The camera, the graphics and the stream all depend on one thing: the right people showing up at the right time knowing what to do. This guide covers the positions you need at every production size, how to plan and book a whole season, how to keep everyone informed, and the checklist that gets the crew to the venue on time.
Positions for every size of production
Start from the show you're producing, then staff to it. Here's what three common sizes look like:
| Production | Typical crew |
|---|---|
| One-camera stream (a school or club game) | Producer/streamer, camera operator, scorekeeper, play-by-play. Add a stats keeper if you can. |
| Small multi-camera (2–3 cameras) | Producer, director/switcher, 2–3 camera operators, graphics/score operator, audio, play-by-play and color. |
| Full broadcast (conference or network game) | Producer, director, technical director, replay, graphics, audio A1/A2, camera operators, engineer, talent and a sideline reporter. |
Write these down as templates. Every football game at the same venue needs the same positions, so you shouldn't rebuild the list each week. In CrewdUp you save a crew position template once and apply it to any event, and tag crew by skill and region so you can find a camera operator near the venue in seconds.
Plan the season before you book anyone
Booking goes smoothly when every event has the details crew need to say yes:
- Venue and call time, in the venue's timezone. Away games across a timezone line are where crews show up an hour off.
- Event start and end, including multi-day events with several games inside them, like tournaments.
- Contacts: the venue, the association or league, the producer and the coordinating producer.
- Production details: the internet source, production software, RTMP server and stream key, schedule and stream links, and sponsor notes.
Don't type a whole season in by hand. CrewdUp imports events, games and crew from CSV on the Starter plan and up, and its table view lets you edit events inline like a spreadsheet.
Book the crew without the group text
Group texts are where confirmations go to die. A better flow:
- Assign people to positions for each event.
- Send invites automatically. CrewdUp emails each person an invite they confirm or decline in one click, with no crew account required.
- Calendar holds follow. When someone confirms, they get a calendar file that works with Google, Apple and Outlook calendars.
- Watch the board fill up. Assigned, confirmed and declined at a glance, with a fully staffed flag and the open positions you still need to fill.
Two habits help a lot. Let crew raise their hand for open events and positions, then approve the ones you want. And when someone confirms by phone, log it as an offline confirmation so the record stays complete.
Keep everyone informed
- Automatic reminders. CrewdUp emails everyone assigned to an event a reminder five days before it. When you send a tech book, you can add a second reminder two days out.
- Bulk send. Write a message once and send it to the whole crew: parking instructions, a venue change, a weather delay.
- Follow up on the holdouts. The crew board shows who has confirmed and who hasn't, so you can chase the one person who hasn't answered.
Plan the show: rundowns and tech books
A crew that knows the plan makes fewer mistakes on air.
- Rundown. Segment, title, length, game clock, video, audio, graphics and notes for each part of the show. Build it with the producer and director, duplicate it for the next game and drag rows into place.
- Tech book. One PDF with what the crew needs for the day. CrewdUp generates an event tech book from the event page and emails it to the crew.
- Print a copy. Download any rundown as a PDF for the truck or the booth, because press box Wi-Fi isn't something to rely on.
Track the gear
Once you own more than a couple of cameras, gear becomes its own schedule. Keep every camera, laptop and kit as an asset with its status and check-out history. Build packing cases with checklists, assign them to events and get an alert when something is missing. If gear ships between venues, follow the FedEx, UPS, USPS or DHL tracking from the same place. In CrewdUp, assets, cases and shipments are on the Pro plan.
Know what each show cost
Plan positions and expenses for each event, then track budgeted against actual as the season goes. Mark crew as paid in bulk after each event, and build reports with filters, grouping and subtotals to see cost by sport, client or month. It's the data you need to price next season's contracts.
Show-day countdown
- Two weeks out: event created with call times, contacts and production details. Positions assigned and invites sent.
- One week out: every position confirmed or reassigned. Gear cases packed and assigned. (CrewdUp sends its automatic reminder five days out.)
- 48 hours out: rundown final. Tech book sent to the crew.
- Day before: send a quick message to the crew with parking and arrival details.
- Show day: crew call, check-in, tech rehearsal, show.
- After: log actual costs, mark crew paid and note anything to fix for next time.
Spreadsheets and group texts work for a handful of events. Once you're booking dozens of people across a season, a tool that sends the invites, tracks confirmations and keeps the show plan with the event saves hours every week and keeps anyone from showing up an hour late.