At the ESC, BIGRIG ensures smooth crew scheduling behind the scenes as Official Technical Supplier with CrewBrain.
Large-scale events like the Eurovision Song Contest are among the most demanding productions in the event industry. Hundreds of crew members, complex technical processes, tight schedules, and precise coordination require a solution that works reliably at all times.
For many years, CrewBrain has been the central tool for BIGRIG in planning and organizing events, regardless of whether it’s a smaller production or an international large-scale event like the ESC.
For Matthias Rau from BIGRIG, one thing is especially important: stability and reliability.
“For us, it makes no difference whether a project is small or as large as the ESC. The processes must function reliably. CrewBrain supports us dependably on every project scale.”
As Official Technical Supplier of the ESC, BIGRIG was responsible for numerous technical processes in the area of rigging. To ensure all processes meshed efficiently, CrewBrain was used in several key areas.
Centralized Crew Scheduling
Personnel scheduling is the heart of every event. Especially for international productions with many shifts, different departments, and last-minute changes, a central overview is indispensable.
With CrewBrain, BIGRIG was able to centrally coordinate all crew members, working hours, and responsibilities. Changes to the schedule could be communicated in real time, ensuring all parties were always up to date.
This not only simplifies planning in advance but also ensures maximum transparency and rapid response times during the ongoing production.
Efficient Vehicle and Travel Planning
In addition to crew planning, vehicle and travel planning also played a crucial role. For large productions with varying crew sizes and many different arrivals and departures, precise and efficient travel planning is essential.
With CrewBrain, BIGRIG was able to centrally organize vehicles and travel and link them to the respective assignments. This resulted in seamless planning without media disruptions – from arrival to on-site deployment.
Digital Time Tracking and Travel Expense Accounting
Time tracking was also handled entirely via CrewBrain. Working hours could be recorded digitally and assigned to the respective projects. This significantly reduced administrative effort and simplified post-production follow-up.
Additionally, CrewBrain supported travel expense accounting. Especially for large productions with many participants, structured recording of trips and expenses ensures much more efficient processes in administration and billing.
Risk Assessments Created Directly in the System
Safety is a particularly important aspect of productions. For BIGRIG, creating risk assessments is therefore a central component of project organization.
With CrewBrain, risk assessments can be created and documented directly within project planning. As a result, safety-relevant information is always centrally available and directly linked to the respective assignments.
Scalable for Small and Large Productions
The deployment at the ESC demonstrates how flexible and scalable CrewBrain can be used in everyday event operations. Whether it’s a small corporate event, tour production, or international TV mega-event – the demands on planning, communication, and organization are constantly increasing. CrewBrain supports BIGRIG in mapping these processes efficiently, transparently, and reliably.
We thank Matthias Rau for the interview and the insights into BIGRIG’s work at the ESC.
Photo: ORF/Roman Zach-Kiesling
This post is also available in de_DE.
