When setup and rehearsal time is billed separately

Setup and rehearsal may or may not be in the hours your quote shows. The simplest way to find out is to lay your run sheet beside the quote and look at the gaps.

Which times sit outside the filming hours?

A quote often counts the hours the camera runs during the programme. A crew also spends time before and after it. These are the parts to look for:

Not all of these will apply to every event. A family lunch has almost none. A concert or a conference with a stage can have all of them.

When is rehearsal worth filming?

Rehearsal is worth including when it helps the real event go well. A crew that sees the programme once can plan camera positions, learn the stage cues and check the microphones. It can also give footage of a performance or a speaker for a preview.

It is not worth it if you only want the real event. In that case, ask the quote to say what happens if the rehearsal moves, and whether you can leave it out. The run-sheet planner helps you mark which parts need a camera and which need only a person.

What can venues add to the time?

Venues often set rules for filming. They can limit when crews enter, where cameras stand and how cables run. For example, the KL Convention Centre guidelines ask for advance notification of commercial filming and coordination of camera positions and cable runs. Other venues will have their own rules, so ask yours.

If access is limited to a short window, the crew may need more people or simpler positions. The venue filming checklist and our venue planning guides list what to ask before you fix the schedule.

An example awards night

For example, a company holds an evening awards night. The venue opens at midday, the stage rehearsal is at the same time and guests arrive later. The quote lists “event hours” from the arrival of the first guests. A careful read would ask:

1. Does the crew need to come at midday for setup and sound?
2. Is the rehearsal filmed, or only attended?
3. Are the hours between rehearsal and guest arrival counted?
4. Who pays if the programme runs past the stated end?

This is only an illustration. Four questions turn “event hours” into a full schedule, and the answers belong in the quote.

Who is responsible for what?

You hold the run sheet and the venue relationship, so you are best placed to give us access times and rules. We plan the crew and tell you what the schedule needs. If the venue changes the access time, agree who is told and who decides what changes. Overruns past the stated hours are covered in how overtime is defined.

What we confirm for your event

• What time the crew must be at the venue, and that this time is in the quote.
• Whether setup is counted as filming hours or listed separately.
• Whether the rehearsal is included, optional or quoted on its own.
• Whether time between sessions is counted.
• What happens if the venue changes the access time.

The budget worksheet shows the known total and the items still unpriced. For the difference between filming, crew and editing time, see filming hours, crew hours and editing hours.

Send us your run sheet

Send us the full run sheet, with access and rehearsal times. We will mark setup, rehearsal and filming as separate lines in your quote. If you are weighing two offers, our guide to comparing quotations shows how to line them up.