Journal

Hitomi Uematsu, SKYMAGIC’s Chief Operating Officer commented “We are delighted to welcome our new team members into the SKYMAGIC family.  Katie brings a wealth of pre-production and live delivery experience to our offering, and worked on the delivery of our first resident outdoor show for the Dubai Shopping Festival. With strong organisational and client facing skills combined with a keen eye for detail she will play a vital role, providing clients with a single point of contact and ensuring a smooth transition throughout a project’s lifecycle.“

KATIE FLANDERS – SKYMAGIC PROJECT MANAGER

Born in Norwich, but brought up in Reading, Katie went to Leeds University in 1999 to study Mechanical Engineering. Getting involved in events early as a lighting technician, she spent perhaps a bit too much time working for rock and roll events and opera instead of making it to lectures, and the fine line between finishing university and starting a career got a little blurred with a touring career in stage scenery, lighting and rigging which continued for the next 20yrs. She has toured with a large number of well-known bands as both a moving light technician and later on as head rigger, including Leonard Cohen, George Michael, Kylie, Rod Stewart, Muse, Genesis, Placebo etc, as well as a multitude of (generally cold and wet!) festivals, high-end private parties and film premieres, WWE events across Europe, TV work at Media City, and fulfilling a lifelong love of dinosaurs with Walking with Dinosaurs-an arena touring show with life-size animatronic dinosaurs. 2020 didn’t quite go to plan(!), with a long hoped-for sabbatical of travel to places not visited before left incomplete. However, a chance to rediscover hobbies and ponder a work-life balance has led to Katie being very excited at the opportunity to join SKYMAGIC as a project manager with new challenges, a whole different sector of creativity in events, and not having to live out of a suitcase as much. Always happy to chat about a wide range of topics, hobbies include cake decorating, miniature painting and kit building, arcade game testing and gaming, climbing, snowboarding, sleeping, reading (of the fantasy and sci-fi persuasion), diy (is that hobby or necessity?!), and of course electric unicycles.

Hitomi continued, “Hazeeq is a hugely talented drone pilot, with an impeccable flight record. His laser focus, his ability to remain calm under pressure and his huge infectious smile have instantly endeared him to both colleagues and client alike.”

MUHAMMED BIN HAZEEQ MUHAMMED HAIRUL – PILOT

Hazeeq is graduate from Singapore Polytechnic with a Diploma in Electrical Engineering, specialising in Aerospace Engineering. In 2019, he graduated from Singapore Institute of Technology with a first class honours in Aerospace Systems. At university, his final year project was drone related. He designed and built a plug-and-play module that could detect and avoid any obstacles; inspiring him to pursue the drone industry. He holds a commercial drone pilot license in Singapore and Australia, and is accredited to fly in Dubai as well as many other territories around the world. Hazeeq’s arrival has bolstered our pilot team, unlocking our ability to deliver even more shows simultaneously across multiple locations. When he’s not flying drones all over the world, Hazeeq’s favourite hobbies are playing badminton, and riding and fixing his bike.