Event formats have multiplied. What used to be a simple choice – run an event or don’t – now involves deciding between in-person, hybrid, and fully virtual delivery. Each format has its own requirements, and that extends to the crew you need to run them.
Here’s how staffing requirements differ across the three formats, and what roles you’ll need regardless of how your event is delivered.
In-person events: the traditional crew structure
An in-person event is what most people picture when they think of live events. An audience in a room, a stage, presenters, and all the technology that makes it work.
The core crew for in-person events typically includes:
A showcaller or show director who runs the event from the AV desk, calling all the cues and keeping everything on schedule.
Technical crew including sound engineers, lighting technicians, and AV operators who manage the equipment that makes the event look and sound professional.
Stage management to coordinate what happens backstage, manage presenter movements, and keep the stage area running smoothly.
Floor managers if the event involves audience interaction, live voting, or multiple rooms that need coordination.
Depending on the event, you might also need a content producer to manage all the visual elements, graphics operators to run playback systems, and runners to handle logistics throughout the venue.
Virtual events: broadcast thinking
A fully virtual event has no live audience in the room. Everything is delivered through streaming platforms, and the experience is entirely determined by what remote viewers see and hear.
The crew requirements shift accordingly:
You may still need a Showcaller to ultimately call the cues, but the streaming director or virtual event producer takes the lead role, managing what goes out to the online audience and ensuring the broadcast runs smoothly.
Technical operators who specialise in streaming platforms, encoders, and remote connectivity rather than traditional AV equipment.
A content producer becomes even more important because everything the audience sees is on screen. There’s no stage presence to fall back on – the visuals carry the show.
Camera operators if you’re using multiple angles or switching between different feeds.
You might also need a remote speaker coordinator to manage presenters who are joining from different locations, handling their technical setup and cueing them into the broadcast.
The physical crew presence is smaller, but the technical complexity can be just as high – sometimes higher.
Hybrid events: two shows at once
Hybrid events combine live and virtual audiences, which means you’re essentially running two events simultaneously. The crew requirements reflect this.
You need most of the roles from an in-person event: showcaller, technical crew, stage management, and potentially floor managers. But you also need the streaming and broadcast expertise of a virtual event.
This typically adds:
A dedicated streaming team working alongside the live production crew.
Additional technical infrastructure to manage both the in-room experience and the broadcast feed.
Crew who can coordinate between the two production elements, ensuring the live and virtual experiences are properly synchronised.
Someone focusing specifically on the online audience experience, monitoring stream quality and online engagement while the main production team handles the room.
Hybrid events need more crew, more coordination, and more careful planning. Trying to run them with only an in-person crew – or only a virtual crew – usually results in one audience having a significantly worse experience than the other.
The roles that appear in every format
Some roles are essential regardless of format:
Someone needs to run the show. Whether that’s a showcaller at an in-person event, a streaming director for virtual, or both working in parallel for hybrid, every event needs someone in charge of the live delivery.
Someone needs to manage content. Slides, videos, graphics – they don’t organise themselves. A content producer ensures everything is ready and runs correctly.
Someone needs to coordinate logistics. Runners, production assistants, or coordinators who handle the countless small tasks that keep events running.
The titles and specific responsibilities might vary, but the functions remain constant.
Getting the crew right for your format
The mistake many event organisers make is assuming one format’s crew can simply adapt to another. Experienced in-person crew might struggle with streaming technology. Virtual production specialists might not be used to managing a physical venue.
When planning your crew, match their experience to your format. If you’re running a hybrid event for the first time, look for crew who’ve specifically done hybrid work before. Their understanding of how to balance both audiences is worth the investment.
And if you’re not sure what crew you need? Ask someone who does this regularly. A good crewing agency or production partner can advise on the right team structure for whatever format you’re delivering.
