Ep. 11 - Dean Rodgers from Secret Cinema: Kidnaps, Hoovers, Collective Awe & Building Immersive Worlds

Welcome to Season 2 of When Sh*t Goes Wrong at Events - the podcast where we give a backstage pass to the often unheard stories of event organising.In this episode we sit down with Dean Rodgers, Creative Director of Secret Cinema. Dean shares the madness of building immersive worlds before it was mainstream. Along the way, he explains why the unpredictability of live events is so addictive, what it takes to keep audiences safe while creating adrenaline-fuelled experiences, and why collective awe is what keeps people coming back.Topics covered in this episode:Immersive experiences before they were huge: What it was like to break ground with no safety net.When things go really wrong: 3 tonnes of sand on the third floor, and no way to get it out.The thin line between edgy and illegal: And why safety always comes first.Creating collective awe: The true magic that live events can deliver.Why AI might push more people toward live events: The future of real-world experiences.Connect with our host Freddie Sparrow, Co-Founder of Vento, and connect with our guest Dean Rodgers, Creative Director of Secret Cinema.