Just like the many specialists in your business team, an AV Production team is also diverse. When you walk into your next meeting or live event, there are going to be several technical people on that AV team, and without a guide to their responsibilities, you may wonder what they are doing and who does what.
In this blog series, we share some of the most common positions and how they impact your event. In our last installment, we met our Audio Team. Today we’ll introduce a few people responsible for just some of the video elements of your event.
The Responsibilities
The video team is responsible for, well… the video and content displayed in your event. Content takes many forms and includes Slide Shows, Video Playback, and Camera work. Video specialists handle this content from end to end, meaning they start with the source, manage any switching or changes between sources and are responsible for what the audience sees on the big screen or in their live stream. We won’t try to explain the entire workflow, but will simply introduce some of the team.
There are plenty of cases where your meeting has one source of content like PowerPoint and it just needs to be displayed on a screen for the audience. As the number of content sources grows, so does the number of team members.
Different events have different video system requirements. For our discussion here, we are going to discuss the crew for a typical corporate or university meeting/event. When it comes to music and entertainment, there’s a different set of technical positions and skills that are required which are not covered below.
Depending on your Event Production company and region, these titles may change slightly. The most common leading role on the video team is your Video Lead or V1. In some areas, the role may be named Technical Director (TD).
Content Dictates Crew
The video crew overall will change depending on the variety and complexity of the content. When you have a lot of media and multiple cameras, your event should require a Director or Show Caller.
The Director is the conductor of the event. Their job is to follow the action on stage, comparing it to a run-of-show and instructing each of the other crew what will happen next. These cues will include which video content is coming up and instruct camera operators where to focus their attention.
All content will flow through a central piece of equipment called a video switcher (sometimes called a Vision Mixer) and that will be operated by the Technical Director. He or She will change the inputs to display the relevant content on whichever screen the audience is viewing.
Here’s a quick list of some other common positions:
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Graphics Operator: handles PowerPoint or Keynote presentations.
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Video Playback Operator: operates video systems like Mitti, PlayBack Pro, Milumin or other hardware-based video playback devices.
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Media Manager: operates and monitors video recording devices.
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Video Engineer: ensures cameras are correctly balanced for optimal viewing accuracy.
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Camera Operator: operates studio-style cameras, wireless hand-held or robotic cameras.
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LED/Projectionist: responsible for setting and monitoring the LED Walls and/or video projectors and ensuring quality image.
Wow! That’s a lot of specialists!
Your Crew Makes the Difference
Setting up the event is just the beginning. Having a quality, experienced team of professionals running your content is paramount to a successful event.
Work with your production partner to schedule the correct type and number of specialists for your next event. This ensures a smooth running event that is visually engaging to your audience.
