Behind the scenes

Behind the Scenes of a Multi-Camera Concert Broadcast

How a small, practised crew turns a stage event into a live multi-camera programme: the recce, the kit, the rehearsal and the quiet decisions made while the band plays on.

Fiona MacLeod

19 October 2026 6 min read

It starts with a walk round the venue

Long before any cable is unrolled, I walk the venue with Callum and Isla. We look at where the stage sits, where the audience stands, how power arrives and where an outside broadcast vehicle or flight cases can actually go. A hall that looks generous on a plan can have one narrow loading door and a single staircase, and that shapes everything that follows.

We note the sightlines first. A camera on the stage left wing sees the singer in profile, a camera at the back of the hall gives the wide shot, and a low position at the front can ruin the view for paying guests. We agree those positions with the organiser, not against them, because a broadcast that annoys the room has already gone wrong.

By the end of the visit we have a rough camera plan, a list of power and cable runs and a short list of questions for the venue's own technicians.

Loading access and where the kit will be stored
Power supply and a safe route for cables
Camera positions that leave the audience's view alone

Choosing the camera positions

For most stage events we plan a small number of cameras, each with a clear job. One holds the wide shot of the whole stage and rarely moves. One or two cover the main performers from either side. A further camera takes close work on hands, faces or the conductor, depending on what the event is about.

Isla draws these positions on a simple plan and marks what each operator should be looking for. We try to avoid cameras that duplicate each other, because the director then has two similar pictures and no real choice. Variety of angle and lens matters more than the sheer number of cameras.

Where a venue allows it, a locked-off camera in the roof or on a balcony gives a useful safety shot. If a handheld operator loses a subject, the director can cut to something stable while the problem is fixed.

The kit that goes into the cases

Our outside broadcast kit is deliberately compact: cameras and tripods, a portable vision mixer, a small routing and monitoring setup, intercom and enough cable to reach every position with some to spare. Callum builds the signal chain on a bench beforehand and tests every connection, because a fault found in a cold corridor an hour before doors is a poor use of that hour.

We label every cable at both ends and keep spares for the items most likely to fail. Power distribution is checked and, where the venue's supply is uncertain, we plan around it rather than hope.

Ewan brings the audio side, taking feeds from the house mixer where the venue permits, or placing his own microphones where it does not. Clean sound is what viewers forgive least when it is missing.

Compact vision mixer and monitoring
Labelled cabling with spares for common faults
Audio taken from the house desk or separate microphones

Rehearsal and the run sheet

If the schedule allows, we shoot through the soundcheck as a rehearsal. The director calls shots, the operators find their framing and the performers settle into the room. Nobody is trying to impress anyone yet; we are finding the awkward moments, such as a guitarist who steps out of the light or a singer who drifts off the marked position.

The run sheet is written from what we learn. It lists the running order, the cues for each camera and any change of lighting that affects exposure. Keeping it to a page or two matters, as a crew under pressure will not read a long document.

We also agree a few plain words for the intercom, so that instructions are short and nobody has to guess what the director means mid-song.

During the show: calm voices and small decisions

Once the first song starts, most of the real work is quiet. The director calls the next shot a moment before it is needed, the operators answer in a few words and the rest of the gallery stays silent. Raised voices do not improve a picture, and they unsettle the people holding the cameras.

Things do go wrong: a battery dies, a performer wanders into an unplanned part of the stage, a light is changed without warning. We keep a backup plan for each, usually a safe wide shot to cut to while the problem is solved. The audience should never see the fix.

Between songs I check with each operator, not to criticise but to ask what they can see that the gallery cannot. The best suggestions often come from the person standing at the stage edge.

Shots called before they are needed
A safe wide shot ready when something slips
Short checks with operators between songs

After the last note

When the audience has gone, we do not rush to pack. We check that every recording is complete and stored, then make a short list of what worked and what did not, while everyone still remembers. A camera position that caused trouble, a cable run that was too long, a cue that came late: these notes feed straight into the next plan.

Packing follows the same order as set-up, in reverse, with each case checked against its list. Missing items are far easier to catch at the venue than a week later.

Late in the evening, with the hall quiet, the small crew sits down for ten minutes before the drive home. It is an unglamorous end to the work, and I think it is part of why the crew stays practised.

A concert broadcast looks effortless when it is done well, and that is the point. The work is a recce, a modest set of cameras, tested kit, a short run sheet and a crew that speaks quietly under pressure. If you are planning a stage event and want to talk through how it could be covered, our team in Inverness is happy to start with a conversation about your venue.

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