Pre-production: 8 weeks and beyond
The earlier you confirm the technical framework, the more options you have and the better the pricing. The items below should be resolved at least eight weeks before load-in. If your event is in less than eight weeks and these are not yet confirmed, work through them in order of dependency: venue, then rigging, then specification, then content.
- ✓ Venue rigging plan and structural loading limits confirmed with the operations manager.
- ✓ Production company selected and brief issued with room dimensions, capacity, programme outline, and brand guidelines.
- ✓ Technical specification agreed: LED or projection, stage configuration, PA specification, lighting rig type.
- ✓ Load-in access times confirmed with the venue and the production company: start time, security requirements, car park access, lift capacity.
- ✓ Power supply confirmed. If the event includes a live band or large LED wall, request a power survey from the venue.
- ✓ Entertainment technical rider received and reviewed with the production company.
- ✓ Content delivery timeline agreed and ownership assigned internally.
Most of the problems on event day were created in this eight-week window. Not by incompetence but by deferral. The venue question that nobody wanted to press. The rider that arrived and sat in an inbox. The content deadline that slipped. The earlier you close these items, the fewer surprises you carry into load-in.
Four to eight weeks out
This window is for confirming details and locking the programme. Changes after this point become progressively more expensive and complex.
- ✓ Final programme confirmed in writing: running order, speaker names, entertainment cues, timings for each segment.
- ✓ Content specifications issued to production team: native resolution, frame rate, file format, delivery deadline, naming conventions.
- ✓ Presenter technical requirements confirmed: who needs a confidence monitor, who needs a handheld mic, who needs a lapel, who needs a return to IEM if they are also performing.
- ✓ Rehearsal time booked and confirmed: room access time, who is required to be present, what will be rehearsed.
- ✓ Production schedule reviewed and approved by charity event manager and production TD.
- ✓ Backline hire confirmed and cost approved if entertainment rider required specialist equipment.
The final week
The final week is for confirmation, not decision-making. Anything being decided in the final week is late. Your objective is to confirm that every commitment made in the previous two months is on track and to identify any outstanding items that need immediate escalation.
- ✓ All video and graphic content delivered to production company and reviewed on the playback system.
- ✓ Final programme version issued to production TD in writing.
- ✓ Crew call times confirmed.
- ✓ Venue operations contact confirmed for load-in day.
- ✓ Any live auction technical requirements confirmed: handheld mic position, bid display if used, auctioneer confidence monitor.
- ✓ Emergency contact list circulated: production TD, venue operations, entertainment liaison, catering manager.
Event day
The event day checklist is a sign-off list, not a to-do list. Everything below should be complete before there are guests in the room.
- ✓ All AV systems powered and tested: LED wall, presentation system, PA at full programme levels.
- ✓ All video content played through in sequence and confirmed correct.
- ✓ All microphones tested: handheld, lapel, podium, and entertainment mics.
- ✓ Confidence monitors tested with the presentation laptop confirmed.
- ✓ Lighting states programmed and signed off: dinner, speech, appeal, entertainment, and closing.
- ✓ Technical rehearsal completed with the MC or event host.
- ✓ Production TD has a printed copy of the running order with technical cues marked.
Planning a charity gala and want to sense-check your production plan?
We are happy to review your brief and programme outline and tell you what looks solid and what needs attention before load-in day.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most commonly missed item on a charity gala production plan?
Presenter technical requirements. Most organisations confirm who is speaking and for how long but do not specify whether they need a confidence monitor, a return IEM, or a particular microphone type. These requirements determine monitor positions and audio channel allocation on the mixing desk, and they need to be known before load-in.
When is it too late to make programme changes that affect the technical plan?
Minor changes can usually be accommodated up to 48 hours before load-in if they do not require new content or equipment. Changes that require new video content, additional hire equipment, or significant reprogramming of lighting or audio cues need at least a week. Changes on event day itself are treated as contingencies, not programme amendments.
Should the charity event manager be on site during load-in?
The event manager should be available and contactable during load-in and present for the technical rehearsal. Full presence throughout the entire load-in is not usually necessary and can slow down the technical team by creating an approval dynamic that interrupts the build sequence.