What's the difference between a production manager and a technical director on-site?

A production manager oversees the entire event timeline, coordinates with catering and venue staff, manages client communication, and ensures all vendors hit their cues. They don't typically operate gear. A technical director runs the AV system: calling lighting cues, mixing front-of-house audio, troubleshooting HDMI handshake issues, and directing the tech crew. On a 300-person corporate event at the Presidio Officers' Club, you'd have one production manager handling the run-of-show and two technical directors—one on audio, one on lighting and video. Production managers bill at $140 to $175 per hour; technical directors range from $110 to $150 depending on the system complexity and whether they're programming or just executing a pre-built showfile.

Do San Francisco venues charge their own AV fees or markup?

Most hotels and private venues either require you to use their in-house AV provider or pay a facility fee if you bring an outside company. The Fairmont San Francisco charges a 22 percent "outside vendor coordination fee" on the total AV invoice if you don't use their preferred vendor. The St. Regis has an exclusive contract with PSAV, so you cannot bring outside AV under any circumstance. Public venues like Fort Mason and the Ferry Building have open vendor policies but charge load-in/strike fees: Fort Mason's Festival Pavilion is $350 per hour for dock access outside normal business hours, and you need a Certificate of Insurance naming the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy as additionally insured. Always confirm the venue's AV policy during site walkthroughs, because that 22 percent fee on a $28,000 production package is a surprise $6,160 line item.

How far in advance should I book a full-service production company?

For corporate events during peak season—September through early December—book 10 to 14 weeks out. Summer wedding season in Napa and Sonoma fills our calendar by April, so couples planning July or August events should reserve by February. If your event falls on the same weekend as Dreamforce, Outside Lands, or a major convention at Moscone, add four weeks to that timeline because every production company, AV vendor, and freelance tech in the Bay Area is committed. Last-minute bookings are possible for small events under 75 guests with basic AV needs, but expect limited gear selection and higher labor costs because we're pulling techs off their scheduled days off or paying overtime premiums to accommodate the rush.

What happens if equipment fails during the event?

Every full-service production company carries backup gear as standard practice. Our truck for a 250-person gala includes a spare wireless microphone, an extra DI box, backup XLR and power cables, and a second laptop running QLab in mirror mode. If a speaker fails, we're swapping it out in under three minutes. If a projector lamp blows—rare with modern laser phosphor units, but it happens—we either have a backup projector on-site for critical presentations or we're calling our warehouse to dispatch a replacement within 45 minutes if the event is in San Francisco proper. For outdoor events, we bring weatherproof cable covers, sandbags rated to 35 pounds each for truss ballast, and tarps in case of unexpected drizzle. Any gear failure that disrupts the event for more than 10 minutes results in a prorated credit on the final invoice, typically 10 to 15 percent of the affected system's rental cost.

Can I hire a production company just for gear and run it myself?

Dry hire—renting gear without crew—is available, but most companies require proof of technical competency and venue approval. You'll sign a damage waiver, provide a $1,500 to $3,000 credit card hold, and agree that any equipment returned broken or missing components gets billed at replacement cost. A QSC TouchMix-30 Pro digital mixer rents for $185 per day dry, but if you return it with a blown input channel, the repair is $320. Liability insurance becomes your responsibility: if a speaker falls and injures a guest because you didn't secure it to code, the venue and production company are both named in the suit. For events over 100 people, most San Francisco venues require a licensed technician on-site regardless of who's operating the board, which negates the cost savings of dry hire. If you genuinely know what you're doing and the event is under 75 people at a permissive venue like SOMArts, dry hire saves about 35 percent versus a full-service package.

Event Production Company San Francisco

Comprehensive event production services in SF: planning, setup, AV, and live management for corporate and social events.

April 19, 2026

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Published on

April 19, 2026