The PROVANTAGE Handbook / Corporate event planning
A technical site survey is not a venue tour. It is a controlled process for turning the room, infrastructure, access and operating conditions into information the production design can rely on.
The output should separate verified facts from assumptions, record meaningful dimensions and evidence, identify approvals and give every unresolved question an owner.
Survey checklist
LOOK.
MEASURE.
RECORD.
Before the visit
- Confirmed venue, room and event date
- Latest programme and audience format
- Scaled plans and venue technical rules
- Known stage, screen, camera and streaming scope
Room and audience
- Usable dimensions and clear heights
- Seating, aisles, entrances and guest circulation
- Stage, screen, FOH and camera positions
- Sightlines from least-favoured seats
Access and logistics
- Loading bay, route, doors and turns
- Lift dimensions, capacity and availability
- Build, rehearsal, doors and strike windows
- Storage, cases, waste and room restoration
Technical infrastructure
- Power locations, ratings and venue approval
- Rigging points, limits and authorized method
- Network services and test responsibility
- Existing audio, video, lighting and control interfaces
Operating conditions
- Sound limits and adjacent-room activity
- Security, protocol and restricted areas
- Working-at-height and protection requirements
- Outdoor exposure and contingency conditions
Close the survey
- Labelled photographs and measurements
- Confirmed facts versus open questions
- Named owners, approvals and deadlines
- Updated drawing, action register and revision
A photograph is not a measurement
CONTEXT WITHOUT
SCALE CAN
MISLEAD.
Photographs should be labelled by location and direction, connected to dimensions and accompanied by the constraint or decision they support. Capture identification plates or distribution-board details only where access is authorized and the information can be handled responsibly.
Discipline-specific checks
ONE VISIT.
SEVERAL
SYSTEMS.
Audio
Room geometry, finishes, noise, loudspeaker and control positions, microphone use, press feeds and sound restrictions.
Visuals
Viewing distances, ambient light, screen locations, projection throws, LED support, signal routes and content workflow.
Lighting
Existing states, stage and camera needs, fixture positions, rigging, control, power and blackout limitations.
Staging
Stage geometry, loading, floor limits, access, scenic interfaces, masking, stairs, ramps and backstage circulation.
Network
Required services, demarcation, wired paths, dedicated capacity, credentials ownership, testing and fallback responsibility.
Show control
FOH, stage management, communications, cueing, content intake, rehearsal paths and stakeholder positions.
The survey deliverable
FROM NOTES
TO AN
ACTION REGISTER.
A useful record includes the current room plan, marked technical positions, labelled photographs, verified measurements, venue requirements, confirmed infrastructure, open questions, approval items, named owners and dates.
Issue it promptly. Design changes after the survey should be traceable so every department works from the same current facts.
The practical takeaway
SURVEY FOR
THE DECISIONS
THAT FOLLOW.
The value of the visit is not how many photographs were taken. It is whether the production team can engineer, price, schedule and coordinate the event with fewer hidden assumptions.
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