Guide · Event production in Paris
Event agency or production company: who does what, and who to hand your event to
You have an idea, a date, sometimes a concept already. Depending on what remains to be done, you hand your event to an event agency, to a production company, or to both together.
Event agency or production company: an event agency designs your event and manages the relationship with the brand; a production company makes it happen, from the feasibility study to show calling on the day. On a single project, the two often work together. Prodbox is an event production company based in Paris and founded in 2018: we produce directly for luxury houses and companies, and for event agencies.
An event agency, from your objectives to the concept
An event agency starts from your objectives to imagine the event: the message, the creative concept, your guests' route. It presents its proposals to the brand, then coordinates everything up to the day itself. Some agencies have their own production team; others hand the production to a production company and keep the creative work and the relationship with their client. In France, event agencies have their own professional body, LÉVÉNEMENT.
An event production company, from the feasibility study to show calling
An event production company makes the event happen: it checks that the event fits the venue, the timetable and the budget, chooses the suppliers, draws the technical plans and calls the show on the day. At Prodbox, we advise you at each stage: feasibility study, specifications, budget, selection of suppliers and price negotiation, technical plans, lighting, putting the crews together, project tracking and show calling. You keep hold of the content of your project, and we run its corporate event production until the get-out. This trade is one of those represented by UNIMEV, the French union of event professions.
Who does what, item by item
On a shared project, an event agency and a production company divide the work as follows, to be refined for each event:
- Objectives and message · event agency, with you
- Creative concept and guest route · event agency
- Relationship with the brand and sign-off on choices · event agency
- Feasibility study and technical site visit · production company
- Specifications, choice of suppliers, price negotiation · production company
- Production budget and tracking of spending · production company, which reports to its client
- Technical plans, lighting, putting the crews together · production company
- Show calling on the day, get-out and handing back the venue · production company
If you work directly with a production company, your teams take on the first three items: you bring the concept and sign off the choices, and it takes care of making the event.
Choosing an agency, a production company, or both
Choose an event agency if the concept has yet to be invented, a production company if the idea exists and needs making, and both if your project calls for as much creative work as production.
A house or company with its own events team gains from working directly with a production company: one contact for the technical side, suppliers chosen with you, a budget tracked item by item. This is how we provide luxury event production in Paris for houses and for companies; you will find our work for the houses, from fragrance to champagne, on our luxury events in Paris page.
An agency that has won a pitch often hands the production to a production company: it keeps the creative work and the relationship with the brand, and relies on a team that knows the suppliers, the venues and show calling. The event agencies that hand us the production of their projects work in this way, and we work for them with the same discretion as for a house.
Among the formats we have produced are forums, conferences, activations, influencer trips and festivals.
The questions to ask before you hand over your event
Before you choose, put five questions to the team in front of you, on show calling, contracts, budget, confidentiality and past work.
- Show calling · a named person, present from the build to the get-out.
- Contracts · the production company signs with the suppliers and invoices their work back to you, or you sign directly on its recommendation.
- Budget · item by item, on comparable quotes, with progress reviews.
- Confidentiality · written rules, carried into the specification of each supplier.
- Past work · events of the same format, in venues comparable to yours.
In Paris, add a question about the city's venues: delivery slots, build hours, finishing time. The event technical production crew build them into the schedule, from the first truck to the last departure.
Tell us about your project and its date, and we will begin with the feasibility study.
You can also call us on +33 6 51 66 58 53.
Auteur
Boris Malesset, founder of Prodbox
Boris Malesset founded Prodbox, an event production company in Paris, in 2018; he has staged shows and events since 1994. Read more: about Prodbox.
Updated on [date de mise en ligne]
The production budget, item by item
We build the production budget item by item: venue, set, sound, lighting, video, structures, furniture, technical crews, transport of equipment. We write one specification per craft; the suppliers we consult all price the same request, and you compare their quotes line by line. We negotiate the prices, then follow spending until the budget is closed. You make each decision knowing what it costs, an extra piece of set or an hour less on the build.
Who signs with the suppliers
There are two ways of doing it. In the first, the production company signs with each supplier and sends you one overall invoice: you have a single contract. In the second, you sign directly with each supplier, on the specifications and recommendation of the production company, which then follows their work. Ask from the start which one applies: it changes how the budget is presented and how responsibilities are shared.
At Prodbox, it is the first: we sign with the suppliers and invoice their work back to you. You keep one contact and receive one invoice.
Show calling on the day
From the build onwards, the production manager leads the crews and settles access, timings and safety with the venue. During the event, the production manager holds the cue sheet, the timed running order of the evening, and calls each sequence. At the get-out, the crews hand the venue back in the condition agreed. On a project run with an agency, the agency's project manager stays with the brand while the production manager runs the stage.
Confidentiality
A product launch is prepared in confidence. We work strictly within your confidentiality rules, and we carry them into the specification of each supplier.
Tell us about your project
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an event agency and a production company?
An event agency designs the event and manages the relationship with the brand; a production company makes it happen: feasibility study, budget, suppliers, technical plans, crews and show calling. On a single project, the two often work together.
How do you choose an event agency in Paris?
Start from what remains to be done: an event agency to invent the concept, a production company to make the event happen. Then ask the team you meet who calls the show on the day and how the budget is tracked, and look through their past work for events comparable to yours.
Can an event agency hand the production to a production company?
Yes, it is a common arrangement: an agency keeps the creative work and the relationship with its client, and hands the production to a production company. Prodbox produces events for event agencies in this way, with the same discretion as for a house.
Is Prodbox an event agency?
No, Prodbox is an event production company, founded in Paris in 2018. We produce the events of luxury houses and companies directly, and we provide production for event agencies.
Can you work directly with a production company?
Yes. If your teams already have the concept, a production company makes the event happen with you: feasibility study, budget, choice of suppliers, technical plans, crews and show calling, until the get-out.