Supplier specifications
Event audiovisual coordination brief
Your audiovisual supplier needs to know what each room must do, and most of that knowledge sits with your programme team.
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The short answer
An audiovisual coordination brief describes what each session needs to show, hear and record, who supplies the content, who approves it and what must be tested before doors open. It lets the audiovisual supplier propose equipment and staffing against real needs.
Technical and safety specifications, such as rigging, power load and equipment choice, are for the qualified supplier and the venue to confirm. Your brief states the outcome you need and asks them to propose and confirm.
Describe outcomes by session, not equipment lists
A brief that names a number of microphones before the programme is clear often buys the wrong kit. Describe the session types, the people speaking and the content shown, and let the supplier propose.
Work from the final or near-final programme. List each room, each session type and who speaks, then add what changes between sessions.
Decision sequence
- List rooms and sessions with start and end times, expected audience range and seating arrangement.
- For each session type, describe what is needed: presentation, panel, fireside chat, demonstration, remote speaker, recording.
- Name who manages speaker content: how slides are collected, by when, in what format and who approves late changes.
- List dependencies on other suppliers: venue power and access, staging and lighting, livestream, interpretation and registration areas.
- Decide the on-site roles: a supplier lead, a technician per room if needed, a programme contact on your side and a stage manager.
- Set the technical rehearsal, the speaker check procedure and the acceptance test before the event opens.
- Ask the supplier to confirm in writing the equipment, staffing, load-in times and any risks it sees, then check the whole package with the RFP completeness checker.
What the brief should cover
| Area | Organiser states | Supplier proposes and confirms |
|---|---|---|
| Sessions and rooms | Programme, rooms, times, audience range | Equipment and staffing per room |
| Presentation content | Collection method, deadline, format, approval owner | Playback setup, file handling and backup process |
| Speakers and voices | Number of speakers per session, panel or lectern, remote speakers | Microphone types and how many, monitoring, support during Q and A |
| Recording and relay | What is to be recorded or relayed, and for whom | Method, storage and handover of files, linked to the videography and livestream briefs |
| Interpretation and languages | Whether interpretation is needed | Equipment needed, to be briefed with the interpretation provider |
| Venue dependencies | Known constraints and contacts | Power, rigging, cabling and access needs for the venue to approve |
| Schedule | Load-in, rehearsal, event and load-out windows | Its own timeline and the access it needs |
| Safety and compliance | Nothing assumed | Its own safety arrangements and evidence, for your venue contact to review |
| Contingency | What the event cannot lose, such as the opening plenary | Its backup plan and spares |
Acceptance test before doors open
- Each room: every presentation opens and plays on the show machine without conversion.
- Each microphone works at the position used by speakers, including the panel and Q and A.
- Remote speakers connect, are heard and seen, and a backup route is available.
- Recording or relay starts and stops as planned, with a test file checked.
- Speaker changeover has a named person and a time allowance in the run-of-show.
Common pitfalls
- Receiving slides on the morning of the event with no cut-off date.
- Assuming the venue's in-house equipment is included in the quote.
- No single person for the supplier to ask on the day, so decisions queue.
- Remote speakers added late with no test.
- No rehearsal slot in the schedule, so the first test is in front of delegates.
Worked example · Fictional example
An audiovisual brief for a conference with one remote speaker
Fictional organisation and figures, for illustration only.
A fictional insurance-industry association plans a one-day conference with a plenary room, two breakouts and one overseas keynote joining remotely. The first brief to suppliers listed six microphones and a projector.
The revised brief lists session types instead: opening address, a four-person panel, three workshop sessions and the remote keynote with live questions. It sets a slide deadline of two working days before the event, names the programme coordinator as approver of late changes, and asks for a remote connection test the day before and a backup route. The suppliers' revised proposals differ mainly in how they plan the remote keynote, which was the real risk.
Use this yourself
Audiovisual coordination brief template
Copy this into a document. Attach the programme and the venue's technical information.
- Event, dates, venue and contacts (organiser and venue technical contact):
- Rooms and sessions: room, session type, times, audience range, seating arrangement:
- Content: what is presented, who supplies it, deadline, format, approval owner for changes:
- Speakers: how many per session, lectern or panel, remote speakers and their locations:
- Recording, relay or livestream needs and recipients:
- Interpretation or language needs, if any:
- Dependencies on venue, staging, lighting and other suppliers:
- Schedule: load-in, technical rehearsal, speaker check, event, load-out:
- On-site roles: supplier lead, room technicians, organiser contact, stage manager:
- Please confirm in writing: proposed equipment, staffing, safety arrangements, risks and backup plan:
- Acceptance test: items we will check before doors open:
- Price to show: itemised, with items excluded listed:
- Proposal deadline, question deadline and decision date:
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- A single room with a simple presentation format and a venue that supplies equipment and a technician.
- Your team has run the same format before and has the slides process in place.
- No recording, relay or remote speakers.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Several rooms, remote speakers or recording need coordination between audiovisual, venue and programme.
- Speaker content is managed by many people and late changes are likely.
- You are comparing audiovisual proposals that bundle equipment and staffing differently.
Need the audiovisual brief coordinated with the programme?
An Event Blueprint can place the audiovisual brief alongside the programme, venue requirements and run-of-show, with review owners and a rehearsal plan. A project lead can coordinate the workstream and the people involved, while the audiovisual supplier and venue confirm the technical and safety details.
Questions organisers ask
Should I list equipment in the brief?
List what you need to achieve in each session and let the supplier propose equipment. If you do have fixed needs, such as a specific playback format, state them as requirements.
Who checks that the setup is safe?
The audiovisual supplier and the venue are responsible for the technical and safety aspects. Ask them to state their arrangements in writing and let your venue contact review them.
When should slides be due?
Set a firm date with a named owner for late changes, and allow time for checking. The right lead time depends on your programme and speakers, so agree it with your supplier.
Do I need a technical rehearsal?
Plan one if the programme has panels, remote speakers or recording. Put it in the schedule and agree what will be tested.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.