Industries / Event production (AV, lighting, staging)
AV, lighting and staging for live events
Your production software holds the gear and the quote. We cover the changes between the survey and load-in.
Jonroc finds the gaps around your production software, such as site survey notes, late equipment list changes, labor calls, run-of-show versions, and client content, and trains the person who runs the agents that fill them.
AV, lighting, and staging companies usually already have real tools for quotes, equipment lists, and scheduling, plus drawing and show files that stay with the crew. Those hold the gear and the dates. Replacing them is rarely the answer, and we do not start there.
The gaps are in what changes between the site survey and the first case coming off the truck: the loading dock and freight elevator notes that never made it into the equipment list, the screen added at the last minute, the labor call confirmed by text, and the run of show that exists in four versions. An agent can work in those gaps, beside your software, from your exports and from the notes, photos, voice memos, and messages your people already produce.
A show has one start time and a crew that has to be ready for it. AI is good at comparing versions, chasing replies, and drafting first passes. It does not run the room, and rigging, power, and safety are decisions for qualified people, never an agent. The audit leans on what you know about how your shows really run.
Start free
Two free group sessions. Pick the one that fits.
Each one is an hour live with Benjamin: 30 minutes showing the advanced capabilities of AI for the event production industry, then a 30-minute question and answer. Choose a date and book it online.
Phase 1: Get the job leads
Before the site survey comes the inquiry. Is it reaching you?
Jonroc has built websites and run advertising for project-based companies since 2011, and Benjamin has directed more than $3 million in advertising budgets. Bring your own site, your ads, and your last few event production requests and ask him anything.
Marketing session: up to three companies, twice a week.
Phase 2: Win them and run them
Where AI fits in a event production (av, lighting, staging) business
Thirty minutes showing the advanced capabilities of AI for the event production industry, then thirty minutes of your questions. You see the eight steps of a job, what AI takes off your team at each one, and what a person still decides.
Operations session: up to four companies from similar industries, three times a week.
Where it goes wrong
What actually costs you time and money
Survey notes that never reach the gear list
The loading dock, the freight elevator, the power, the ceiling, and the path to the room get noted on a phone. By the time the equipment list is built, one of them has dropped out, and it comes back as a surprise on load-in day.
The equipment list that keeps changing
The client adds a screen, drops a stage piece, or asks for more microphones. The list changes, but the truck plan and the labor call are slower to follow, and the mismatch shows up at the shop or on the dock.
Labor calls by text message
Department leads, local crew, and call times are confirmed one message at a time. The count of who has said yes is in the producer's head, and a missing person is found when the call time has already passed.
Run of show in four versions
The client sends changes, the producer edits a document, someone prints an older copy, and a department is working from different cue timing than the stage manager. The final days are the worst for it.
Content that arrives late and wrong
Slides, video clips, and speaker details come in at the last minute, in the wrong format or from the wrong person, and the crew finds out during tech check.
Venue rules found late
Freight elevator windows, house labor requirements, insurance certificate requests, and curfews differ from room to room. The details sit in an email thread nobody reread before the quote.
Gear that comes back short
At strike, cases are packed in a hurry, and a missing cable or a damaged fixture is discovered at the next job. Tracing it back to the last show takes calls and guesswork.
Extras that never reach the invoice
A second tech for two hours, an extra truck run, a late change on site. Everyone knows it happened, and the final bill is written from memory.
The eight steps
The eight steps, in event production (av, lighting, staging) terms
Open a step to see where AI agents help and what a person still decides.
1 Inquiry and concept
Where AI helps
Capture the request, ask the standard questions about the room, the date, the audience, and the rough scope of stage, screens, sound, and lights, and book the call or the survey. Turn your notes from the call into a short brief.
What a person decides
Whether the show is one you can staff and do well, and what the client really needs.
2 Site survey and spec
Where AI helps
The producer dictates and photographs the survey. The agent turns it into a standard survey report covering loading access, freight elevator, power, rigging questions, and house systems, and flags what was not captured before leaving the room.
What a person decides
The design, what the room can take, and every rigging, power, and structural judgment.
3 Quote or proposal
Where AI helps
Hand the person quoting a complete survey and a clear list of what the client asked for, and flag items that look unpriced, such as labor, trucking, or venue requirements. Your software still holds the equipment list and the pricing.
What a person decides
Pricing, labor assumptions, and anything unusual about the venue or the show.
4 Sell it
Where AI helps
Follow up on open proposals, chase unsigned agreements and deposits, and keep a list of the content and details the client still owes and by when.
What a person decides
Negotiation, scope changes, and the client relationship.
5 Equipment, crew, and run of show
Where AI helps
Compare the latest equipment list against the previous one and the labor call and flag what changed. From a labor call export, draft the confirmation texts and show who has not answered. Draft a first-pass run of show and a one-page cue sheet per department from the client's notes, for the producer to correct.
What a person decides
Which gear goes, who works the show, the final run of show, and every safety and rigging decision.
6 Load in, show, and strike
Where AI helps
Little here, and we say so. The crew leads and the stage manager run the day. An agent can make sure each department has the current call sheet and contacts beforehand, and can turn voice notes from the day into a log of changes and extras.
What a person decides
Everything on site: setup, tech, the show, strike, and every problem no plan covered.
7 Tech check and gear check-in
Where AI helps
Turn check-in notes and photos into a short list of exceptions against the equipment list: missing, damaged, or needing repair. Keep rehearsal notes with the event for the next show for that client.
What a person decides
What to repair or retire, and how to handle a damage question.
8 Billing and follow-up
Where AI helps
Draft the final invoice notes from your logged hours and the list of extras for review, hand off the content or recordings the client is owed, and reach out to planners and past clients before their next event season.
What a person decides
Final billing, disputes, and whether a client agrees to have the show shown.
Who runs it
The people who keep it working
AI agents need an owner inside your company. In event production (av, lighting, staging), that usually looks like this.
Business operator
Often a production manager, operations lead, or owner who knows the gear, the crew, and how a show really comes together. Decides what to automate, checks drafts against real shows, and makes sure the crew uses it.
Technical operator (part-time)
Connects agents to your production software where it offers a way in, and works from its exports and from the notes you provide where it does not. Owns security and fixes, and keeps everything running through your busiest weeks. Often shared with other small companies.
Smaller companies can start with one person covering both roles, or share a technical operator with others.
Working together
Start with an audit
Consulting
Find It, Plan It, or Staff It. You get the plan and the operator role, and carry it out yourself. Right for smaller companies and tighter budgets.
Install, by application
For companies with a project of $25,000 or more, Benjamin builds and installs the system, hands it to your operators, and supports it for six months. Benjamin takes one install at a time so each one gets his full attention, which means there can be a wait. Reserve your spot by requesting an audit.
First 90 days
Pick one step, one problem, one result
A good first target is the site survey report. Give your producers a way to dictate and photograph the survey and get back a standard report with a list of what was missed, before the equipment list is built. It works beside any production software with no integration, and you can measure it from its own output: how many surveys produce a complete report, and how many equipment list changes are flagged before the labor call goes out. Crew call confirmations are a natural second step.
The goal is never "automate the office." It is one measurable fix, running reliably, before you take on the next one.
Why we start with an audit
We would rather show you the fit than ask you to trust us
Jonroc has not published a result for this industry yet, and we will not invent one. The audit exists so you can see exactly where AI would help in your business, what it would cost, and who would run it, before you commit to anything larger.
Event production (AV, lighting, staging) FAQ
Questions we hear from companies like yours.
Do you replace my production software?
No. Your software holds the equipment, quotes, and schedule, and that is its job. We look at what falls outside it: the survey notes, the changes between versions of the list, labor call confirmations, run-of-show drafts, and the chasing of client content.
Does this connect to my software?
We make no promise of an integration. If your software has a way in, an agent can use it. If it has none, we work from exports, notes, photos, and messages. The audit inventories your tools and tells you early which case you are in.
Can AI call the show or run cues?
No. Calling a show and running cues belongs to your stage manager and your crew leads, live. Where AI helps is before the day: drafts of the run of show and of department cue sheets, which a person corrects.
Can it decide rigging, power, or load limits?
No. Those are judgments for qualified people, and rules and venue requirements vary by state, city, and room, so confirm locally. An agent can keep the survey details and the questions together so none are lost. It does not approve anything.
Does it handle union or venue labor rules?
It can keep a venue requirements list from your notes and emails and flag open items. What the rules are and how they apply to your show is for you and the venue to confirm.
How is this different from the party and tent rental page?
Rental is about getting gear out and back with permits and deliveries. Production is about designing and running the technical side of a show with crew, a run of show, and a hard start time. The gaps are different, so the audit starts in different places.
We are slammed in peak weeks. Does it still make sense?
Often that is when the repeat paperwork hurts most. The audit is best done in a slower stretch so the plan is ready before the next run of shows.
Related industries
Not your industry? If your business follows the eight steps, the audit will show where AI fits.
Want more jobs coming in as well? See marketing.
Find out where AI fits
in your event production (av, lighting, staging) business.
A fixed-price audit gives you a written plan and a described operator role, whether or not you ever need an install.
Book an auditNot sure it fits? Tell us about your business and Benjamin will say so honestly.