Over the last year there have been times when people tell us they love what we’re doing on Margaritaville.TV. That’s great to hear and there is a team on the road that makes it all happen. They work behind the scenes and I’d like to introduce you to the people that make Margaritaville.TV work on concert day.
Lars is our camera, our tech and editor for all the behind the scenes, tailgates and interviews. He’s a MacGyver of sorts and is constantly pitching creative ideas or going out and shooting some original footage. When we go out to the parking lot for the tailgate videos (not to be confused with the big screen footage) we have about 2-3 hours to shoot. Lars races backstage to start his editing and has to have the pre roll clip to Rodney by 6:30pm so it can be loaded up and ready to kick off the live broadcast. Then he sets up at Bing and Bong to operate one of the cameras and has to strike the gear as the concert begins.
Rodney is our Radio Margaritaville broadcaster and Margaritaville.TV satellite guru. Rodney is backstage with his monitor, laptop and programmer so he can operate the SiriusXM Radio broadcast and make sure the live streaming on Margaritaville.TV is working. You’ll find him in the afternoon looking for the best spot for the satellite dish so the signal is clear. We’ve seen him climb things before just to get it right.
Chase is one of our editors. For those of you that like the JB montage videos we call Lava Lamps, you can thank Chase. He’s in California and works from there. He put together the video of JB announcing the Set List Show in Key West and continues to help us add videos to our catalogue and sometimes the pre roll.
Lee is our trouble shooter. He’s in Connecticut at his office making sure the broadcast is running online. He keeps an eye on the broadcast so fans can have the best viewing experience possible. He’s also the creator of the Margaritaville.TV website. We upload videos to a folder where he can get them and post for you all to see. He does more than this but I can’t explain most of it. I can’t even handle Excel.
Kib is our video engineer on tour and another MacGyver. I don’t know how he does it but when something needs to be built or put together he’ll make it happen. Each venue is different so that requires different wires to be run and different locations for set up. He makes sure the lighting is right and you’ll find him at sound check taking pictures while the band is on stage to make sure the cameras for the concert will have a good picture with the lights.
Stan is Jimmy’s video producer on tour. During the day he is setting up footage and editing anything Jimmy sends to him for the show that night. It’s a busy day at the computer for him but he’s always throwing ideas around and you can thank him for the throw back videos that he has catalogued of Jimmy over the years. Stan operates the second camera for Bing and Bong and works with Jimmy on video ideas during rehearsals. When Jimmy arrives at the venue he usually goes to see Stan first.
You may have noticed me, I’m the one with the microphone on camera. Not by choice mind you, nobody wanted to be on camera and I was volunteered. I work on Jimmy’s production team and we’ve had a lot of fun talking to all fans tailgating. I help produce some videos and with the help of Lars we capture some great footage outside the venue or behind the scenes.
There’s always a challenge to each day when we get ready for the show. We have an idea of what we’re going to shoot when we get to a venue but it can change depending on weather or parking lot schedule. That’s the great thing about working for Jimmy, you get a chance to be creative and see what works. It’s been good to have a year to see what we can do and we hope to raise the bar this year thanks to all the great feedback we’ve heard from all of you. Thanks for tuning in and Fins Up!