Venue sound feed and a recording backup

Use the venue’s sound feed as the main source for speeches, and record a separate backup beside it. One source can fail quietly, and the gap shows only when the video is edited.

What a venue feed is, in plain words

A sound feed is a cable or wireless link that carries the same audio the room hears. It usually comes from the venue’s mixing desk, which the AV team runs. The speaker’s voice is already balanced there, so it can sound clean and even.

The feed is only as good as what the AV team sends. If they lower a microphone, mute a channel between sessions or swap speakers, the feed changes with it. We hear the problem only if someone tells us or we are monitoring.

Feed or our own microphones: how to choose

Each option has strengths. Most events are best served by using both.

If the programme has an important speech, such as a chairman’s address or an award acceptance, the backup is part of the plan.

What to agree with the venue AV team

Ask these before the event, and write the answers into your brief. The audio brief tool gives you a place to record them.

1. Will the venue provide a feed, and in what form?
2. Who plugs us in, and when can we test before guests arrive?
3. Can the feed stay live between sessions, or will channels be muted?
4. Who do we speak to during the event if the sound drops?
5. Are there rules for cables, equipment positions or filming from the control area?

Some venues publish rules for commercial filming. For example, the KL Convention Centre guidelines ask for advance notice of filming and say camera positions and cable runs are coordinated with the venue. Your venue may have its own rules, so ask for them.

Agreeing the backup

Decide the backup before the day, not during the first speech. Common choices:

• A small microphone clipped to the main speaker, with the speaker’s agreement.
• A recorder placed close to the lectern or a loudspeaker.
• A second recording from a camera near the stage.

A good feed stays the main source. The backup covers a gap, a hum or a muted channel, and we plan it and tell you how it will be used.

A worked example (illustrative)

For example, imagine a company dinner with three speeches and a stage band. The AV team gives us a feed from the lectern microphone. We also clip a small microphone on the managing director and place a recorder at the lectern.

During the second speech, the lectern channel is muted for a moment while the band sets up. The feed goes silent. Our clip microphone and recorder kept running, so the speech is complete. This is an illustration of the idea, not a record of a past job.

Who owns what

The venue’s AV team looks after the venue system. We look after our own equipment and recording. We ask for a feed, check it on the day and keep our own recording running whatever level the venue sets.

A feed also carries what the AV team mixes in, such as music or announcements. That may or may not suit the video. If you want clean speech only, tell us and we plan for it. If no feed is available, we record with our own microphones and explain what that means for the sound before the day.

What we confirm for your event

• Whether we take a venue feed, record our own sound, or both. For important speeches we suggest both.
• A time to test the connection with the AV team before guests arrive.
• The backup for your most important speech, such as a clip microphone and a recorder at the lectern.
• Who we raise it with if the AV team changes the setup during the event.
• Whether someone monitors the recording during the event.

We go through these points with you under our event videography service. For other sound decisions, see avoiding distorted speech recordings and which audio files to request for future editing. If something does go wrong, what poor audio can and cannot be fixed sets out what is realistic.