Every crew member shows up on show day with the same questions: where do I park, when is call, who do I report to, what's the Wi-Fi, who's on talent. A tech book answers all of them in one document, so the producer isn't answering them one text at a time. This guide covers what belongs in a tech book, what to leave out, and how to send it without leaking the details that matter most.
What a tech book is
A tech book (some crews call it a production book or a tech pack) is the logistics document for one event. The rundown says what happens on air. The tech book says everything around it: where, when, who, and how the signal gets out. A small school stream can fit it on one page. A tournament or a multi-camera show might run several.
The test for every item: would a crew member otherwise have to text someone to find this out? If yes, it goes in.
The schedule
- Date, and every day if it's multi-day.
- Crew call, show start and end, in the venue's timezone. Say the timezone out loud in the document if anyone is traveling.
- The day-of timeline: load-in, setup, connection test, rehearsal, meal, doors, on air, strike.
- Game times inside the event for tournaments and doubleheaders.
Venue and contacts
Write directions for a person who has never been there:
- The full address, and which entrance or gate the crew uses, which may not be the one fans use.
- Parking and load-in: where the vehicle with gear can stop, and for how long.
- Where you're working: press box, camera platform, scorer's table. Note stairs or ladders if gear has to go up.
- Power: where the outlets are and what the crew should bring.
Then the contacts. At a minimum include the venue contact (the person with the keys), the association or league contact, the producer and, on bigger shows, the coordinating producer. Include phone numbers. Email is useless when the gate is locked at 5:30 p.m.
Connection and stream details
This is the section the crew depends on most, and the one that's most often wrong:
- Internet source: hardwired, venue Wi-Fi, a 4G hotspot, Starlink or a bonded cellular unit like LiveU. If it's Wi-Fi, include the network name and who to ask if it fails.
- Production software and version, so the operator isn't surprised.
- Destination: the platform, the RTMP server URL and the stream key.
- Links: the public stream link to share, and any scoreboard or graphics links the operator needs.
- Backup plan: what you switch to when the primary connection drops. See our guide to streaming with bad internet.
Crew, talent and notes
- Crew list with each person's position and phone number, so people can find each other. Mark who has confirmed.
- Talent by game if it changes during the event, with the pronunciation of their names if they'll be introduced.
- Production notes: camera positions, the sponsor and commercial plan, music rules, what not to show.
- Attachments: a venue map, a camera plot, a sponsor list, the rundown.
- Rights reminders: if the association has rules about replays or music, write them down. For school games, confirm the rights with your athletic director or state association first. Our streaming rights guide explains why.
Leave out what crew don't need: rates, budgets, client contracts, internal notes about people. Those belong somewhere only managers see.
Treat the stream key like a password
Anyone with the stream key can broadcast to your channel. A tech book that includes it is a sensitive document, so:
- Send it only to the people working the show. Not to parents, not to the opposing school's booster club, not to a public group chat.
- Don't post it on a shared drive folder that's open to anyone with the link.
- Ask crew not to forward it. Put that on the first page.
- Reset the key if it leaks. Most platforms let you generate a new key. On Twitch, the key lives in the Creator Dashboard under Settings, then Stream. In YouTube Studio, it's under Go live, then Stream. Then send the crew the update.
Build and send it with CrewdUp
If you already keep events in CrewdUp, the event holds most of the tech book already. On Starter and up, send the tech book from the event page with a custom message, or download the PDF. It includes:
- event details and the production and RTMP details
- contacts and the crew list with phone numbers and status
- talent by game, notes and attachments
If a rundown is linked to the event, it's attached to the tech book email. When you send, you can add an optional reminder that goes out two days before the event, on top of the automatic five-day reminder.
Important: the CrewdUp tech book PDF includes the stream key. Send it and share the download only with your crew. If you need a public version for a venue or a client, write it separately without the RTMP details.
For building the show plan that goes with it, see how to build a rundown. For the crew booking side, see our guide to staffing a broadcast crew.
Tech book checklist
- Date, crew call, show start and end, all in the venue's timezone.
- Address, crew entrance, parking, load-in and where power is.
- Venue, association and producer contacts with phone numbers.
- Internet source, backup plan, software and stream destination.
- Crew list with positions, phones and confirmation status.
- Talent by game, production notes, sponsor plan and the rundown.
- Sent only to crew, two to three days out, with a note not to forward it.