Before the day
The brief, the site survey and the paperwork. This is where most of the work is, and where most problems are avoided.
AV event workflows
Events that run to plan, from first call to delivery
Audio visual (AV) work for events, sound and video, is my hobby, and I run it like any other piece of infrastructure work: brief first, survey the site, write the papers, then build it in a fixed order. This page follows an event through every stage, for conferences, hybrid talks and live music. It covers the paperwork, the event network, UK safety rules, show day cues, faults and their fallbacks, pack down, and getting the recordings safely to the edit.
Overview
An event, from first call to final delivery
A live event has a deadline that cannot move: the doors open at a set time whether the kit works or not. So most of the work happens before the day and after it. The show itself is the shortest part. Step through the nine stages to see what each one produces.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram.
The brief comes first. I want to know what the event is for, who it is for, which rooms are used, whether it is streamed or recorded, and what must be delivered afterwards. The kit list comes later and follows from the answers.
I visit the venue, or at least get floor plans, photos and a call with the venue technician. Power, internet upload, rigging points, sightlines and the load in route decide more about the event than any piece of kit.
I turn the brief and survey into the papers the crew works from: a signal flow diagram, an input list, a cable schedule, a kit list, a run sheet and a risk assessment. Most problems I see on the day were already missing from these.
Load in follows a fixed order: power first, then anything flown or rigged, then the stage, then cable runs, then patching. Every cable is labelled at both ends, so anyone on the crew can trace it later.
Before doors open I check every input from the stage to the desk, every camera shot, every slide and video, and a test stream to a private link. Presenters rehearse on the real microphones, not just their slides.
On the day the run sheet is the single source of truth. The show caller gives standby and go for each cue, the crew talk on comms, and anything that goes wrong is fixed live and logged for later.
Pack down runs in reverse order, and nobody stands under anything flown until it is down. Every item is checked against the kit list, damage is logged, and the venue is handed back as it was found.
Recordings are the only part of the event that lasts. Before I leave the venue there are three copies of every file on two kinds of storage, and I check that each copy plays.
The edit turns the recordings into what was promised: full sessions, highlights, clips and captions, plus the stream analytics. The event closes with a short review of what to keep and what to change next time.
On the day
Load in, line check and rehearsal, the show itself, and pack down. The run sheet decides what happens and when.
After the event
Media backed up before leaving, then the edit, captions, delivery and a short review of what to change.
Sound and video are my hobby, and the same planning applies to a small talk and a large hybrid conference. The detail of each part of the chain is on the live sound, live streaming, AV over IP (Internet Protocol) and post production pages.
The brief
Start with the brief, not the kit list
I start every event with the same questions. The answers decide the crew, the kit, the paperwork and the budget. A kit list written before the brief usually brings the wrong kit, or too much of it.
| Question | Why it matters | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| What is the event for? | A talk, a panel, a band, an awards night or a hybrid conference need different crews and kit. | Crew, kit and paperwork |
| Who is the audience, and how many? | Room size and audience size set the PA (public address) system, the screens and the crowd routes. | PA, screens, cable routes |
| Which rooms, and when? | Several rooms need a feed from each, and comms between them. | Feeds, comms, crew per room |
| Is it streamed? Where to? | Each platform needs its own stream key and settings, and every extra output needs more upload. | Encoder, upload, rights |
| Is it recorded? What for? | Programme only, or every camera as a separate file for a later edit. | Storage, edit time |
| Who presents, and how? | Lectern, headset or handheld mics, slides from whose laptop, any video playback. | Mics, playback, confidence monitors |
| Are any guests remote? | A remote guest needs a call, a return feed and a mix without their own voice in it. | Mix minus, return video |
| Any music? | Live music needs an input list and monitor mixes. Recorded music in a room or a stream needs the rights. | Inputs, monitors, licences |
| Accessibility? | Captions, a hearing loop, an interpreter, step free access for kit and people. | Captions, loop, positions |
| What is delivered, and by when? | Full sessions, highlights, clips, audio only versions, and their deadlines. | Edit plan and storage |
| What is the budget, and who signs off? | One decision maker saves days of back and forth. | Scope and options |
Try it: scope an event
Choose the kind of event. The planner lists the crew roles, the paperwork, the kit to plan and the risks to watch. The audience bands are typical planning steps, not rules.
Worked example: a hybrid conference over several rooms, 100 to 500 people, streamed to one platform, every camera recorded
- Crew
- Show caller, A1 (front of house sound), A2 (stage and radio mics), vision mixer, stream producer, graphics and playback, stage manager, a runner and one technician for each extra room
- Paperwork
- Brief, survey notes, signal flow diagram, input list, cable schedule, kit list, run sheet, risk assessment, comms plan and stream plan
- Kit to plan
- Lectern and radio mics with spares, and a confidence monitor for presenters. One feed from each room to a central stream point. PTZ (pan, tilt and zoom) cameras with presets, run by the vision mixer, so no camera operators. A second encoder or stream path as backup. Storage for every camera, with the switcher's project file for the edit.
- Watch for
- Comms between rooms. Rights to any music in the stream. Enough upload for every stream, with headroom.
Site survey
Power, network, rigging and the way in
The venue decides more about an event than any piece of kit. I visit before the day, or at least get floor plans, photos and a call with the venue technician. Choose a layer to see what I check on the plan.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram.
Power. I find out where the supply is, what it is rated for and how far it is from the stage and the mix position. Sound should not share circuits with lighting dimmers or catering. Anything beyond ordinary sockets, such as a 32 A distribution board, is connected by a competent electrician and signed off.
Network. I measure the upload speed from the wired port the encoder will use, not from the venue Wi-Fi. I ask the venue IT (information technology) team which ports are open, whether the line is shared with the building, and whether a second line or a cellular router can be added as a backup.
Rigging. Anything flown, such as speakers, screens or lights, hangs only from points the venue has rated, by people competent to rig. I note the grid height, the safe working loads and what access equipment is needed, so the work at height can be planned.
Sightlines. The audience must see the stage and the screens, the cameras need clear shots without blocking anyone, and the mix position needs to see and hear the stage. I mark camera positions and the desk on the floor plan before the day.
Routes. I check the load in door, lifts and corridors, the access times and parking. Fire exits and their routes stay clear, so cables go round walkways or under ramps. The route from the desk to the stage is planned first, because it carries the main cables.
Try it: a survey checklist
The checks I make on a site visit. Tick them off as you go; the summary lists what is still open, group by group.
0 of 20 checked. Still open: every group.
On a site visit I take photos of every wall, every socket and every door on the route, and I measure the room. A photo of a fuse board label has saved me more than one wasted trip.
Paperwork
The papers the crew actually works from
The brief and the survey turn into a small set of documents. They let a crew that has never met set up the same show without asking me every question. Most problems I see on the day were missing from these papers.
| Document | What it holds | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Technical rider | What a performer or presenter needs: inputs, monitors, power, stage space. | Me, the venue |
| Stage plot | Where everything sits on stage, with power and monitor positions. | Crew, venue |
| Input list | Every channel: source, microphone or DI (direct injection) box, stand, phantom power, notes. | Sound crew |
| Signal flow diagram | How sound and pictures move from every source to every output. | Whole crew |
| Cable schedule | Every cable: ID (identifier), type, length, from and to, labelled at both ends. | Crew at load in |
| Kit list | Every item, with spares and who brings it, checked out and back in. | Whole crew |
| Run sheet | The timed running order for the whole day, from load in to load out. | Everyone |
| Cue sheet | Each cue for sound, vision and lights, and who calls it. | Show caller, operators |
| RAMS (risk assessment and method statement) | The hazards, who could be harmed, the controls, and the safe order of work. | Crew, venue |
| Contact and comms sheet | Names, roles, phone numbers and comms channels. | Everyone |
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram.
- Audio
- Video
- Mix minus to the remote guest
An input list
| Ch | Source | Mic or DI | Phantom | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lectern | Gooseneck condenser | On | Lectern position fixed |
| 2 | Presenter 1 | Radio headset | Off | New batteries at the break |
| 3 | Presenter 2 | Radio handheld | Off | Spare on the desk |
| 4 | Audience questions | Radio handheld | Off | Runner holds it |
| 5 and 6 | Laptop audio | Stereo DI box | Off | Slides laptop, left and right |
| 7 | Remote guest | Call computer | Off | Mix minus on its own bus |
| 9 and 10 | Walk in music | Playback | Off | Licensed music only |
An example input list for a hybrid talk. Every event gets its own.
A cable schedule
| ID | Type | Length | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A01 | XLR (three pin audio) | 10 m | Lectern | Stagebox input 1 |
S01 | Cat6, digital snake | 50 m | Stagebox | Sound desk |
V01 | 12G SDI (serial digital interface) coax | 30 m | Camera 1 | Vision mixer input 1 |
N01 | Cat6 | 20 m | Wall port | Encoder |
P01 | 16 A blue industrial | 25 m | Distro | Mix position |
An example cable schedule. Lengths are typical for a medium hall. The label on each end of the cable matches its ID.
A run sheet
| Time | Item | Sound | Vision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | Load in | Power and rigging first | ||
| 11:30 | Line check | Every input | Every camera | Test stream to a private link |
| 13:00 | Rehearsal | Presenters on mics | Shots and slides | Remote guest joins |
| 13:45 | Doors | Walk in music | Holding slide | Stream starts at 13:55 |
| 14:00 | Welcome | Lectern | Wide, then lectern | |
| 14:50 | Panel | Three radio mics | PTZ presets 2 to 4 | Remote guest on screen |
| 15:30 | Break | Music | Holding slide | Batteries changed |
| 17:00 | Close | Outro music | Wide, end slide | Stream ends at 17:05 |
An example run sheet. The real one has every cue and who calls it.
Network
Connectivity that does not share with the audience
A stream fails more often on the network than in any piece of AV kit. I plan the event network like any other: wired, separated, with a second way out, and tested on the real path before the day.
Wired, never Wi-Fi
The encoder, the vision mixer and any network cameras are cabled. Venue Wi-Fi is shared with the audience and drops when the room fills.
A production network
Production kit sits on its own switch or VLAN (virtual local area network), apart from the audience and the venue office, so nobody else can flood it.
Two ways out
A second internet path, such as a cellular router, carries a backup stream or takes over if the venue line fails.
Test the real path
I measure upload from the actual wall port at the time of day the event runs, and send a private test stream end to end.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram.
- Main stream
- Backup stream
- Audience Wi-Fi
- Camera control
Try it: is the upload enough?
Every stream that leaves the venue needs its own upload: one per platform, plus any backup. Set the format and bitrate, the number of streams and the upload I measured from the wired port. Audio is counted at 128 kbps per stream.
Worked example: 1080p at 60 fps, 8 Mbps video, two streams out, 30 Mbps measured upload
- Per stream
- 8.1 Mbps (video 8 + audio 0.128)
- All streams
- 16.3 Mbps
- With headroom
- 24.4 Mbps needed
- Platform range
- 6 to 17 Mbps for this format on YouTube, so 8 Mbps is inside it
Enough upload, with headroom. 30 Mbps covers the 24.4 Mbps needed. I still run a test stream from the same port before doors open.
Stream protocols at a glance
| Stream protocol | Transport | Where I use it |
|---|---|---|
| RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol) | TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) port 1935 | Older ingest. Unencrypted, so only where the platform still accepts it |
| RTMPS (secure RTMP) | TCP port 443 | Ingest encrypted with TLS (Transport Layer Security), used by most large platforms; usually passes venue firewalls |
| SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) | UDP (User Datagram Protocol), port set per link | Contribution from remote sites over the internet, with encryption and recovery of lost packets |
| NDI (Network Device Interface) | Local network | Cameras and sources inside the venue; heavy on bandwidth, so kept on the production network |
Port numbers are the usual defaults. Each platform publishes its own ingest details.
Typical platform limits
| Format (H.264) | Video bitrate range on YouTube |
|---|---|
| 720p at 30 or 60 fps | 3 to 8 Mbps |
| 1080p at 30 fps | 5 to 14 Mbps |
| 1080p at 60 fps | 6 to 17 Mbps |
From YouTube's live encoder guidance, which also recommends a keyframe every 2 seconds and AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) audio at 128 kbps for stereo. Other platforms publish their own limits.
Codecs, encoders and multi site contribution are on the live streaming page. Networks for Dante and NDI, with multicast and QoS (quality of service), are on the AV over IP page and the QoS page.
Safety
Safe for the crew, safe for the audience
An event brings power, height, noise, heavy kit and a crowd into one room for a day. I plan safety the same way as the signal flow, before the day and in writing. This is the UK framework I work within.
| Area | What applies (UK) | What I do |
|---|---|---|
| Risk assessment | The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. An employer with five or more employees must record the significant findings. | A risk assessment and method statement for every event, shared with the venue and the crew before load in. |
| Work at height | The Work at Height Regulations 2005: avoid work at height where possible, prevent falls where it cannot be avoided, and minimise the distance and consequences of a fall where the risk remains. | Flown kit rigged by competent people with the right access equipment. Nobody stands under a load while it moves. |
| Electrical equipment | The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require equipment that could cause injury to be kept in a safe condition. The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) says this does not mean testing every year, and records are not a legal requirement. | A visual check of every lead and plug before each event, inspection and testing on a schedule set by how hard the kit is used, and records kept anyway. |
| Temporary power | The British Standard (BS) code of practice for temporary electrical systems for entertainment is BS 7909:2023+A1:2024, used with BS 7671 and the IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) guide to temporary electrical systems. | Anything beyond ordinary sockets is designed and connected by a competent person. I never lift a mains earth to cure hum. |
| Noise at work | The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005: action values of 80 and 85 dB(A) daily exposure and 135 and 137 dB(C) peak, with limits of 87 dB(A) and 140 dB(C). | Hearing protection for crew near loud sources, breaks away from the stage, and levels measured at the mix position. |
| Temporary structures | HSE confirms the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) apply to building, fitting out and taking down temporary structures for live events. | Stages and structures from competent contractors, with roles and responsibilities agreed with the organiser. |
| Outdoor events | The Purple Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Music and Other Events, drawn up by the Events Industry Forum, sets out good practice. | Used as the checklist for outdoor and larger events. |
| Radio microphones | Ofcom lists licence exempt bands, including 863 to 865 MHz (megahertz), which other devices share. Most professional radio mics use UHF (ultra high frequency) bands under a wireless microphone licence or coordinated frequencies. | Frequencies planned before the day, scanned on site, and the licence checked. |
| Music | TheMusicLicence, from PPL PRS Ltd, lets a business play recorded and live music. Venues often hold one already. | I ask the organiser to confirm music rights, and treat music in a stream or recording as a separate question. |
| Filming people | Attendees should know they may be filmed or streamed. | Signs at the entrance, a note in the joining instructions, and seats out of camera shot. |
A summary for planning, not legal advice. The venue, the organiser and competent specialists each carry their own duties.
Power on the day
- A UK 13 A socket supplies about 3 kW (230 V x 13 A). A full PA, lighting and catering on one circuit is a fault waiting to happen.
- Temporary distribution often arrives on IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 60309 industrial connectors: blue for 230 V single phase and red for 400 V three phase, commonly rated 16 A, 32 A or 63 A.
- Sound sits on its own circuits, away from lighting dimmers and catering, so their noise and faults stay off the audio.
- Hum is fixed on the audio side, for example with a DI box ground lift, never by removing a mains earth.
Cables and people
- No cables across fire exits or their routes.
- Cables across walkways go under rated cable ramps, or overhead, never just under tape.
- Gaffer tape on the floor only where the venue allows it, and lifted cleanly at pack down.
- Every cable labelled at both ends, so a fault can be traced without pulling cables in front of an audience.
Load in
Set up in an order that keeps people safe
Load in is where the paperwork meets the room. I follow the same order every time, because it keeps people out of harm's way and means the cable runs only go in once. Step through it to see what goes in when.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram.
Power in first. The distribution is placed and connected by a competent person, then runs go to the stage and the mix position. Nothing else is plugged in until the supply is checked.
Anything flown goes up next, while the floor is still clear: speakers, screens and lights. The area under a moving load is closed off, and nobody works beneath it.
The stage, lectern, screens and backdrop are placed to the stage plot, so cable runs can be measured to their final positions.
The main runs go in: the digital snake from stage to desk, video from each camera, and network. Runs follow the planned route, round walkways or under ramps, never across an exit.
Every cable is patched to the input list and labelled at both ends with its ID from the cable schedule. The patch is checked against the list before any sound is made.
Signal flows for the first time. Each input is checked in order from the stage, then each camera, playback source and the stream path. Faults found now cost minutes, not the show.
Why this order
- Power first, so nothing is plugged into an untested supply.
- Rigging while the floor is empty, so nobody works under a load among cases and cables.
- Set before cables, so runs are measured to where things really end up.
- Labels before sound, so a fault can be traced in seconds during the show.
Cable habits
- Run the longest, heaviest cable first, and dress it along the wall or the edge of the stage.
- Leave a service loop at each end, so a connector can be swapped without pulling the run.
- Keep audio and video runs apart from mains where possible, and cross them at right angles.
- Spares go in with the main runs: a spare XLR line, a spare video run and a spare network cable.
Line check
Check everything once before anyone is watching
Between load in and doors there is a fixed list of checks. Each has a pass mark, so "it seemed fine" is never the test. The list below is the one I work through.
| Check | How | Pass mark |
|---|---|---|
| Line check | Every input in order, one person at the source and one at the desk. | Every channel on the right fader, with the right source |
| Soundcheck | Presenters speak at their real level on their real mic; a band plays a song. | No feedback at show level; everyone hears themselves |
| Radio mics | Walk the room and the stage with each pack; fit fresh batteries. | No dropouts anywhere a presenter might go |
| Cameras | Frame every preset shot; check focus, exposure and white balance. | Shots match each other when cut together |
| Slides and playback | Run every video with sound from the show laptop, with the confidence monitor on. | Right level, right aspect ratio, next slide visible |
| Remote guests | Join on the real call; test the return feed and the mix minus. | Guest hears the room clearly, with no echo |
| Lip sync | Clap or slate in front of a camera and watch the stream. | Audio no more than 40 ms ahead or 60 ms behind the picture |
| Stream | Send to a private or unlisted event and watch on a phone off the venue network. | Steady bitrate, no dropped frames, sound on both channels |
| Recording | Record a minute and play it back from the media. | Files play, and every camera file is there |
| Comms and cues | Run the first five cues with the show caller. | Everyone hears the call and answers |
The lip sync pass mark is the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) R37 end to end limit. ITU-R BT.1359, from the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), puts the point where viewers start to notice at about 45 ms ahead or 125 ms behind.
Rehearse the joins
Walk on, walk off, the remote guest joining, a video with sound, the break. Talks rarely fail in the middle; they fail at the changes.
Real kit, real levels
A presenter who rehearses on a different mic, or reads their slides quietly, gives a soundcheck that means nothing on the day.
Stream to yourself
A private test stream catches the wrong audio channels, a missing graphic or a bitrate the line cannot hold, before anyone is watching.
Show day
The run sheet is the single source of truth
On the day nobody improvises the running order. The show caller works from the run sheet, gives standby and go for every cue, and the crew answer on comms. Step through an example afternoon to see what each part of the crew does at each cue.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram.
Live view: the show caller sends each call in orange, and every operator answers in teal. One voice calls the cues, so nobody acts on a guess.
- Calls: standby, go
- Answers: standing by, done
Who does what
| Role | Does | Works with |
|---|---|---|
| Show caller | Owns the run sheet, calls every cue, makes the call when something fails. | Run sheet, comms, a clock |
| A1 (front of house sound) | Mixes the room, the stream feed and the recording. | Sound desk, input list |
| A2 (stage sound) | Fits radio mics, changes batteries, looks after the stage end. | Radio mics, spares, a torch |
| Vision mixer | Cuts between cameras and sources, and directs the camera operators. | Switcher, multiview, presets |
| Camera operators | Frame the shots the vision mixer asks for. | Cameras, or PTZ controllers |
| Graphics and playback | Slides, name titles, videos and holding slides. | Show laptop, confidence monitor |
| Stream producer | Watches the stream as viewers see it, and the chat. | A phone off the venue network, platform dashboard |
| Stage manager | Gets presenters on and off on time, with the right mic. | Run sheet, comms |
At a small event one person covers several roles. I still name each role, so it is clear who does what.
How cues are called
- Standby. "Standby cue 12, sound and vision." Each operator answers "standing by".
- Go. "Cue 12, go." The action happens on the word go, not before.
- Hold. "Hold, hold." Everything stops until the caller clears it.
- Channels. Wired party line intercom for the core crew, wireless beltpacks for anyone who moves, and a chat group only for things that can wait.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram.
Doors open on the run sheet time, not when the crew feels ready. Walk in music plays, every microphone is muted, and the stream starts a few minutes early on a holding slide, so viewers who join early see that it works.
The show caller gives standby, then go. Sound fades the music and opens the lectern mic, and vision cuts from a wide shot to the lectern preset. The host's name title goes on at the first mention.
Each speaker change is a cue on the sheet: one mic up, the previous one down. Vision follows the speaker and puts slides beside them, switching to full screen slides when the text would be too small to read on a phone.
Panels are where things go wrong, so they are rehearsed. Each panellist has a preset shot and a mic, the remote guest hears the room through the mix minus, and the stream producer watches the chat for problems.
The break is a working break. Mics are muted, music plays, radio mic batteries are changed, and I check that the recordings so far are growing and play back. Any fix waits for here, not the middle of a talk.
At close the outro music plays and vision goes wide then to the end slide. The stream ends a few minutes later. Recordings are stopped, checked and backed up before anyone starts to pack down.
How the stream itself is built is on my live streaming page.
When it goes wrong
Fixing it live, without making it worse
Something fails at most events. The audience should not notice. Each likely failure has a fallback ready, and faults are found by following the signal, not by guessing. Choose a symptom to see where I look first.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram.
A mic gives no sound. I follow the chain from the fader back to the mic: mute groups, the channel on, the receiver's RF (radio frequency) and audio meters, the mute on the pack, then the battery. A spare mic is live on the desk while I look.
Hum or buzz. Hum that follows the lights means sound shares a circuit with dimmers. Otherwise it is usually an earth loop or an unbalanced cable. I move sound to its own circuit, use balanced runs and a DI ground lift, and never remove a mains earth.
One side goes dead. Several devices failing together point to power, not audio. I check the distribution board and breakers, and what was plugged in just before. A load on the wrong circuit, such as a kettle or a heater, is the usual cause.
A camera shows black. I swap to the spare video run first, then check any converter has power, then check the camera's output format matches what the vision mixer expects. While I look, the shot is covered by another camera.
Crackle when a cable moves. A damaged connector or cable. The label at each end finds the run fast. I swap it at the next quiet moment and tag the faulty one for repair, so it does not come back on the next job.
The remote guest hears an echo. Their own voice is in the feed sent back to them. I check the call computer is fed from the mix minus bus, not the main mix, and that echo cancellation on the call is on.
Sound out of step with the picture. Video processing usually delays the picture, so sound arrives early. I add audio delay on the desk or the switcher, in frames, until a clap lines up, and keep within the EBU R37 limits.
The stream drops or buffers. The encoder shows dropped frames as the upload falls. I check the wired link and whether the venue line is now busy, lower the bitrate one step, and move to the backup path if it keeps falling.
No sound on the stream. The room mix is fine, so the fault is in the stream path. I check which audio source the switcher sends, the channel mapping to the encoder and the level, and confirm on a phone off the venue network.
Feedback when a presenter moves. The mic has gone in front of the PA. I pull the fader at once, then agree where the presenter can walk, and ring out the room again before the next session if it keeps happening.
A fallback for every single point of failure
| Single point of failure | My fallback |
|---|---|
| The lectern mic | A handheld radio mic ready on the desk, unmuted in seconds |
| The presenter's laptop | The slides also on the show laptop, from a copy sent the day before |
| The venue internet | A cellular router carrying a backup stream, or ready to take over |
| The encoder | A second encoder, or the switcher's own streaming as the backup |
| Radio mic batteries | Fresh batteries at every break, never "they should last" |
| The vision mixer | A wide shot from one camera, patched straight to the encoder |
| Power to the desk | A small UPS (uninterruptible power supply) under the desk and the encoder (typical) |
| The recording | Recorded in two places: on the switcher and on a separate recorder |
My method live
- Keep the show going first. Cover the fault: a wide shot, a spare mic, music, a holding slide.
- Follow the signal. From the output back to the source, one stage at a time.
- Swap before you diagnose. A spare cable, mic or input is faster than a meter.
- Change one thing. Then check the result, so the fix is known.
- Log it. Time, symptom and fix, for the review after the event.
My general fault finding method is on the troubleshooting page.
Pack down
Pack down in reverse, and nothing gets left behind
When the show ends the risks go up: everyone is tired and the room is being cleared. Pack down follows a fixed order, starting with the recordings, and ends with the kit checked against the list.
| Order | What happens | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recordings stopped, checked and copied | The only part of the event that lasts; it comes before any cable is touched |
| 2 | Radio mics and packs collected and counted | Small, expensive and easy to lose in a busy room |
| 3 | Power down: amplifiers first, then desks and sources | The reverse of power up, so speakers do not thump |
| 4 | Flown kit lowered, with the area below closed | The same rule as load in: nobody under a moving load |
| 5 | Cables out, coiled over and under, counted | Over and under coiling keeps cables untwisted and quick to run out next time |
| 6 | Cases packed to the kit list, load out in reverse | Missing or damaged kit is found at the venue, not at the next job |
Damage log
Anything faulty is tagged and written down as it is packed, so it is repaired before it goes out again.
Venue handback
Tape lifted, rubbish removed, and the room photographed as I leave it, beside the photos from the survey.
Same crew, same order
Everyone knows the order before it starts, so pack down is quick and nobody rushes the unsafe parts.
After the event
Media safe first, then the edit and delivery
The recordings are the only part of the event that lasts, so they come first. Nothing is packed until there are copies, and the edit starts from files that have been checked. Step through the offload.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram.
Recordings are stopped on every device and the files closed. I note the time, and what each device recorded: the programme, each camera and the sound desk multitrack.
Files come off the switcher drive and the desk recording onto the offload laptop, keeping the folder names and the original file names.
From the laptop they go to two drives of different kinds, such as an SSD (solid state drive) and a hard drive, so one failure does not take both.
I compare checksums and play a sample from every file on each copy. A copy that has not been checked is not a copy.
A third copy leaves the venue separately: a cloud upload, or a drive that travels in a different bag. That makes three copies, on two kinds of storage, one off site.
The edit gets the programme, every camera file, the multitrack audio and the switcher's project file, with the run sheet and my show log of what happened when.
What gets delivered
| Deliverable | Turnaround (typical) | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Full sessions | Within a week | MP4 (H.264), 1080p, with chapters |
| Highlights | Within one to two weeks | MP4, two to three minutes |
| Short clips for social media | Within a few days | Square or vertical crops, captions burnt in |
| Audio only | Within a week | Compressed audio, for a podcast feed |
| Captions | With each video | SRT caption file, checked by a person |
| Stream analytics | The next day | Export from the platform: peak viewers, watch time |
| Lessons review | Within a week | One page: keep, change, stop |
Turnarounds are typical and are agreed in the brief.
Recordings that make the edit easy
Switchers that record each input separately make the edit far easier. The ATEM Mini Pro ISO, for example, records a clean, isolated (ISO) file of each of its four inputs and the programme, and saves a DaVinci Resolve project file of the cuts made live. Opening that file brings back every cut, so I change a shot instead of starting the edit again. The edit itself, from codecs to loudness, is on the editing and post production page.
The review
Within a week of the event I write one page with the organiser: what to keep, what to change and what to stop. It goes straight into the templates for the next event, so the same problem does not come back.
The full edit, from card copies to platform versions, is on my editing and post production page.
Engagement
How I run an event, from first call to final delivery
An event is a small project with a deadline that cannot move. I take every one through the same seven stages, so nothing is left to chance on the day, and the recordings are safe before anyone goes home.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram.
I start by finding out what the event is for and who decides. A talk, a panel with remote guests and a band need different crews, so the first call settles the type, the rooms, the times, whether it is streamed or recorded, and who signs off the budget.
The brief turns into requirements with numbers: every input that must be heard, the stream format and platforms, the lip sync limit, what is delivered afterwards and by when. Accessibility, such as captions and a hearing loop, is a requirement from the start, not an extra.
I visit the venue, or get plans, photos and a call with the venue technician. I measure the upload from the wired port, find the power and its rating, note the rated rigging points, and walk the load in route. The survey often changes the plan.
The design is a set of papers the crew can work from without me: the signal flow, the input list, the cable schedule, the kit list with spares, the run sheet and the risk assessment and method statement. Each single point of failure gets a fallback written down.
Load in follows a fixed order: power, rigging, stage, cable runs, patching and labels. Then I check every input, camera, playback source and the stream against a pass mark, and presenters rehearse on their real mics, especially the changes between sessions.
On the day the run sheet decides what happens. Cues are called and answered, faults are covered first and fixed by following the signal, and everything is logged. Pack down starts only when the recordings are stopped, copied and checked.
After the event the recordings become what was promised: full sessions, highlights, clips and captions, with the stream analytics. A short review records what to keep and change, and the templates are updated before the next event.
Functional requirements
What the event's AV must do.
- Make every presenter, panellist and performer clearly heard in the room, on the stream and on the recording.
- Show slides, videos and name titles on the room screens and on the stream, cued from the run sheet.
- Bring remote guests in with a clean return feed and no echo.
- Stream to the agreed platforms, with a backup path if the main one fails.
- Record the programme, every camera and the sound desk multitrack for the edit.
- Deliver the agreed edits, clips and captions on the agreed dates.
Non functional requirements
How well it must work, with a number wherever one can be agreed.
- Lip sync
- Audio no more than 40 ms ahead or 60 ms behind the picture, end to end (the EBU R37 limit).
- Stream format
- Bitrate inside the platform's range, for example 6 to 17 Mbps for 1080p at 60 fps on YouTube, with a keyframe every 2 seconds.
- Upload
- Measured upload at least 1.5 times the total bitrate of every stream leaving the venue (typical).
- Resilience
- No single failure stops the show: a fallback for every mic, laptop, encoder and line.
- Recordings
- Three copies of every file on two kinds of storage, one off site, before the crew leaves.
- Crew noise
- Daily exposure below 85 dB(A), or hearing protection provided, under the Noise at Work Regulations.
- Timing
- Doors, sessions and the stream start on the run sheet times, within a minute (typical).
- Delivery
- Edited full sessions within a week of the event (typical).
Numbers marked typical are starting points that each event agrees in its brief.
Who I talk to
- The organiser, and whoever signs off the budget
- Presenters, panellists and performers, or their tour manager
- The venue technician and the venue IT team
- Whoever owns the streaming channels and their passwords
- The venue's health and safety contact
How I find out
- A first call to agree the purpose, rooms, times and deliverables
- A site visit with photos, measurements and a speed test from the wired port
- The venue's technical pack, floor plans and house rules
- Riders and slide decks from presenters and performers, collected early
- A walk through of the run sheet with the organiser before it is frozen
Discovery tools
| Tool or source | What it tells me |
|---|---|
| Venue technical pack and floor plans | Power, rigging points, room sizes, house kit and rules |
| A laser measure and photos of every wall and socket | Cable lengths, sightlines and where kit can go |
| A speed test from the wired port, at the event time of day | The real upload the stream will have |
| A sound level meter | Background noise in the room, and levels at the mix position on the day |
| A radio frequency scan from the radio mic receivers | Which frequencies are clear in that building |
| A shared spreadsheet for the input list, cable schedule and run sheet | One version of each paper that the whole crew can see |
When something fails during a show, the audience comes first. I cover the fault, then find it by following the signal, one stage at a time.
My approach
- Cover. Keep the show going: a spare mic, a wide shot, music or a holding slide.
- Locate. Is it one channel, one source, one output, or everything on one circuit?
- Follow. Trace the signal from the output back to the source, checking meters and indicators at each stage.
- Swap. Swap the suspect cable, mic or input for a spare before measuring anything.
- Fix. Change one thing at a time, and confirm the result in the room and on the stream.
- Log. Write down the time, symptom and fix for the review.
Problems I see most
- Radio mic batteries left from the last event
- Sound sharing a circuit with lighting dimmers
- Venue Wi-Fi used for the stream
- The remote guest fed the main mix, so they hear an echo
- Slides only on the presenter's own laptop
- No private test stream before doors
Layer by layer
| Layer | What I check |
|---|---|
| Power | Supply, circuits, distribution board and breakers; whether sound shares with lighting or catering. |
| Cables and connectors | The labelled run from the cable schedule, the connectors at each end, and any converter or its power. |
| Kit settings | Routing, mute groups, input formats, mix minus, audio delay and recording settings. |
| Network and stream | The wired link, upload, encoder statistics, stream keys and the backup path. |
| People and cues | Who was meant to do what, on which cue, and whether the run sheet was followed. |
The fault finder under When it goes wrong covers each symptom, and my general method is on the troubleshooting page.
An event does not end when the doors close. These are the things I carry on after the day.
Media
Three checked copies of every recording, with the switcher project file, the multitrack and my show log of what happened when.
Delivery schedule
Each deliverable from the brief with its date, from clips in a few days to full sessions within a week (typical).
Edits and approvals
One round of review on each edit, with comments against timecode, so changes are clear and quick.
Stream replay
The stream recording trimmed and titled on the platform, with chapters and captions checked by a person.
Kit returns
Hired kit returned on time, own kit checked in against the list, faults sent for repair.
Review
A one page review with the organiser: what to keep, what to change and what to stop next time.
Kit, templates and licences need looking after between events, or the next event inherits the last one's problems.
- Kit maintenance. Cables tested and repaired, connectors cleaned, and anything tagged as faulty fixed before it goes out again.
- Firmware. Switchers, desks and encoders updated well before an event and tested, never on the day.
- Batteries. Fresh or fully charged batteries for every radio mic at every event, with rechargeables tracked by cycle count.
- Electrical checks. Visual checks before each event, with inspection and testing on a schedule set by risk, as HSE advises.
- Licences and insurance. Radio microphone licence and music rights confirmed, and insurance for kit and public liability kept current.
- Templates. The input list, cable schedule, run sheet and risk assessment templates updated after every review.
Projects
Where I use it
Sound and video are my hobby, and the workflow on this page is how I run them. The habits behind it, such as clear papers, a fixed order of work and a fallback for every failure, come from twenty years of planning infrastructure changes.
Live sound
In my own time I mix live sound on an Allen & Heath Qu series desk. The planning, input lists and line checks on this page come from that work. The detail is on the live sound page.
Streaming and recording
I stream and record with Blackmagic ATEM switchers, from the ATEM Mini series to a larger ATEM with SDI, using PTZ and cinema cameras. See the live streaming page.
Editing after the event
I edit in DaVinci Resolve, CapCut and Filmora, and clean up audio in Audacity. The workflow is on the post production page.
AV training
AV Fundamentals, Audio Specialist, AV over IP Installer, and Education Spaces and Solutions Designer, among nine Kramer courses.
Plans that survive the day Related
Planned a phased, site by site rollout and upgraded every global site remotely during the COVID lockdowns through local enablement, with no delay. The same planning discipline runs every event.
PRINCE2 Practitioner Related
Stages, clear roles and management by exception carry straight into event planning: the brief, the run sheet and the show caller. The method is on the PRINCE2 page.
Backed by Kramer Academy courses, Power and Electrical training, and PRINCE2 Practitioner. See all credentials
Explore
More areas I design and deliver
Every page follows the same idea: how it works, the choices that matter, and where I have used it. The foundations pages explain the basics the others build on.