and a games room stocked with pinballof whether the budget is a few hundred or a few hundred machines, air hockey, arcade video games, and pool andthousand.Instead,itisacreativeandcollaborative ping pong tables.process, where the Orange team gets together, we call on past experiences and what we have wanted to design The people who work at Orange Productions also loveand produce for a particular event or theme in the past, what they do. Stu and his wife Semele began buildingand then move to looking at the budget and how we can thebusinesswhimsicallynamedforStusfavouritemake it work.colourve years ago, for a couple of reasons. They saw a demand for a company that could manage every aspectOnce we have done that, we look at the lead time and of an event and, more importantly, they wanted to bringwonder how we are going to pull it off! their creative sides into their work lives. Andwheneverythingsinplace,whatsthemeasure Everyone that works at Orange has that creative bent.of success?They dont just come to work and paint a prop; theyreIneventmanagement,organisationandexperience living it whenever they can. count for an incalculable amount of how well the evening So, when deadlines are tight, Stu says everyone from thegoes. If we do our job right, everybody has a great time logistics manager to the accounts manager will happilyand nobody gives a moments thought to what went into grab a chainsaw and paint to transform metre-high cubesthe event to make it happen.of polystyrene into gigantic native ferns. Thats not a complaint, either. Creative talent, long hours and detailed planning haveThe satisfaction you get from seeing all the different seen Orange Productions pull off thousands of eventselements come together is huge. Its a great thing to love for top companies and organisations. While there arewhat you do. ReseneCarpe Diem| 37'