Back to Skool

With kit bag eagerly shouldered, I prepare to start my second year at the Academy of Live Technology. Returning to finish off my Foundation degree in Live Event Production, I’ll be specialising in Audio and Visuals instead of doing a little bit of everything. Although it seems, despite the long summer, that I’ve barely ever left campus.

After surviving a wild three weeks in Denmark, I came back to teach an early-teens Creative Skills summer school in whatever space we could sequester. Showcasing a bit of audio but mostly lighting, with a Willy Wonka theme indulging my penchant for psychedelia. The kids enjoyed getting to play on professional kit with nary a rhyming mishap, and I picked up a few tips and tricks myself – as well as working on some new Trismegistus Hex material during the downtime.

The big news, of course, is that Production Park are currently hosting The Voice UK in our studios. The campus has been aflurry with ITV’s production crew, necessitating flexibility all around the shooting schedule. The crew have offered plenty of work openings, with a few of my fellow students learning the Production Runner ropes. My own contributions were wisely relegated to keeping the car parks running smoothly once the audience rolled up.

Smaller scale, but thinking forward, I’ve been lurking at seminars presented by our CoSTAR LiveLab facility, a Research and Development lab in association with the University of York. In recent months, film industry professionals and researchers have visited to discuss the encroachment of AI (generative and otherwise) into the creative process. With such disruption self-evident, questions of ethics and responsibility have come to the fore as the industry seeks a more holistic, nuanced solution.

My own projects still tick along, with various collaborations outside of campus coming into the fold and new opportunities escalated to interested ears. I confess there have been many conflicting commitments drawing my attention, and the challenge of late has been to coax all these spinning plates into proximity. Working on one aspect now advances the others, and it is prudent to remember that – unlike the wider world’s indifference – they want me to succeed here.

By example I offer everyone my own encouragement and support. With my position as Wellbeing Executive ratified, this past week I’ve assisted freshers in finding their feet to navigate a campus very different to expectations. New blood is vital for the event industry, especially as many veterans changed career or retired during the ‘House Arrest’ years, and it is important to be welcoming.

This generation are as bright, enthusiastic, and eager to achieve as ever – although they do seem a bit quieter than our rowdy lot!

There’s always something going on at the epicentre of opportunity, and I’m thrilled to dive back in and embrace the adventures to come. For the next three terms and maybe, hopefully, beyond.

https://heathenstorm.com/2025/10/06/back-to-skool/

#academia #academyoflivetechnology #ai #costar #crew #filmmaking #freshers #livelab #productionpark #student #thevoice #wellbeing

Magna cum Loudly

As I take pause to commemorate another year round the sun, it is the right time to reveal just what I’ve been up to these past months.

A secret to most, although obvious to many, l have returned to the hallowed halls of academia with a suitably Rock and Roll twist. Last year I began studying a full-time Foundation degree in Live Event Production at the Academy of Live Technology in Yorkshire. Literally a ten minute drive from my front door.

The campus is part of Production Park, a world-class staging facility where the big tours plan and rehearse their productions. Making non-music headlines for supplying studio space to Netflix’s Adolescence production; but also paying pre-tour host in recent weeks to the likes of Ghost, Sleep Token and The Hu.

Adolescence of a later ilk was not as challenging as expected. As a “mature” student (on paper at least), I came to campus with the trepidation of an outlier and rigid in my expectations. Thankfully, my “fellow kids” swiftly embraced me as one of their own, appreciating the worldy wisdom and post-corporate planning I could bring to group assessments.

Specialising in Visual Production and Audio Mixing, the first year has been an enlightening experience – although it took some effort to coax an academic rigour out of my usual florid prose. It has been refreshing to see the practical aspects of the craft taught properly, and I can honestly say I learned more in the first three months of applied study than I did in three decades of ‘making do’.

My joyful gratitude abounds every day. I am energised at the epicentre of opportunity, and rub shoulders with some of the greatest professionals in the industry. Learning, unlearning, experiencing, and especially giving back.

I can make a difference here.

And make a difference I do! My profound appreciation for this second chance carries forward in all my acts. Having squandered an initial scholastic foray a lifetime ago, my retirement funds could only stretch to a two-year course instead of a full degree. As much as I nourish this hunger to learn and excel, and yearn to study further, I must use the limited time of my position to guide others.

Ruminating on Crowley’s notion of “True Will”, I consider how mine has refined and unveiled itself over the years. Where once I thought my soul’s calling was in the written word, that later expanded to communication as a whole, and now it is more a will to empower others to communicate. Individual purpose stepping forward to selflessly enrich the collective.

I find myself donning the aspect of facilitator in all forms. Rejecting a dependence on top-down authority for more collaborative growth. The Emperor turned becomes the Hierophant.

This manifests in how I give my all on campus. Volunteering as Student Ambassador and Mentor, I share my sincere enthusiasm with newcomers to the Academy. Offering campus tours and support to individuals, and interactive demonstrations for visiting groups. Showing how arena-grade equipment is operated through the encouragement of play and hands-on experience.

Ascending to the student body politic, (at the whim of the ballot), I will become the Academy’s Wellbeing Executive Officer in my second year. Understanding how harmful unchecked coping mechanisms can be to those in the industry, I aim to help students develop a robust mental toolset to pack alongside their podgers and gaff tape.

I see a lot of myself in my fledgling peers. An energy, an enthusiasm, a determination to achieve and succeed. Often unfocused in anger, doubt and frustration, but made of solid stock. Through what guidance I may, I help secure both my stake in the future and theirs.

The kids are, most definitely, all right!

Summer will shine, and with it an extended tour around Denmark, crewing both Metal Magic and Grøn Festival next month. Upon return, I will assist a summer school at the Academy for younger students. A course of creative design and confidence building, where the lessons I’ve learned over the years may be repurposed to the benefit of others.

I’ve drifted a lot through life, flitting from whim to whim and country to country. With the typical whimsy of the universe, it is on my doorstep that it all comes together. My strengths are repeatedly acknowledged and rewarded, and everything is locking into place.

I am exactly where I need to be.

https://heathenstorm.com/2025/06/14/magna-cum-loudly/

#Blog #academia #academyoflivetechnology #adolescence #birthday #crowley #gronfestival #hierophant #metalmagic #music #productionpark #student #truewill #videoproduction #wellbeing

Fully reflecting the contemplative spirit of 2023’s waning hours, I look back upon a successful twelve months with HeathenStorm Productions and the bands I’ve had privilege to work alongside.

Doing my part for old friends and UK scene stalwarts has always been one aspect of why I do what I do. But beyond that, it’s been utterly delightful to bring across some cracking international acts. July’s Chthonic Odio Tour was a challenging step-up, and one mostly kept under control – even if my exuberance did soil the Derby stage on the last night.

Yes, there have been mistakes and missteps along the way. Lessons learned with time, and wisdom gleaned from experience. For that, I am deeply grateful for the patience of promoters, venues and bands who’ve chosen to work with me; passing on their knowledge as I pick up the nuances of tour management and video production alike.

Gratitude is also given to local media campus Production Park for the opportunity to learn Event Management on a more professional level. Finding like-minded, enthusiastic folk within the faculty, I was introduced to many career-boosting opportunities in the industry. Through the Academy of Live Technology, I found many parallels to my prior corporate life, with SWOT analysis and Gantt charts just as important to running a major show as plugging in and turning up loud.

Seldom completely comfortable in any single aspect of life, my strength comes from the unique journey that’s brought me here. When I was corporate, it was the attitude of the music that boosted my career. Now, I bring accountability and structure to the raw passion that compels the chaos.

2024 starts with a bang over the next week as the Mentors tour takes precedence. But after that there’s more international tours to announce, as well as finishing off a few video projects I’ve been working on. And of course, bringing the new Solstice material to completion.

It never ends, and I never want it to. Despite many roadblocks and pitfalls along the way, I couldn’t imagine myself on any other path.

A common signoff, but I’ll repeat it again for reasons which will manifest in the months to come:

Never Surrender!

https://heathenstorm.com/2023/12/31/the-year-that-was/

#2023 #acadamyoflivetechnologies #crank #cthonicodiotour #darkher #eventmanagement #heathenstormproductions #kingheavy #newyear #productionpark #reignoferebus #roundup #videoproduction