Funding

Prices

Plantation Productions, Inc., was specifically created to fill the need for reasonable-cost professional sound reproduction & stage lighting. We realize that many studios, solo artists, and small businesses simply cannot afford the professional rates that the "big guys" charge. For many people, it isn't a question of reshuffling the budget to find a way to pay for professionals; it's more a question of doing without when they see what professional gear and engineers will cost. Plantation Productions can solve this problem by providing professional gear and staff at incredibly affordable prices.

Check out our incredibly affordable prices here

What are You Paying For?

Most event promoters, when they give any thought to their sound reinforcement needs, assume that what they're paying for is sound (and possibly lighting) for the event itself. So if some concert or other event runs for two hours, they assume they'll need to hire the "sound guys" for those two hours. Whether it should be obvious or not, this certainly isn't the case.

First of all, if all we had to do was show up at a gig and operate the sound board or lighting console, we'd probably do this work for free. Moving the sliders around and making things sound and look great is the fun part of this job. That part of the job is why we do this; that's the part of the job that makes up for the really miserable tasks: setting up, troubleshooting, and tearing down.

Let's take, as an example, a decent-sized two-hour rock concert (assume a crowd of 500-2,000 people). It can take anywhere from three to six hours to set up the gear and get it operational (the exact time depends on the venue and the amount of extra labor we have available). For a "let's contain costs as much as possible" type show, this means that we've put in one-half to three-quarters of a day's work before the talent even shows up. Then we do the two-hour show. After that, it's going to take about two hours to tear the gear down and put it away in the truck. Of course, we haven't even considered travel time to and from the venue. So we're talking a 12-hour day here just to pull off a two-hour show.

Yes, it's worth it to us. That two hours where we get to create some real magic makes up for the 10 hours of back-breaking work needed to pull the show off. However, it's exactly those 10 hours that you're paying for, not the two hours of the actual show. The real labor is in the setup and tear down. Granted, our technical experience that guarantees that your show goes off without a hitch has considerable worth, but , again, that's the part we do because we love the work. The next day, when our bodies are complaining about moving (literally) a ton of gear to and from the stage, we might question how much we love the work, but the truth is we do it because we do love it.

The bottom line is that you're not paying for a two-hour show. You're not even paying for some intangible item (though important) like "experience and knowledge". What you're really paying us for is to set up the equipment, troubleshoot the problems that arise (and some always do), and tear the equipment down. You're also paying us for the part you won't see at the venue – specifically loading the equipment into the truck/trailer before heading to the venue, unloading the equipment from the truck/trailer after the show, and cleaning up/repairing the gear after the show.