How a late schedule change nearly derailed Hannah's charity concert

A call in the middle of the week

Hannah organises an annual autumn charity concert in a market-town hall in Dorset, and she rang us about ten days before the event. She had a choir, two bands and a local speaker, and she wanted the whole evening streamed to supporters who could not travel. Her worry was plain: she had never run a live broadcast and did not know what she did not know.

Priya took the first call and asked the questions that matter before any kit is chosen. How many acts, how long is each, who speaks between them, where does the audience sit, and who at the venue can open the doors? Hannah had most of the answers on the back of an envelope. By the end of the call we had the outline of a running order and a list of what was still missing.

Turning an envelope into a run sheet

A run sheet is the single document everyone works from on the night. Ours listed every item with a start time, a length, the camera it needed and the graphic or caption that went with it. For Hannah's evening that meant eleven lines, from the doors opening through to the final thank-you. Writing it forced several decisions she had been putting off, such as whether the speaker would use the lectern or walk the stage.

We sent the draft back with notes in plain language and asked her to correct anything that looked wrong. She changed three timings straight away. That exchange cost a few emails and saved a good deal of confusion later, because by the time the crew arrived the sheet already matched what the people in the hall expected to happen.

• Every item given a start time and a length
• Camera and graphic noted against each line
• One named person to approve changes

Fitting the crew and kit to the room

The hall was small, with a raised stage at one end and a gallery of fixed seating along one side. Daniel visited a few days ahead to check power, cable routes and where a control desk could sit without blocking the fire exit. He found a side room with a clear view of the stage monitor and a short cable run, which meant we could keep the crew compact.

We settled on three cameras, a small switching desk, an intercom for the crew and a monitored stream. Priya booked the people first and the kit second, because a good operator can work around a missing cable but kit cannot cover for someone who is double-booked. Helen was confirmed as technical director, with me on graphics and replay clips.

The evening it nearly slipped

Load-in went well until the hall's caretaker explained that a youth group had overrun, and the stage would not be free for another hour. That was the moment the run sheet earned its keep. Priya sat down with Hannah and rewrote the early part of the evening on the spot, moving the sound check and cutting a pre-show interview that would not fit.

Because the order was written down and everyone could see it, nobody had to guess what had changed. The crew was told in two sentences over intercom, and the stream start was held back by the same amount. Hannah later said the calmest thing about the evening was watching the plan bend without anybody raising their voice.

• Stage access delayed by roughly an hour
• Sound check moved and one item cut
• Stream start shifted to match the new plan

What went out, and what we noted afterwards

The concert went to air a little after the revised time and ran through without a gap. Supporters watching at home saw clean cuts between the choir and the bands, with the speaker's name on screen at the right moment. A few minutes of one song were framed tighter than we would have liked, which we put down to the cramped camera positions and noted for next time.

After a job like this we write a short summary for the client: what ran to plan, what changed, and what we would do differently. For Hannah it included a suggestion to ask the venue for written stage times at booking. It is a small request that would have spared everyone the scramble on the afternoon.

What this case shows about planning

Nothing about Hannah's concert was technically unusual. What made it work was that the schedule, the crew and the kit were treated as one problem and written down early. When something outside our control went wrong, there was a document to change rather than a room full of people trying to remember what had been agreed.

If you are organising a live event and have never done it before, the most useful thing you can do is send us the envelope version of your plan. We will turn it into a run sheet, ask the awkward questions while there is still time, and tell you plainly which parts need more thought before anyone loads a van.