Before you hire an event crew: a checklist for organisers

Start with what the event actually needs

Before any crew is approached, write down what the event has to do. A corporate evening with a speaker and a short film asks very little of a crew compared with a two-day festival on a field. I find that organisers who can describe the running order in plain words get far better quotations, because the technicians can see where the effort will fall.

Put numbers beside the description: expected audience, number of stages or rooms, hours of use each day and whether anything is being broadcast or recorded. Those figures drive how many people are needed and for how long. Leave room for what you do not yet know, and say so openly. A crew would rather hear that the headline act is unconfirmed than discover it on the day.

It also helps to say which parts of the event matter most. If the keynote must be heard clearly in the back row, or the opening set must look right on camera, tell the crew early so they can plan their time around those moments.

• Audience size and expected arrival pattern
• Number of stages, rooms or camera positions
• Hours of use on each day
• Whether the event is recorded or broadcast

Check the venue before the crew does

Many problems on show day were visible on a site visit that never happened. Walk the venue with someone who will be working there, ideally at the time of day the event will run. Look at where equipment can be unloaded, how far it must be carried, and whether lifts, stairs or soft ground are in the way.

Power deserves its own conversation. Ask what supply is available, where it is, and who is allowed to connect to it. Outdoors in mid autumn, add the weather: wet grass, early dark and wind on rigging all change how long a set-up takes and how it has to be done.

Find out about restrictions too, such as noise limits at the end of the evening, access windows set by the venue, and any rules on rigging from ceilings or roofs. A crew that knows these before arriving will build the schedule around them rather than argue about them on the day.

• Loading route, distance and any steps or lifts
• Power supply location, capacity and who connects to it
• Curfews, noise limits and access windows
• Cover and ground conditions for outdoor sites

Ask who will actually be on site

A quotation names a service; the event is delivered by particular people. Ask how many technicians will attend, what each is responsible for, and how much live work they have done at an event of your size. A small corporate party and a festival stage are different jobs, even when the equipment looks similar.

Ask who leads the crew on the day and how you reach them. One named person who makes decisions saves a great deal of time when the running order shifts at the last minute. You should also know whether the people you meet during planning are the ones who will turn up.

It is reasonable to ask about working hours as well. Long load-ins followed by a full show and a late wrap tire people, and tired crews make mistakes. A sensible plan includes breaks and, for longer events, a second shift or relief cover.

• Number of technicians and their roles
• Named crew lead and a direct contact number
• Experience with events of comparable size
• Break and relief arrangements on long days

Agree the schedule from load-in to wrap

Write the day backwards from the moment the doors open. Work out when sound check must finish, when lighting needs to be focused, when cameras must be tested and when the room has to be clear for the audience. The load-in time that remains is usually shorter than organisers expect, and it is better to know that early.

Include the end of the event as carefully as the beginning. Get-out takes real time, and venues often have a hard deadline for vehicles and staff. Ask the crew how long they need to strip down and pack safely, and add a margin for anything that overruns.

Agree a point of contact for changes during the day, and decide in advance who can approve them. A running order that moves by half an hour is normal; a running order that moves with nobody authorised to say yes is how shows start late.

• Load-in, rehearsal and sound check times
• Doors, show and any broadcast start times
• Get-out duration and the venue's vehicle deadline
• Who approves changes on the day

Be clear about equipment and responsibility

Find out exactly what the crew brings and what the venue or you must provide. Microphones, cables, stands, lighting fixtures, monitors and cameras can each be on either side of the line. A quotation that lists equipment by item is easier to compare and easier to check on arrival than one that simply says full production.

Ask what happens if something fails. A sensible crew carries spares for the items that matter most, such as microphones, cables and power distribution, and has a plan for the rest. Ask how faults are handled during the show and who decides when to switch to a backup.

Settle responsibility for safety as well. Rigging, cable runs across public routes and temporary structures all need to be done carefully and inspected. Ask how the crew handles this, and what the venue requires in writing before work can begin.

• Itemised equipment list showing who supplies what
• Spares carried for critical items
• Fault procedure during the show
• Safety and rigging requirements from the venue

Confirm the terms in writing

Once the practical questions are answered, make sure they are recorded. A written quotation or confirmation should state the dates, the hours the crew is booked for, the services included and what would change the price, such as extra hours, additional stages or late changes to the plan.

Ask how cancellation and postponement are handled, since events do move. Knowing the terms in advance is far easier than negotiating them when a date is in doubt. The same applies to how and when payment is due: an invoice paid by bank transfer should have a clear date attached.

Keep the thread of correspondence in one place. When the final schedule, contact numbers and equipment list sit together, everyone on the day, from the crew lead to the venue manager, is working from the same page.

None of these questions is difficult, but each is easier to answer a month before the event than on the morning of it. Work through the list with the crew you are considering, note what remains uncertain and agree who will resolve it. If most answers come back clearly and without hesitation, you are probably talking to people who will run the day calmly.