A marketing manager can read a quote from a printer or a hotel without help. An AV quote is another matter: line arrays, digital desks, 2.6 mm pitch, wash fixtures. Many people sign without knowing if they are paying for too much or missing something they will need.
You don't need to become a sound engineer. You need enough understanding to describe what you want, ask the right questions and spot what is missing from a quote.
Sound: the PA and the microphones
The PA (public address system) is the speakers the audience hears plus the mixing desk the engineer runs. In long rooms, engineers add delay speakers halfway down so the back rows hear clearly without blasting the front. Monitor speakers on stage let presenters or performers hear themselves.
Types of microphone
- Wireless handheld: the most flexible, good for hosts and audience questions. The risk is a speaker letting it drift away from their mouth.
- Lectern microphone: fixed to the lectern and fine for formal speeches, but it keeps the speaker in one spot.
- Lavalier (lapel): a small clip-on that frees the hands. It picks up head turns, clothing rustle and jewellery, and needs careful placement on a kandura or abaya, so test it beforehand.
- Headset: sits over the ear close to the mouth and gives the clearest sound for someone who moves around.
Feedback, and why it happens
That piercing squeal is feedback: the microphone picks up its own sound from a speaker and amplifies it in a loop. Common causes are a presenter walking in front of the speakers with a lapel mic, speakers placed behind the stage line, or the engineer pushing the level for a quiet talker. The fix starts with the design: speakers in front of presenters, never behind, and the area in front of them kept clear of live microphones.
The sound check
A proper sound check is more than "one, two, three". Each speaker should try their own mic in their real voice, and every video with sound should play from the actual show laptop. A full room absorbs more sound than an empty one, so a good engineer adjusts levels once the audience is in. Put fresh batteries in wireless mics before every main session, not when they start to fade.
Lighting: what the audience sees and what the camera sees
Corporate event lighting does three jobs, each with different kit:
- Stage wash: even front light across the whole stage, so faces are clear to the audience and the camera wherever the speaker stands. This matters most, and it is the first thing wrongly cut on tight budgets.
- Spots: a focused beam on a speaker, an award winner or a product at the reveal.
- Ambience: coloured uplighters on walls and pillars, often in brand colours. They change how the room feels for a reasonable cost.
Mind the house lights too. A pitch-black room makes screens pop but sends people to sleep and stops them taking notes. Dim the room rather than blacking it out, except for theatrical moments. Streamed sessions need that front light even more, as our hybrid events guide explains.
Screens: LED wall or projector?
The screen draws the most attention, and it is often the biggest line on the AV quote.
- Projector: cheaper for large images and easy to install in most rooms. It needs a fairly dark room, enough throw distance and enough brightness, measured in lumens. The image washes out in bright ballrooms or rooms with windows, and with front projection anyone walking past casts a shadow.
- LED wall: bright, works in strong light and outdoors if rated for it, and can be built in many shapes. It costs more, weighs more, and needs a support structure, more power and a longer build.
Pixel pitch, simply
An LED wall is made of tiny points of light. Pixel pitch is the distance in millimetres from the centre of one point to the centre of the next. The smaller the number, the closer the points, the smoother the image up close, and the higher the price. As a rough guide, the nearest viewer should sit at least as many metres away as the pitch in millimetres. So a 2.6 mm wall looks good from about 3 metres, and a 4 mm wall suits a hall whose front row is 5 metres or more away.
Content formats and resolution
The costliest assumption is that every screen is 16:9. LED walls are built from panels and can end up with unusual proportions. Ask the supplier for the wall's exact resolution in pixels and design content to those dimensions. Send videos as standard MP4 files and presentations with fonts embedded, and test every file on the actual playback machine before the day.
The technical rider: the document that prevents surprises
A technical rider lists what each speaker, performer or segment needs on stage: number and type of microphones, audio and video sources, a stage plot, power points, monitoring and any special requests. Bands usually send one without being asked. Speakers rarely do, so ask them yourself: will you play a video, bring your own laptop, move around the stage?
Collect this at least two weeks out and send it to the supplier with the running order. Then put every sound and lighting cue into the run sheet so each technician knows when to act. Working through this with presenters is covered in managing speakers.
What to ask your AV supplier
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Have you seen or worked in this room before? | Rigging points and power vary by room, and a quote built on guesses changes later. |
| Does the venue insist on an in-house supplier or charge a fee for outside ones? | Some hotels have an AV partner and may charge or set conditions for outside suppliers. Ask before signing. |
| What is the screen's exact pixel resolution and ratio? | It sets the size of every file your team designs. |
| How many wireless mics are included, and how many are spares? | A panel needs one mic per speaker plus the moderator, and at least one spare. |
| What happens if the playback machine or part of the screen fails? | A backup machine with the same files saves awkward minutes. |
| Which technicians will be there on the day, and for how long? | The quote may cover installation only, or full operation until the last segment. |
| When are the build and rehearsal, and how much time do you need? | It tells you if you need the room from the night before. |
For events in the open air, add questions about heat, dust, humidity and wind, covered in outdoor events in the UAE.
Quick checklist before you start
- Number and type of microphones set for every segment, with spares.
- Even front light on the stage before any effects.
- Screen type and pixel pitch suited to the front-row distance.
- Content built to the screen's real resolution and tested on the playback machine.
- A written technical rider for every speaker and segment.
- A sound check revisited once the audience is in, and fresh batteries before every session.
For help reviewing a supplier's quote, or handling the AV entirely, request a quote.
