Working With In-House and Independent AV Teams Together

Create a simple responsibility map showing the production functions each team controls. Separate system ownership from show operation: the team responsible for venue equipment may not be the team calling cues or managing presentation playback. Identify the planner’s responsibilities alongside both AV teams.

For a hypothetical general session using a venue audio system and independently managed presentation playback, map the handoff between those functions. Name who prepares the source, who accepts it into the venue system and who confirms the combined result. Leave technical connection details to the qualified personnel responsible for that integration.

A visible connection point does not establish permission to use it. Ask the venue which interfaces may be used, who may access them and whether venue personnel must be present. Have both teams confirm the proposed signal handoff and any restrictions before incorporating it into the show plan.

Ask about control access as well as signal access. Who can adjust the relevant system during rehearsal and during the program? Who restores the venue’s normal configuration afterward? Any electrical work, rigging or load-related decisions require qualified professionals and venue approval; shared staffing does not remove those requirements.

Bring together the planner, venue representative and technical leads from both teams. Use the meeting to resolve interfaces, access windows, testing needs and operating authority. Avoid spending the session reviewing unrelated services. The output should be a written interface record each party can check against its own scope.

Capture unresolved questions with an owner and a required decision point tied to the production schedule. If an answer changes either team’s responsibilities, request the appropriate scope update. Exact configurations need a quote, and a coordination discussion should not be treated as acceptance of additional work.

Plan a joint test after the relevant systems are available and before the program depends on them. Each team confirming its own equipment works is not enough; the test must demonstrate the agreed production path across the boundary. Include the actual presentation and communication behaviors the event requires.

For example, a hypothetical remote panel needs more than audible playback in the room. The remote participant must receive the intended conversation, and the moderator needs a workable interaction process. Ask the technical leads to define appropriate tests and report remaining limitations in plain language to the planner.

During the event, a problem may not immediately reveal which team owns it. Establish who receives the first report, who coordinates diagnosis and who communicates an approved program adjustment. A shared escalation route is more useful than expecting the planner to determine the technical cause.

At closeout, confirm who authorizes disconnection, checks venue-system restoration and coordinates removal within approved access arrangements. Document any outstanding issue through the agreed contacts. The same clarity used for setup should continue until both teams have completed their assigned responsibilities.