Venue and event production

Must-haves to look for

• An ability to project and watch videos
• A stage for the host and live speakers
• A location for food and beverage setup
• Conveniently located bathrooms
• Exhibit space for sponsor materials, speakers’ lounge, activities
• Party space for sponsored lunches and other events

For smaller events (under 100 guests):

• Select a more intimate venue so that you can host a comfortable gathering where people can easily connect with those sitting next to them.
• Look for a site that’s wide rather than deep, with the shortest possible distance from audience to stage, like a theater or auditorium (rather than a conference hall). This builds connection between speakers and audience and among audience members.
• Ideal venues for smaller events include small auditoriums, hotel conference rooms, theaters, “white box” spaces (think art gallery) and select music venues.

For larger events (more than 100 attendees):

• The longer and larger your event, the harder it is to create intimacy. Your goal isn’t the largest venue you can find, but the one that best fits your needs and expected audience size — you don’t want too much empty space.
• As with smaller events, favor a site that’s wide rather than deep to keep the audience close to the stage.
• If your seating area is flexible, create a “thrust stage” where the speaker can walk out into the audience.
• Continental-style seating — deeply spaced rows, no center aisle, a big slope — lets everyone see the stage well.
• Pick a space that’s easy to get to and has plenty of parking.
• Make sure there’s a large space outside the main stage area for easy traffic flow and a good networking atmosphere between sessions.
• Ideal venues for larger events include lecture halls, auditoriums, museums or city art centers.

For even larger events (over 300 guests):

• It can be difficult to find a larger venue, so start your search well in advance.
• Look for spaces with outdoor plazas. Is it possible to close down part of a street for your event? Think of creative (and legal) possibilities.
• Ideal venues for very large events include concert halls, opera houses, large hotel conference centers and stadiums.

Include your full event name logo

Every TEDx stage must include your full, official event name in a visible space. You can use classic standing physical letters, but they’re not required — an image projected onto a screen or wall, or a designed poster, also works.

Consider the view

Position your speakers, the screen and any props carefully so there’s a good view for the audience. For example, give your speakers a specific place to stand for their talk.

Get creative

A bare stage can look cold and flat, so consider adding some decoration: showcase your region, city or local culture with props and visual elements. Even an interesting piece of art or furniture — something that speaks to your theme — can give your event personality and accent the speakers on stage.

Screen setup

The screen you use to show your speaker slides and other media should be well-placed for your whole audience.

Screen position

Place your screen so the audience can see it without turning their heads, and so your speakers won’t block the view. Your screen should be well above your tallest speaker’s head so your cameras can get a clear shot of all your speakers. If this isn’t possible, position your speakers to one side of the screen.

Presentation dimensions

Use a screen that’s large enough for people in the back row to see clearly, and choose a 16:9 aspect ratio for slides and images.

Stage lighting

Lighting shapes how your stage feels in the room. A few things to get right:

Light the stage

Light enough of the stage so speakers can move around freely. If you can, put a light on your TEDx event’s logo, and light your drape or background.

Keep light off the screen

Try to prevent light from spilling onto the screen — stray light can cause problems for both the live and recorded experience.

Stage lighting also has to read well on camera, which is a different craft from lighting the room. For three-point setups, separating the speaker from the background, and other camera lighting, see Film, photograph and stream.

Seating arrangements

Consider your whole audience as you design your seating.

Consider the view and comfort level

If you’re creating your own seating arrangements, think carefully about the comfort of your whole audience. Make sure everyone can see the screen and/or the speakers, and can navigate easily between rows. One option is to elevate the seats.

Easy entrance and exit

Offer your host and speakers a clear path to get on and off the stage. There’s no need for a green room — participants and your host can even enter the stage from the audience. See the Production Guide for more tips.

Map out the space

Create a blueprint for your event space and label where everything goes — sponsor areas, tech crews, restrooms, speaker prep, food and drink and where guests will mingle between sessions. Seeing it all laid out helps you spot crowding or gaps before the event, not during it.

Make it easy to navigate

Attendees should be able to find their way without thinking about it. Does the venue have built-in signage to restrooms, exits and other spaces? Are the paths clear and roomy enough for people to move between sessions — walk to and from the bathroom, form a coffee line, get back to their seats — without crowding? If not, plan for your own signage and an open, easy-to-navigate layout and keep any signage you create consistent with your logo and theme.

Filling the space

Find out what your venue comes with and what you'll need to supply. Does it include furniture — chairs, tables, lounge seating — or will you rent those separately? The same goes for staging, linens, trash and recycling bins, and any equipment for your social and activity areas. Make a list of what the space provides versus what you'll bring in, since rentals add up quickly and affect both your budget and your load-in plan.

Leave room for what you’ll offer

• Decide the kind of off-stage experience you want to create, then make sure your venue can physically accommodate it — space for food and drink, social and lounge areas, exhibits, and any sponsor or activity areas. For ideas on what to offer, see Offstage programming, which covers workshops, exhibits and installations, creative stations, speaker meetups and shared meals. Choose your experiences first while thinking about whether or not your venue and space can support it.

Logistics

Your video and production manager should create a production schedule and checklist so you have everything covered. This includes the smallest details: when and where will your equipment be loaded into the venue? (Hint: the day before the show.) Who is the point person for video setup? Logistics should be a priority in your production planning.

Equipment and crew

There’s a good chance you’ll have multiple people managing production. Make sure you have enough people to cover all tasks, that everyone knows each other well, and that you have a list of the equipment needed for each aspect of production.

Audio

Your microphones are one of the most important parts of your event — they’re how speakers reach the room. Double- and triple-check that every mic works and that the sound is balanced for your space, and test them well before doors open. For capturing a clean audio feed for your talk videos, see Film, photograph and stream.

Running slides

Have all live speakers rehearse with their slides to make sure everything works. Decide in advance whether each speaker advances their own slides with a remote or whether one person handles slide changes, and confirm every deck is loaded in the right order according to your event program.

Technology

What technical needs do you have for recording your live talks and featuring any recorded TED Talks? Will someone fill the role of technical assistant if problems arise? Will your event have wi-fi? Hire or assign someone with tech experience as technical director to make sure all your tech needs are in place.

Preparing for video and recording

You’ll want your video at its highest quality so you can share your speakers with the world. All the guidance on filming and recording your talks — cameras, audio capture, lighting for video, and uploading — lives in Film, photograph and stream.

Electricity

Make sure you have electric outlets in the right places and/or enough extension cords. Know where the circuit breaker is in your venue in case of a blown fuse and ask the venue owner or manager about any other electricity needs you should be aware of.

Communication channels

On the day of the event, your production crew and manager should have an easy, reliable way to stay in constant contact.

• Consider a two-channel Clear-Com or similar party-line system: one channel for the technical director to call lighting and presentation cues, and one for the camera director to relay directions to each camera operator. This allows overlapping dialogue and is far more effective than walkie-talkies during the event.
• All relevant members of your team should also be able to reach each other and key leads easily, via group chat or another method.