When working in any department of a production, you must know how to communicate with many people to ensure the smooth running of the event. Of particular note, you must communicate well with the client, your supervisor and your collegues.

In the pre-production phase, the client usually communicates with the director, producer or technical director, rather than with the crew members directly. A pre-production meeting with the client and the director, producer and technical director will occur where the client will discuss their requests and any issues pertaining to these requests will be discussed. In some events, the client is also the director.

During the production or event, the client should remain informed about how things are progressing and be included on decision that may effect the overall producion.

Post-production, the client has a meeting with the director, producer and technical directors. This is where the production is evaluated and improvements for the next event are discussed.

At all times, the client must be treated respectfully and made feel confident in the ability of the crew.

In the pre-production phase, meetings are held within production areas,. These are usually run by the Head Technician of each area, for example Lighting director. These meetings are to discuss an upcoming production, identify specific jobs, allocate schedules and talk generally about what crew can expect. As rehearsals progres, supervisors will keep the crews informed of any changes or other important information.

During the production, the technical director communicates with the crew supervisor eg Lighting Director. If there is a technical issue, a crew member should report directly to their supervisor, rather than the technical director who will then work with the technical director to solve problem. During the live production, communication between crew is usually over comms or ‘cans’ as they are known in Entertainment Industry jargon. During the live production, the stage manager is in charge and will give cues to lighting, audio and vision.

Post-production, the crew will meet with releveant supervisors to discuss how the production went and identify areas for improvements for upcoming events.

At all times throughout a prodution you will be communicating with colleagues. Whether a colleague is another crew member, a supervisor, or an in house tech, you must treat everyone with respect and ensure that you keep others informed as appropriate.

Perfromers are an intergral part of the entertainment industry and communication from all departments are required. Sometimes the performer will actually be the client as well and, therefore, you would follow the same prcedures as you would any client. Whether they are the client or not, the crew will have a lot to do with a performer in the production phase. Crew must consider normal communication approaches but they must also consider times when safety may be an issue which may change a way you communicate, and at times they may need to limit thier communication so that the performer can concerntrate on what they are there to do.