Harry the hirer at ISE 2024

A few weeks before getting on the plane to Barcelona, I was chatting to Harry the hirer Productions’ General Manager Simon Finlayson about the upcoming trip.

Turns out, Simon was going too, and taking four of his staff on a mission to find solutions and fix issues. “Why don’t I get my crew to write up what they find for the magazine?” Simon suggested. I agreed, and we set up a tentative strategy meeting at a yet-to-be determined bar in Barcelona the night before show opening.

Over beers ordered in our collectively non-existent Spanish, I told the Harry crew how I usually cover shows, and they explained what they were after. They had a very targeted list of tech across video, LED, and lighting that they needed to address gaps in their inventory, and a wish-list of features in all areas to improve their workflow. For example, Simon Finlayson was seeking lighting fixtures that could offer a ‘wow’ factor that Harry’s competitors don’t have, and Product and Technology Manager Craig McPherson was looking for a competitive media server solution in a market he viewed as having a low end and high end, but no real middle.

At a show that has now become so large that no one human can even see all of it, let alone report on it, it was fantastic to have a group of passionate technology professionals working with me to bring a proper working technician’s perspective to show. Over the next week, we’ll share what they found…