Start with the running order, not the kit list
The most common planning error I see on live broadcast events is starting with equipment. A kit list feels productive because it is concrete, but it answers a question nobody has asked yet. The run sheet should begin with the running order the producer intends to deliver, segment by segment, with each item's expected duration and the person responsible for it.
Ask the producer for the latest running order in writing and confirm which version is current. Put the version number and time of issue at the top of your run sheet. When the order changes during rehearsal, which it will, you want every department to know at a glance which page they are holding.
Only once the order is fixed should you ask what each segment demands technically: how many cameras, which microphones, what lighting state, what graphics and playback sources. The kit list then follows from the running order, and every item on it has a reason you can point to.
- Record the version and issue time on every page
- Note segment durations and the named owner of each item
- Derive the kit list from the order, never the other way round
Break each segment into cues a crew can follow
A run sheet earns its keep at the moment someone has three seconds to act. Each segment should be broken into numbered cues, and each cue should name one action, one department and one trigger. A cue such as 'Camera 2 to presenter wide on the host's first word' tells the operator what to do and what to listen for.
Keep the wording short and consistent. If you call the same shot a wide in one place and a master in another, someone will eventually hesitate. Agree a small vocabulary with the director before you write, and use it throughout, including in the notes you hand to the lighting and sound teams.
Separate the cues that happen on a countdown from those that depend on live action. Timed cues can be rehearsed to the second. Action-led cues need a clear visual or audible trigger and a fallback if the trigger does not arrive, so the operator knows whether to wait or to move on.
- One action, one department, one trigger per cue
- Use the same names for shots and sources everywhere
- Mark timed cues and action-led cues differently
Lay out the equipment plan against the venue
The equipment plan turns the run sheet into physical positions. Begin with the venue's floor plan and mark where each camera will stand, where cable runs will pass, and where the control position sits. Check sightlines from every camera to the stage, because a lens that cannot see the speaker is a very expensive ornament.
Walk the cable routes yourself if you can. A route that looks sensible on paper may cross a fire exit, a public aisle or a doorway that will be closed during the event. Note the length of each run and add a margin, since a cable that is a metre short on the day cannot be fixed with good intentions.
List power as carefully as signal. Record which circuits feed lighting, which feed sound and which feed the camera positions, and note any shared supplies. Separate supplies for audio and dimmer-controlled lighting avoid a good deal of trouble, and the plan is the place to settle that before anyone arrives.
- Mark camera positions and check each sightline
- Measure cable routes and keep a length margin
- Record power circuits for lighting, sound and cameras
Plan the lighting and camera state for each segment
Because lighting and camera positions are my own field, I tend to write these in parallel. For each segment, note the lighting state the director expects and the camera that will carry the shot. A talk segment on a small stage needs a different balance from a performance with moving subjects, and the transition between them needs a cue of its own.
Allow time for the eye of the camera to settle. A sudden jump from a bright state to a dim one can leave exposure hunting for a second or two, and that second goes to air. Where possible, build transitions into gaps in the programme, or agree that the camera operator holds a safe framing until the new state is stable.
Write down the exposure and white balance assumptions for the venue, particularly where daylight reaches the stage. A mid-autumn afternoon event can start in strong low sun and finish in the dark, and a lighting plan that ignores that will drift away from what was rehearsed.
- Pair each segment with a lighting state and a lead camera
- Build transitions into natural gaps in the programme
- Note daylight changes for events that run into the evening
Build in rehearsal, contingency and communication
A run sheet is a draft until it has been rehearsed. Schedule a technical rehearsal that runs the cues in order, even if only the key segments, and mark every change on the sheet immediately. A correction made verbally and never written down will be forgotten by the time the doors open.
Decide your contingencies before the event, not during it. For each critical path, such as the main programme feed, the talkback and the primary microphone, name the backup and the person who switches to it. The sheet should say what triggers the switch, so nobody debates it with the clock running.
Agree how the crew will talk. Specify the talkback channels, who is on which, and a short list of phrases for stopping, holding and resuming. Quiet, consistent communication keeps a live gallery calm, and the plan is the right place to write it down.
- Rehearse the cues and update the sheet straight away
- Name a backup and an owner for each critical path
- Fix talkback channels and standard hold phrases
Issue it, brief it, and keep it current
Once the run sheet and equipment plan are settled, issue them to every department together. Departments that work from different versions create the very confusion the document exists to prevent. Send the same pack to production, vision, sound, lighting and the venue contact, and ask each to confirm receipt.
Hold a short briefing before the doors open and walk through the sheet from the top. This is not a speech. It is a chance for the crew to ask the questions that only surface when they hear the order spoken aloud, and for you to catch a cue that reads clearly on paper but not in the room.
Keep a master copy and log every change with the time it was made. After the event, spend ten minutes noting what worked and what did not. The next run sheet you write will be better for it, and the crew will notice the difference.
A technical run sheet is a working tool, not a formality. Start from the running order, break it into clear cues, tie the equipment plan to the real venue, and rehearse until the sheet matches what happens. Issue one version to everyone, brief the crew, and keep the document current as things change. Done this way, the paper does much of the calming for you when the event goes live.
