TNT Productions

Bold Visions, Expert Guidance

For close to 10 years, TNT Productions has been expertly developing and supporting some of the most prominent arts and entertainment events in North America: from action sports classics like the Winter and Summer X Games and the FIS World Snowboard Championships to large-scale festivals and community events like the ICA FolkFest in Victoria, BC and the BC Millennium Celebrations. In 2006, they channeled their entrepreneurial spirit into the launch of transmission, a critically acclaimed annual international music conference and industry showcase that they developed from start to finish.

With CEO Tyl van Toorn and Artistic Producer Tracy Summers at the helm, TNT employs highly skilled full-time employees and contractors to deliver a wide-range of professional services, including comprehensive event management; planning and development; human resources and volunteer coordination; artistic programming and talent buying; fundraising and sponsorship; marketing and publicity; and production management and site design.

According to van Toorn, the company isn’t about to stop there. Staff members are continually expanding their knowledge base and skill sets in order to meet the emerging demands of the entertainment industries—and their clients. “We’re especially interested in increasingly developing content and finding ways to deliver these exceptional experiences to more and more people through television and evolving technologies.”

To date, TNT has entertained millions of people through live and televised performances by thousands of artists and entertainers from every continent (except Antarctica). Award-winning musicians like Ladysmith Black Mambazo, De La Soul and Sam Roberts have graced their stages and action sports heroes like Tony Hawk, Greg Lutzka and Karen Jones have stood on their podiums.
 
The company has changed a great deal since its inception, something its owners are quick to acknowledge. “When we started out,” says Summers, “we had a set of goals and a list of organizations we saw as competitors but we very quickly moved into an entirely different league.”
 
While TNT has remained committed to its original goal of producing dynamic live experiences for audiences, it has grown to embrace more diverse forms of entertainment—including not only action sports but also culinary arts and physical theatre.
 
Nor is TNT bound by geography. In fact, of the 12 events they produced in 2006, only four took place in their home city; the others were based in Toronto, Whistler, Calgary, Kelowna and Vancouver. Past events have also been held in American cities, including Los Angeles and Colorado. The company is currently exploring ways of expanding into the international market as well as the digital landscape.
 

Branching Out

 
“We started out with a much smaller vision,” says Tyl van Toorn: a summer job. When he and Summers were presented with an opportunity to produce the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria’s annual FolkFest in 1999 (which they had worked on previously), they quickly formed a company and submitted a proposal, believing it would be a one-time deal. They were wrong.
 
Over the next seven years, backed by van Toorn’s vast experience in technical direction and production and Summer’s infinite skills in administration and artistic production, TNT transformed the faltering community festival into a 10-day destination event attracting audiences of more than 150,000.
 
Along the way they quietly established a reputation for excellence, providing services to long-term clients like IMG Canada, ESPN and the Province of British Columbia among others.
 
TNT’s historical relationships and projects are important to them and continue to play a vital role in the company’s portfolio. The future, however, will bring a few changes.
 
“We’re branching out,” says van Toorn. “Over the past three years, we put an immense amount of time and energy into developing and producing transmission, an international music conference and showcase that brought key players in the digital and music industries together for three days. It was a critical success. Now, in addition to helping our clients achieve their goals, we’re hungry to build something of our own.”
 
transmission has become an annual event and will likely spin off into other related conferences. In addition, TNT has assumed ownership of Slam City Jam, North America’s pre-eminent skateboard competition, an event the company has been associated with for three years.

This company is definitely one to watch. There are few limits to what TNT is capable of achieving over the next 10 years.