Treating the temporary control room as an afterthought
The most common mistake is also the quietest one: nobody decides where the control room will go until the week of the event. A temporary control room needs power, shelter, a clear line to the stage and a route for cable that does not cross a public walkway. When those questions are left late, the crew ends up in a corner of a tent or a store room, with the monitors facing a window and the cable run twice as long as it should be.
In mid autumn the problem is sharper, because the weather is no longer on your side. Damp, cold and wind all find their way into a space chosen in a hurry. We ask organisers for a site plan early, even a rough sketch, and we visit or call the venue before the kit list is final. A short conversation about where the room sits saves hours of improvisation on the day.
The fix is simple to state: decide the position of the control room when you decide the position of the stage, not after the barriers and catering have taken the best ground.
- Agree the control room position at the same time as the stage
- Check shelter, heating and a dry floor for the operators
- Keep cable routes away from public walkways
Underestimating power and cable
Crews are often asked to work from whatever supply is nearby, and the supply nearby is frequently shared with lighting, catering or a sound system that draws heavily at the wrong moment. A switcher, monitor wall, recording devices and intercom do not use much on their own, but together they need a clean, stable feed. A dip that nobody notices in the bar can still reboot a vision mixer in the middle of a headline set.
Cable is the second half of the same mistake. Lengths are guessed from a map instead of measured on the ground, and the first camera position is further from the control room than anyone thought. We plan runs with a margin, label both ends of every cable, and carry spare lengths in more than one type.
Ask who else is on the supply, whether a separate circuit is possible, and who is responsible for the generator if one is used. Those three answers matter more than any piece of equipment on the kit list.
- Request a dedicated, labelled power feed for the control room
- Measure cable runs on site rather than from a plan
- Carry spare cable of each type, not only the most common one
Skipping the walk-through with the whole crew
A temporary crew is often assembled from people who have not worked together on this particular show. Camera operators, the vision mixer, the sound lead and the person calling cues each hold part of the picture. When they meet for the first time at the doors-open briefing, small misunderstandings become live errors: a camera is cut to before its operator is ready, or a cue is called in words the stage manager does not use.
We hold a short walk-through before every outside broadcast, even when time is tight. It covers who speaks on which intercom channel, what the cue words mean, and what happens if a camera or a feed drops. Twenty minutes spent this way is worth more than an extra monitor.
Organisers can help by making sure the stage manager and the production lead are available for that conversation, not arriving as the first act soundchecks.
- Agree intercom channels and cue wording before the doors open
- Name one person who decides if the running order changes
- Rehearse what happens when a feed or camera fails
Leaving the running order vague
Crews can only cut a show well if they know what is coming. A running order that says only the names of acts, with no timings, no notes on lighting changes and no mention of special moments, forces the vision mixer to react rather than anticipate. The pictures end up late and the show feels nervous.
A useful running order lists set times, changeovers, any speeches or presentations, and moments when the stage will go dark or change dramatically. It also says who has authority to change it. Things always move on the night, and that is fine, as long as everyone hears about it from the same voice.
Where a full script does not exist, a one-page summary is enough. We would rather work from a rough but honest plan than from a detailed document that nobody has updated since the first draft.
- Share timings for sets, changeovers and speeches
- Flag lighting changes and dark moments in advance
- Tell the crew immediately when the order shifts
Forgetting the people outside the control room
An outside broadcast is not only the crew in the control room. Camera operators stand for hours at the edge of a crowd, cable handlers walk long routes in the dark, and everyone needs a chance to eat, warm up and use a toilet. Productions that treat these as optional end up with tired operators and slipping standards by the final act.
We ask organisers to include the crew in the welfare plan: access to hot drinks, a place to leave coats and bags, and a named contact for problems. These are small things, but a crew that is looked after stays sharp, and the pictures show it.
Access matters too. Passes, wristbands and parking should be arranged before the crew arrives, so that nobody spends the first hour at a gate explaining who they are.
- Arrange passes and parking before the crew arrives
- Provide hot drinks and a dry place for the crew to rest
- Give the crew one named contact on site
Having no plan for when things go wrong
Every production has a moment when something fails: a link drops, a camera loses power, a microphone dies on stage. The mistake is not that it happens but that nobody has decided in advance what to do. In a temporary control room there is rarely time to discuss options while the show is running.
We agree a short list of fallbacks with the organiser before the event: which camera is the safe wide shot, how long a hold on that shot is acceptable, who speaks to the stage, and who decides whether to continue or pause. Simple, written and shared, it removes the argument from the worst moment.
After the event we go through what went wrong, however small, and note it for next time. That habit, more than any equipment, is what makes a crew calmer over the years.
- Agree a safe wide shot and fallback feed in advance
- Decide who speaks to the stage when something fails
- Review small problems after the event, not only large ones
Most outside broadcast problems are not technical surprises. They come from decisions made late, details left unshared and people not asked what they need. If you are planning a festival, party or stage production, talk to us early about where the control room goes, how it is powered and who is in it. A calm crew starts with a clear plan, and the plan costs far less than fixing things during the show.
