The Oasis Review Meet, which took place on the 22nd of November, saw the Oasis Review Committee (ORC) bring up issues that they faced during the fest. Prominently featured in many of the discussions was the Department of Live Events (DLE), which many clubs and departments had issues working with. There were also problems raised with DLE’s handling of production during professional shows and other events. As a consequence, two motions were proposed, voted upon, and passed towards the end of the meet; the first of them transferred production responsibilities to the Department of Sounds (with the aid of Backstage and Lights, under the supervision of Audi Controls), and the second put DLE in probation for two years. This article is a summary of the issues raised regarding DLE’s work in the Oasis Review Meet.
NSS
The National Service Scheme (NSS) complained that DLE’s stall hindered their ‘Lend A Voice’ social initiative.
Lend A Voice is a social initiative by NSS to record audiobooks for visually impaired children. NSS alleged that DLE’s stall was set up only on Day 1, after the NSS stall in front of it had been set up and could not have been relocated. Due to the noisy environment caused by DLE’s work, recordings for Lend a Voice were hampered. DLE, which was not allotted the stall until Day 0, replied that they had not been given their usual location (room number 2207 at FD-2) for ticket signings. The FD-1 room that they were offered instead, DLE said, would have hampered the number of ticket signings significantly. The Department of Controls interjected that the reason for this confusion was that DLE had neglected to attend the pre-fest meetings regarding allotment of rooms, an allegation which DLE denied. DLE went on to add that there had been no communication regarding the room allotments. However, Controls insisted that this was not the case, and mentioned that they had sent an email to all coordinators regarding room allotment.
Music Club
Music Club claimed that they had lost equipment lent to production for professional shows and Tarang.
There was confusion regarding the requisition of amplifiers for Iyer’s Filter Coffee, resulting in DLE being informed at the last minute that only one amplifier had been brought by production. Music Club claimed that they had lent an amplifier to production for Iyer’s Filter Coffee, and the power cord was nowhere to be found at the end of the event. As a result, they were forced to lend a second amplifier for Tarang. DLE explained that there had been cost-cutting issues with production and no MoU had been finalised, but Music Club asserted that this solved neither their issue of having to give equipment for professional shows, nor that of having lost a piece of equipment. DLE apologised and said that they would ‘take care of it later on’, a statement that that Music Club drew the GBM’s attention to. Controls added that they had earlier mentioned in scheduling meets that all professional shows and Indie Nite would require two amplifiers, and that it was unprofessional to have taken fundamental requirements out of events. DLE responded that they had requisitioned only one amplifier following last year’s requirements, only for Sounds to respond by asserting that there were two amplifiers last year as well, and that the DLE co-ordinator was ‘living in a delusional world.’
Issues With The External Generator
An external generator was used in the Central Auditorium for the first time this Oasis, in addition to an in-house generator. However, clubs and departments faced issues with this piece of equipment rendering the arrangement unfit for use.
The generator was meant to power the equipment of the production company Spectal from Day 2, for professional shows in the auditorium. This generator cost much less to operate than the in-house one, which costs ₹5000 per hour. The StuCCA had given RecNAcc the responsibility to provide the generator. Both the Department of Sounds and RecNAcc claimed that DLE did not inform them about the frequency at which the generator was supposed to operate. RecNAcc stated that it was only given the power output specs. DLE added that the operating frequency of the in-house generator—which had been in use until then—was 50Hz.
The Controls StuCCAn alleged that the problem primarily occurred because DLE had not informed any party about the generator’s frequency specifications. He informed the GBM that instruments usually work on two frequency standards—50 Hz and 60 Hz. The external generator was first set on 60Hz. While resetting it to 50Hz, it started malfunctioning and was ultimately rendered unusable, forcing them to rely on the in-house counterpart. This rendered useless the investment in the external generator. The Controls StuCCAn urged DLE to inform all the involved parties about essential details and specifications of the equipment, regardless of the usage of the equipment or involvement of the parties in past editions of the fest.
Photog and FMac
The Film Making Club (FMaC) and the Photography Club (Photog) complained about not getting stage access during professional shows at SR Lawns.
FMaC and Photog are usually allowed on stage to shoot the professional shows at SR lawns. This time, however, they were denied stage access by Spectal representatives and artist teams. This called into question the authority of the stage access passes which are allotted to clubs and departments by the StuCCA and not by the artists’ management or production company.
According to DLE, Nucleya’s personal photographer did not allow student photographers on stage as the LED screen in the background was crucial for the performance and on-stage movement could have ruined the experience. The clubs ultimately managed to convince the managers of the artists to let them on stage. DLE clarified that although they have been notifying artists about student photographers well in advance, the artists have the final say on agreeing to such arrangements.
The General Secretary then instructed DLE to ensure that the artist management teams are informed about the existing pass system that lets students gain stage access. He also added that this system was non-negotiable and any disagreement should be brought to the StuCCA’s notice.
Sponz
The Department of Sponsorship and Marketing (Sponz) raised issues with DLE’s involvement in procuring sponsors, and with the conduct of a certain DLE member during the professional show, who allegedly approached a sponsor while intoxicated and asked them to file a complaint against the sponsorship team.
DLE began by saying that it aimed to bring in sponsors in good faith for the fest, to which Sponz replied that while it appreciated DLE getting contacts, it did not appreciate DLE closing sponsorship deals, as that is supposed to be managed by Sponz. It was decided that, from the following Oasis, DLE will simply forward contacts to Sponz and not negotiate deals independently.
After this, Sponz began to discuss issues around the professional shows. Firstly, it mentioned that there was a fiasco with Cisco during the Hindi Professional Show, and questioned why DLE representatives were in direct contact with the sponsor during this issue. Sponz then went on to discuss a more significant issue involving Realme and Realme’s branding partner, Sociowash. The Sponz StuCCAn said that he was the point-of-contact for Sociowash and was constantly in touch with them. He then began reading out a text message from Sociowash, which explained that a drunk member of DLE approached a Realme executive directly and requested them to file a formal written complaint against the Sponz StuCCAn. The message also stated that any issue should have been taken to Sociowash, not to Realme directly, and that the incident reflected badly on both Sociowash and the Institute. It further accused the DLE member of being extremely unprofessional to do such a thing while drunk, especially when he was not a part of the sponsorship team that Sociowash was in contact with. While DLE did furnish apologies, it also asked Sponz to name the particular member. While Sponz initially declined, it eventually named the member upon DLE’s insistence, who DLE subsequently claimed was not a part of its current ‘working team’ although he was present backstage.
Sounds
The Department of Sounds accused DLE of major delays in setting up production in the Audi, and of mismanaging the setup of the Public Address system (PA system).
According to Sounds, there was a pre-agreed notion that Audi production setup would begin early enough to be completed by 7 PM. DLE first claimed that production setup was largely completed on schedule, but this was strongly contested by Sounds, who invited the Department of Backstage to verify that the setup was not done on time, and that the mixers and the PA system were not in place at the designated time. DLE later admitted that the delays experienced at the Rotunda led to delays at the Audi, but Sounds argued that the two should have been done in parallel as per the production schedule that was shared with all departments concerned, and that it was DLE’s ‘responsibility to procure enough workforce to cater to this’.
There was a back-and-forth between DLE and Sounds regarding the setup of risers, where it was concluded that although DLE did consult Sounds regarding advice for this, they did so very late. The conversation then pivoted to the setup of the PA System. Sounds pointed out that the PA system in the past had been set up as a line array (a line of identical speakers) mounted on a truss. However, it was not mounted on the truss this time, and its positioning led to major problems for Sounds, ARBITS (for the Pakshee concert), and Audi Controls (for the Imtiaz Ali talk). DLE claimed that they had informed all relevant parties in advance about the placement of the PA system, but the claim was refuted by both Sounds and Audi Controls.
ARBITS
ARBITS’s primary complaints were regarding delays due to improper setup of production equipment, and equipment requisitioning mistakes.
Another issue that was brought up was members of DLE and representatives from Spectal requesting performing bands to get off stage to make up for their delays. DLE denied doing this, and said that all it had done was in good faith and in the interest of making sure events ran delay-free. Stage Controls and Audi Controls representatives were not satisfied with this response, and made it clear that delay management and other relevant concerns are under their purview, and that DLE’s encroachment into the same was more hindrance than help. The ARBITS coordinator was particularly angered by the treatment dealt out to Iyer’s Filter Coffee, especially because they were a BITSian band. He alleged that fourth year members of DLE had rushed the soundcheck for Iyer’s Filter Coffee, which displeased both the performers and the organisers. Audi Controls confirmed this, adding that DLE had asked for eleven hours of production time, of which they were allotted nine and ultimately used three.
Other issues that were brought up included a lack of clarity regarding available working equipment, confusion during Pakshee’s event, and problems involving Dan Deacon not being able to present his visuals as he was unaware that there would be an LED screen.
The final major concern that was brought up was about equipment. A specific guitar amplifier was requested by ARBITS, due to requests from the performing bands. DLE was accused of not getting the required number of devices. ARBITS also complained about the smoke machines being faulty, which ruined the visual effect of certain performances, and caused band technicians to complain about the malfunctioning equipment.
Prof Shows, HAS, and DVM
The Hindi Activities Society (HAS) raised the issue of DLE contacting the relevant agencies, and The Department Of Visual Media (DVM) raised problems with the compilation of mess signings for the Hindi Prof Show and N2O combo.
In past editions of Oasis, N2O has been entirely under the purview of HAS. While HAS was in talks with an agency called OML for the comedy professional show, DLE was in touch with Spectal for the same. DLE accused HAS of sending a confirmation mail to the artist without consulting the StuCCA. HAS clarified their position by saying that it was a ‘confirmation of the price and not of the show.’ They also mentioned that it was not DLE’s responsibility to negotiate the prices and accused them of causing ‘unrest in the StuCCA at [their] expense’ without trying to understand the context of the mail.
DLE went on to add that Spectal was interested in sponsoring Zakir Khan (the management companies, such as Spectal, typically sponsor a portion of the artist’s fees). The DLE coordinator admitted responsibility for not being able to convince Spectal to sponsor Biswa Kalyan Rath instead. The Sponz StuCCAn called out the coordinator for ‘ghosting’ the StuCCA and not allowing any of the StuCCAns any direct contact or negotiation with Spectal. Sponz also said that DLE did not convey to them that the sponsorship deal would only have gone through for Zakir Khan until three days before the fest. As a result, Sponz had had to get Icon Salon as the title sponsor for N2O at the last moment. When DLE insisted that the StuCCA had been informed about Zakir Khan, Sponz countered by saying that Spectal was aware that Biswa had been finalised by the StuCCA.
DLE had quoted a figure of ₹3.5 lakhs and was also hopeful of getting ₹1 lakh worth of sponsorship to the StuCCA for N2O. This effectively brought down the cost of N2O to ₹2.5 lakhs. However, the sponsorship deal did not materialise and it cost StuCCA around ₹3.5 lakhs to book the artist. HAS’s initial quote, on the other hand, was north of ₹4 lakhs, with a confirmed sponsorship of ₹50,000—bringing down the net cost of the show to ₹3.5 lakhs. They were also hopeful of sealing the deal at a lower price as their negotiations were to start from ₹3.2 lakhs. HAS used these figures to notify the GBM that they could have closed the deal at ₹3.5 lakhs as well, if not cheaper, without DLE’s ‘external interference’.
DLE was also responsible for compiling the signings for N2O and the Hindi Prof Show. However, the number of signings reflected on the official app was incorrect as the Excel sheets that DLE submitted to DVM had not been merged properly. The DVM StuCCAn criticized DLE for the incorrect list that he received, calling this behaviour ‘very unprofessional’. DLE responded by saying that they had rectified the issue by informing people of the actual status of their signings. The General Secretary countered by saying that there was a difference between rectifying an issue and acknowledging it.
Apart from this, the issues of day-scholars being unable to sign up for the professional shows before the fest, and being unable to buy tickets from the Oasis app despite being charged from their SWD account, were brought up by their SU representative. The DLE coordinator responded by stating that they had not anticipated the tickets for N2O to be sold out during the mess signings and assured the representative that they would focus on a proper procedure to cater to day-scholars in the following editions of the fest. The DVM StuCCAn also assured the representative that the money incorrectly debited would be refunded.
Audiforce and Firewallz
Both Audiforce and Firewallz faced multiple security and protocol breaches involving DLE members and production team workers that DLE had brought in.
The primary problems that both Audiforce and Firewallz faced, and blamed DLE for, were the multiple security breaches that occurred during the fest. Firewallz alleged that DLE members misused their security access cards, and that some fourth year members of DLE appeared at the EDM event and manipulated first years on security duty, despite not having the proper AAA clearance. DLE categorically denied that anyone on DLE duty did such a thing, and asked for further proof, to which it was claimed that there were several witnesses.
Another major problem that both departments faced was that many workers brought in by DLE did not have proper identification. They mentioned that the details of the ID card protocols had been discussed at planning meets, in which everyone agreed upon proper photo-identification cards for all external workers. It was however alleged that during the fest, the workers were carrying cards without photos, and some of them did not have any name on them either. Firewallz and Audiforce exclaimed that this made the ID cards pointless. There were several other minor incidents that they claimed had been mismanaged by DLE, such as broken barricades that were then useless for crowd control.