Brian Jansen goes above and beyond the call. As one of the production managers for Production Plus, he has to know literally everything about every show he is working on. He took the time out of his busy schedule to sit down with SBD and talk about the ins and outs of being one of Pro Plus' front men.

Brian Jansen - never fully dressed without a smile - in his office.

SBD – Tell me about your job.  How would you describe it to someone who had no idea what you do?

BJ – Good question.  I’m one of the lead production managers, technical directors. and salespeople at Production Plus.  I lead projects from start to finish on a day by day basis.  We start by coming up with creative concepts; either looking at stock sets, mixing up existing scenic elements, or creating new sets.  Involved in that is budgeting and/or assisting with sales pitches for clients.  Once the jobs are approved, we begin working with the client and with the venue.  While that’s going on we put together a crew for the show–all the leads, audio department, video department, lighting, scenery, etc.  You work with all the departments to make sure everyone is on the same page.  We hire trucking and local labor for the setup.  All the while, you keep your eye on the budget, and make sure that the client and the venue are happy.  You work with everybody: the client, the end client (if there is one), the venue and everyone involved there from the catering manager to the services manager, the labor unions, all the indirect staff on the show, and make sure that everyone is on task and happy.  You make sure the show and the gear get there, you set it up, the show goes great, flawless, and then you make sure everything gets put back on the trucks and makes it back to the shop.  The final stage is post-production: you sit down with the client, make sure everything went well, find out what they may want to change for next year.

So, basically, if you’re in my position you’re responsible for everything.  (laughs)

SBD – That’s the whole show!  You really walk the whole thing through, from start to finish!  So production manager is really an apt title.  You have to have your eye on the ball the whole time.

BJ – Exactly.  You can’t afford to take it off.  The hard part is keeping everything organized.  Most of us are working on anywhere from three, six, a thousand projects at a time.  They may be six months out, a year out, something that’s happening currently, next week.  Lots of things overlap.  You really have to be focused on a lot of things.  This is why production managers rely on the all the people here at Pro Plus.  It’s phenomenal to have this kind of a team behind you, this family of talented, hard-working people.  It really feels like someone’s got my back.

SBD – What are your tools?  How do you keep it all straight?

BJ – A cellphone and a laptop.  We live and die by them now.  When we first started out, we used show books; a lot of paperwork, faxing and FedEx-ing everybody copies of everything.  Now, with the advent of electronic media, it’s really changed.  Most paper is eliminated.  There are still certain papers you need on show site for things such as fire-proofing certificates for scenery, certain insurance papers, etc. but almost everything is on my laptop now.  Tons of e-mail and phone conversations.  So, I save everything in files organized by show on my computer … (Brian shows the computer screen)… e-mails and everything organized by show.  It’s always good to save everything.  So many conversations go back and forth that it’s hard to remember who said what when, who wants what where, and so on.  So, this is my backup (pats the computer).  If there are questions, I can always go back to the record.

SBD – Has it gotten easier?

BJ – No.  Well, putting things together, yeah.  We used to have to put together crew packets, contracts, all that stuff.  That took time, energy, and a lot of expense in paper and FedEx charges to deliver.  It’s easier to get the information around now, but because everything can pretty much get around instantaneously the deadlines on everything have gotten much shorter.  Instead of allowing two or three days for everything to get around, now it’s “instant instant instant.”  Nothing’s gotten easier because these tools allow us to take on more work and be more efficient.   So things have not gotten easier.  We have to be available to clients … not necessarily 24/7, but for a good portion of the day.  If you’re dealing with a West Coast client, for instance, your phone might ring at 7 or 8pm at night.  An East Coast client, 7am, 8 am is not out of the question.  It’s the nature of the job.  It keeps me on my toes, you know?  (laughs)

SBD – How long have you been at this job?

BJ – My current positon I’ve been in for ten years.  Prior to that I was at Production Plus as a part time scenic technician, working in the scene shop building the sets, painting the sets, loading trucks, everything from start to finish.  After a couple months of that they started to put me on some local shows as a scenic tech.  That was interesting; I found out what really goes on behind the scenes, and learned how what we build in the shop comes together for the show.  That was new to me.  Also, because I was an assistant, I would be around during the actual show, so I learned about calling cues, sound, lighting, stage managing, all that.  Then I left for six months and ran a family business during the summer in Northern Wisconsin.  The following winter I came back, and I was assigned to the A/V side of the business.  I learned all the gear, how to set it up, how to pack it, use it.  The next winter I was offered a full time position, and I’ve never looked back.  I was a little nervous at first, because I didn’t feel prepared for the position; but the people here were great.  Obviously they weren’t trying to send me out to crash and burn; the support was there if I had a question.  It was more my people skills that won me the job.

SBD – What goes on behind the scenes on a big show?  What is something that the average someone just could not know without being there?

BJ – All the pre-production.  You always run into little snafus here and there, hopefully nothing major; but, you’ve hired your department heads, you’ve gone over the plans, you’ve done your homework.  So, when you’re on show site and everyone is doing their job, it kind of looks like the production manager is not doing anything.   But really, what I’m doing is walking around talking to everyone, making sure everything is going as it should.  Every detail, no matter how small, is what I’m making sure gets taken care of onsite so the show runs smoothly.  I’m to the point now where I can see if someone’s running a little behind just because I’ve done so many shows, I know how far along they should be at any given point.  So, if something has gone awry, I have to problem-solve on the spot to get everything back on track.

SBD – Did you have a mentor?

BJ – Not really a single mentor.  All the guys who were here before me helped me along.  I learned from everybody, traveling with them as a scenic tech.  I think I’ve got a little piece of each of them in my work, and a little piece of myself.  (grins)  Each of those guys had a certain way of dealing with things, or a way of relating with clients, or something that made them unique.  I think I’ve learned from each of them.  So I’m pretty well rounded.  You see what works, and what you can make work, and you make it your own.

SBD – What is your background?  What brought you to Production Plus?

BJ -  (laughs) My background is in social work.  I have my Master’s in it.  I was a high school social worker.  That was too tough for me!  It was hard.  God bless anybody that sticks with that on a daily basis.  After that, I spent some time in marketing and sales.  But remember earlier I said that I ran a family business in Northern Wisconsin?  My family has owned it and run it since 1947.  Well, Bruce (Sirus, co-owner and co-founder of Production Plus) is a friend of the family.  He used to come up to the resort when I was running it.  One day I mentioned that I was looking to move on, and Bruce gave me an opportunity here.  The rest is history.

SBD – What keeps you coming back?

SBD – This is not your normal 9 to 5.  I travel, I’m on show site, I’m meeting new people, talking all the time, going here and there.  Sometimes I’m going for 72 hours straight.  I love the challenge and the variety.  I could not come in and sit behind a desk every day.  And the people!  The people are great; here at Production Plus, the clients, the guys I see on the road.  They make the job great.  It’s a family and friend oriented business.  I made friends here.  All the guys in the shop, the three owners – they’re very caring.  They care about the business and the people here.  It’s a good fit.  I’m happy.

SBD -  What have you learned recently?

BJ – You learn something new every show.  Maybe it’s a new venue pushing to be creative about what you put in the ballroom and how.  There’s always a new way to do something.  And, technically, things are always changing.  There’s new ways to do business, new sound gear, lighting gear, projectors, moving light displays, etc.  LED equipment is huge right now.  I’m learning something new all the time.  Recently, the work we did with video switching on the Diageo event was amazing.  The way we used the Dataton Watchout system coordinating 10 screens in the round so that the image didn’t skip a beat as it moved around the room … no matter where you were, you could see it clearly, it stayed in format.  And the Folsom switching system we used was something never done before. Folsom even came out and looked at it.  They were blown away.  They speculated that what we were doing could be done with their equipment but they had never seen it actually done.  That was exciting.  The video station backstage looked intense.  20 computers, and backups … it was pretty impressive.  It was really great to work with the team from Masterplan and the people from Diageo on this, too.  Great colleagues can really be a source of inspiration.  Honestly, it was a dream project.

The set for the Diageo show - a video tour de force.

SBD – Have you seen a show recently that blew you away?  Something really impressive?

BJ – This may sound weird, but the floor at the Oscars that is super reflective and doesn’t get marred up was amazing.  I wonder what that stuff is.  But there are so many shows out there that are incredible.

SBD – How has working here changed the way you look at shows?

BJ – (laughs) It’s sometimes hard to relax!  It’s too much like work.  I can’t even go to a concert nowadays without getting curious and starting to ask questions about the rigging, effects, all the elements.  My friends will say, “Hey, you’re here to unwind!”  But I can’t.  I’m thinking about who just blew a cue.  (laughs)

SBD – What makes Production Plus what it is?

BJ – Our project management, our draftsmanship and rendering work, and our scenic work.  You put all those things together … You know, you can always go out and find a piece of lighting gear, or audio gear.  Some things might be unique to certain companies, but at the end of the day, people are hiring Production Plus because of our service and our people.  We always go above and beyond.  We go through the “what if’s” on any show.  If a client is asking for 6 wireless mics, we send 10 – just in case.  We always throw a little extra drape on the truck just in case something comes up.  That’s what keeps clients coming back.  They know they are going to get top notch project management, the best renderings and floor plans, and amazing scenic, and over-all dependable service