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One Foot Productions: A Comprehensive Guide

Origins and Early Development

Formation of One Foot Productions

One Foot Productions was established around 2005-2006 as an LLC by Kevin (the founder) to formalize his work in event production and technology integration. The catalyst for forming the company was a contract with the Tribeca Film Festival, which wanted to license software Kevin had written and bring him in on a project. The company name "One Foot Productions" came from a joke on an album Kevin had produced several years prior.

The Name Origin Story

The name "One Foot Productions" originated from a humorous exchange during a recording session about piano sizes. While some pianists would boast about having nine-foot or twelve-foot grand pianos, someone joked about a mythical "one-foot grand piano." As an inside joke, Kevin credited the album as being produced by "One Foot Productions," though the entity didn't exist at the time. The name stuck, and Kevin later created a logo featuring a foot. He was also inspired by David Letterman's company "Worldwide Pants" and liked the idea of naming a company something random that didn't necessarily have a specific meaning.

Kevin's Background

Prior to starting One Foot Productions, Kevin was working as a freelancer in event production, particularly for award shows. His background included:

A degree in music

Experience in recording and music production (having produced at least one album)

Work in theater and live entertainment

Computer programming skills

Managing credentials for various productions

Creating databases to manage access passes and generate reports

Kevin's early career experiences shaped his later business approach:

In his early days as a musician, he had to spend significant money to record in studios, which later informed his perspective on how technology could democratize creative fields.

He worked on major events like the Tony Awards, MTV VMAs, and the MTV Woody Awards before formalizing his business.

He served as a production assistant on various shows, including a Christmas show in Nashville where he provided food and coffee for overnight editors – during which he learned about editing by observation.

For 4-5 summers in his mid-20s, he managed a summer camp, supervising 50-60 people who were only about five years younger than him.

His practical experience includes creating a database (instead of using spreadsheets) to manage credentials for a show at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

He describes himself as a "doer" who not only generates creative ideas but wants to follow through by writing, producing, and executing them.

Company Evolution

Early Years (2005-2010)

Initially, Kevin experienced "imposter syndrome," feeling like the company was "just him" rather than a real business. During the first couple of years, he began seeing the value in having a company structure and developed a mission statement and goals. One Foot Productions evolved to focus on three core elements:

Technology: Using technology to handle monotonous tasks that computers do well, freeing humans to focus on creative and interpersonal work

Logistics: Managing the detailed logistics of productions

Creative Development: Bringing creative ideas to life

The early development of the company was characterized by several key factors:

Kevin started with no formal business plan: "I had a name. That was it." There was no initial mission statement or branding strategy.

Early in the company's history, Kevin partnered with another person in the industry, forming a joint venture and business partnership under the One Foot name.

Their operating philosophy was "let's just say yes and figure it out as we go" - taking on challenges even without immediate solutions.

Kevin described feeling "fractured like four different people in one" until he consolidated his various professional interests under One Foot Productions.

Many shows during this period came "pre-packaged" with internal teams handling creative elements, so early involvement was often focused on logistics and technology rather than creative input.

While building the company, Kevin continued working on separate creative projects, including writing a musical that was produced by theaters.

The period involved "a lot of balls in the air" and "wearing different hats" - including managing payroll, insurance, invoicing, and other business operations.

Kevin found it challenging to switch between creative work and logistics/programming, noting that he could only effectively program at night "when the world calms down" for 4-6 hour stretches.

Business Approach

Rather than licensing software directly, Kevin's approach was to pitch to larger producers that One Foot Productions would handle specific elements of their shows (primarily talent logistics) and bring their proprietary technology as part of the service. This technology became their "secret sauce" for doing things better and more efficiently than competitors.

Their distinctive business model had several key components:

They positioned themselves as a "turnkey solution" - negotiating for the entire scope of talent logistics rather than individual roles, then assembling appropriate teams and applying their technology.

This approach was uniquely efficient because their team members could work on multiple shows simultaneously, making better use of specialized skills.

One Foot Productions stood out in the "talent logistics space" by functioning as a cohesive company rather than following the traditional model where executives would hire individual contractors for each position.

They built custom systems for specific clients and needs, such as a tracking system using text messages for talent location and a credentialing system for MTV.

Their technology philosophy centered on freeing humans from monotonous work (like data entry and report creation) that computers could do better and faster.

They viewed their role partially as "hospitality manager" or "concierge" - helping performers, agents, and other stakeholders navigate productions effectively and have positive experiences.

Kevin's creative background influenced their approach, with technology specifically designed to allow people more time for creative meetings, writing scripts, and interpersonal connections.

Their guiding principle was that "computers should do what computers do well, and humans should do what humans do well," creating systems that optimized this division of labor.

Growth and Expansion

Over time, One Foot Productions grew to work on bigger shows and larger teams, gaining more trust from clients who would entrust them with increasing responsibilities. The company evolved from primarily handling logistics and technology to developing more of their own creative content.

Key aspects of their growth journey included:

Steady expansion until COVID, with each year bringing larger shows and bigger teams.

Progressive responsibility growth - starting with smaller elements like talent production, ground transportation, or travel management, then being trusted with increasingly important aspects of productions.

During their peak years (2016-2019), they averaged 20-25 shows annually, ranging from small productions to major events like NBA All-Star Week that required 6-8 months of preparation.

A significant milestone was starting their own music festival (Bear Music Fest) approximately 10 years into One Foot Productions' existence.

The festival began somewhat accidentally - they were initially hired to develop a music festival for a summer camp (the same one Kevin had worked at in his early days), but when the camp got cold feet about a year before launch, they decided to produce it themselves and rent the venue.

This marked a major transition as they went from working under networks and production companies to being fully responsible "financially, liably" for an event of their own design.

The company faced challenges in being recognized for creative work while they were known for logistics and technology, but gradually gained creative opportunities.

Notable creative projects included writing original pieces for NBA All-Star Week and working on a kids' inauguration show for Michelle Obama.

The second decade of operation (roughly 2015-2025) saw the company shifting more toward creative development and away from pure logistics work, a trend that accelerated during COVID.

COVID-19 Impact and Adaptation

When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, One Foot Productions experienced an immediate and dramatic disruption. As Kevin described it: "Literally within two weeks, every single show just canceled" and "it really went to zero."

The company quickly pivoted to virtual production, demonstrating remarkable adaptability:

Within a month or less of the shutdown, they began producing virtual house concerts to support artists who had lost tours.

They developed technical expertise for virtual events, figuring out "how to get Zoom to sound pretty decent" by connecting instruments through digital interfaces and teaching musicians to optimize their sound quality.

They applied their production experience to structure virtual events like traditional shows - breaking them into acts, adding opening videos, interviews, and Q&A segments to maintain audience engagement.

For the Apollo Theater, they produced a virtual gala that required sending cameras to participants for remote filming, combining pre-recorded segments into a cohesive program.

This Apollo show took on additional significance when George Floyd was murdered about a week before the event. Kevin worked "non-stop" for approximately four days to completely rework the format and tone to acknowledge the historical moment.

For Dova Dance, they created an elaborate digital experience featuring dance films shot remotely during COVID. They built a narrative framework about a grandson and grandmother separated by the pandemic, weaving the dance performances into this story.

They developed an innovative virtual event for the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music that utilized Zoom breakout rooms for an adventure-style experience. After the initial journey, participants could explore a virtual Victorian mansion online where different rooms featured live performances.

They planned (but ultimately didn't execute when restrictions lifted) a two-week virtual scavenger hunt around Brooklyn with clues planted in small businesses, designed to support establishments trying to stay open during COVID.

Throughout the pandemic, they embraced creative limitations, finding that restrictions often fostered innovative ideas.

The pandemic accelerated their shift away from logistics (which "kind of shut down during COVID") toward creative and technology work, as shows became virtual and "the technology wasn't really that hard to execute."

Recent Changes

About two years ago, Kevin and his long-time business partner parted ways. The partner kept more of the logistics productions, while Kevin retained the creative aspects of the business. This formalized a shift that was already happening, with Kevin moving more toward creative direction and away from large-scale logistics management.

Technology and Innovation

Development of dBocl

One of One Foot Productions' most significant technological innovations is dBocl (pronounced "debacle"), a comprehensive back-of-house event management platform. The name stands for "Database Organizing Chaotic Logistics," reflecting the software's purpose of bringing order to the inherently chaotic world of event production.

Origin and Evolution

dBocl began around 2003 as a FileMaker Pro database that Kevin used personally to manage production information. As he started working on larger shows like the Tony Awards, he needed to make it collaborative:

Initially rebuilt in PHP with a Flash front-end (Flex)

After a pivotal server crash during a BET show, Kevin brought in a third-party company to rebuild the software with a more stable infrastructure

Over 15+ years, dBocl evolved through real-world testing on major productions with organizations including the NBA, NFL, MTV, VH1, BET, Tony Awards, and Tribeca Film Festival

Philosophy and Purpose

The platform was developed on the principle that "chaos is born out of disorder and confusion - disorder because we don't have simple organized systems, and confusion because we don't all have the information we need." This aligns with Kevin's core belief that technology should free humans from monotonous tasks to focus on creative and interpersonal work.

Unlike many event management solutions that focus on front-of-house needs (attendee management, marketing, ticketing), dBocl specifically addresses back-of-house production logistics, an underserved area in event technology.

Key Features

dBocl integrates numerous functions essential for event production:

Phone-based Authentication: Instead of traditional email/password combinations, dBocl uses phone numbers as primary identifiers, reflecting the reality that production professionals rely heavily on their phones while on-site

People Management: Comprehensive contact organization with detailed profiles for staff, talent, and vendors, including professional details and personal preferences

Schedule Management: Multiple calendar views with color-coded tags, rundown capabilities for detailed scheduling, and tools to link people directly to schedule items

Task Management: Assignment and tracking of tasks with deadlines, priorities, and milestone organization

Travel Management: Coordination of flights, ground transportation, and accommodations linked directly to schedules and itineraries

File Management: Centralized access to files across multiple storage platforms (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) with appropriate tagging and access controls

Communication Tools: Notification systems, announcements, and integrations with platforms like Slack and WhatsApp

Customizable Reports: Generation of tailored reports for different stakeholders with multiple export formats

Relationship to One Foot's Business Model

Rather than marketing dBocl as a standalone product, Kevin positioned it as "our secret sauce of how we could do things better." This technology became a key competitive advantage, allowing One Foot Productions to handle complex productions more efficiently than competitors who relied on traditional methods.

As Kevin explained: "The software was part of what we did as One Foot, was never like a product that we would sell. It was sort of our secret sauce of how we could do things better."

This approach represented a distinctive business strategy in the production industry:

Service-Based Technology: Instead of selling software licenses, Kevin pitched to producers: "Let me come in and handle all these elements of your show for you... I'm going to bring technology that is going to streamline this, make it more reliable, make it more consistent."

Comprehensive Solution: The company offered both the technology and the expertise to use it effectively: "You're hiring my company, and with that comes the technology rather than, hey, license my software."

Value Demonstration: By using their own technology on productions, they could demonstrate its effectiveness in real-time: "When people started to see what we could do, they would ask for more."

Competitive Differentiation: Kevin noted that "at the time, there wasn't a company that was doing this really in the same way that I was," giving One Foot Productions a unique market position.

Building Trust Through Results: This approach allowed clients to focus on outcomes rather than learning new systems: "A lot of those shows come pre-packaged with a whole internal team that's handling all the creative elements... Some shows, I got to be involved more creatively."

Scalability: The technology enabled a relatively small team to manage increasingly complex productions: "We'd have a staff of 25, 30, sometimes more, sometimes less, that were there also doing all this work and managing all the celebrities. And so they were working with the software, but also working with all the talent on the show."

This integration of technology and service became fundamental to One Foot Productions' identity and success, creating a business model that was difficult for competitors to replicate because it combined proprietary software with specialized knowledge and experience.

Other Technological Innovations

Beyond dBocl, One Foot Productions developed several other innovative systems that transformed their production capabilities. Kevin's approach of identifying specific production challenges and creating technological solutions to address them resulted in multiple custom systems that improved efficiency and reliability.

Talent Tracking System

Kevin created an innovative system for monitoring celebrity locations during events, solving a persistent communication problem in large productions:

Inspiration: "I actually got the idea in New York City because they started putting text... numbers on all the bus stops, and you could text the number of the bus stop you're at, and we'll tell you how long till the next bus came. And I was like, oh, well, that's a pretty good idea. Maybe I can build that to track celebrities on an award show."

Implementation: Production staff could text simple codes to a central number to provide location updates on talent. "Sometimes it would be these talent escorts that were with a celebrity. They would text the code like, okay, we're moving to the dressing room, or we're headed to stage or whatever. And sometimes, you know, we'd have spotters that would spot people."

Real-Time Visibility: Information would display on a master screen in real-time, giving producers and directors immediate knowledge of talent locations without radio communication.

Communication Efficiency: "It cut down, you know, like walkie talkie traffic on a show, which is everyone screaming, does anyone know where so-and-so is? You know, I need a location."

Universal Accessibility: "The tech system, it was super easy to use. Anyone who had a cell phone could use it. You didn't need a smartphone or anything. And it would give us real time updates."

Longevity: "That system we used over 10 years, you know." The simple but effective solution remained valuable even as smartphone technology evolved.

This system demonstrates Kevin's practical approach to technology development—identifying a specific pain point (locating celebrities during productions) and creating an elegant, accessible solution using existing technology in new ways.

Digital Payroll Transformation

Kevin led the digital transformation of production paperwork at a time when paper processes were still the industry norm:

Paper-to-Digital Conversion: "I spent hours converting all our paperwork to digital signature and finding ways so that if you typed your name in one part of the form, it would fill it in all the other parts of the form."

Early Adoption: "We first tried to go to digital payroll, you know, it kind of freaked people out. But digital signatures were getting really popular, and I was like, well, this is silly that I'm having to, like, literally have everyone fill out this manual paperwork, sign it, and then I have to go scan it all, you know, or FedEx it to the payroll company."

Efficiency Gains: The digital system eliminated multiple manual steps: collecting paper forms, ensuring proper completion, physically transporting or scanning documents, and correcting errors that required starting over.

Industry Innovation: "Seems obvious now, but no one was really doing that at the time in production."

User Experience Focus: Kevin emphasized making the digital forms intuitive and efficient: "Finding ways, you know, so that if you typed your name in one part of the form, it would fill it in all the other parts of the form."

This innovation highlights Kevin's focus on reducing redundant work and streamlining administrative processes that traditionally consumed significant production time and resources.

Credentialing System

Access management for large events presented another opportunity for technological improvement:

Custom Development: "I built a credentialing system for MTV for a while that we'd use so that we could handle all the approval of credentials as they came in."

Access Control Management: The system managed different levels of access for various zones within venues, tracking who was approved for which areas.

Approval Workflow: The system streamlined the process of reviewing credential applications, obtaining necessary approvals, and generating appropriate passes.

Integration with Event Systems: Credential information connected with other production systems to ensure security teams had accurate, up-to-date information.

Gap in the Market: "A lot of that stuff, people have built out additional systems for now, but at the time, there just was no one developing these things for these big shows."

This system addressed the complex challenge of managing access for hundreds or thousands of people at major events, including staff, talent, media, and guests, each with specific access requirements.

Custom Solutions for Specific Shows

One Foot Productions frequently developed technology solutions tailored to the unique needs of particular productions:

Client-Specific Development: "We just spent our time going online. We figured out a way to get Zoom to sound pretty decent if we could plug instruments into, you know, like a digital interface and get it into the computer. And we figured out how to teach the musicians to sound pretty good on Zoom."

Responsive Innovation: When working on virtual shows during COVID, Kevin rapidly developed solutions to enhance virtual performances: "We figured out a way to get Zoom to sound pretty decent if we could plug instruments into, you know, like a digital interface and get it into the computer."

Adaptation to Changing Needs: As client needs evolved, Kevin's team continuously enhanced their systems: "With each show, we would just add to it to try to make it better and streamline it."

Production-Specific Tools: For the Tonys, NBA All-Star events, and other major productions, the team developed specialized tools addressing the unique requirements of each show.

This willingness to develop custom solutions rather than forcing standard approaches onto unique productions became a hallmark of One Foot Productions' technological philosophy.

Philosophy of Technology Development

Kevin's approach to technology development at One Foot Productions follows several key principles:

Problem-Solving Focus: Technology is developed to address specific pain points experienced in real production environments, not for its own sake

Simplicity: Systems are designed to be intuitive and require minimal training, recognizing the freelance nature of event production

Efficiency: The goal is to automate repetitive tasks, reduce errors, and eliminate bottlenecks

Centralization: Information should be entered once and accessible to all appropriate team members

Flexibility: Solutions must adapt to different types of events, team structures, and production requirements

Human-Centered: Technology should enhance human capabilities rather than replace them, freeing people to focus on interpersonal and creative aspects of production

This technology-driven approach has been a defining characteristic of One Foot Productions throughout its history, enabling the company to manage increasingly complex productions while maintaining high quality standards and efficient operations.

Major Projects and Clients

Notable Clients and Shows

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