How to Plan a Conference AV Setup: A Step-by-Step Guide for Kenya

The AV setup is the one element of a conference that touches every other element. Get it right and the speakers sound authoritative, the presentations look sharp, and the room feels professional. Get it wrong and the entire event feels amateurish — no matter how good the content, how impressive the venue, or how important the speakers.

This is a step-by-step guide for event planners in Kenya who want to brief their production company accurately, understand what they are paying for, and avoid the most common conference AV mistakes.

Step 1: Start with the venue, not the equipment

Every AV decision flows from the venue. Before you think about equipment, you need to know: the room dimensions (length, width, ceiling height), the power supply (how many circuits, what amperage, where are the distros), the rigging points (can you hang from the ceiling or are you going ground-supported?), the ambient light level (natural light, windows, blackout capability), and the acoustic properties (reverberant concrete or carpeted boardroom?).

A room that is 40 metres long and 20 metres wide requires a completely different sound system to a room that is 15 metres long and 10 metres wide — even if you have the same number of delegates in both. Your production company should do a site visit before any equipment is specified. If they quote you without visiting the venue, that is a red flag.

Step 2: Plan the sound system

Sound is the most important technical element of any conference. An audience will forgive a slightly dim screen. They will not forgive a microphone that drops in and out, a PA system that has feedback, or a speaker they cannot hear clearly from the back of the room.

For conferences up to 300 delegates, a professional line array system with subwoofers is standard. For larger rooms, you may need delay speakers positioned mid-room to cover the rear of the hall without pushing front volume too high. Your microphone package should include wired podium mics, wireless lapel mics for keynote speakers, and at least two wireless handhelds for Q&A. Every wireless system should have a spare transmitter on standby.

Step 3: Plan screens and displays

The rule of thumb for screen sizing: the bottom of the main screen should be no lower than 1.5 metres from the floor, and the screen should be visible from the furthest seat without the audience having to strain. For a 300-delegate room, you will typically need a main screen of at least 4m x 2.25m, plus confidence monitors on stage so speakers can see their slides without turning away from the audience.

LED screens have largely replaced projection in the Kenyan corporate market for rooms where you have full control over ambient light. LED gives brighter, sharper images without the throw constraints of a projector. However, projection is still the right choice for high-ceiling rooms where an LED wall would require costly rigging or for outdoor events where portability matters.

Step 4: Brief the lighting plan

Conference lighting has two functions: making the stage and speakers look good on camera, and creating an atmosphere in the room. Stage wash lighting — typically a combination of front-of-house profiles and stage-level LED panels — ensures speakers are evenly lit with no harsh shadows. Ambient room lighting should be dimmable so you can lower the room for video playback without going to blackout.

If you are recording or broadcasting the conference, your lighting plan needs to be designed for camera, not just for the live room. Camera exposure requirements are different from what looks good to the human eye, and a lighting plan that ignores the camera will produce unusable footage.

Step 5: Decide your camera and recording plan

Are you recording the event for internal distribution? Livestreaming to remote attendees? Both? The answer changes your production requirement significantly. A single-camera recording for internal use is a relatively simple addition. A multi-camera livestream with graphics, lower-thirds, and real-time encoding is a full broadcast production that requires a dedicated team and significant additional equipment.