Key Takeaways
- The day rate versus show rate distinction determines whether overtime is calculated from the crew's first hour on site or from the first hour of the show
- House rig and touring rig are different commercial arrangements with different accountability structures
- Dry hire and wet hire appear in every AV contract — understanding which you have signed for determines who is liable for operation failures
Commercial terms
Day rate: A crew member's fee for a 10-hour day, inclusive of a 1-hour meal break. Hours beyond 10 are billed at 1.5× the hourly rate. Show rate: A fee for the show period only — the show's running time, not the full day on site. This distinction matters for events where crew load-in time is long relative to show time. Dry hire: Equipment rented without operators. The client is responsible for operating the equipment. The rental company's liability ends when the equipment leaves their warehouse in working condition. Wet hire: Equipment rented with operators. The rental company provides both the equipment and the crew to operate it. The rental company is responsible for operational performance. Ground rate: The crew day rate for non-travelling local crew (who live in the event city). Tour rate: A higher crew rate that includes accommodation, per diem, and travel for crew who are away from home. Buyout: A single all-inclusive fee covering a defined scope of work, without day rate or overtime calculations — either for a production company (who manages all costs within the buyout) or for a performer (who receives a flat fee covering all their services).
Technical terms
House rig: The permanently installed AV system in a venue (PA, lighting, projection) that comes with the room hire. House rigs are adequate for simple events; produced events almost always require supplementation. Touring rig: A production company's own AV infrastructure that travels with the production to any venue — not dependent on the venue's house rig. OB van (Outside Broadcast van): A self-contained broadcast facility parked outside the venue — contains vision mixing, broadcast audio monitoring, graphics systems, and encoding infrastructure for live broadcasts. Vision mixer: The device (and the operator) that cuts between video sources in a broadcast or IMAG production. Matrix switcher: A video routing device that connects multiple video inputs to multiple outputs, allowing any source to be sent to any display. DANTE: A digital audio networking protocol that sends audio over standard Ethernet — allows audio signals to be routed between PA system components without dedicated analogue cables. OSC (Open Sound Control): A protocol for communicating between computers and AV devices — used in show control systems to trigger lighting, audio, and video cues from a single show-calling interface.