Sound, lighting, video and stage
Event technical production and show calling, from site visit to get-out
While you welcome your guests, we hold the cue sheet at the control position and call each sequence on time.
Event technical production brings together the sound, lighting, video and stage crews, who install the equipment, set it up and run it during the show. Production management coordinates everything: the production manager is the link between you, the venue and the suppliers. Prodbox, an event production company based in Paris, handles both for luxury houses, companies and event agencies, in Paris and in Val d'Isère. Our team brings experience in shows and events that goes back to 1994.
Production management and technical production: who does what
The production manager is your contact on the ground. They draw up the build schedule, organise deliveries and access, and settle timings and safety instructions with the venue. On the day, they hold the cue sheet and call the cues to each position over talkback.
Technical production brings together the heads of each department. The sound engineer sets up the system and mixes the microphones, the lighting operator runs the desk and directs the followspot operators, the video operator sends content to the screens, and the stage manager leads the set changes and entrances. Beforehand, the technical director designs the installation: technical specification, layout plans, power supply, rigging.
The cue sheet, minute by minute
We write the cue sheet with you: the order of the sequences, their length, and for each one the sound, lighting and video cues, the speakers' entrances and the changes on stage. Your teams approve it, then we run through it in rehearsal with the technicians and speakers. On the day, the production manager follows it line by line and adjusts the pace if a speech runs long or an expected guest arrives late.
Event technical suppliers: the equipment and the crews
For each event, we hire the sound, lighting, video and structures from suppliers we consult on a precise specification, then we compare their quotes and negotiate the prices. For a given package, each event technical supplier we consult prices the same request. We sign with the chosen suppliers and invoice their work back to you: you keep one contact and receive one invoice. These companies have their own trade body, Synpase, which brings together technical suppliers for live performance and events.
We then put together the crew for your event: stage managers, sound, lighting and video technicians, riggers and stagehands.
Sound and lighting, set to your event
For a gala dinner, we prepare a lighting state for each moment of the evening, from the welcome to the meal, and sound that leaves room for conversation. A product launch event hinges on the instant of the reveal: a blackout, a sound cue, then the light opens on the object. At a company seminar or a convention, your speakers rely on radio microphones passed from hand to hand and on screens they can read from the back of the room.
We run the technical side as part of the corporate event production of your project, alongside the event scenography when your event includes it.
We are the production
Send us the date and the programme of your event, and we will prepare the technical specification with you.
The technical site visit, before the first quote
Before pricing anything, we visit the venue with its technical manager. We note the ceiling height, the rigging points and their permitted loads, the power supply and the position of the distribution boards, truck access, delivery hours and noise limits. We also collect the venue's technical specification, so we can use the equipment already in place when it suits and spare you the hire.
Build, soundcheck and rehearsals
The build generally begins with the rigging and structures, then come the lighting, sound and video, and finally the set and furniture. The technicians then make their adjustments: focusing the lights, soundcheck, aligning the screens. In rehearsal, your speakers find their marks on stage with the technical team; at the run-through, the whole crew play the show in the order of the cue sheet, and we adjust what needs adjusting before the doors open.
During the event, at the control position
We generally set up the control position at the back of the room, facing the stage, with the sound, lighting and video desks side by side. Each technician wears a talkback headset linked to the production manager, who calls the cues. If something unexpected happens, the crew switch to the solution prepared in rehearsal, out of sight of your guests.
The get-out and handing back the venue
Once the last guests have left, the crews take everything down in the reverse order of the build, under the direction of the production manager, who looks after safety on stage. The suppliers collect their equipment, and we hand the venue back to its manager after the exit inspection.
Tell us about your project
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between technical production and production management?
Technical production covers the sound, lighting, video and stage crafts, whose crews install and run the equipment. Production management coordinates everything: the production manager plans the build, liaises with the venue and suppliers, and holds the cue sheet on the day.
What is the cue sheet of an event?
The cue sheet is the written running order of the show, sequence by sequence, with timings, sound, lighting and video cues, and speakers' entrances. The production manager follows it during the event and calls each cue to the technicians.
What does event technical production include?
It includes the technical site visit, the technical specification, the layout plans, the choice of suppliers, the build, the rehearsals, the running of the event and the get-out.
How do you choose the sound, lighting and video equipment?
From a precise specification, based on the site visit and the venue's technical specification. We consult the technical suppliers, compare their quotes, negotiate the prices and coordinate their crews until the get-out.
Can you run the technical side of an event designed by an event agency?
Yes. We work for event agencies as well as for luxury houses and companies, and we provide technical production and production management on the events we produce for them.