“Noorus is bad luck!” - This phrase has always been said throughout the centuries. They may be lazy, untalented, under-motivated and otherwise idiotic.
And yet it could not be further from the truth.
Tallinn 32. The Playbox at the secondary school is a wonderful example of what happens when a school gives young people the chance to do, decide, grow and try again. And how years of experience are passed on, and the diamond is polished to ever greater perfection.
32.KK Playbox's production could be confused with Eesti Laulu's by bystanders, but it is not the result of one big production company or a huge amount of funding, but has grown naturally year on year. Oh, you don't know what we're talking about? Watch the video first and below we'll describe exactly what happened and how.
From students to partners
The technical development of Playbox got off the ground when Tallinn 32. Secondary School students who were working on Radiustechis, helped bring the first major stage and lighting installations to the school.
It was not a “sponsor came and did it” situation - it was the initiative of people in their own school who knew both the needs of the school and the possibilities of professional production.
This is where the collaboration with Radiustech began, which gave Playbox a solid technical foundation and a whole new dimension to the event.
Some time later, they also added Strikkeniga students involved. These are the same young people who studied at 32. The same young people who attended the 32nd secondary school and worked in Strikken brought LED screens to Playbox for the first time.
In some years, Stricken's technique was used more, in others Radiustech's - in the meantime, both at the same time. This flexibility and mutual understanding allowed Playbox to grow without anyone imposing a rigid framework.
Today, the roles are clearly in place: Stage and show tech for 2025 came from Radiustech and Television.ee contributed to making the show visible beyond the hall.
Partners who made Playbox possible
Playbox 2025 wouldn't have been possible at this level without partners who say “Fucking Awesome!”. Here are the keys to the warehouse. Take what you need, but bring it back."
Radiustech
The backbone of the Playbox stage and lighting. It was through them that a space was created where each number was given its own atmosphere and energy. The light was one of the greatest strengths of the event this year and paled only to the brilliance of the wonderful performers.
Ledzep
LED screens for the main stage and evening guides that tied the whole visual into a coherent whole. The LED screens were part of the stage language and helped each performance to further impress the soul.
Television.ee
Television has been with Playbox for several years. In the early years with more transmission equipment, later with the flexibility to provide the solutions that were needed at the time, but above all with an experienced team.
Television also plays an important role on the live streaming platform concert.television.ee, where Playbox can be watched live with a ticket. This will allow the “hall” to be opened up to a wider audience than the walls of the gymnasium allow. Inevitably, the event has grown to such a size that unless the school builds a concert hall, not even all the parents, let alone friends and relatives, have a hope of fitting in.
In addition, of course, there are dozens of smaller but nevertheless significant corporate backers, but since no cable connects itself, no light bulb goes on by itself and no artist knows EXACTLY when to go on stage, the most important thing in a production is still the people. And above all the students themselves.
Alumni and students in one measure
One of the most distinctive features of the Playbox is that it students and alumni from the same school working side by side here.
Those who once studied 32. Secondary school and started their journey in Radiustech, Strikken or Television, today they come back as professionals - and help the next generation.
Alumni pass on experience, students bring fresh energy and ideas, and in years to come you are already in the role of mentor. The best way to learn is always through practice, and as the school management creates opportunities to try and “rattle all the buckets”, the importance of teamwork and meeting your responsibilities becomes clear very quickly. This kind of collaboration creates an environment where learning doesn't feel like learning and culminates in an enjoyable shared achievement.
The team whose work was at the heart of this show
The team behind Playbox 2025 was exceptionally large and diverse.
Different people, different skills, one common goal - to create an event that works as a whole, both in the hall and on the screen.
Broadcast and event production technical team
Kaur Hendrikson - director, editing, graphics and LiveQ creator
Kaur is the technical architect of the Playbox transmission. The LiveQ program he created controls the entire mode with timecode precision - meaning that camera, lighting and visual changes happen at exactly the right moment.
LiveQ is like the nervous system of the whole event, keeping the rhythm and continuity of the show. It makes what happens on stage feel natural to the audience, even though there's sophisticated automation in the background, honed to perfection by the operators.
Leela Mia Auväärt - director editing
Leela's role was to support the modes and editing, helping to maintain the visual logic and rhythm of the transfer. Her work helped to ensure that the image was clear, understandable and conveyed the emotion of the location as well as possible to the home.
Tristan Põder (Television.ee) - engineer, technical officer for transmission.
Tristan was responsible for making sure that the whole transmission was stable from start to finish. He was in charge of the entire technical plan for the transmission: signal paths, equipment selection, connections and the interworking of the systems.
In addition, he was responsible for ensuring that the graphics were on time, both on the screens and live, and that the broadcast was delivered smoothly to the live platform.
In practice, this also meant constant collaboration with the sound, lighting and LED teams - assisting, finding solutions and holding the whole together throughout the event.
Sebastian Mattias Selirand (Television.ee) - live sound engineer
Sebastian was responsible for making sure that the live sound was clear, balanced and in harmony with what was happening on stage and with the images. His work ensured that the audience behind the screen also had a full experience of the event.
Camera crew
- Hugo Leinola (Television.ee) - A lead operator who helped plan the camera plans and gave advice to others to keep the image smooth and dynamic.
- Karmen Arumeel - camera operator
- Viktoria Grünberg - camera operator
- Liisi Lipso - cablecam crew and camera operator
- Tomi Anders Jakobson - cablecami operator
- Mikk Kalamees - cablecami operator
Cablecam (Thousand thanks Skycam.ee) was an important visual element this year, with dynamic shots giving a professional concert production dimension to what was happening on stage.
Stage team: light, sound, art and organisation:
What the audience saw on stage was largely thanks to the stage crew, who worked on the details and the whole:
- Anete Pelmas - leisure manager and pillar of the event
- Milda Lükk and Nora Kivimägi - the main organisers, who held together all the logistics, scheduling and overall quality of the event.
- Ott Aasma - technical team leader and LED screen manager
- Anni Kärner - the lighting master, whose work was exceptionally strong this year and gave each number its own atmosphere.
- Reuben Blackbird - the sound technician who was responsible for the sound in the hall.
- Lisandra Liiva - art team leader
- Viktoria Grünberg - media team leader
- Emily Tomberg and Merit Heleri Mannov - marketing managers
- Liset Treve and Martin Pahk - jury and organisers of the opening show
Their work is often what the public doesn't notice, but what everyone feels particularly acutely when things don't go to plan.
When the light works, everything looks natural. When sound works, everything seems simple. But the key to its success lies in the hundreds of decisions and refinements made during rehearsals.
In addition, the event also featured SFX elements, which gave a few moments of added tension and emotion without overshadowing the content.
While the audience saw a smooth and complete show, behind it were months of preparation, rehearsals and a large number of people whose work ran like a well-oiled reel.
Television.ee shout-out to the 2025 Playbox team
No - Noorus is not bad. You can do great things. Wonderful performances, insanely high quality productions and an energy that brings sunshine into the grey autumn every year. But keep on keeping on, because with people like this, the future of Estonia's entertainment landscape is in very good hands.
I believe I say this on behalf of all supporters: “We were honoured to contribute to the success of Playbox.” And to add to that, the best way to give something back is for you to pass on your experience. To the next young people, to the next schools, and also to the next Eurovision Song Contests, concerts and big events.
You rock!
