Before You Commission a Live Broadcast: A Checklist for Organisers

Before anyone talks about cameras or crew numbers, write down what the viewer at home or in the room is meant to take away. A panel discussion, a presentation with slides and a ceremony with walking entrances all ask different things of a gallery. We find that organisers often describe the event they attend rather than the programme they want to put on air, and the two are not the same.

A useful test is to describe the broadcast in three sentences without naming any equipment. If you can say who is on screen, what graphics appear and how long the programme runs, the crew can be sized sensibly. If those sentences keep changing, settle them before requesting a quotation, because crewing follows the programme and not the other way round.

• Who appears on screen, and how many at once
• Which graphics, captions or slides must be shown
• Total running time, including any breaks
• Where the programme will be seen

A location visit changes more quotations than any other single step. Cable runs, power supply, rigging points and the position of the gallery all depend on the building. A hall with a fixed balcony can offer a clean camera position; a room with columns can hide half the stage from your best angle. Ask for a recce and take someone from the venue with you.

Power deserves its own line on the checklist. Confirm which circuits are available, whether they are shared with house lighting or catering, and who can be reached if a supply trips mid-programme. Also ask about load-in times, lift sizes and whether other events overlap, since a crew that cannot get cases through a door loses rehearsal time it will not recover.

• Power supply, circuits and a named venue contact
• Rigging points and permitted fixing methods
• Load-in route, lift size and access times
• Space for a gallery away from the audience

From the audio desk, the most common late surprise is room noise. Air handling, a neighbouring bar or a reflective hall can all undermine speech that sounded fine in the rehearsal. Ask the venue whether the ventilation can be lowered or paused, and arrange a quiet test during set-up with the room in its real state rather than empty.

Decide too how many microphones are genuinely needed and who will wear them. Radio microphones depend on clear frequencies, and a venue with several events running can be crowded. Agree who feeds the house sound system, because a broadcast mix and a room mix are different jobs and should not share one desk without a plan. Lay out the intercom arrangement for the whole crew at the same time.

• Number of speakers and type of microphone for each
• Whether a feed from the house system is required
• Quiet time for sound checks in the real room
• Intercom and talkback for the whole crew

A live programme is only as dependable as the route that carries it. Establish whether the output goes to a recording, to a streaming platform, to a broadcaster's feed or to screens elsewhere in the building, since each has its own format and timing. Ask who receives the signal and who tests it, and agree a point at which both sides confirm that pictures and sound have arrived.

Connectivity at the venue is a frequent weak point. A shared network that suits email may not hold a steady outgoing stream for several hours. Request the upload speed in writing, ask whether a dedicated line can be installed, and decide what happens if the primary route fails. A second path, even a modest one, is cheaper than an apology after the programme.

• Destination, format and who receives the signal
• Written upload speed and a backup route
• A moment where both ends confirm the feed
• A recording made separately as a safeguard

Ask how much rehearsal time the plan allows, and protect it. A camera crew that has seen the running order on paper but never watched the speakers move will spend the first fifteen minutes live learning the room. Even a short walk-through with the real presenters, slides and walk-on music shows up problems while they can still be fixed quietly.

Name one person on the client side who can make decisions during the day. Speakers arrive late, slides change and running orders slip, and a gallery cannot wait for committees. Give the director a final running order with timings, and agree how last-minute changes are passed on, ideally through a single route rather than several people leaning in at once.

• A rehearsal slot with the actual presenters
• A final running order with timings
• One decision-maker reachable throughout
• A single route for late changes

When you receive a written quotation, read it for what it leaves out as much as what it lists. Check the number of crew, the hours covered, whether set-up and derig are counted, and which equipment is supplied. Ask what happens if the event overruns, if the venue changes or if extra camera positions are requested after the plan is agreed.

Compare quotations on the same basis. A lower figure that assumes a smaller crew or a shorter day is not the same offer as a higher one that covers rehearsal and wrap. Finally, confirm the terms for changes and cancellation in writing, so that everyone knows where they stand if the date moves or the scale of the event shifts.

• Crew numbers, hours and set-up or derig time
• Equipment supplied and what you must arrange
• Charges for overruns or added positions
• Cancellation and change terms in writing