Updated: September 1, 2026
At a corporate event in Miami, the video crew is one vendor among several. There is an AV company, a venue technical team, a lighting supplier, a staging contractor, possibly a live stream provider and a photographer working the same room. Everyone has a job, the room has finite power and finite sightlines, and nobody is in charge of making video work except you.
How those relationships are handled in the days before the event determines how the footage looks.
Who is who
The roles blur, and knowing which one to ask saves a great deal of time.
The venue technical team owns the building: power, rigging points, house sound, load-in access, what may be attached to what. They can say no to almost anything, and they are the first conversation.
The AV company is usually hired by the event organiser and provides screens, projection, audio, playback and often the show operation. They control the audio feed you want and the screen content behind your speaker.
The lighting supplier, sometimes the same company, determines whether your subject is lit for camera or lit for the room. These are not the same thing.
The event producer runs the schedule and is the person who can actually authorise changes.
The stream provider, if separate, wants the same feeds you want and may have priority.
Establish early which of these are the same company. At many Miami venues the AV, lighting and staging come as one package, which simplifies things considerably.
The three things to secure before the day
An audio feed. Camera mounted microphones in a ballroom capture room reverb and the person coughing behind you. A clean feed from the AV desk is the difference between usable and unusable audio. Ask specifically for a mix minus or a board feed at line level, confirm the connector, and bring your own adapters rather than assuming. Test it during setup, not during the keynote. Our note on speaker support at corporate events covers the stage side of this.
Power at your positions. Every camera position needs power, and the venue's distribution is planned around the AV company's requirements rather than yours. Ask for it in advance, in writing, with locations marked on the floor plan. Running your own cable across a public walkway is a trip hazard and will be stopped.
Agreed positions. Camera positions compete with sightlines, fire exits, service routes and the photographer. Getting them agreed at the walkthrough and marked on the plan prevents the conversation happening in front of guests.
Screen content and playback
If your recap needs to show what was on the screens, decide how. Filming the screen works if the frame rate and shutter are handled and the screen is not overexposed. Taking a clean feed of the playback gives better quality but needs arranging with the AV company and is a separate recording.
Ask for the presentation files too. A slide deck delivered as a file cuts into an edit far better than a photograph of a screen.
Load-in, and why arriving early is not optional
Load-in windows at Miami hotels and convention spaces are controlled and often narrow. Miss yours and you may be waiting behind three other vendors with a truck.
Confirm the loading dock location, the access route, whether a service lift is involved and its dimensions, the security process, and whether parking is available or whether the vehicle has to leave. In downtown and Miami Beach venues, none of this is straightforward and all of it takes longer than expected.
Arrive with time to test the audio feed, set positions, check the lighting under show conditions and meet the people you will be relying on. A crew that arrives an hour before doors is a crew that will be improvising.
Working alongside the photographer
Video and stills want the same angles at the same moments, and the relationship is either collaborative or a running battle in front of the client.
Introduce yourselves at setup and agree the obvious flashpoints: who is where during the award presentation, who has the centre aisle, how the photographer's flash interacts with your footage. Most of it resolves in two minutes of conversation and never resolves at all if that conversation does not happen.
The same applies to the stream crew. If both of you need the programme feed and the same board output, that is a technical conversation for setup rather than a surprise at showtime.
Lighting for camera in a room lit for a room
Event lighting is designed for the audience's eyes, which handle contrast far better than a sensor. Deep saturated colour washes, hard backlight and a dim stage all read differently on camera.
Where the lighting designer will work with you, ask for enough front light on the speaker to hold detail, and ask about the colour states on stage during key moments. Where they will not, plan around it: expose for the face, accept the background, and know which segments will be difficult.
Raising this at the walkthrough gets a much better response than raising it during the show. Our guide to the pre-event venue walkthrough covers what else to settle at that stage.
Covering events with a crew that handles the vendors
Most of what makes event footage good happens before anyone presses record: the audio feed secured, the positions agreed, the power confirmed, the lighting discussed and the load-in booked properly. None of it is visible in the final video, and all of it is visible when it was skipped.
When we cover a corporate event in Miami, we contact the AV company and the venue directly rather than relaying requests through the client, because the technical conversation goes faster between technical people. Clients tell us the useful part is not having to translate.
If you have an event coming up, tell us the venue and who is providing AV, and we will start those conversations. More about how we work is on our about page, further notes are on the blog, and you can reach us through the contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Can the video crew get audio from the AV desk?
Almost always, if it is requested in advance. Ask for a board feed, agree the connector and level, and test it during setup.
Do we need to tell the venue there will be a video crew?
Yes. Venues need it for access, power, positions and often insurance. An unannounced crew can be refused entry to areas it needs.
Who pays for power distribution to camera positions?
It depends on the contract with the AV supplier. Ask early, because retrofitting power on the day is either impossible or expensive.
What if the AV company will not cooperate?
Go through the event producer, who is the client for both of you. Most friction comes from requests arriving late rather than from unwillingness.