Full Set Productions came to life last year when Perim, James, Jay and Merlin decided to turn an unexpected ending into a bold new beginning.
After the organisation they had been working for closed its doors, the team chose to channel their passion, creativity and experience into building something of their own.
Perim says:
“All these coincidences fell into our laps. Our first customer came through a friend looking for a set build. Then Jay brought in an escape room project for Horrible Histories. Everyone was free and keen to work together, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity. All we needed was to find the right place to work from.”
As luck would have it, several people had mentioned Edinburgh Open Workshop as a possible home for the new company, and the team headed along to check it out.
“Within ten minutes we knew it was right,” says Perim. “EOW is gorgeous, more than we could have hoped for. Everyone here is so supportive. The staff are flexible, they really care about the members, and will always try to fix any problem.”
While the young company needed to keep its costs down, EOW offered the flexibility and value for money they needed to get going.
James says:
“The tools are maybe three times as fast as in any other workshop. I’ve worked in places where I needed to make my own bench before I could even begin to work. Everything here is of a professional standard and everyone knows what they are doing.”
The name, Full Set Productions, reflects the company ethos of a team that can do everything from designing, creating and installing productions on site. Since their launch last year, they have been creating a variety of escape rooms, event installations, corporate games, product launches and theatre sets.
“The best thing about this job is, everything is unique, you rarely do the same thing twice,” says Perim. “We are constantly gathering information, developing ideas, and learning from our mistakes. I love that – it keeps you young and active and it’s never boring.”
Many of the projects the team take on now involve high profile brands, such as Dr Who and Horrible Histories, and require them to sign nondisclosure agreements as they have access to plot lines and new series ideas yet to be announced.
“We did a fun Star Wars job for the official new series,” says James. “They wanted to engage children in the story before Disney actually aired the series and so we made a game that would immerse them in the plot. We created a space shuttle that was failing, and the kids had to find a way to fix it.
“When they played the game, they would move up a level and finally they were able to launch the spaceship and get to the final destination, which was the planet that features in the new series. Then a trailer for the show would play, and by this stage the kids were so invested in it that they wanted to watch and find out more.”
Even the most reluctant of players end up getting hooked on the escape room games, which are generally site-specific. Loosely based on TV game shows such as Crystal Maze, players enter the room, are given a mission to complete, and must work out puzzles and tests in order to beat the game. The more you play, the more immersed you become, and it is a great way to spend time with friends or colleagues.
James says: “If you want people to be interested in something, you have to make them earn it and live it themselves – so we try not to make the games too easy. People love the satisfaction of working out a difficult challenge.”
Looking forward, Full Set are keen to take on more corporate events, designing and producing bespoke games for team building events.
Perim says
“We create a unique game for each client and everyone taking part must perform different tasks in order to win. There might be 40 people playing at the same time, but different groups will have individual problems to solve. It’s great to see them using the props for their characters, as it shows they are invested in the plotline. For this short time they can pretend to work for an organisation like NASA or the army, and take part in high-stake scenarios they will only have seen in films.”
Having achieved so much already, it’s hard to believe that Full Set Productions is about to celebrate the company’s one year anniversary. Perim and James believe a lot of their success is down to the support they get from other makers at EOW, who have helped to inspire and reassure them.
“The tools are great, but the people are wonderful,” says Perim. “I just can’t say enough good things about EOW. Everyone is so knowledgeable. You never feel on your own here. Rather than googling and finding answers or suggestions online, there are actual people you can watch and ask and learn from. There’s no competition or ego – everyone just wants the other person to be better.”
With hopes to someday train other young people and help them to find something they love doing, we are sure that the team at Full Set Productions will go on to inspire and encourage many other makers to follow their passion for making…
