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Company Snapshot
- Founded 1988
- 420 employees and contractors worldwide
- Productions in seven cities worldwide, plus touring shows
- Released three DVDs and five CDs (including the Grammy® nominated Audio)
- www.blueman.com
Mute, earless, and clearly mystified by modern technology, the blue-skinned trio that performs as Blue Man Group might seem like improbable iPhone users. But behind the scenes, Blue Man Group is an international business with more than 400 technical and creative specialists, performers, and support staff in seven concurrent productions. And iPhone 3G has landed a vital role in the group’s artistic and business operations, thanks to features like Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support and a rich collection of third-party apps that boost both creativity and productivity.
Blue Man Group’s dynamic blend of music, comedy, and multimedia was launched two decades ago by the original three Blue Men: Phil Stanton, Chris Wink, and Matt Goldman. Their energetic performances proved so universally appealing that Blue Man Group has since expanded globally, with longstanding shows in New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Orlando, Berlin, and Tokyo, not to mention touring productions like their satirical rock concert, How to Be a Megastar. Blue Man Group has also released CDs and DVDs, scored films, and contributed music to TV shows such as Arrested Development and Scrubs.
For the inventive minds behind Blue Man Group, there’s a constant stream of information and inspiration to share — and with so many far-flung productions, mobility is key. “With the amount of travel we do, it’s essential that we’re able to communicate,” says Creative Director Michael Quinn. “iPhone is a big part of that.”
“iPhone is not only a great creative tool — it’s a great way for any business to stay organised,” says Jeff Turlik, Associate Creative Director and Music Director for Blue Man Group. “It’s easy to share information and connect with each other, from scheduling meetings to sharing audio and video files or even spreadsheets.”
Constantly Connected
Getting started with iPhone couldn’t be simpler, Turlik recalls: “As soon as I entered the email server info, my calendar automatically synced. All of my contacts came in. It was the easiest setup for a device I’ve ever experienced.”
With built-in Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support, iPhone makes it easy to share information and stay continually updated throughout the day. “iPhone is great for contacts, calendars, and email,” says Antonio Palumbo, IT Manager for Blue Man Group. “With its built-in Exchange functionality, iPhone made IT feel comfortable. There was no need to change configurations to integrate it into our infrastructure. And end users have constant connections via the 3G network to track their calendars on the go.”
“iPhone is crucial for enabling the communication you need when you’re putting a lot of creative people together. It’s amazing how much it’s helped our business.”
“With the amount of travel we do, it’s essential that we’re able to communicate. iPhone is a big part of that.”
Long-Distance Collaboration
iPhone allows Blue Man Group’s creative staff to express ideas and streamline workflows in previously unimaginable ways. Turlik’s iPhone includes an instrument tuner, synthesizers, drum machines, and even a multitrack recorder. “iPhone has been hugely useful in my day-to-day work as a composer for Blue Man, especially as a content-sharing tool,” Turlik says. “I can create a song, email the MP3, and collaborate with our musicians around the world.”
Once a new composition or performance routine is created, Blue Man Group uses iPhone to quickly train the Blue Men worldwide. “I’ll create a training video and email a QuickTime clip so that people can learn from the video,” says Turlik. “They get the email right on their iPhones, and the next day in soundcheck they can all learn their parts. You can have eight guys onstage, all individually learning a piece of music at the same time from their iPhones.”
Using iPhone for training saves time and money for Blue Man Group. “We don’t have to fly people everywhere,” Turlik says, “and we don’t even have to FedEx DVDs — we can just email the movies for free.”
iPhone Onstage
iPhone even acts as a must-have toolkit for production crew on the How to Be a Megastar tour. “Drum techs use a spirit level application to make sure the drum racks are level,” says Turlik. “I’ve seen sound engineers use the decibel meter on iPhone. And the lighting and video operator might set a timer on his clock application so he knows when to run different cues.”
“There’s no limit to what iPhone can do,” Palumbo agrees. “Corporate users love the fact that their assistants can control their calendars, and everything is synced up on their iPhones. Creative users love the fact that they can see pictures and watch videos. iPhone is pretty much people’s lives on a device.”
For Blue Man Group, iPhone simplifies the business of creativity. “iPhone is just crucial for keeping things organised and enabling the communication you need when you’re putting a lot of creative people together,” says Turlik. “It’s amazing how much it’s helped our business.”
