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Logies producer Q&A: behind the scenes

Exec. Producer Brent Williams reveals how his team are tackling the big move north to the Gold Coast.

Once again TV Tonight turns to Logie Awards Executive Producer Brent Williams for some behind-the-scenes insight into staging TV’s night of nights.

Last week he explained how his Melbourne team are tackling the big move north to the Gold Coast:

In what ways will the Gold Coast setting differ to viewers from its traditional Melbourne broadcast?
I think the big difference visually will be the Red Carpet. It’s a longer run than we were able to do in Melbourne, which means we are able to have more fans on site welcoming their favourite TV stars. It should create a sensational atmosphere.

Logistically what kind of challenges does it present to you and your team?
Basically, we have had to start from scratch. First of all, we needed to ensure that the room itself was ready to host a television broadcast. It’s a fabulous entertainment space but some additional infrastructure was required to be able to host a live television broadcast of this scale. We’ve obviously made quite a few trips up north to finalise all details not just around the show itself but around the entire event. Locking down backstage areas we can utilise, OB Truck location, cable runs and details around Red Carpet arrivals. There are so many different parties involved in pulling it all together.

How does the week leading up to the big night pan out for you?
The main production team is working out of Melbourne but come Monday, the stage, set and lighting rig starts bumping into the room. There will be semi-trailers for days! Some of our technical guys will be on site from Sunday night and then the rest of the team will head up throughout the week. We also have a fantastic group of Queensland based crew who will be working on the Logies for the first time, so it’s reassuring to know we are in safe hands during the technical and staging preparations.

This is also the 60th Logie Awards, how will TV history be acknowledged?
60 years is a great achievement. While we are not specifically producing this as a milestone show, there will be acknowledgements of Logies history throughout the night.

Hughesy’s opening monologues set the night off well. Do you sign off on his gags or does he wander off script?
Dave has made that opening monologue his own over the last few years – he has been brilliant and we are thrilled to have him again. He really embraces the challenge, and he works so incredibly hard at getting it right. I am across his material before he goes out there but he is also the best stand-up comedian in the country, so you know you are in safe hands if he does occasionally wander off script.

Should Netflix be included next year given they have local productions underway?
I think anyone who is making local productions should be included. We have many different content providers these days and all Australian production should be eligible and celebrated.

Would you ever return to a host for the night?
We are not against the idea of a single host, if the right person was interested and available. More recently our presenters have been happy to be involved by contributing their bit and then enjoying the rest of the night with their colleagues. We feel this approach also gives viewers a bigger sample of the talented people within our industry and what they are capable of.

Let us in on a secret you have been keeping up your sleeve.
We always like to try and keep a couple of surprises up our sleeve…which, I obviously won’t be saying right now. You’ll need to watch.

Your proudest Logie moment so far?
I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in some really memorable moments over my time on the Logies and had the chance to work with some unbelievably talented people. Just last year Casey Donovan received a standing ovation for her ‘In Memoriam’ performance, it was very special and I’ve never seen that before. More than anything I’m proud of our production team. It’s not an easy show to put together and they work so hard but there is a real ‘the show must go on’ mentality no matter what challenges we face. I’m incredibly proud of the job they do.

60th TV Week Logie Awards on Nine
7pm Sunday Logies Red Carpet (Live: Syd / Melb / Bris)
7:30pm Sunday 60th TV Week Logie Awards (Live: Syd / Melb / Bris)

3 Responses

  1. They say that more fans will be able to be along the red carpet, but they’ve also made it very clear that only competition winners will be given the chance to be on the bleachers, citing the fact that “the entrance is smaller” than they’re used to (mixed messages there). One article mentioned that hundreds of fans used to turn up in Melbourne to watch the red carpet arrivals, but organisers are advising people not to even attempt to turn up to watch it at Star City. A bit of a shame, really.

      1. Yes – for some inexplicable reason, they’ve chosen to schedule the event on the same day as the Annual Gold Coast Marathon. Hopefully, they’ll avoid this date in future years. It’s also the first weekend of the school holidays, so that will have an impact on traffic etc. too.

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