Home

Interview: John Davey - Flash On The Beach

John Davey is the organiser behind 'Flash on the Beach', the first full scale Flash conference in the UK since FlashForward in November 2000.

July 2006 - interview by John Dalziel FM: Flash On The Beach is a new conference. Can you tell us a bit about what prompted you to organise it?

JD: It is something that has been in the back of my mind for a long time. The first ever FlashForward I attended was in London over 6 years ago. It was such an eye opener for me to see so much talent and so many ideas in one place. I remember paying something like Â£550 to go to that conference and felt that it was worth every single penny. I realised that I had been very isolated as a developer, and it was the first time I really got to meet other people in the industry and share contacts and ideas. That is where I first met Brendan Dawes. Brendan inspired me to write for a couple of magazines and then books, and soon I became a speaker at FlashForward.

I could never understand why the UK didn't have a major Flash conference after that. We have a vibrant community of talent in the UK and Europe, and I felt that we had become the forgotten (sounds dramatic doesn't it?). Seriously though, it costs a lot of money to fly to the States to go to one of these conferences, so I wanted to do something affordable for the community here in the UK & Europe - hence Flash on the Beach.
FM: Previous UK cons have been held in London. Can you tell us why you decided to hold this one in Brighton?

JD: Originally the conference was going to be held in London. However, during a long chat with a very good friend of mine - Pete Barr-Watson, he suggested switching it to Brighton. At first I was reluctant because it was an unknown for me. I live and work in London so it seemed more natural for me. Pete suggested a few venues, so I arranged site visits to check them out. The Dome was the last one I saw, and as soon as I walked into the venue, I knew it was what I had been looking for. It is stunning. So, Brighton was sealed there and then. I have to say a massive thanks to Pete for encouraging me to consider Brighton because everything about the place is perfect for a Flash conference. The community there is very creative, the buzz about the place is vibrant and the venue is the best I had seen out of over 20 site visits I had done.
FM: You've managed to assemble a great collection of speakers. How did you begin attracting speakers to a new conference?

JD: I am lucky (or unlucky dependant upon who you are speaking to!) to be the type of person who likes to talk to everyone. Over the years I have become good friends with people like Joey Lott, Erik Natzke, Pete Barr-Watson, Brendan Dawes, Aral Balkan.... the list goes on. Once you have guys like that on your side, attracting others is much easier. I am very lucky that everyone I have mentioned there has been more supportive of this event than I could have wanted. They are 100% behind the conference and me, and that gives a huge confidence boost going forward. Of course there are speakers that we have invited who because of work commitments couldn't make it, but hopefully they will come next year.
FM: Conference funding is notoriously difficult. Adobe recently claimed that their MAX conference runs at a loss. How are you ensuring that FOTB covers your costs?

JD: That is a big question! As you can see from the ticket price, we have tried to keep the cost down to rock bottom. A hard and fast business man would probably frown at that, but we believe that value for money is key. This is not a one hit money making attempt, we want this event to grow over the years and become first entry in the diary of both attendees and speakers. The only way to ensure first class speakers and venue is to give excellent value for money which then becomes "butts on seats". Approaching sponsors is a big part of keeping ticket prices affordable. The buzz is enormous at the moment, and the way it is looking it looks like it will sell out. If it does and we get help from sponsors we will have covered our costs and everyone will be happy. I was warned before I went into this that it would be a massive job, I am afraid to say I ignored a lot of that advice. Now I am realising what people meant, but I feel the effort is worth it, and I am confident that everyone who attends will get a lot out of the conference. See you at Flash on the Beach!
FM: Has the Adobe merger had any affect on your choice of sessions or speakers?

JD: Not at all. In fact the Adobe/Macromedia merger has brought all of the best web/print/audio/video tools together in one company! Wow, it's frightening isn't it! Our speaker line-up includes Angie Taylor talking about After Effects, Chris Orwig and Michael Ninness talking about Photoshop and Hillman Curtis talking about film making! Add Mike Chambers talking about Apollo, plus Flex, Flash Lite and more, you can see that the sessions are going to be jam packed with valuable content for everyone. The fact that all of the products fall under Adobe's umbrella just shows what strong products they have.
FM: We're really excited about Flash on the beach - it's going to be quite a party! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us John.

JD: No, thank you for talking to me! It is going to be a fantastic event. When you look at the speaker list, I find myself like a kid in a sweet shop! If you see me at Flash on the Beach, say hello - I'll be the one jumping up and down with excitement!
visit Flash on the Beach